The rich diversity of natural life in the Adirondacks never ceases to fascinate me. Dr. Janet Mihuc at Paul Smiths College is leading an effort to inventory the Giant Silkmoths of the Adirondacks. She’s hoping that volunteer citizen-scientists will help by submitting sightings. Sightings will become part of the Adirondack All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) database and will be used to construct occurrence maps for each silkmoth species. It’s thought that the numbers of these moths are on the decline and this data help establish a baseline for future studies.
Uh, these really are “Giant” moths:
Hyalophora cecropia (Robin Moth) (by Anita363)
Volunteer sightings are needed from all parts of Northern New York. Could be a really fun thing to do.
The survey runs through July 30, 2010. www.projectsilkmoth.org
An Adirondack stage-driver smokes continually, but he never appears on the roof of his coach with a pipe in his mouth ; that would be beneath his dignity. He smokes cigars, and he smokes them from the time he gets up in the morning until he goes to bed at night. In all other respects he has contempt for the dictates of fashion. His topboots and big straw hat are picturesque, but they do not convey any impression that their owner is oppressed with ideas of order ; in fact, they look hot and uncomfortable. Moreover, he drives in his shirt-sleeves, — a proceeding which would have horrified the older generation of English mail-coachmen… (
