Curious Encounters with the Natural World (ePub)

Michael R. Jeffords and Susan L. Post have circled the globe—and explored their neighborhood—collecting images of the natural world. This book opens their personal cabinet of curiosities to tell the stories of the pair's most unusual encounters. From the "necking" battles of mate-hungry giraffes to the breathtaking beauty of millions of monarch butterflies at rest, Jeffords and Post share 200 stunning photographs and their own insightful essays to guide readers on a spectacular journey. Their training as entomologists offers unique perspectives on surprise stag beetle swarms and spider hunting habits. Their photographic eye, honed by decades of observation, finds expression in once-in-a-lifetime images. The result is an eyewitness collection of startling and unusual phenomena that illuminates the diverse life inhabiting our planet.|
Cover
Title
Copyright
Contents
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION: NATURALISTS AFIELD—A LIFETIME OF CURIOSITY
CHAPTER 1. AMASSED NATURE
Turtle Shingling
Hackberry Happenings
Japanese Invasion
Yellow-Headed Roost
Outback Caper
Brazilian Caterpillars
Monarchs in Mexico
Kicking Up a Storm
Mite Carpet
Pelagic!
Milkweed Mass
Clown Invasion
Emergence!
The Red and Green Show
CHAPTER 2. ENVIRONMENTAL FLUIDS
May 28, 2011
Herptile Sipping
Fragrant Fields
Spiders, Striders, Hexagons & Halos
CHAPTER 3. HIDDEN WORLDS
Attract or Repulse?
Supernormal Stimulus
The Egret and the Fly
Yard Bot
Reality versus Book Learnin'
Acorn Weevil
Hidden Tigers
An Unlikely Pair
Sundew Drama
Fickle Evolution
Stink Bug Babies
Mr. Jackman's Bog
Aquatic Christmas Ornaments
Psychophily
The Thin Ones
CHAPTER 4. MOMENTS IN TIME
Grumpy Spiders
Frog Relief
Lorikeet Lure
A Good Thwonking!
Sex on the Fly
Touched from Above
Sands of the Falklands
An Encounter with Extinction
The Leather Purse
Capturing Mystery
The Blue Beech
CHAPTER 5. PHYSICAL PHENOMENA
Hidden Rainbows
Seasonal Lines
Tomorrow's Fossil
Goblins
Superior Ice
Lights, Action, Camera!
CHAPTER 6. SELDOM WITNESSED
Cormorant Rookery
Always at Trail's End
Beaver Sign
Winter Stoneflies
High Salamander
Hoatzin Lineup
Down the Hatch
Demons in the Dust
The Last Ottoe?
Gulls at Play
Chitinous Snack
Snake Dance
From Above
Turkey Tango
CHAPTER 7. TRULY BIZARRE
Beetle Playground
Trilobites Today?
Did I Just See That?
The Scream
Colorful Katydids
Scavenger Hunt
Worm Circles
Size Does Matter
Sixty-Minute Cruise
Life List—Yes or No?
CHAPTER 8. JUST BE CURIOUS
Bee-eaters!
Capybara Encounters
Welwitschia!
The Stalker
Lady's Slippers for Sale!
Flying Squirrel Café
To See a Giant Otter
CHAPTER 9. WHO KNEW?
All Things Connected
The Gingko Effect
Green Feathers
Paz Tale
Olympic-Size Pan Trap
Mixed Marriage?
Ménage à Trois
Lost Ivory
Ottie and Bokkie
Toy Salamander
Endemic Family
A Change of Heart
Travel Hazards
Learning from Leopold
CHAPTER 10. BE PREPARED
Cock-of-the-Rock
Vanessa!
Beautiful Musk
Bison Migration
Rapacious!
CONCLUSION: THE END OF THE LANE
EPILOGUE: UNEXPECTED SURPRISES
GLOSSARY
REFERENCES
INDEX|Michael R. Jeffords is the retired education/outreach director for the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) and was staff photographer for The Illinois Steward magazine. Susan L. Post is a retired INHS field biologist and staff writer for The Illinois Steward magazine, and author of Hiking Illinois. They are coauthors of Exploring Nature in Illinois and Illinois Wilds.