Hello folks who wonder if in the spirit of Thanksgiving comfort, should we all wear stretchy pants to the meal,
In the previous post, we looked at inhabitants of the island that come out once the sun sets.
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| "This thing bangs" says the Cassin's Auklet bobbing its head to my Spotify playlist |
In this post, we will look at the often neglected and underappreciated group of animals that just don't bring the number of likes and hearts on social media that I measure my life's worth with.
*Audience nods their head in agreement and someone shouts from the back "Amen to that!"
Before I begin let me preface by saying that no "Monarch butterflies" or "Honey bees" will be covered in this post.
*Audience starts booing and rushes to the exit almost causing a stampede.
Now, that I have lost 98.5% of my audience, let me proceed.
If you have been following these posts religiously, you are aware of the annoying flies that cling on to you once you stop moving on the island in the first post. These flies called Cormorant flies by the researchers are found in large numbers on the island. They younger selves feed on dead cormorant bodies and can be used as an indicator of Cormorant healthy populations.
The larva might be feeding on dead Cormorants but the adults are seen lapping up salts and liquid in any possible location, be it your sweat or the guano on the island.
Here are a few of them capitalizing on this buffet of bird poop, but observe this creep who comes at the end and tries to mate with a fly who was already feeding. Wow! That is a workplace violation if I ever knew one. Sorry, I had to blow the whistle on that behavior. Farallon island is supposed to be a safe space for all.
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| Oo hello, that is so illegal! Let me complain to the HR. |
One of the most common pollinators who I frequently spotted on the Farallon weed or the maritime goldfields was the Black-margined Flower fly which is a type of hover fly. It was camera shy so I had to restrain it for the video. Don't worry, I asked for consent and I it buzzed, which means a yes.
Another marine invertebrate that you might encounter in the tidepools around the island is the Pacific Purple Sea Urchin or known by the crowd favorite name "Destroyer of Kelp Forests". I can attest that applying pressure on the spines with your fingers can be painful.
After death, Pacific Purple Sea Urchins undergo a striking transformation. Their vibrant purple hue fades, leaving behind a stark white appearance. Their once-formidable spines become brittle and break off, rendering them harmless. This radical change can evoke unexpected emotions – you might even feel a pang of guilt for condemning these urchins for ravaging kelp forests. But that is just the human in me being empathetic.
One thing I like to do with my spiders is apply pressure on them. Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of making them feel unsafe, especially when Farallon islands is a safe space, I just want them to bare their jaws. By examining how the jaws swing, I can determine if the spider belongs to a more primitive lineage or a more evolved species, like those commonly found in homes.
This wafer-lid trapdoor spider belongs to the more primitive lineage and you can observe how their jaws swing when I harass it.
A rough woodlouse was also spotted scurrying around in one of the blinds that researchers use to spy on the birds.
You remember that floating things called By-the-Wind Sailors I covered in the first post of this series.
Well, there were dead ones washed ashore, so I picked them up to show you a closer look.
Last but not least, no trip to the island is complete without meeting its rockstars: the endemic Farallon Cave Crickets. These tiny legends can be found in some of the island's caves, waiting to be discovered by adventurous visitors willing to crawl inside. These crickets are similar to the camel crickets we find on the mainland, but these ones were isolated when the land bridge was submerged under water. Unlike the mainland camel crickets who are mostly solitary, these are more social and like to gossip in groups about which celebrities they suspect are on Ozempic. My oh my, such chatty kathys.
This one I encountered had some kind of fungal growth on it, which came as a surprise to the researchers on the island as well.
I suspect it might have something to do with the fungal growth I observed on the cave walls. While it's tempting to point fingers at palm oil, election results, or excessive taxes, let's refrain from jumping to conclusions until we identify the root cause.
This is what the cave looks like from inside where I encountered the Farallon Cave cricket.
Inside the caves, you'll also find graffiti bearing the name "Stewart" and dated '06. Interestingly, researchers believe this wasn't a modern addition in 2006 but rather a relic from 1906.
I know I promised this would be the last post of the series, but I just realized I did not cover the Puffins found on the island. Maybe I will do a mini-post to cover them and some other cool things on the island that did not fit into any other themes that I covered. Stay tuned!
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