Author Archives: Nicholas Lee
The Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
When Hurricane Sandy came through New York City last year, it left a path of destruction. Many houses were destroyed and lives changed. At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, many trees that stood for over 100 years were lost to the storm, all of which were botanically and historically significant. This tree house, pictured above is the work of Roderick Wolgamott-Romero along with the arborists at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden as they repurposed the many fallen oak trees that were lost to Sandy. I think this tree house is an amazing work of art that really has a “life after death” feeling to it as they repurpose the the trees. Along with learning to adapt to the increasing shifts in weather patterns what do you think are some ways we can help better the environment from our homes in New York City?
Parasitism in action!!
Art is all around us and can take many different shapes and forms. Sometimes nature itself can create fascinating things. At first glance, you may think, cool a caterpillar! But closer examination shows that this caterpillar is INFECTED with some sort of parasite!!…. 🙁 I found this caterpillar in my backyard hanging out on one of the tomato leaves and I immediately took a picture. After consulting a friend who is very knowledgeable of bugs, I learned that this is in fact not a caterpillar at all but actually a Tomato Hornworm (Manduca Quinquemaculata) infected with the cocoons of braconid wasp larvae. The Braconid wasp is a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs inside of the Hornworm. They feed internally on the hornworm, which eventually kills the host. After a period of time the larva emerge to form cocoons on the outside of the worm. This is probably the state at which the worm pictured above is at. After a few days, the wasps emerge and the cycle starts all over again. Nature can be beautiful, fascinating and sometimes terrifying at the same time! Isn’t parasitism cool?!?!
Why, hello there Mr. Worm…..and guests!!
