Went for a hike yesterday along Spanish Creek in freezing weather. I was not dressed warmly enough for patient photography. However, even though the air temperature was undoubtedly below freezing, I had occasion to lay my hand on the bark of a large Ponderosa Pine and noticed it was warm. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it was near what we call "room" temperature, say 70 degrees F or so. Nearby was a stump of a Ponderosa and I got curious enough to pull off a few slabs of bark. Sure enough, there was lots of invertebrate activity. Here I'm posting just a sample. The top photo features a Silverfish in the center and a termite in the upper left. While I was composing this shot at least three centipedes whizzed by and disappeared in various cracks and holes. The second photo features a sow bug which together with pill bugs is sometimes called a Roly Poly. The sow bugs can only partially curl up, whereas the pill bugs can curl up into a sphere. There are other differences, of course. The third photo features another termite, and the last features a centipede, approximately an inch long. Before long there will be several species of centipedes here that exceed 3" in length and are often reported as exceeding 6". That's called enthusiasm! I try to include accuracy in my enthusiasm, but don't always succeed.
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