Ameerega bassleri tadpole update

Posted on by

I have bad news and good news.

The bad news – so far 100% of the morphed tadpoles (7 to date) have had Spindly Leg Syndrome (SLS). I wasn’t surprised to get some SLS – the bassleri guru tells me that the species is very prone to it – but I am a little disappointed that no normal tads have morphed yet.

The good news – my male disappeared for almost two weeks. I was starting to worry, but yesterday, while pruning the clump of Spathiphyllum, I found him. He’s been guarding another clutch – laid way back in a hidden area. The clutch was almost ready yesterday; today he has tadpoles on his back – he’s transporting! I’m going to let this clutch grow out in the water feature of the big viv – fingers are crossed.

The male with tads on back (look for the bump directly to the right of the stalk). Clicking on the picture will bring up a ginormous version, the better to see the tad with.

*

And a picture of the (presumed) female – they really are pretty little things.

NHOS Orchid Show

Posted on by

If it’s February, it must be orchid show time (here’s last year’s trip). I’m going to spotlight three little guys.

Mediocalar bifolium – from the cloud forests of New Guinea and some adjacent islands. The combination of white outer and red base makes me think of a partridgeberry flower/fruit mash-up.

*

Pleurothallis truncata – from montane Ecuador. Quite a few pleorothallids like to sent their flowers out from the center of their leaves – I picked up a P. palliolata for the big viv – when/if it flowers I’ll post some pix.

*

Masdevallia tridens – another cloud forest orchid from Ecuador. Cloud forest plants are often gorgeous, but almost always tricky to grow – lots of light, lots of humidity, lots of air movement and cool, stable temps – conditions that are not easy to replicate.

Behold: the Majestic T Shirt

Posted on by

A long simmering project finally boils over. Lehmanhaus is the umbrella identity applied to my various activities w/ predatory critters – dog training and breeding mainly. Thanks largely to the efforts of A Certain Design Student and a friend who teaches Latin, I am pleased to unveil the official Lehmanhaus t shirt! [fireworks and gunfire stage right, ululation and baying hounds stage left]

*

*

If any of you out there are crazy enough to actually want one (please – seek help) I have some extras. I’m going to do this the low tech way (except for preferring payment via  PayPal) email me (dr.hypercube-at-gmail.com) what you want and I’ll figure out shipping, tell you what the total damage is, etc. They’re $12.50 a pop – I’m trying to cover expenses – plus shipping.

On the name – Lehman is my mom’s maiden name. A good Swiss/German moniker (Mennonite) that matches well with my German dogs.

Egg and Nest

Posted on by

Down to Cambridge yesterday, to take in Rosamond Purcell’s Egg and Nest (pdf link) show at the HMNH, kick around a bit and attend Janet Browne’s lecture on ‘Darwin at 200’. Egg and Nest is stunning – incredible photographs beautifully hung. If you’re in the area – GO!

*

*

After you’ve taken in the Purcell show, there’s all the rest of the HMNH to wander around in – the Sea Creatures in Glass will be on display until March 1 – time’s getting short.

*

I took along some party favors for the post-lecture get together – a big thank you to Leighton Jones at Floating Point Digital Images for getting said favors to me as quickly as he did.