Phenomenal Phishes

These unusual fish have me stumped as to what they are.  I caught them over the weekend while at the Gulf.  The striped one was not like that when I caught him and did not have orange eyes.  When I caught him, he was a plain sand colored fish with brown looking eyes.  However, over a period of 30 seconds or so, he changed into this fish with chocolate stripes, orange eyes and gold rims around his pupils.  

The black fish may possibly be a young black seabass, however, because he has full coloration and is fully developed, I as unsure as to whether this is true or not.  Both of these fish were hanging out on the bottom very near the shore.  The sand colored on was in a small trough of sand with three others while the black one was on an area of crushed black shells which offered him excellent camouflage.  Because I did not know he was in my net until I took a close look, I hadn't even been aiming for him.  Besides them, I caught many other fascinating sea creatures over the weekend and you will hear more about them soon.

A Shocking Development

This strange shark-like creature is not a sting ray.  However, it is a close relation.  Commonly known as the electric or torpedo ray, this species, instead of having a whip-like tail with a sting, has two organs behind its eyes that generate electrical shocks powerful enough to recharge a rechargeable battery.  This particular species can most likely generate 30 - 50 volts of electricity.  This allows it to stun fish and hunt invertebrates beneath the sand.

I found this young specimen by asking a couple what they were looking at in the water.  They had mistakenly identified it as a small stingray.  However, I knew what it was because of a "shocking" experience we had had with several hundred of these a few years ago, some much larger than this one.  My family and I discovered them by accidentally stepping on a few of them while they were hiding beneath the sand.  I was shocked several times in quick succession by a ray four or five times larger than this one.  It wasn't exactly painful but it certainly made me jump.  However, this one seemed fairly relaxed in the tidepool I had placed him in because he only gave me one small shock. 

For any new followers who wish to join, I am hoping to start a small environmental organization in the next few months.  Please add yourself to the followers to be included.  More information on this later.

June Beetles, Pretty, but destructive

 The June beetle, more formally known as the Japanese beetle, is a pretty but destructive pest. About 1/2 an inch to 3/4 of an inch long, this shiny green iridescent (only iridescent on the underside) beetle has an appetite for destruction. It was introduced by accident to New Jersey in 1916 and has since spread all over the eastern U.S. It is one of the few insects completely destructive to plants throughout its whole life, eating grass roots as a baby and chewing on over 300 different types of plant, including my grape vines, as an adult. Americans spend over $460 million a year trying to control them. I have a tough time myself try to get rid of the darn things. Besides my grape vines, they eat our fruit trees too.                                                                                    If you want to help stop the invasion, plant geranium plants in your yard. These plants contain a  substance that stuns the beetles and makes it easy for predators to get them.