Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Nick in NC

@nicknc.bsky.social

930 followers 460 following 2.3K posts

gardener, amateur naturalist. neurobiologist. mennonite. Views my own. All photos mine. May include predator-prey interactions, spiders, and snakes. https://sweetgumandpines.wordpress.com

sweetgumandpines.wordpress.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 1d

I found a leviathan of a railroad worm (aka glowworm, aka larviform female Phengodes beetle) on a rock in New Hope Creek. Biggest I have ever seen

Fortuitously, an elementary school field trip passed by just as I was rescuing it from watery doom, so impromptu show and tell commenced. #invertebrates

An orange, black, and ivory beetle that looks more like a Millipede with only six legs.

Reposted by Nick in NC

Marc Veldhoen @marcveld.bsky.social · 2d

Varicella-zoster virus reactivation and the risk of dementia

Vaccination is more that protection against the pathogen-caused disease.

www.nature.com/artic...
1/6

Varicella-zoster virus reactivation and the risk of dementia

Nature Medicine - Large-scale longitudinal health records reveal consistent association of varicella-zoster virus reactivation with dementia.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 2d

Yup. I consulted a health professional:

The pharmacist said, “Flu and covid?”

And I said, “Just covid, I got the flu vaccine at work.”

And she said, “great! Which arm?”

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 2d

Yes. Like the red Lycoris radiata, Lycoris aurea produces leaves in autumn, and ideally, the foliage survives until early spring. L. radiata leaves will take temps down to the teens (F) at least, while those of L. aurea are damaged by temperatures in the 20s

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 2d

You might be able to grow this species in Charleston. i’m sure your winter lows are significantly warmer than in central NC.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 3d

Lycoris aurea. This seems to be the only Lycoris that is not winter hardy in my garden. The bulbs survive, but the winter foliage is destroyed by freezing temperatures. It only flowers if the foliage is protected in a cool corner of the greenhouse. 🌱

Spidery, golden yellow flowers on a leafless stalk emerging from dry soil in a black plastic nursery pot.

Reposted by Nick in NC

ace @hobogato.bsky.social · 4d

Saturday eye catchers - starting with N. zakariana (fusca flared peristome) Mamut BE 3068 and a friend

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 4d

When you steal your sister’s basket because she is little, but you don’t fit very well because she is little. #Caturday

A dark brown cat with some tabby markings and white raccoon mask is squeezed into a small white basket.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

Nice! I grew a plant that looked a lot like your B. crassipes for many years. It had a fragrance like overripe fruit.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

Excellent. Thanks for confirming the ID. Bulbophyllum are such wonderful plants.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

Bulbophyllum species. I bought this as B. mastersianum, but now that it has flowered, I see that it was mislabeled. Maybe Bulbophyllum lepidum? 🌱 🌴 #orchids

An inflorescence of a small Bulbophyllum orchid species. The flowers are arrayed in an arc and have large, flat sepals, so the whole arrangement looks like a pink daisy flower that has been sliced in half.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

I never ever fertilize the roots. The pitchers are “fed” with dried mealworms that we buy as treats for our chickens.

In the greenhouse, I use 20% shade cloth. Indoors, a south facing window and/or bright artificial light. 4/4

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

Water should be low in minerals. I am lucky, because I can use water from our well. The best choice usually is distilled water or rainwater. Chlorinated/chloraminated city water is bad. Water from a whole-house water softener is very bad.
3/4

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

The potting mix should be open and well-aerated. I use a mix of mostly long-fiber sphagnum moss and coarse perlite kept constantly moist but well-drained. The plants are never left sitting in water and never allowed to dry out completely.
2/4

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

If your plants grow for several months or a year and then die, that sounds like a watering or water quality issue, perhaps accelerating breakdown of the potting mix. They don’t like to be waterlogged in a peaty mix like some carnivorous plants. That will rot the roots.
1/4

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

They do have that appearance, although they are non-mobile. The most common explanation is that the wings help crawling insects climb into the trap when it sits on the ground. Pitchers that hang in the trees, higher on the vine, often lack the wings.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 6d

Latest pitcher on Nepenthes mirabilis var. globosa x N. ampullaria has opened. This one is somewhat larger than a hen’s egg. Color is *chef’s kiss*. 🌴🌱

A very round Nepenthes pitcher hangs in front of some longer pitchers. The round pitcher is dark red with large fringed wings. The peristome is striped, yellow and red.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 8d

Closeup

A closeup photo of the tightly packed rosettes if pointed leaves

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 8d

Deuterocohnia brevifolia, a miniature terrestrial xerophytic bromeliad from Argentina/Bolivia. Forms a cushion-like mound, but is hard and stabby, not soft and pillowy. 🌴 🌱

Tightly packed rosettes of pointed leaves. in a weathered terra-cotta pot.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 9d

Yeah, I think this is the first time I have ever seen one just rambling around in the open instead of under a log.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 9d

Alternate names = patent leather beetle (which makes sense, given Shiny!) and horned passalus (wtf?)

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 9d

Shiny! A bess beetle (Odontotaenius disjunctus) crossing our lane. “Bess” apparently comes from French “Baiser” for the squeaky kissy noises they make when picked up. Do not recommend actually kissing them on their pinchy little mandibles.

A very, very shiny black beetle on a gravel road.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 9d

Angry selkies

Reposted by Nick in NC

Bob loves succulents @boblovessucculents.bsky.social · 10d

The dark brown thorns of a brand new leaf growing at the center of an Agave horrida. The thorns of new leaves are so tightly packed, they leave a permanant mark on the younger leaves growing underneath. 🌱

#Agave #succulents #gardeningfeed #plantsky

A mature Agave horrida with tightly packed leaves. The new leaves have dark brown thorns that turn white as they age. The leaves all have thorn marks from the leaf that grew around it.

Nick in NC @nicknc.bsky.social · 10d

I lucked out. No stings this time.