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In
Real Life...
So what do some of the critters at Miller Hill
look like in real life? We've got photos and we're getting more all the
time!
Many of these pictures were taken by people who
kindly let us use them. You can follow the link in the photo credit to
see more of their work.
We highly encourage you to use whatever
resources you can find such as text books, reference books, the
Internet, and encyclopedias to study whatever species you are interested
in.
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The Common
Nighthawk
Chordeiles minor
In the book, Trilli is part Common Nighthawk
and part Trilling Nighthawk. Because these two species live in different
territories, they might not cross-breed in real life, but Trilli is
special! Her diving instructor and friend Tridente is pureblood Common
Nighthawk, and so are her fairy-chasing relatives Perigretti, Tornado,
and the Crew.
Nighthawks roost and nest on the ground in the
thick cover of the pine forest, grass or sagebrush. They hunt for
insects mostly at dawn and late evening. They are very effective hunters
because of their sonar which can identify prey as they soar through the
air. When they hunt, they usually fly fairly high in the sky, and when
they detect an insect, they fold their wings close to their bodies and
dive straight for their prey. They have very big mouths which they open
wide to catch flying insects. Nighthawks are easily recognized in flight
by the white band on the underside of each wing. They have a very
distinctive call that is the source of their sonar. At the end of each
dive to catch and insect, they unfold their wings to break their fall.
The air rushing past the unfolded wings gives a distinctive whooshing
noise caused by air vibrating the night hawks primary flight feathers. |
Picture courtesy of the Nova
Scotia Museum of Natural History
Photo courtesy of Paul Slichter, Gresham High
School |
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Photo © Rob Perry, courtesy of Webshots. |
Pronghorn Antelope
Antilocapra
americana
This might very well be a member of the Loper
Herd mentioned in the book. This is a male, or buck, antelope. You can
tell by the tall black horns on his head and the black stripe on his
cheek. A female, or doe, antelope might have short horns, but she'll
never have the black cheek patch.
Antelope are grazers and browsers, so they eat
lots of grass and shrubs. They favor eating forbs or weedy plant species
in the summer but may switch to shrubs such as sagebrush in the winter
if forbs become covered with snow. They eat mostly in the early morning
and at dusk, and they bed down to rest in mid morning and early
afternoon. The antelope is the fastest animal in the Western Hemisphere.
They can run about 70 miles per hour for short distances, and can
maintain a speed of about 30 miles per hour for 10-15 miles. Antelope
can see movement from 4 miles away. |
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© W. Tracy Parnell Photography,
courtesy of
Webshots |
Common Water Strider
Gerris remigis
Water Striders (also called skaters or water
spiders) like ponds, streams, and other calm waters. They race across
the surface eating whatever aquatic insects they can find, and mosquito
larvae are easy catches!
In the book, Skater spends some of his time
racing the waterbugs in the beaver pond. |
Western Tent Caterpillar
Moth
Malacosoma
constrictum
Does this look like it might be Sheerena and
her 72 little grubbies? It could be! The stump fairies get all of the
silk they use for clothes and bedcovers and lots of other things from
Sheerena's tent.
Tent caterpillars get together to spin this
tent of gray silk to stay in until they change into moths. The purpose
of the tent is to protect the caterpillars from predators. At Miller
Hill, the tent caterpillars live in scrub oak because that's what they
like to eat. |
© Phil Sloderbeck, courtesy of Kansas
State University Entomology Department |
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© Phil Sloderbeck, courtesy of Kansas
State University Entomology Department |
Black Widow Spider
Lactrodectus mactans
Cannabell might try to bite you if you bother
her while she's guarding her egg sac! Black Widows can be found
practically anywhere in the United States. They are famous for
especially poisonous bite, but it is also published that a black widow
will try to escape without biting unless she is guarding an egg sac. Why
do they call them Black Widows? Because sometimes after they breed, the
black widow will kill her mate.
These spiders are not orb weavers, and they
don't weave the circular web that we usually see. The web of the black
widow is an irregular mesh with a funnel-shaped hiding place built in.
Spiders like Cannabell are useful! They help
keep insect populations down. We don't like for them to be in our
houses, though. If we could catch them and put them outside, that would
probably be the best thing to do, but sometimes we have to kill them.
If you see a black widow, you need to leave
it alone and go find YOUR MOM OR DAD TO TAKE CARE OF IT! |
Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
This is a honeybee gathering pollen from the
yellow flower, like Buzzina the Queen of the Valley Hive in the book. If
you look closely, you can see the yellow gobs of pollen on this bee's
legs....that's how they gather the pollen to take it back to their hive.
Honey bees are very social in that they all live together in home, or
apiary. They live all winter long in their apiary which they heat by
eating honey they have stored during the summer. The heat energy they
give off from eating the honey keeps the inside of the apiary warm
enough that the bees do not freeze even though it may be well below zero
degrees Fahrenheit.
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© Phil Sloderbeck, courtesy of Kansas
State University Entomology Department |
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