INTRODUCTION:
We've had fun putting these caches out and everybody seems to be having fun finding them (unless of course, certain insects are out to "get you"). So, we are putting out more (caches, not insects). The theme this time is INSECTS (as you've already figured out by the title). Some of these you may encounter on your geocaching trips and some of them you may wish you had not. Instead of a steady line of caches down the trail, we thought we'd try something new for us. All are easy puzzle caches and the geoart is one of our favorite insects: the dragonfly - as it eats what annoys us all the most: mosquitoes.
Note: There may NOT be cell phone service in some areas of the K & P Trail.
TRANSPORTATION:
The K&P trail is a single lane dirt road with gravel on it in some areas. You can hike it, bike it or drive it albeit very slowly. When placing the caches we never drove over 15 km/hr. Mostly it was at about 10 km/hr. Just when you think it's smooth going a huge puddle hole will "get" you. On bikes, you will have no trouble except if you go out after heavy rain (or during rainfall) as it will be muddy in areas. On foot, be aware that there are very few houses along the way - so don't go alone. Safety in numbers. There are some pretty streams along the way, wetlands and Graham Lake just North of Lavant Station (a nice place for a picnic lunch).
INSECT:
Northern Walking Stick
The northern walkingstick or common walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) is a species of phasmid or stick insect found in deciduous forests throughout North America. In Canada, it is the only stick insect and is present in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
The walkingstick is a slender, elongated insect that camouflages itself by resembling a twig. The sexes differ, with the male usually being brown and about 75 mm in length while the female is greenish-brown, and rather larger at 95 mm. There are three pairs of legs, but at rest, the front pair is extended forward beside the antennae, forming an extension of the twig-like effect. Neither sex has wings, the antennae are two thirds of the length of the body, and each of the cerci (paired appendages at the tip of the abdomen) has a single segment.
The walkingstick is herbivorous and feeds mainly on the leaves of trees. They are leaf skeletonisers, eating the tissues between the leaf veins, pausing for a while and then walking on to new leaves. They can feed at any time of day but the greatest feeding activity has been noted between nine PM and three AM. Early-stage nymphs are often found on American hazel and black cherry, but where these are scarce, often choose white oak. Older individuals are often found on black oak. Another food tree is the black locust. Adults are present in August and September in the northern part of the range, but because of their tendency to feed high in the canopy, the insects are seldom seen. Outbreaks of these insects sometimes occur in local areas; however, the insects have no wings, and dispersal from tree to tree is limited.
The stick insect life cycle is hemimetabolous, proceeding through a series of nymphal stages. Breeding takes place in late summer after the nymph has moulted for the last time and become an adult. Egg-laying takes place about a week after mating and the eggs, measuring 2.5 mm across, are dropped singly to the forest floor. Here they overwinter in the leaf litter, hatching the following May or even a year later. If conditions are dry, the newly-hatched young may fail to extricate themselves from their egg-capsules. Ones that succeed in doing so climb up the trunks of trees, start to feed on the foliage, and pass through four to six moults as they grow.
Female Walking Stick
Male Walking Stick
The cache can be found at:
North Rh Li. Tl B West Os Tc. He Hg