Educator Resources

February 2, 2021 by wpengine

Groundhog Architecture

drawing of a groundhog standing out an opening of a tunnel with tunnel illustrated underground

Contrary to the pervasive myth that is revived for public amusement every February 2, groundhogs are not able to predict the approach of an early spring. If these large members of the squirrel family possess a notable skill, it’s in the field of excavation. The image above was created to provide a hint of the remarkable subterranean earthworks groundhogs construct in suitable habitat.

For the species known scientifically as Marmota monax, and whose common names include woodchuck and whistle pig, burrow digging is a solo effort. For a greater part of the year, burrow occupancy is limited to one groundhog per unit. Exceptions occur when males visit the burrows of females during a late winter breeding season, and consequently, following a 32-day gestation period, when females give birth to four to six kits. After approximately a dozen weeks of rapid development, these young disperse from their maternal burrow to dig their own lodging.

Groundhogs excavate a complex, multi-chambered burrow system in which the total length of tunnels can measure up to 65 feet. When digging a burrow groundhogs use their powerful short front legs, which are tipped with sturdy claws, to loosen soil and rocks. Loosened materials are then moved, by mouth, and deposited on the surface at the main entrance. The groundhog depicted in the illustration is standing on a distinctive subsoil-covered mound of excavated material. In a research study where several entrance mounds were removed and their soil and rock contents weighed, the average weight of these animal-built features was 275 pounds.

Typically, burrows include as many as four additional entrances, all unmarked by tell-tale signs of soil disturbance because groundhogs excavate these features from below the surface. Although the ankle-turning potential of these hidden holes is enough for some people to regret having groundhogs as neighbors, there are under-appreciated benefits to tolerating some patches of burrow-riddled property. On the coldest winter days and nights, the upper portions of groundhog burrows provide shelter to other forms of wildlife while the burrow’s owner, curled in a grass-lined chamber, remains suspended in a hibernation state a few feet below. Cottontail rabbits, for example are common squatters.

Patrick McShea works in the Education and Visitor Experience department of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Teaching in the Parks

Allegheny County Park Rangers consider themselves to be ambassadors for a public asset whose value has increased during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: nine regional parks encompassing more than 12,000 acres of largely green space, laced with some 100 miles of multi-use trails.

Allegheny County Park Ranger Elise Cupps in khaki shirt with black tie and tan hat — Ranger Elise Cupps. Photo credit: Allegheny County

For Elise Cupps being an ambassador for this unique resource involves teaching a variety of audiences, including school groups, scout units, garden clubs, and library patrons. The Robert Morris University (BS) and University of Pittsburgh (MA) alumna is a five-year veteran of a program just six years old, and as the Park Ranger’s Coordinator for Education and Outreach she makes regular use of the CMNH Educator Loan Program.

In many County parks, Ranger programs about owls and bats utilize taxidermy mounts borrowed from the museum. “We could just hold our hands apart to show the difference in size between a screech owl and a great horned owl,” Elise explains, “but it’s far more effective to have the preserved birds on display for the participants to inspect themselves.”

Campers at a Park Ranger program in pre-pandemic times inspect an American bison femur. Photo credit: Allegheny County

Other loans of museum materials enhance presentations that have ties to a specific park. Bison materials, including limb bones, hooves, and horn sheaths, for example, have been used for programs at South Park, where a small captive herd of the iconic prairie mammals have been a public attraction since the 1920s. Ranger programs about archaeology, which utilize authentic stone arrow points, adz heads, and fishing weights, make reference to a museum-led excavation in Boyce Park decades ago that documented how our region. was once the homeland of people known to science as the Monongahela.

During the past ten months, with the pandemic disrupting much of their planned program schedule, the Park Rangers paid close attention to their audience. “We’ve been fluid,” says Elise by way of summary. “We’ve made continual adjustments to meet the needs of groups – making live virtual presentations, sending pre-recorded videos, posting images and information on Facebook, sharing PowerPoint presentations – whatever it takes.”

Next week Elise will be borrowing a set of taxidermy mounts for upcoming programs about birds in winter. The means of program delivery has not been determined at this point, but it is a certainty that learning will occur.

Learn more about the Allegheny County Park Rangers.

Pork, Peppermint, and Prosperity

The Peppermint Pig

pink peppermint pig with red bag and small silver hammer

On Christmas Day, after we’ve had dinner and dessert and all sit around the table chatting, my family observes one of my favorite holiday traditions. This tradition involves a red velvet pouch, a tiny metal hammer, and a piece of bright pink, peppermint-flavored hard candy in the shape of… a pig!

The peppermint candy pig is placed in the velvet pouch and we pass it around the table, every person giving it a solid whack with the little hammer and sharing a fond story or memory from the past year. After the pig is broken into small enough pieces, we each eat a piece of the candy, and continue enjoying each other’s company. Some years, the whole family is together—gathered from far away—and the pig is broken quite quickly. Other years, when we can’t all be together, it may take the smaller group longer to break the pig; but that just gives each of us the chance to share more memories.

This tradition is not unique to my family, but I haven’t met anyone outside my family that also observes this custom! It originated during the Victorian Era (1837-1901) in Saratoga Springs, New York. Pigs were honored in Victorian holiday celebrations as symbols of health, prosperity, and happiness. Peppermint oil has a long history of use in medicine, as it helps calm an upset stomach, and has been a popular candy flavoring for a very long time – in fact, no one is entirely sure when peppermint candy was first developed!

Believe it or not, breaking the peppermint pig is not the only pig-themed custom my family observes!

Pork and Sauerkraut

My family is mostly German, though we are also Austrian and Slovakian. One German custom we observe during the holiday season is eating pork and sauerkraut, a dish made from fermented cabbage, for our New Year’s Day dinner. This is another favorite tradition of mine, and one of my favorite meals, though I didn’t like sauerkraut when I was a kid! Now I love pork and sauerkraut and look forward to the smell of it filling my house on New Year’s Day as it slowly cooks all day long.

Germans eat pork and sauerkraut for New Year’s because it’s meant to be lucky, and we want to start a new year off with some luck. This tradition came to the United States with German immigrants in the 17^th and 18^thcenturies. Many of these immigrants settled in Pennsylvania and their descendants are now known as Pennsylvania Dutch (Dutch is derived from Deutsch which means German in the German language). My family is not Pennsylvania Dutch, though we do originate from the same part of the state.

Pigs are lucky animals because they root forward when looking for food, much like we want to look forward as the year begins. For this reason, we don’t eat any chicken or turkey on New Year’s Day; these birds scratch their feet behind them, and we don’t want to move backward, we want to move forward!

Sauerkraut is a lucky food for a few reasons. The long strands of cabbage can represent a long life and the green color of the cabbage (before it’s been fermented) represents money. Sauerkraut is also a great health food: it is a source of vitamins C and K, calcium, and magnesium, it’s low in calories, and it promotes good gut health! This might be another reason it’s considered lucky–people probably felt pretty good after eating it!

Guess what! There’s still one more pig-themed tradition I’d like to share!

Glücksschwein (the Good Luck Pig)

I have a small rubber pig that I have had since I was very young. For a very long time, I stuck it to the wall by my bedroom door, but now I have it sitting safely in a box of memories. This pig is my good luck pig, or Glücksschwein in German. Pigs are kind of similar to a four-leaf clover in representing good luck!

I’ve mentioned a few ways that pigs are related to luck, but I haven’t shared one major reason why pigs are considered lucky. Pigs are related to farming and livestock, and therefore wealth and prosperity! In Germany, pigs made from marzipan, a sweet made of sugar or honey and almond meal, might be given out to eat for New Years.

We don’t eat marzipan pigs for New Years, but instead I have my little glücksbringer—good-luck bringer, or lucky charm—to bring me luck and prosperity!

Jo Tauber is the Gallery Experience Coordinator in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Superstitions and Black Cats

The number 13, four-leaf clovers, walking under an open ladder, stepping on a crack in the sidewalk, and opening an umbrella inside are just a few of the superstitions that I learned about as a child—either from my own family or from friends. As an adult, it might be easy to laugh off superstitions or look at data to “disprove” them, but there is no denying that superstitions are present in cultures across the globe. And they have a real impact on the way people experience the world.

A study published in the International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences describes the possible origin of superstitions as a way of creating the perception of “having control over outer conditions” (1). This means that superstitions are used to create understanding and exert control over aspects of our lives that we may have little to no control over, like the weather. Additionally, in an interview with the British Psychological Society psychologist Stuart Vyse explains there is evidence that performance in skills-based activities may be improved when “luck-enhancing” superstitions are employed (2). His statement suggests that superstitious behavior has a psychological benefit or reduction in anxiety for the individual.

Now that we have a small understanding of the origin and impact of superstitions, I’d like to look specifically at one object of superstition that often appears around this time of year: black cats.

Figure 1: Black cat in front of a window. Credit: @daykittymeow on Instagram, used with permission.

Before taking the time to learn more about the superstitious history of black cats, I thought that they were only considered a sign of bad luck, but I quickly discovered that this is not the case! Black cats appear in the folklore of many more cultures as both good and bad omens. In some European folklore, black cats are considered common companions of witches and bringers of misfortune if they happened to cross your path. In contrast, Welsh folklore depicts black cats would bring luck to a home and could even be a reliable weather predictor (3).

Did you know of these superstitions about black cats? Are there any other superstitions or other lucky rituals that you practice?

Figure 2: Black cat sitting in a green box. Credit: @daykittymeow on Instagram, used with permission.

If this post inspired you to adopt a black cat of your own, don’t forget to check out our Cat Adoption Guide!

Riley A. Riley is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Sources:

1. Mandal, F. (2018). Superstitions: A Culturally Transmitted Human Behavior. http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.ijpbs.20180804.02.html

2. Fradera, A. (2016, November). The everyday magic of superstition. https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-29/november-2016/everyday-magic-superstition

3. Owen, E. (2006). WELSH FOLK-LORE: A collection of the folk-tales and legends of north wales. Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20096

Booseum: Vampires!

Vampires, creatures of folklore that feed on the lifeforce of the living, have long fascinated us. Many cultures have their own version of how vampires behave and are repelled by many different things. Modern vampires in movies, TV shows, and books have some similar main characteristics—let’s explore some interesting or common beliefs about vampires and where they may have come from.

Garlic

It’s a common belief that garlic repels vampires, but did you know that some of that belief is grounded in fact? Garlic, specifically the chemical compound allicin inside garlic, is a powerful antibiotic. Some European beliefs around vampires stated they were created by a disease of the blood, so a powerful antibiotic would “kill” a vampire.

An actual disorder of the blood, porphyria, may also be an origin for this belief: porphyria can cause those who suffer from it to look pale and even make their teeth look bigger because their gums shrink. Garlic makes these symptoms worse, so people with porphyria would often avoid it—making others around them believe they were vampires.

Mirrors

Vampires avoiding mirrors is a more recent belief— the first known reference to this is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was published in 1897. But why wouldn’t a vampire show a reflection?

There are a few reasons that this belief may exist. Mirrors were traditionally backed with silver (and some still are today). Silver was commonly believed to repel evil spirits, possibly because it has antimicrobial properties; so, much like garlic, the healing properties may be what was supposed to scare off a vampire.

Another reason that suspected vampires may have avoided mirrors is because of the changes to their appearance from diseases commonly confused with vampirism, porphyria and rabies. People afflicted with these diseases may have avoided looking in a mirror for that reason, causing others to assume that “vampires” avoid mirrors.

Counting

Why does Count von Count, a vampire, teach us how to count on Sesame Street? It comes from a European belief that vampires are compelled to count spilled seeds or grains. Some Slavic coastal towns also believed that vampires would count the holes in a fishing net. It was common practice to scatter seeds outside the entrances to a home (or drape fishing nets over them). Some Chinese myths say that a vampire must count every grain if they come across a bag of rice. A vampire would stop to count, delaying them until sun-up, and we all know that vampires don’t do well in sunlight.

A common seed used was mustard seed, which was also known as eye of newt!

Now that we’ve learned a little about fictional vampires, let’s explore some real-world vampires!

Vampire Ground Finch

The Galapagos Islands are home to many unique and unusual species, so the vampire ground finch fits in well. This species of sharp-beaked finch lives on Darwin and Wolf Islands, and like most other finches it feeds primarily on seeds. However, seeds can sometimes be a limited resource, so vampire ground finches supplement their diet by eating small amounts of nutrient-rich blood from Nazca or blue-footed boobies.

It is believed that this behavior developed because the finches were first eating ticks from the bodies of other birds, which steadily transitioned into them eating small amounts of blood. Believe it or not, the other birds don’t seem to mind the vampire ground finches doing this, and don’t try to stop them!

Vampire Bats

There are three species of bats that survive by exclusively feeding on the blood of other animals- the common vampire bat, the hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged vampire bat. All three species are found in Central and South America.

Like other bats, they hunt at night and rely on echolocation to find their prey, which is typically sleeping livestock, like cows. Vampire bats use their sharp teeth to make a little cut and then lap up the blood. It doesn’t hurt the animal they’re feeding from, in fact most animals don’t even notice it happening and stay asleep! These bats occasionally try to feed off humans, but it is very rare.

Mosquitos & Ticks

We’ve all felt the aftermath of an itchy mosquito bite! Mosquitos feed on blood from humans and other animals, but it’s only female mosquitos that eat blood. Female mosquitos need the protein from blood to produce eggs, and male mosquitos don’t so they feed on plant nectar.

Ticks drink the blood of both warm and cold-blooded animals, latching on and feeding slowly over several days. They can fast for a long time between meals, but do need to feed on blood as they progress through the stages of their life cycle.

Neither mosquitos nor ticks (or any other blood eating insects) eat enough blood to be dangerous to humans. The biggest danger is that these insects can carry diseases, so make sure to properly care for and clean any insect bites, and see a doctor if necessary!

Jo Tauber is the Gallery Experience Coordinator for CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department, as well as the official Registrar for the Living Collection. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Invasion of the Leaf Galls!

Happy Gall-oween! Mwah-hahaha! Prepare yourselves for the silent invasion of the leaf galls! Over the summer and into the early fall, you may have seen something very strange happening to the oak trees of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Small, furry growths, brown or orange in color, have been appearing on oak leaves. If you haven’t seen them, imagine a Tribble from Star Trek, but in miniature size growing directly on the leaves of a shady oak.

These are leaf galls—but they aren’t an alien lifeform nor a devastating tree blight. They are the product of a fascinating chemical reaction.

Early in the spring, just as the oak trees are beginning to bud, gall wasps (from the family Cynipidae) lay their eggs on the brand-new leaves. These creatures—smaller than a fruit fly and lacking the ability to sting—might also lay their eggs on the twigs of the trees or on the stems of goldenrod. Once the wasp eggs hatch, the larvae begin to eat the leaf on which they were deposited. This is when things get interesting: when the chemicals in the larvae’s saliva mingle with the plant hormones in the leaf, the gall begins to form. Depending on the drop site and the species of gall wasp (there are over 700 species in the United States alone that target oaks), the appearance of the gall will be different. For instance, when the eggs hatch on a branch or twig and begin their feast, the gall will have a dense, spherical appearance. This is the specific kind of gall that gives the phenomenon its name: “galla” means “oak-apple” in Latin. Some leaf galls might take on the shape of tiny brown flying saucers as they did in Jefferson and Forest Counties in recent years. Some other galls have the appearance of spindly red fingers or peppers protruding from the leaf. The variety of tree and leaf galls are, in a word, kaleidoscopic.

While there is great variation in the physical appearance and structure of leaf galls, they each serve a shared purpose. The chemicals that the larvae secrete as they “chew” stimulate the leaf into creating a gall for shelter and sustenance. The gall is a protective, nutrient-providing dome over the developing larvae. While the galls sometimes interrupt the process of photosynthesis and cause some leaf browning and curling, they won’t kill the tree itself. The gall wasp is a mostly benign parasite. By mid-October, the wasp-bearing galls will fall from, or with, their leaves. The next spring, the surviving wasps will emerge from the soil.

Some years, this new generation will breed sexually. Other years, it will be entirely female and reproduce asexually. That is, through parthenogenesis, the same process that the dinosaurs in the original Jurassic Park reproduce. Remember Dr. Malcolm’s famous “life finds a way” monologue? Galls are misunderstood by the general public because they perceive the phenomenon as a nuisance and eyesore. Scientists warn against treating infested trees with pesticide or scraping off the galls. Such actions would do more harm than good to the trees. Instead of being an unnerving menace, the gall wasp is an awe-inspiring example of how one animal uses its surrounding ecosystem—without excessive harm—to ensure that its kind will perpetuate itself safely and successfully. Furthermore, the weirdly wonderful shapes and designs of the leaf gall demonstrate that nature isn’t just useful but also beautiful. It’s that beauty that makes this seemingly bizarre invader more than a seasonal annoyance.

Nicholas Sauer is a Natural History Interpreter and Gallery Experiences Presenter at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Groundhog Architecture

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Pork, Peppermint, and Prosperity

The Peppermint Pig

Pork and Sauerkraut

Glücksschwein (the Good Luck Pig)

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Superstitions and Black Cats

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Booseum: Vampires!

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Invasion of the Leaf Galls!

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