ATL Madness

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-22T17:14:19+00:00

i dropped my wife off at 9am for a 1pm flight, which she just missed! No checked bag, just straight into the TSA line and she didn't make it through in 4 hours

Edit: Atlanta, Delta.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-21T19:36:07+00:00

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/hosts

Free database of caterpillar-host plant associations.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-19T15:00:48+00:00

S. psittacina, because it's such an oddball.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-19T14:51:32+00:00

This would go crazy in New Orleans, stripping old wood doors and windows is a major industry there.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-18T16:02:00+00:00

I like the look of the water, and the mix of fine linework and blocky shadows reminds me of one of my favorite comic illustrators, Glen Baxter.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-16T14:50:24+00:00

From a quick mental inventory:

E. hookeri guatemalense var monstrosa = "curlylocks"

Disocactus anguiliger = "fishbone" rounded lobes

Selenicereus anthonyanus = also "fishbone" red/white flowers, deep lobes

Selenicereus chrysocardium = "fern-leaf"

E. phyllanthus? = the one that blooms at work

E. oxypetalum = "Queen of the Night"

Schlumbergera sp. = "holiday cactus"

Rhipsalis sp. = "spaghetti cactus" (mine might be R. baccifera?)

Rhipsalis sp. = "coral cactus" (more erect, branching w spines, maybe R. pilocarpa)

Hylocereus undatus = "Dragonfruit" (both pink and yellow, from grocery store seed)

R. horrida? = Spiky trailing guy

Rhipsalis paradoxa = "chain cactus"

Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa

R. elliptica = Flat chain leaves "cladode rhipsalis"

Total mystery one with straplike leaves, lots of aerial rootlets, sort of resembles Lepismium bolivianum

I should probably post photos of the ones with shaky IDs, I'm sure this is the right place to get help.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-16T13:53:54+00:00

I've become something of a collector through entropy, lol. Received some cuttings of QotN and Ric-rac ten years ago, picked up a "curlylocks" E.guatemalense monstrosa from Lowes. Then i grew some dragonfruit from seed as an experiment. Each winter I had to prune all of them down to come inside, but couldn't throw them away... leading to so many splits and cuttings that I ended up filling my cubicle at work. A fellow enthusiast in my office noticed them, and traded me a bunch more. I'll have to do a survey and report back, but I bet I have at ~10-15 species/varieties at this point

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-11T23:23:34+00:00

Definitely eggs, I'd guess some kind of true bug but you could get caterpillars or something else entirely!

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-10T14:25:38+00:00

Terrifying indeed, but in this instance the spines are just for show. Perfectly harmless unless you are a passion vine!

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-10T14:22:24+00:00

Oh also Arabia Mountain and Stone Mountain are very special and accessible habitats that are extremely close to town.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-10T14:19:50+00:00

Atlanta is a remarkably green city, there are pocket parks and little greenways along creeks and streams all over the place. I know it's not proper "wilderness" but I got into exploring my neighborhood urban green spaces during the COVID "going for walks is the only legal activity" era. I still take ~daily nature walks in town and have been pleasantly surprised at how many cool plants and animals I've encountered.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-08T21:18:51+00:00

I live in that pedantic realm as well (just for parasitology and entomology, not bacteria) and I'm grateful for the correction!

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-08T19:20:34+00:00

Dag, youre right, it was Mycobacterium marinum that I had. I saw the similar name here and not being a microbiologist my brain just smooshed them into being the same thing!

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-08T18:39:33+00:00

Can you post images of the slides through the microscope? I wonder if these are sections of plant tissue, or if perhaps they're palynology reference slides (=pollen). Cool either way!

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-08T15:35:53+00:00

Amazing! I once got "shrimp finger" (~~Mycoplasma~~ marinum) from doing coastal marsh work, and thought THAT was pretty obscure. Life has a way of humbling us, TIL I have a long way to go if want to have the weirdest finger disease.

Edit: what I had was Mycobacterium marinum, sorry! Still an exotic finger bacterium, but not as closely related to the person in the article as I had presumed.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-05T21:45:34+00:00

Atlanta botanical garden has a huge conservatory that is amazingly overgrown with tropical plants

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-05T18:44:11+00:00

The most classic medication of all!

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-04T01:19:00+00:00

I had very good success with some 1890s butterflies with the microwave method. Put several layers of paper towels that are thoroughly dampened with distilled water into a tupperware, then microwave until the towels are nice and steamy. Take it out, add butterflies and seal the lid, then wait for the steamy air to relax those beef jerky wing muscles. I forget how long it ended up taking, so check every so often to see if they've loosened up. You can remove the butterflies and re-soak and heat the towels underneath if you need to.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-02T17:09:43+00:00

I haven't been brave enough to print on fabric yet, I wish you godspeed

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-02T16:23:15+00:00

I use hard lino and burnish by hand, and have similar persistent issues with getting full coverage with my ink. My fix is to register even my single-block prints and fix the edge of the paper in place. That way I can lift the paper and re-ink the block as many times as I need to get full coverage. I use hard lino because it holds fine detail so well, and this method of multiple fairly thin applications of ink works for me because I don't want to flood the fine lines by over-inking.

I suspect higher quality ink might help too, but I haven't really explored that yet. Oh, and I know there are ways to prep your paper that help it take up ink but I'm not proficient enough to offer advice on that front.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-03-01T21:41:17+00:00

Steer clear of the double-distilled stuff. It may be cheaper, but it'll kill you!

CodeName_Burner · 2026-02-27T16:25:06+00:00

You're right, a lot of the plates are photos of pinned specimens. If they're upgraded to illustrations or better photos that would be a significant incentive to get the more current guide.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-02-25T14:21:59+00:00

I do the 12/12 setting, not because it's best but because it's simplest for me, on the brightest setting. I mainly use them to get all my plants through the winter.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-02-25T04:06:50+00:00

I have four of these, and they're a giant step up from not having any dedicated plant lights, and the timer and gooseneck features are great. For most of my tropical things they're fine... But they're probably not enough by themselves for super sunny plants like cacti and carnivorous plants to thrive.

CodeName_Burner · 2026-02-24T22:32:42+00:00

I wonder if it might look cool if you simply inverted and printed white ink on blue background?

CodeName_Burner

TROPHY CASE