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by Elizabeth Ryan
Early Spring,
tiny larvae, only a half inch long,
hatch from eggs laid in lakes, ponds, and marshes.
Feathery gills for breathing sprout from the top of their heads.
Four delicate little legs with teeny tiny feet
and a broad flat tail for swimming.
They dine on Zooplankton,
aquatic larvae and insects,
preparing for their Metamorphosis in the fall,
leaving their aquatic homes to become terrestrial.
Gills are replaced by lungs; flat broad tail becomes round and narrow.
Their skin changes from a black-spotted yellow-brown to a bright orange.
Bright orange bodies with red spots encircled by black,
and smaller black spots, dot their bodies.
At this stage of his life, the immature newt is a Red Eft.
The bright orange body of the Red Eft,
a warning to predators,
Beware I’m Toxic if you eat me.
He lives under leaf litter, in deciduous and coniferous forests,
eating insects and snails, growing to around three inches long.
You might spot him walking across the forest floor as you hike in the park.
They are terrestrial about three to four years,
but they could live on land up to seven.
During the winter, they hibernate under rocks or logs.
At maturation, Red Efts transform back into aquatic creatures.
They retain their lungs, and breathe oxygen the rest of their lives,
but their tails return to broad and flat for swimming.
Upper bodies become olive green still with red spots encircled in black,
Underbellies are a yellow-green with black spots.
They sometimes return to the place where they hatched.
The newt’s diet is insects, leeches, crustaceans,
small amphibians and fish.
The little critters grow up to five inches long.
Late winter, early spring, the adult newts mate.
The female lays her eggs on aquatic plants,
and the cycle repeats.
An interesting fact of the red Spotted Newt,
a large population,
indicates a healthy eco-system.
Continue Reading
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Common MilkweedDelilah McCrea
Showy OrchisBill Newby
American Witch-hazelQuartez Harris
Common PawpawIsaiah Back-Gaal
Common Garter SnakeCait Young
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Common DewberryPeter McWilliams
North American River OtterAnastasios Mihalopoulos
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Giant Leopard MothAlex Saba
Virginia BluebellsBronlynn Thurman
American RobinKari Gunter-Seymour
American CrowJason Harris
Eastern CottontailEros Livieratos
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Song SparrowVirginia Konchan
Wood DuckDiana Lueptow
Japanese HoneysuckleShei Sanchez
Yellow BullheadTed Lardner
Funeral BellTishon Woolcock
Common DandelionCora Liderbach
WarmouthCamille Ferguson
Splendid Earth-Boring BeetleKortney Morrow
Snapping TurtleJessica Jewell
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Pharaoh CicadaCathy Barber
Northern Dusky SlugRay McNiece
JewelweedJudith Mansour
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BloodrootChad Lutz
KilldeerMary Biddinger
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Long-eared OwlMichael Loderstedt
Isabella Tiger MothLeah Graham
American SycamoreMegan Lubey
Water Forget-Me-NotAlyssa Perry
Yellow-dusted Cream MothCass Penegor
Painted-cup PaintbrushHilary Plum
Masked BeesZach Savich
TrilliumKimberlee Medicine Horn Jackson
Eastern Tiger SwallowtailKira Preneta
CrayfishConor Bracken
Great Blue HeronDan Dorman
American SweetgumCaryl Pagel
Painted TurtleRebekah Ainsworth
Green DarnerMarion Boyer
American BeaverKatie Daley
Eastern Screech-OwlDr. R. Ray Gehani
Spring PeeperBarbara Sabol
Eastern Carpenter BeeSylvia Clark
Jacob's LadderRisha Nicole
Candleflame LichenClara Britton
Eastern NewtElizabeth Ryan
American BullfrogLaura Grace Weldon
American ChestnutCarrie George
American GoldfinchMarybeth Cieplinski
American Giant MillipedeMary Quade
American HornbeamJeff Gundy
American White WaterlilyGeoffry Polk
Artist’s BracketSusann Moeller
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BluegillOlivia Farina
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Eastern Tent Caterpillar MothZachary Thomas
Eastern Red-backed SalamanderTovli Simiryan
Firefly BeetleJacquie Peoples Dukes
Gray CatbirdTheresa Brightman
Great MulleinLaurie Kincer
Green HeronPaula J. Lambert
HepaticaAmanda Schuster
Interrupted FernKathleen Cerveny
Jack-in-the-PulpitMichael Buebe
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Monarch ButterflyDeborah Fleming
MuskratCatherine Wing
Pearl CrescentMonica Kaiser
Poison HemlockJon Conley
Red-Headed Ground BeetleBob King
Star JelliesCameron Gorman
Sugar MapleSteve Brightman
Turkey VultureAndrew Gilkey
White-footed MouseMichelle Bissell
White-tailed DeerBenjamin Rhodes
Wild CarrotJessica Jones
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Traveling Stanzas community arts projects bring poetry to people’s everyday lives through innovative methods and digital platforms.