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In the world of insects, the tiniest of tracks tell a story

The complex world of insects: Nashville's Noah Charney explains signs

By Anne Paine • THE TENNESSEAN • October 4, 2010

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Noah Charney liked nature as a boy growing up, wandering barefoot around the rocky, tree-clad hills of West Meade.

He sought out crawdads in the creeks and by about age 12 had taken over his mother's macro-photography equipment to capture plants, bugs and other little beasties up close.

Today at age 30, he has been drawn by those not-to-be-stifled inclinations from the field of physics — in which he received an undergraduate degree — back to the earth and some of its tiniest inhabitants.

Charney has co-authored a 600-page field guide on insects, or rather on their tracks and signs that often go unnoticed by humans — from tiny scat to leaf burrows and bites and egg formations that could rival the artistry of the greatest sculptures.

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Insect tracks & signs

"There are plenty of books that are guides to insects, but there aren't any on the things they leave behind," Charney said.

He and Charley Eiseman, the lead writer of Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates, had taken to frequent mammal tracking and holding workshops on the topic. But they were entranced by mysterious signs they saw everywhere, such as red discs on stones, matchstick-like growths on a tree or a thread of silk on which a wadded leaf dangled from a branch.

Charney's quiet voice quickens as he talks about the complex and sophisticated world of insects, saying they are trying to survive just like humans, working to build safe homes, reproduce, and protect their young.

He explained that a vine leaf curled up like a cigarette in a West Meade backyard was evidence of the caterpillar stage of a leaf-rolling moth.

"Usually it's just a place to hide when they're feeding," he said.

"There are other things that do that. There are leaf-rolling weevils and leaf-rolling crickets. There are way more leaf-rolling moths."

That reminded him of the viceroy butterfly caterpillar, which folds a tree leaf into a triangular "house" to spend the winter in. It then winds silk around the leaf stalk and the branch so that when the leaf dies it dangles rather than falling to the ground, where the caterpillar might more likely be eaten.

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Some invertebrates cover their eggs with mud or gelatinous masses or even excrement to keep them from drying out or to make them unpalatable as a meal.

25-year-old frog, conservancy

Charney, an alum of University School of Nashville and Whippoorwill Farm Day Camp, has left his own set of tracks in his hometown after going to college.

They include a 25-year-old frog named Mongo that he raised and left to his accommodating mother to feed — and the West Meade Conservancy.

"Noah is our John Muir," said Alys Venable, secretary of the West Meade Conservancy.

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Insect tracks & signs

In 2006, Charney, who had been observing changes in the woods over his lifetime, put a brochure together about the ridge-topped, bird-laced forest where wildflowers spread and trees hundreds of years old stand high above the mazelike residential development.

He drew maps and illustrations to show residents the ecological bounty in their backyard that was slowly being eaten away by more and more building.

Next Charney put them in mailboxes on several West Meade streets, with a note asking people who were interested to meet at a circle on Jocelyn Hollow Road. The result has been the conservancy, with about 300 members today, and increasing awareness of a waterfall, an 1800s stone wall and the 800-plus contiguous acres of mature forest.

So far, 65 households have signed up to put protective easements on all or part of their land.

"He drew the community together in a mission to see that the woods remain well beyond our lifetimes," Venable said.

"Then he rode off into the graduate school sunset, from which he maintains the WMC's website, which he created, and continues to come up with good ideas — such as a box turtle study.

"He's something special, and he's ours."

Interest is widespread

Charney and Eiseman are attracting proprietary interest from across the nation with the book published this year.

"I'm reminded of the passage in Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, where she talks about the first people to have cataract surgeries, and who suddenly, after a lifetime of darkness, had their eyes opened to a world of light and color," John Callender, a California nature enthusiast, wrote on the pair's website.

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"That's how I felt when paging through your book. Thank you for creating such a beautiful rosetta stone for unlocking the mysteries of the natural world."

The insects themselves generally aren't seen in the tome — just their signatures. Photos include grass spider webs shaped like funnels, the dark minuscule droppings of an inchworm, snail teeth tracks in algae on a picnic table and even Charney's ankles riddled with the red bite marks of immature lone star seed ticks.

Between them, the authors have completed plant and wildlife surveys for various state agencies and done field research on amphibians, mammals and birds. Charney snared a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and now a Switzer Environmental Fellowship as he completes a doctorate on salamander ecology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

When it comes to their book, the two want humans to get to know insects better, maybe let up on the fear and chemical pesticides.

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Insect tracks & signs

The inscription at the beginning says it all:

"To the creatures we accidentally harmed in the making of this book: Our intention was never to harm you, but to better understand you, to share your stories with our readers, and thereby win you respect.

"We hope this changes the way we humans interact with you, and ultimately benefits your lineages."

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Noah Charney, pictured, has written a book with Charley Eiseman called Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates, which explores the world of nature's tiny creatures. (WARREN DUZAK)

A spicebush swallowtail caterpillar folds a leaf around it. (Noah Charney)

Stink bug eggs have tops that pop off for them to hatch. (Noah Charney)

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