Springfield Plateau

Winter Tree Identification

2012-01-29T07:00:00.000-08:00

Virginia Tech

As Francis Skalicky wrote in the Thursday News-Leader article, identifying trees in the winter can be a challenge. I set out this year to learn to identify bark, which is possible on many big mature trees, but the saplings and small trees remain a challenge. Dr. Michelle Bowe, a botanist from Missouri State University gave us a great session on winter twig identification at the Missouri Native Plant Society meeting this week.*

To many of us, even the names of twig structures are new. The US Forest Service drawing will help. A basic description is at this Virginia Tech site. Once you look carefully at a few twigs, you will be amazed at the differences you can find in buds and scars.

US Forest Service-TAMU

There are a couple of ways you can approach this subject.

The Springfield Conservation Nature Center’s “Nature Journaling – Winter Tree Identification” program will be held from 10 a.m. to noon this Saturday. Participants should dress for a short time outdoors. To register for this program or to find out about other Nature Center events, call 417-888-4237.
There is a good key to get you started at VTree ID Twig Key. A list of twig characteristics is available at this MDC link. These will help with common native trees but to learn more including the smaller trees you will need a good resource such as Frances Main's Fifty Common Trees of Missouri, available at some MDC offices.

* Dr. Bowe will be presenting twig ID at the January 2013 Master Naturalist meeting.

An Ode to Caterpillars

2012-01-26T06:50:00.000-08:00

Red Spotted Purple caterpillar

As a cold morning melts into the sunny 40's, a walk in the woods, albeit with a chainsaw, reminds us that spring will eventually be here with the reawakening of the insects that are in hiding. As a further reminder, Kevin Firth of Friends of the Garden sent me an Ode to Caterpillars.

This NPR Living on Earth interview with Dave Wagner mentions several critical roles that caterpillars play in addition to their final stage as a butterfly or moth that provides beauty to our world and pollination of our plants. By laying hundreds of eggs, lepidoptera are preparing a smorgasbord. These eggs and the resultant caterpillars are an important food source for many birds, bats, and other animals.

Less obvious is the caterpillar's indirect contribution to medicine. As Wagner explains:

"There’s another important role that caterpillars have played. Because plants can’t run away from caterpillars, they’ve evolved a battery of chemicals to protect themselves. Wagner says these secondary chemicals are the basis for drugs and medicines—like opium in poppies and salicylic acid in willows that’s used in aspirin."

It won't be long before we will start to see caterpillars emerge. When you see the first one, you might want to tell it "thanks".

Grading Our Streams

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ozarks Water Watch's newsletter this week features an article, How's The Water?, that shows the grades of our streams draining into the White River system. Just like school there are some bright spots and some failures.

One of the most asked questions at local water meetings is "what happens to our stream team data?" This is frustrating to many who diligently wade the streams and kick gravel into nets to capture the macroinvertebrates to be counted but never get to see the big picture.

Click to Enlarge

Past reports have been based on data from MSU, University of Arkansas, and the US Geological Survey. Ozarks Water Watch is going to be incorporating more data from the extensive stream team network in the future.

The scorecard to the left is just an overview of the data. Click on it to see how your favorite stream rates. There are several detailed papers describing the process and results which are available through links in the How's The Water? article.

If you haven't had a chance to kick gravel and count critters, now would be a good time to visit the Missouri Stream Team web page and see how you can get involved. There is a nearby stream awaiting your visit.

Eagles

2012-01-21T07:19:00.000-08:00

Bald Eagle- MDC Gallery

We are all aware of the decline in eagle populations in the mid-century and the dramatic recovery of our American emblem. I usually think of their return from near extinction as a product of the banning of DDT which was used to poison many animals in the food chain. Eagles accumulated DDT predominately from eating carrion of poisoned animals, and the toxin weakened their egg shells. Francis Skalicky reminds us in Thursday's News-Leader story that humans had an even more direct hand in the threat to eagles in the first half of the century.

"The eagle is a curse to the rest of the animal kingdom and the sooner it is exterminated, the better off the game will be." -Valdez Miner newspaper, Alaska, 1920

From 1913 through 1953 Alaska actually had a bounty on eagles which some thought were destroying the salmon fishing industry. In a two year period alone they paid bounties on 27,843 eagles. Subsequent studies showed eagles had little effect on salmon fishing.

Meanwhile, in western states they were blamed for the deaths of young lambs. Their main diet is fish and carrion and being found eating a dead lamb was considered evidence of their guilt. Seven hundred dead bald eagles were found on a Wyoming sheep ranch, the victims of poison and shooting from a helicopter. It is now well accepted that they don't significantly prey on lambs.

We have come a long way in conserving wildlife since then, although local debates still occur over restoration of predators such as wolf and otter. At least we are now having the conversations.

The Birth of Missouri Conservation

2012-01-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

I came across an interesting video on conservation in Missouri. In 1950, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) produced a film which described the birth of the Department. It has the nostalgia of the old newsreels with dramatic music and stilted camera shots of events. I expected to see a Superman serial to start up at any moment.

Missouri's good old days had some bad old moments. Like much of the United States, the early twentieth century in Missouri was a time of growth. Much of the forests had been cut to supply lumber for the expanding railroads and the booming Midwest population. The deforested hills were plowed for crops, creating erosion. Deer, turkey and bass populations were depleted due to uncontrolled hunting and fishing.

These unintended consequences of growth led to the creation of the Missouri Conservation Commission which evolved into the Missouri Department of Conservation. Now MDC has posted the film as an 18 minute Youtube video. Butter up the popcorn and turn it on.

New Bee Insecticide Risk

2012-01-19T05:52:00.000-08:00

European Honey Bee- Wikimedia

New research reported at purdue.edu describes yet another risk to honey bees as well as possibly other insect pollinators. Bees found dead in the vicinity of hives in Indiana showed the presence of neonicotinoid insecticides.

The investigation by scientists at Purdue University began with reports of bee deaths during planting season in hives near the fields. Screening the bees for pesticides, they found neonicotinoid insecticide present in all the affected bees. Other bees in the hives were suffering from tremors and convulsions, typical effects of these pesticides.

Neonicotinoid insecticide is coated on all the corn seeds and about half of the soybean seeds planted in the vicinity. The compound remains in the soil for years, protecting the roots but also taken up by the plant. Small amounts in the pollen can be picked up by bees and other pollinators without immediate toxic effects.

Unfortunately the coated seeds are sticky so talc is added to them to keep the seeds flowing smoothly in the planters. The talc picks up the insecticide in concentrations up to 700,000 times the lethal dose for a bee. The light talc particles are easily spread by wind during planting and equipment cleaning, coating the plant surfaces visited by foraging bees who take it back to the hive.

The immediate answer would be to avoid the use of talc to reduce the lethal levels. The long term effects of low dose exposure from plants transporting it from the seed to flowers and pollen are currently unknown. In a world facing the need to increase food production to feed the growing population, we are likely to hear of more problems like this in the future.

Hibernating Bear Cubs

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Measuring Baby Bear- RMR

We have reported on the Missouri Department of Conservation's bear tagging study several times. This report from Canada is both amusing and full of "ahhhh" moments usually reserved for seeing your first grand baby. They set about locating collared bears, measuring them and their cubs and changing their collar batteries. Without any internet hot spots, presumably the collars only send signals. I promise you will enjoy this cold but heart warming video.

It doesn't get cold enough for long enough for Missouri bears to enter hibernation. They spend the winter like a lot of us senior citizens- waking up at night and going for a snack or a bathroom break. Since MDC hasn't found anyone willing to change the battery of an awake bear, the bear collar lasts one year and then automatically drops off where it can be located and retrieved. More on the Missouri studies by Mississippi State is at fwrc.msstate.edu.

And for the same Canadian commentator's view on carbon emissions, try this site.

Albino Hummingbirds

2012-01-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

Albino Hummingbird- Marlin Shank

Its not often that I find a great nature story on Snopes.com. Photographer Joe Motto sent me an email that I just had to check out. A fifteen year old photographer named Marlin Shank took a series of dramatic pictures of an oxymoron, an all white ruby-throated hummingbird. He was billed as "fortunate" but it really was also good planning as described in detail at Snopes.

"They read a post on a birder mailing list indicating that an albino hummingbird was regularly visiting feeders in the backyard of a home about thirty miles away from their area. Kevin and his sons made the drive out, set up their cameras and waited for the opportunity."

Albinism is a rare visual treat for us in any animal. It likely increases the risk to the creature, whether by losing protective coloration from predators or loss of visual acuity by absence of filtering iris pigments. Also coloration is an important factor in attracting a mate, so they are probably less likely to pass this gene on.

What resulted was a beautiful set of pictures of an albino hummingbird which either was aware of its beauty or simply hungry. Which ever, it is a chance to lean back and enjoy this beautiful anomaly of nature. The whole picture set is at this web site.

2012-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Snake strangling falcon- Utahbirds.org

It didn't happen in Missouri but it could have. Charlie Burwick shared this story of a falcon and snake battle with me. It occurred appropriately enough on the Lower Snake River. The moral of the story is that the predator doesn't always win. See this posting from utahbirds.org.

It has a happy ending for both although the dazed falcon was still hungry.

Good Prairie Fires

2012-01-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

Linda Ellis- News-Leader

An article in today's News-Leader* describes a prescribed fire conducted by the Ozarks Regional Land Trust on Chesapeake Prairie. The charred ground exposes remnants of prairie plants that would otherwise be smothered by brush and invasive species within a few years. The article pictures our own Master Naturalist Linda Ellis checking out the winter remnants on an adjacent unburned prairie patch. She found seed pods of rattlesnake master, spurge and other prairie species.


Rattlesnake Master - Wikimedia

Prairies dominated much of the Southwestern Missouri landscape prior to the arrival of European settlers. Native Americans set fire to the prairies to stimulate new grass growth and suppress the growth of shrubs and trees which complicated hunting. Now we use prescribed fire to maintain those precious patches of prairie that remain. Francis Skalicky describes the use of prescribed fire at greater lengths in an accompanying News-Leader article.

The arrival of the plow, followed by cattle raising and the monoculture of fescue replaced most of these native prairies and their unique species. A few unplowed remnants of prairies remain and organizations such as the Missouri Prairie Foundation and the Ozark Regional Land Trust are dedicated to preserving them. Both sites have information on how you can help.

Pink round headed katydid

I think of these precious patches as a combination park and zoo, preserved for future generations to appreciate. With January snow on the ground, it is a good time to make a resolution to take a summer prairie stroll.** Prairie maps and locations are at this Missouri Prairie foundation site. You may be rewarded by species that you aren't likely to see elsewhere like rattlesnake master and even pink katydids.

More on rattlesnake master at Wikipedia.
* Picture and story by Mike Penprase, Springfield News-Leader.
** Tours of Woods Prairie are available- contact ORLT at 314-401-6218.

Winter Reflection

2012-01-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

A snowy day contribution from Jennifer Ailor*

Photo by Jennifer Ailor - Click to enlarge

A Winter’s Walk in the Dark
The white-ribboned track snakes through the black bones of the woods.
Ice pellets fall from the dark,
Pressing cold night to ping on the frozen earth.
My boots crunch through the crust.
My breath clouds the cold.
The track rounds a bend, and now a soft glow
Lights the sleet, warms the night,
Promises refuge from the storm.

--Jennifer Ailor, February 3, 2009, walking from the barn down the lane to the house.

* Jennifer is President of Springfield Master Naturalists

Man Made Earthquakes

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

San Andreas fault- Wikimedia

The recent concern about the potential of inducing earthquakes by fracking (hydraulic fracturing in the mining of natural gas) shouldn't come as a surprise. A story on npr.org explains that earthquakes have been tied to human activities for years.

According to Wikipedia, "Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests." These even have their own name, induced seismicity.

Most of these induced seismic events are relatively small. A major exception comes from the creation of large reservoirs with dams in excess of 300 feet tall. The mass of water where there was none before is compounded by water which is forced into rock fissures, essentially lubricating the fault so it slides easier.

The 6.3 magnitude Koynangar earthquake in India killed 180 people. The epicenter, fore and aftershocks all were located around the Koyna Dam reservoir. Another example is the seismic shocks recorded during the initial water filling behind the Vajont Dam in Italy in 1963. A subsequent landslide almost filled the reservoir and massive flooding caused around 2000 deaths. After the reservoir was drained, the seismic activity essentially quit.

Although both the extraction of fossil fuel and hydraulic fracturing on natural gas wells have triggered earthquakes, the scale has been small thus far. The experience with dams has taught us the importance of geologic studies to assess the risk.

The USGS Earthquake Hazards page has up to date information on earthquakes around the US. You can even get real-time earthquake reports by iGoogle and Twitter. These reports may not match your average tweets from Charlie Sheen but they will be more earthshaking.

Bee Parasite and Colony Collapse

2012-01-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

European honey bee- Wikimedia

As if honey bees didn't have enough problems with Colony Collapse Disorder, a story on NPR discusses a newly discovered parasitic challenge they face.

The European honey bee, Apis mellifera, was brought to the Western Hemisphere shortly after Columbus arrived. It spread slowly across the continent and Native Americans viewed its arrival as an indicator that European settlers were about to appear on their land.

Until recently the honey bee had few parasites, possibly because they didn't bring their familiar coevolved species with them to the new continent. Studies at San Francisco State University have shown recent parasitism by a phlorid fly, Apocephalus borealis, which previously was only known to infect bumblebees.

The eggs and larvae in the bee's body apparently changes its behavior dramatically. By some mechanism, the fly alters the bee's circadian rhythm or its sensitivity to light. Affected bees abandon their hives at night and tend to congregate around street lights, usually dying the next day. This behavior could be a direct effect of the fly larva or possibly the expulsion of sick bees to protect the health of the hive.

Adult phlorid flies carry pathogens as well and their role in spreading them into hives is unknown. The full study at PLOS covers many of the implications and the unanswered questions, as well as other examples of parasite induced behaviors.

In the News

2012-01-06T15:14:00.000-08:00

There were two news items recently that touched on past blog stories that are worth repeating.

Ozark Hellbender- Jeff Briggler, MDC

NPR carried the story of efforts by the St. Louis Zoo to propagate the endangered Ozark Hellbender by creating a little "love nest" in artificially created flowing water. The hellbender doesn't look like much of a lover, but it is a good daddy. The story explains the process as well as showing pictures.

National coverage of the snowy owl irruption in the Ozarks quotes Charley Burwick and Janice Greene as well as presenting some nice graphic information on the Owl. It also covers the Audubon Society's 112th annual Christmas Bird Count which included ten of our chapter's Master Naturalists.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/01/04/134820/audubon-watchers-find-snowy-owls.html#storylink=cpy

See mcclatchydc.com.

Parapatry for Beginners

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Black-capped Chickadee MDC

Some years ago on Bull Creek, I made the mistake of identifying a Black-capped Chickadee to a group on an Audubon (GOAS) field trip and heard a resounding chorus of "They don't occur here- that is a Carolina Chickadee." I was unaware of parapatry, a lesson that was burned into my brain that day.

The appearance of the two species is very similar to most observers. They are hard to identify even with side-by-side pictures, such as those at Tricky Bird IDs: Black-capped Chickadee and Carolina Chickadee, a site which has a good description of their differences including songs, drawings and photos.

A defining characteristic of a true member of the GOAS is apparently knowing that Carolina Chickadees are in our region while Black-capped Chickadees occur just a little further north. There is only a very narrow overlap zone between the populations where both may be found. As described by an MDC site:

"Black-capped: generally northern Missouri, occasionally moving southward in winter. Carolina: generally southern Missouri and seldom wander north of their range. Where the ranges overlap, the birds sometimes hybridize and sing intermediate songs."

Map from Birdsource

So to add further confusion, hybridization occurs in the overlap zone, making it even more difficult to separate the two species. As if this weren't complicated enough, the overlap zone is creeping northward in recent years as climate change moves the average warm temperatures to the north.

Back to parapatry in the title. Parapatry describes when two similar species ranges meet with little or no overlap. A study in Eurekalert.org. describes the range of two closely related millipede species in Tasmania, Australia. The mixing zone where they meet is 140 miles long but only 100 meters wide. You might expect some geographical or environmental features to define this territory, but there are none.

In a world in which we humans create, and fight over, artificial boundaries, these millipedes have apparently peacefully established their distinct boundaries just like our chickadees.

Woodpecker Headaches

2012-01-01T07:15:00.000-08:00

Red-Bellied Woodpecker- MDC

Ever wonder how a woodpecker can put in 1,000 pecks a day and still not go home with a headache that night? Francis Skalicky has the answer in his Thursday's News-Leader column.

Our brains are suspended in fluid within the skull. If we were to hammer our head against a tree, the sudden stop of the head cause the brain's forward momentum to bang it against the inside of the skull. This is the mechanism of football player's concussions.

Woodpeckers avoid this because their brains fit tightly inside the skull with no room to slosh around. Their brains are small without a lot of mass to build up momentum and their skull is made of somewhat spongy bone which helps cushion the blow. Finally, they tense their mandible muscles just as they strike, letting the body absorb much of the shock.

Another adaptation which is fascinating is their tongue. Hiltonpond.org has pictures showing the barbs at the end of the tongue and a red-bellied woodpecker's fully extended tongue which is three times as long as its beak. If we had the same tongue to head ratio, our tongue would be 2 feet long! The barbs allow them to extract beetle larvae and other prey from deep inside the tree. You could say that woodpeckers speak with forked tongue, a positive attribute in the bird world.

Mining Fracking Sand

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

Frack Sand Mining- Ozark Waters

By now, everyone is familiar with hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas extraction, a.k.a. "fracking." The environmental concerns about effects of the process on our aquifers were outlined in last year's blog. The first report of possible ground water contamination was released by the EPA on December 8, 2011. Unfortunately, that isn't the only possible side effect of fracking.

Even areas of Missouri which are spared the concerns or potential wealth of fracking may be facing environmental side effects of mining the special sand which is used in the process. David Casaletto has outlined the concerns in the current issue of the .

Without becoming an alarmist, there are some real potential problems that should be considered before major mining takes place in environmentally sensitive areas (meaning around water, land and wildlife). David's article explains this fully and can't be summarized any better than he has done. Click on Ozarks Water Watch newsletter for a quick review.

An Irruption of Owls

2011-12-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

This story from Charley Burwick of GOAS* and Master Naturalists fame.

Click to enlarge- Greg Swick, GOAS

“Irruption,” yech! - sounds like something you would hear from your doctor. However, in the birder’s world that is a word that really grabs attention. An irruption, in the avian world, specifically means some bird, or group of bird species from the tundra, or northern boreal forest moving much farther south than the norm during the winter months. While it includes many songbird species, the one that really grabs our attention and excitement is when raptors, and more to the point owls, are the ones coming far into the lower 48 states.

A few years ago, the Great Gray Owls, and Northern Hawk Owls came flowing south into the lower 48 northern tier of states. Both of these species can be seen in Minnesota from time to time, but this particular year, they were down in huge numbers. The numbers were much, much higher than ever recorded, or noted in history. On a visit to Minnesota during this event, my friends and I saw a few of the Hawk Owls (hence my license plate HWK-OWL), and on one day spotted over 70 Great Gray Owls. Because these birds are not typically around humans, they have no fear of us. You can stand within just a few yards of them, and they pretty much ignore you. We observed one, just a few feet from us, fly from a stump, and dive into the deep snow, and come up with a rodent to eat. What an exhilarating experience.

What caused this irruption? It is believed there had been an explosive number in the population of rodents, and consequently, a very successful fledging rate of Great Gray Owls. The sad part of this event is that many of the Great Gray Owls, which were mostly immature birds, starved, and a significant number ended up being road kill. Once again, not being around metal animals, they would just sit in the middle of a road, and watch a vehicle as it would run them over. In response, special teams organized to catch and relocate the birds. To what level of success, we don’t know.

Now, this year, we are experiencing another irruption of owls. Only this year the species is the Snowy Owl. It is not unusual for a Snowy Owl or two, to show up in the very northern counties of Missouri during the winter months. One may stick around in one area long enough for one of us crazy people to make a run to the north to spot one. I have been so fortunate twice in past years. However, this year, we are experiencing, once again, an irruption of numbers of a historical magnitude. At first, two, and then three Snowy Owls were hanging around Smithville Lake, just north of Kansas City. I had to make the run to see this owl species once again. They really are a magnificent bird to see, and it is not just the same as viewing them on TV, or a picture on a calendar. Fortunately, my friends and I spotted three that cool morning. Remarkable- I never, in my wildest dreams, ever expected to see three Snowy Owls in one morning within a mile of each other in our state.

The story for this year is not over yet. Just this past week, five Snowy Owls were spotted around Smithville Lake and another one was spotted in Columbia, next to a Holiday Inn, along I 70. On at least two Christmas Bird Counts, a Snowy Owl was noted on the counts, including one at the Squaw Creek refuge, northwest of St. Joseph. Yet, the numbers are still going up, as at least another 6-8 have been noted across other northern counties in the state this past week. Several have been reported in Kansas, from Topeka, to Wichita, and Hutchinson area, and as far south as Oklahoma, northwest of Tulsa.

The next chapter is already being played out. Several Snowy Owls in the state have been reported found dead, thought to be from starvation. And, yes, the metal monster has already harvested a few. As we can note, the numbers are still increasing every day. When will the numbers slow down? Who knows? What has caused this irruption? Right now, who knows? The major tool being used to track this activity is eBird (http://ebird.org/content/ebird), a citizen science reporting system sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and National Audubon Society. Take a look at the eBird web page; learn more about the Snowy Owl, and what is going on during this irruption. eBird is an outstanding tool, not just for Snowy Owls, but all birds, even the ones in your backyard. Watch out, you may get hooked.

*GOAS- Greater Ozarks Audubon Society

Solar Power- Green with Brown Spots?

2011-12-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

70,000 Solar Panels- Click to enlarge

A news release from eurekalert.org reminds us that everything has its price. Even something as "green" as solar power has environmental costs beyond the production of the solar panels themselves.

The pictured field shows 40 acres of unused land on Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada with 70,000 solar panels. With hundreds of thousands of acres of solar fields being considered, we need to have an estimate of the environmental costs. Unfortunately, we don't.

Many of these fields are planned for desert areas where species survival can be fragile. Habitat changes would include fragmentation from power lines and roads, soil disturbance creating excessive dust and evaporation ponds for the collection of toxins. Pollutants such as the necessary dust and rust suppressants could threaten the area. The facilities will generate heat, electromagnetic fields, noise, and polarized light whose cumulative effects on the environment are unknown.

Environmental impact studies will need to be performed before solar fields proliferate. Solar power is definitely renewable, but once again, everything has its environmental price.

Remote Pollution

2011-12-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

from Lund University

There is new evidence of nitrogen pollution that began with the industrial revolution, and it is found in remote lakes. Studies reported from Lund University in Sweden have found increased nitrogen levels occurring since the late 19th century in lakes thousands of miles from cities.

Studies in the USA, Canada, Greenland and Svalbard, Norway show the nitrogen pollution levels started in 1895 and have accelerated in the last sixty years. This correlates with the rise in combustible fuels and increasing artificial fertilizer use across the developed world.

“I have studied lakes on Svalbard, where the effects of the increased nitrogen deposition are clearly visible in the algal flora”, says Sofia Holmgren. She explains that both the species composition and production of diatoms – microscopic siliceous algae – have changed dramatically in the lakes on Svalbard since the start of the 20th century, with the most significant changes over the past decades.

Like acid rain in the past, these remote changes demonstrate the continued planet-wide impact of humans. We act at the local level by educating our neighbors about preserving our clean water supplies. One way is to start with our 5th graders at the Watershed Festivals held by JRBP.

Belly Button Biodiversity

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Bob Ranney

Fellow Master Naturalist Bob Ranney sent me this offering, so I will let him take over from here.

Master Naturalists like to think that we have a pretty good understanding of the environment and the interrelationships of natural life, but you probably have no idea of the complexity of life in your own belly button.

Are you aware? REALLY aware?? Do you want to be?!?!? For those bold enough to go where bacteria have gone before, go to http://www.wildlifeofyourbody.org/.

Editor's Note
In the words of the authors of the Belly Button Biodiversity Project, "Lady Gaga may live the wild life, but she also hosts it." For a head to toe assessment of what's growing on your body (or your spouse/friends/kids/grandparents) go to The top 10 life-forms living on Lady Gaga (and you).

...and remember, this was Bob Ranney's idea!

Caterpillar Mimicry

2011-12-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

Monarch Caterpillar- Wikimedia

New research has found that some caterpillar's coloration mimics the appearance of other toxic caterpillars. Studies done in the Caribbean and the upper Amazon and reported by eurekalert.org found that some caterpillars of the Danaini group (which includes Monarch butterflies) have taken on the pattern of their toxic cousins as a defense against predators. This is a well known defense in butterflies but not commonly recognized in their larval stage.

Many species of butterflies have caterpillars that can ingest toxic chemicals from their larval food plants without harm. These chemicals are incorporated into their bodies and remain in the adult butterflies. A predator that eats one and gets sick won't want to eat another one or anything that looks like it. Many of these butterfly species have distinct bright warning patterns, called aposematic coloration, which advertises their toxicity.

Some butterflies have evolved similar patterns even though they lack the toxicity, and are therefore avoided by predators. This is called Batesian mimicry. Examples include the viceroy butterfly which resembles the toxic monarch. The toxic pipevine swallowtail has several mimics including spicebush and black swallowtails. You can see these examples again when the Friends of the Garden Butterfly House opens this May at the Botanical Center.

Atlatl

2011-12-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Atlatl- MDC

This year Missouri became the second state to allow deer hunting by atlatl. In a return to the past, the first successful deer kill by atlatl in Missouri has just been reported. While not performed by a hunter dressed as the one on the right, the principle was the same.

Tim Smith writes about the atlatl in the MDC Fresh Afield blog. This was the standard weapon used by Missouri hunters from the days of the mastodon until at least 1,000 BC when the bow and arrow first came into use. This new technology became the standard with time, but in truth, the atlatl still had some advantages.

Modern bows using advanced materials and technology have greatly increased the force of the arrow. Modern arrow heads have blades you could shave with, able to penetrate all the way through the deer's chest. Not so with the early bow and arrow.

An atlatl on the other hand can be thrown by one hand. It provides more force by extending the effective length of the hunter's arm. The heavier projectile, called the dart, traveling with greater velocity creates deeper penetration of the point.

You can find the history of the atlatl and its reintroduction to deer hunting in Missouri in the Missourian article and see an atlatl in action in a video from Missourian.
For the atlatl obsessed, see the resources at AtlatlNewsletter.html.

Butterfly Range

2011-12-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Clouded Sulfur

December 12th, fifteen degrees the night before but in mid-afternoon it was a sunny forty degrees. To my surprise there were clouded sulfur butterflies flitting around in the short brown grass, landing on the green spots of chickweed and other winter annuals. The books say that they fly until November but obviously these specimens lack either the books or a calendar. Perhaps they are just glad to be flying without the threat of my net.

Like other animals, butterflies have a temperature range in which they can survive. Having laid their eggs on members of the pea/bean family such as clover, their eggs have hatched by now and their over wintering caterpillars are under cover for the winter. These butterflies are apparently following their biological imperative out of habit, perhaps for one last fling.

Research described by EurekaAlert describes the double jeopardy facing some butterfly species with tolerance to a very narrow range of temperatures. They are threatened by climate change in their native range as well as changes in their habitat. Fragmentation of habitat limits their ability to seek new territory and constricts their gene pool.

Fortunately, our ubiquitous clouded sulfurs are oblivious to both threats and the calendar. With more hard freezes ahead, I just hope their kids are safely tucked in bed for the winter.

Bad Day for Eared Grebes

2011-12-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

Alex Chamberlain, Blue Desert Digital

A news story from ABC4.com describes a crash landing of tens of thousands of Eared Grebes in Cedar City, Utah during a winter snow storm. They escaped a cold sky through the clouds and apparently mistook snow covered surfaces with lights on them, such as parking lots, for lakes and tried to make a water landing.

Thousands were injured or killed on the solid landing and others were stranded in the cold as they require a large water surface to get airborne again.

Apparently, the birds can not survive the cold or land on frozen water and came down en masse to find shelter from the storm that hit Cedar City. An estimated 15,000 grebes died but the community was able to save 3,500 by transporting them to nearby open water.

We can do little to prevent these situations but as we move into nature and remove some natural food sources, it serves as a reminder that it is time to refill the bird feeders.

Note from Charley Burwick:
We hear about this type of wet surface crash landing at night during ran storms fairly often. A few years ago we had shorebirds that crashed on several Springfield streets at night during a rain storm. One of the birds was a species we typically only spot at our large waterfowl refuges. Interesting stuff.

Pictures are at abc4.com/Photo.
Thanks to Katie Gerecht for the lead.

Gaura

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Long-tongued bee- Wikime

Linda Ellis sent me an interesting article on Gaura (Gaura longifolia), also known as bee-blossom. It is a native member of the evening primrose family and grows on prairies, glades, fallow fields and disturbed soil. Its pollinators are particularly interesting, including a few hawk moths as well as long-tongued bees which I didn't know existed.

Long-tongued bees include bumblebees and some species have tongues over a half an inch long. National Geographic described some species that even collect different fragrances from flowers, concocting their own fragrance which stimulates any males within sniffing distance.

by Linda Ellis

Some flowers have their pollen and nectar deep inside where it can't be reached by the typical butterfly. Hummingbirds and hawk moths that are capable of hovering flight take advantage of this food source without having to stand in line with the usual pollinators.

Linda's article with some of her beautiful photography as seen on the right can be found at this link.

Hellbender on Survival

2011-12-11T08:10:00.000-08:00

Bouncing Baby Hellbender- St. Louis Zoo

For those who don't have access to this Springfield News-Leader article, here is some good news about a threatened Ozark species. The St. Louis Zoo, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation, has successfully bred an Ozark Hellbender in captivity for the first time. The event occurred on November 15 and since then there have been 62 more births and there are 120 eggs to go. National Geographic has more information on the breeding facility.

This endangered species occurs in only these few counties in Missouri and Arkansas. Ozark Hellbenders have a long lifespan but a very low reproductive rate. Currently less than 590 individuals are estimated to be living in the wild.

Ozark Hellbender- Jeff Briggler

According to a report by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the reasons for extinction concerns are multiple. They require clear water in fast moving streams and have suffered from pollution and silting in of their native streams and the increased damming of rivers in recent decades.

Their biggest threat is a chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which has been found in all the wild Missouri populations. Probably brought here from the importation of African clawed frogs, it is causing disease in many amphibian populations. It can be spread by the feathers of birds and by bullfrogs which carry it but are relatively immune to its effects. It has been the cause of 75% of deaths in the St. Louis Zoo’s captive population of Ozark Hellbenders.

More information on the endangered Ozark Hellbender and its more common Eastern Hellbender cousin is at Wikipedia.
Update: January 2012 on NPR.

Fall is Falling

2011-12-09T05:49:00.000-08:00

Snow Geese with 2 blue morphs-Wikimedia

With the falling temperatures and overcast weather of late, it is hard to remember that it is still officially fall until December 21. The bare trees and a light snow add to the winter illusion. Leave it to the birds to keep the seasons straight.

This past week there were faint sounds* over Bull Creek. Looking up into the cold grey skies there were tiny spots almost too small to see initially, large V and U formations of geese headed in a east-southeast direction.

Greg Swick from Audubon (GOAS)*** tells me that these were snow geese and there have been flights of 7,000 to 40,000 per day for nearly the whole week. "They have intensely overpopulated and have taken over and destroyed nesting habitat for many species of concern in the tundra. Still there is something strikingly beautiful about seeing them."

The snow goose, also known as blue goose**, declined in numbers until hunting was stopped in 1916. Hunting was allowed again in 1975 and the populations have increased dramatically in spite of it. They now have created habitat destruction at both ends of their range. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service:

"In the northern breeding grounds, snow geese are 'grubbing' the soil to dig up high-energy roots and tubers. Plant regrowth is extremely slow in the tundra climate. Without plants to cover the soil, salts in the subsoil begin to accumulate on the surface, creating a saline environment hostile to desirable plants.
Within the Rainwater Basin, snow geese are aggressively competing for limited water available and waste grain in crop fields. Snow geese are known carriers of avian cholera. This fatal disease occurs annually in the Rainwater Basin when birds become concentrated on areas with poor water quality and quantity."

This damage not only affects the tundra but harms the snow geese and other bird species that live there in season. After returning south, snow geese feeding on natural vegetation create more damage. Like human excesses, nature can suffer from too much of a good thing.

* This sound can be heard by turning your speakers way down and clicking on this sound.

** There is a snow goose genetic variant called the blue goose. It occurs from the mating of a goose with a single dominant gene and one with a homozygous recessive gene. Offspring may be either color. See Wikipedia
***Greater Ozarks Audubon Society (GOAS) has an informative website above and meets at 6:30 PM the third Thursday each month at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center

Bison Purity

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Bison at Prairie State Park, MDC

When humans first arrived in North America, bison roamed much of what is now the United States, upwards of sixty million of them by some estimates. By the end of the nineteenth century there were only around 400. This was a result of hunting pressures to feed settlers and the building of the railroads and the value attached to their hides and eventually even their bones.

Conservation efforts since the turn of the century have restored herds into some of their native range as well as some bison being raised on farms and ranches. DNA studies now show that few of the restored bison herds are "pure." Over the last 200 years, most bison mated with a cow along the way. Bison have their needs, you know, and cattle were much more available.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal* (of all places!) called attention to the fact that the herds of bison are being culled of members which show the contamination of their genes with cattle genes. Those impure bison are sold to become steaks and burgers in an attempt to promulgate pure bison. With improving DNA techniques however, we may well find that there is a little bit of cow in every bison.

The quest for pure bison stock has led to a great deal of tail pulling. After a calf is put in a restraining pen, special pliers are used to grab a bunch of tail hairs to study its DNA. Since their hairs are firmly attached, this startles (to put it mildly) the 300 pound calf and puts the puller at risk from the pullee. Rapid extraction and retreating is the preferred technique as "the bison will start pooping and their tail acts as a manure spreader."

So the decision of what to do with the impure herds remains. A purist would eliminate any "genetically tainted" members of the herd. Another school of thought voiced by ecologist Rurik List is that "If they look like a bison, behave like a bison and live in the historical range, let's keep them."

The problem with this search for purity is that the gene pool is being drastically diminished by killing and eating bison with miniscule amounts of cattle DNA. The smaller the pool of animals left to interbreed, the less protection there is from disease and genetic errors along the way.

What if advanced DNA techniques show that there are no "pure" strains left? Somewhere we have to draw a line between the ideal and the practical. Sometimes perfect becomes the enemy of good.

* Wondering If That's A Genuine Bison? Try Pulling Its Tail, Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2011.

The Mighty Opossum

2011-12-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

Opossum- MDC Photograph

Opossums seem to me to be the Rodney Dangerfields of Missouri mammals- they don't get no respect. When I read this story at wildmammal.com they went up in my opinion. Would you believe that this hissing marsupial, whose main defense is to play dead, eats venomous snakes and has some immunity to their toxins? Snake venom contains multiple toxins including proteins that block blood coagulation, causing their victims to bleed to death internally.

According to MDC, our common opossum, Didelphis virginiana, is an omnivore which eats insects, reptiles, frogs, crayfish, bird eggs and earthworms as well as browsing garbage cans. Oh, and apparently, the odd rattlesnake and copperhead. They have co-evolved with these pit vipers and thus developed a defense against their venom. It has previously been thought that snake venom evolved just as a tool to capture prey, but it also seems to be a defensive mechanism against predators.

A key clotting factor is called von Willebrand's factor and our opossum is one of a few related species that has a gene that has rapidly evolved to affect it, further blocking the effect of the toxin. Studies indicate that it is undergoing much more rapid selection than usual. To quote Robert Voss, Curator of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History, "We've known for years that the venom genes evolve rapidly in snakes, but the partner in this arms race was unknown until now. Opossums eat snakes because they can." This means that the snakes are prey rather than predator in this circumstance.

The full study with further details is at plosone.org and information on the opossum antivenom is at this site.

Fragile Earth

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Earth is alive- full of change minute by minute. We tend to think of this globe as ours to use, and in truth we are becoming more responsible for its changes every year. Ten thousand years ago humans had little impact on this sphere floating around in an infinite universe. Not so any more.

I would suggest that you watch this beautiful video and think about the next thousand years, .... or even the next ten.

When Wild Comes Home

2011-11-29T18:29:00.000-08:00

Lonely Fawn

Does the Call of the Wild get a little too close to your urban home at times? Maybe a skunk under the porch or a spindly-legged fawn in your back yard. Here is a new service which you may want to jot down for future reference.

From the Missouri Department of Conservation
The Bi-State Wildlife Hotline is now officially available for callers in Missouri and Illinois. This free service is available for police, animal control, conservation centers, nature centers, animal rescues, public health departments, etc. to refer wildlife conflict calls to, effective October 1, 2011. Citizens calling in regards to any species of wild animal in need can call the hotline to get information, assistance, and local contact information to address their specific concern and circumstances. Citizens can reach the hotline via telephone at (636) 492–1610 or online at www.wildlifehotline.com The hotline is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

The Wildlife Hotline was put together by a group of wildlife rehabilitators in the Missouri and Illinois area to offer citizens free advice and assistance with wildlife conflicts. When citizens call the hotline they will be connected with a wildlife specialist who is available to answer their questions, or refer the citizen to someone who can. Our specialists are volunteers who either are working for a wildlife rehabilitation center currently, or have in the past, and have been educated and certified by the NWRA or IWRC as rehabilitators. We have specialists that are located in Missouri and Illinois, from many different counties, and who are knowledgeable with mammals, birds of prey, songbirds, reptiles, waterfowl and all domestic animals vs. wildlife conflicts.

The Bi-State Wildlife Hotline (636) 492–1610 was created to address a variety of wildlife issues:
· Wildlife Conflicts – property damage, evicting wildlife, nuisance wildlife, coexistence issues.
· Orphan Wildlife – breeding seasons, reproductive educational information, reunite strategies to get babies back to mom.
· Rehabilitation Referrals – referring ‘finders’ to the proper, licensed rehabilitator for truly injured or orphaned animals, dispatch services for true wildlife emergencies.
· Educational support to inform callers of the legalities of keeping wildlife as ‘pets’ and improper rehabilitation, legalities of trapping, releasing, and controlling nuisance wildlife, and offering humane alternatives.
· Sick animal reporting – Distemper raccoons, possible rabid reports, down deer in road, etc.
· Rapid Response Services – skunk stuck in dumpster drain pipe, bird stuck in storefront ceiling, fox stuck in culvert grate, rescuing distressed wildlife in emergent need of help

Currently, the majority of wildlife calls are referred to conservation departments, animal control, humane societies, and sometimes even police and fire departments. These entities are often times undermanned, or unable to field such calls in the peak seasons. Many animal rescue organizations feel frustrated that they cannot assist callers with wildlife issues, especially when an animal is suffering and the caller is desperately trying to find help. Our hope is to offload these calls from these places and offer a knowledgeable wildlife specialist to assist in these matters. Over time, citizens will learn that it is inappropriate to call places like 911 or the fire department for an issue with a wildlife issue. Please feel free to refer those callers to the Wildlife Hotline at (636) 492-1610 or our website at www.wildlifehotline.com

As rehabilitators, past and present, we know all too well that many wildlife orphans can be avoided if ‘finders’ attempt to reunite babies with their natural mothers quickly and correctly. Often times, wildlife rehabilitation centers are closed in the early morning or late evening and cannot offer citizens assistance with this at the time that it is needed. The hotline’s purpose is to fill that needed gap, and in turn cut down on the numbers of orphans that need to be rehabilitated each year.

For instance, eastern cottontail rabbits are very small and very young when their mother leaves them and moves on to have another litter. Citizens often feel the need to intervene with these small, adorable juvenile rabbits. In reality, these animals need to be left alone in order to develop the skills they will need later in life to survive. Sometimes callers find a nest of rabbits in their yard and they move the nest to another location so they can do yard work or let their pets out in the yard, etc. Mother rabbits will never find that nest of babies again, as they have no scent, and no tracking abilities to return to their nest. The Wildlife Hotline would instruct those callers to use an upside down wheelbarrow on top of the nest so that family pets cannot get to it, but mother rabbits can. When callers realize the fate of those rabbits if the nest is moved, oftentimes they are very willing to accommodate however they can especially when they find out that the babies will only be there two weeks at maximum.

We also take calls regarding conflicts with wildlife; e.g. skunks/moles/groundhogs digging up gardens and yards, opossums living under porches, raccoons living in the attic and chimney, squirrels destroying property and nesting in gutters and eaves. We have different solutions for each of these issues, and we offer humane solutions as an alternative to pest control. Often, citizens cannot afford pest control services, or they do not wish to harm the animals. If necessary, as a last resort, we can refer the caller to the proper wildlife rehabilitation center to get assistance for the animal, if injured or truly orphaned. The hotline can assist callers in reaching the proper people to pick up and dispose of sick animals, as is the case with distemper raccoons and foxes, and possibly rabid animals. Animal Control agencies usually will not take these calls, or assist in these cases, so it has fallen on the rehabilitation people in many areas to handle these calls, though it depends on the county involved. Bite cases still must be reported to the proper animal control departments, which we can assist callers in finding contact information for. Note: The hotline will be instructing callers to seek medical attention for bite incidents, and file a bite report with their county’s animal control department regardless of the risk category.

In addition, we offer referral contact information for callers to get in touch with the right center for their needs. For instance, many rehabilitation centers do not take in deer, so if a caller is truly in need of fawn rehabilitation, we can refer them to the proper place with the correct permit to accept the species in question. Many times, the caller is not in need of rehabilitation services, they simply need to be educated to understand why there is a fawn under their porch all day. Our joy comes from having the caller wait and watch as Mom comes back to get their fawn at the end of day, knowing that without our assistance, that fawn may have been transported to a rehab center and essentially stolen from her mother.

Our hope is that through this free, public service, citizens will learn how to peacefully coexist with the nature that surrounds us all. We can only achieve this through education, and this service intends to reach that goal, while providing the public with a one-stop solution for all wildlife issues, big and small.

If you would like more information on this topic, or need to contact Angel Wintrode, please call (636) 233–0289 or email ang...@wildlifehotline.com

Anthropocene

2011-11-27T08:33:00.000-08:00


Timeline from The Economist-Click to enlarge

The daily news provides lots of stories highlighting the changes that we humans are making on the planet we inherited. Many of our actions are having adverse impacts on other species, our water resources, and the fertility of the soil.

Some ecologists have proposed a new name for our age, the Anthropocene, which highlights the dramatic changes we have made in the ecology of the planet in our short time of dominance. There is a lot of discussion about whether this era began with the Industrial Revolution's dramatic increase in the use of carbon based fuels or even earlier with the hunting pressures and increasing use of fire over the last 10,000 years. Certainly this relates to the Sixth Extinction which we are experiencing.

There are opposing opinions regarding whether these changes warrant naming of a formal unit of geological time to follow or replace the Holocene (meaning "entirely recent") which labels the last 10,000 years. Anthropocene (Greek, anthropo- meaning "human" and -cene meaning "new.") moves the emphasis to an era of human influence.

Earlier this year, the Economist.com reproduced an excellent article from their magazine which reviews some of the evidence. Why should we care about this pedantic topic? Because we need to weigh the changes we are making in our environment and the potential risks to future generations. Whether you accept it or not, it pays to understand the ramifications of the "new human" era.

Early Pollution

2011-11-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

Rio Tinto- "Wine-colored River"

Faced with a constant barrage of stories about EPA, fracking, oil pipelines and salmon swimming upstream against human impact, it is easy to think that pollution is a modern phenomenon. There is strong evidence of worldwide "industrial" pollution with sulfide and heavy metals extending back 4,800 years.

Barry Yeoman's article The Mines that Built Empires* is a fascinating look at the history of the Rio Tinto mines in Spain. Mining began in the copper age, dated by a 5,000 year old hammer head, used to extract copper ores such as malichite and azurite. Subsequently the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans maintained massive mining operations for lead, silver and copper which peaked between 70 and 160 A.D.

Hammer Head 3000 BCE- Archeology Magazine

Back to the global pollution, ice core studies from Greenland in the 1990's show massive lead pollution during the peak Roman mining period. The cores found that 70% of the lead had the "chemical signature" of Rio Tinto lead. Smelting the ore in large furnaces released its heavy sulfide content in the form of sulfur dioxide, a residue which remains with us to this day. Much like oil, when these ancient deposits are brought to the surface, their chemical components don't sink back from whence they came.

The name Rio Tinto came from the wine colored acidic river which runs through the area. Originally thought to be due to extensive run off of mining contamination, we now know that the colors are natural and existed long before mining began around 3,000 BCE. Kenyon.edu reports that the average pH of the river is 2.0 and it carries naturally high concentrations iron, copper, and zinc. It has even been studied by NASA, exploring the unique organisms which eat its iron and sulfide which have implications for studies on Mars.

*Archeology Magazine, October, 2010.

Whooping Cranes

2011-11-24T07:02:00.000-08:00


Adult and juvenile- Click to enlarge

Jeff Cantrell sent us these pictures of Whooping Cranes, taken by Becky Wylie along Shoal Creek in Neosho. The youngster is banded and even has an antennae and transmitter. In Jeff's words:

"Two whooping cranes took a “lay-over” less than a mile north of Neosho this early morning with Canada geese for traveling companions. An adult and its young foraged along the crop field north of Neosho with little care to truck traffic on the highway or geese and crows sharing the field."

As usual, Bob Korpella of our latest Master Naturalist class has beaten me to this story. Read more at his Freshare.net.
For a story on efforts to raise and breed whooping cranes, see smithsonianmag.com.

Killing Borers with a Girdle

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Emerald Ash Borer- USFS

By now you probably have heard of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an insect that is spreading across the US from Michigan where it was accidentally introduced, probably from packing material on a shipment from China. It is killing ash trees and threatens to wipe them completely out. As ash trees are a common urban planting as well as a source of wood for baseball bats, this news is disturbing.

Ash borers attack the tree by laying their eggs under the bark. The larvae then tunnel around under the bark, effectively cutting off the tree's circulation. As they arrived in the US without the predators that keep them under control in China, they are thriving.

Researchers in the Hudson Valley of New York are now experimentally releasing three types of Chinese wasps known to attack the borer's larvae or their eggs. This approach has to be monitored carefully to be sure that they don't have a similar effect on our beneficial native insects.

They also are trying a unique approach to reduce the EAB numbers. They are girdling selected trees, removing 18" bands of bark to weaken the tree. EAB tends to proliferate in damaged trees and they hope to concentrate the larvae in these trees and then destroy the trees with their larval nursery.

While these experiments go on, our only protection in Missouri is the distance the EAB requires to move from tree to tree. The biggest risk is in accidentally importing diseased wood, allowing the beetle to migrate through several states. This is the reason we urge everyone to not transport firewood from other areas.

Story derived from an article in the the Wall Street Journal, available to subscribers.

Slime Beneath Our Feet

2011-11-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

Slime Mold - New York Times

My fungal friend, Dr. Mark Bower, was kind enough to sent me this article on slime mold from the New York Times. Reading that sentence probably fills you with envy. Stay with me as it does get better.

The words slime mold* produce an immediate "Yuck" response but they are actually incredible amoebas that live in the soil. Some are individual while others collect into masses that are able to communicate and spread in an organized fashion. A few species can actually develop a slug-like body.

Japanese researchers put slime mold in a maze with food sources at the ends. The molds extended tentacles down dead ends only to retreat and try another path (video example). Within four hours they were feasting on the food.

Researcher Andrew Adamatzky has a hobby of challenging them to create highways. He placed pieces of their food on the largest cities on a map of Spain and Portugal. The mold spread out, then withdrew, leaving tentacles to these cities which matched the actual existing highways. (video of Tokyo subway example)

"Dog vomit" slime mold- Wikimedia

A species called Dictyostelium form a slug-like society of amoebas which can respond to starvation by crawling out of the soil and sticking to the foot of an animal for transportation. Some of their component amoeba will even devour pathogenic bacteria that threaten the colony, transporting them outside where they die with the attacker. This suicidal behavior benefits the colony but not the individual. The details of these and other stories are in the New York Times article.

You probably wonder how you could find a friend who would send you an article like this. If you want to find others who find these nature subjects fascinating, look into the Missouri Mycological Society (MOMS)** or other like organizations around the world. You will find your views of nature extending like...well, you know.... a slime mold.

* The basics on slime mold are covered in Wikipedia
** Missouri Mycological Society or MOMS Springfield Chapter

Extreme Makeover Creates Extreme Burden

2011-11-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

Editors Note:
It is not uncommon to find plants in the garden section of big box stores that are inappropriate to plant because of invasive characteristics or their inability to survive in our climate. Local garden stores and professional landscaper designers consider the local zone and soil in making planting decisions. Matt Boehner, one of our Master Naturalists, volunteered in Joplin on the Extreme Makeover project and shares his experience below.

Extreme Makeover creates Extreme Burden

Sago Palm- Wikimedia

First, I will state that fully comprehending the physical and emotional loss that the families in Joplin and Duquesne have been dealt is beyond imaginable and I send my sincerest prayers and best wishes of good fortune on to each and every person and all others adversely affected by the May 22nd tornado.

As a landscape architect, we take an oath of integrity to protect the health, safety and welfare of our built and natural environments. I maintain this oath through a dedicated practice with clients through responsible planning and design, details, specifications, and a strong passion for education within the community through various volunteer activities. As a volunteer on site with the recent “7 Homes in 7 Days” with Extreme Makeover Home Edition in Joplin, I was personally enriched to witness the miraculous efforts of thousands of people from all over the world joining together to help complete strangers take a few steps farther in that healing process. I was also, slighted, at least professionally, for a complete lack of erosion control or sediment fence, sod being placed on slopes greater than 3:1, and inappropriate plant material being installed to complete the “themes” of each home. During a break, I wandered through the makeshift staging area for the landscape material; Desert Marigold, Red Fox Sedge, Mexican Petunia were just a few of the identification tags that caused my stomach to churn, but none more than that of Cycus revoluta, or Sago Palm.*

I am not sure where to begin with how much this plant does not belong in Southwest Missouri. I spent several years in Arizona and Southern California and am very familiar with the Sago Palm, in fact, I used it quite often in commercial and industrial applications. Although common in some residential applications, its use is limited due to the well publicized information on the toxicity and the dangers it poses to pets and children. Luckily in this case, the sago palms will brown out and die shortly after the first frost, which should be in a few weeks, so that threat may never be an issue. But, the majority of other inappropriate plant material and misuse of landscape materials not surviving to be around for the airing of the 2-hour special in January may even create a larger public relations issue between the families and the community.

Over the next few months, as redevelopment really begins on a larger scale, the rest of Joplin will look at these “Hollywood” homes as icons of recovery. However, if the majority of this new landscape is dead or dying within the next few months due to inappropriate selection and application, these seven families may be scrutinized as ungrateful and irresponsible. Are they expected to cover these costs or are they given an annual/monthly allowance for replacement and maintenance? Turf grass and irrigation repairs alone could easily surpass four-figures for each property. Will neighboring homeowners and businesses take more or less responsible steps in redevelopment? Will the city governments be able to step in and provide the necessary oversight to ensure quality, or simply approve the minimum that code allows to just get rebuilt? Will another reality television show come in to “Make it Right”?

Ignoring the landscape as an integral component of development and redevelopment is fairly common in our region, but that attitude is changing as communities are becoming more conscious of their neighbors, both man-made and natural. The practice of sustainable site development has vastly grown throughout SW Missouri over the past few years as information and availability of sustainable site planning, design, and construction techniques become more available. There may not be, nor should there be an easy solution, but as anyone that has experienced any loss knows that the healing process cannot come overnight by simply waving a wand or moving a bus. Physically, it will take Joplin and Duquesne years to recover; emotionally, it may never truly heal. Hopefully, with the help from the surrounding area, both will become better communities defined by a heartened resiliency and a sense of place that forever remembers what happened on May 22nd, 2011 at 5:34pm.

Matt Boehner, RLA, ASLA, CSI
Landscape Architect

* Sago Palm can occasionally grow in an area as cool as Hardiness Zone 7b. Joplin is in Zone 6a, further north and too cold for its survival.

Rodent Whiskers

2011-11-20T07:00:00.001-08:00

University of Sheffield

Ever notice the whiskers on a rat in the cartoons? Unlike those of men, they aren't just a fashion statement but serve as their primary tactile organ. By "whisking" them back and forth they explore objects, lightly touching them, generally without bending the hairs. The closer they are to the object, the less they move their whiskers. High-speed video studies from the University of Sheffield have shown they move them over a surface in the same way we use our fingers.*

A new study by the same group has now shown that a South American marsupial which is thought to be related to some of the earliest mammals shows a similar behavior. It suggests that whisking by these early evolving mammals, which were primarily nocturnal, gave them an important advantage over the more common reptiles of that period.

The team is now developing robots with whiskers that can navigate without vision. They would have potential in search and rescue operations where smoke and dust precludes vision. An interesting idea as long as they don't teach them to chew our electrical cords.

How do rats sneak through small spaces? These and other answers are at ratbehavior.org
* Science Daily 2007

Snow Birds

2011-11-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

The Dark-eyed Junco featured in today's Springfield News-Leader was my mother's favorite bird. It shows up in late fall and hangs around the bird feeders until spring. Although not particularly dramatic in appearance, its feisty little hops and struts make for outdoor entertainment through the window on a blustery winter day.

The article states that "The bird is common throughout its range, although some studies show it could be experiencing a slight decline because of habitat changes in its nesting range." How do they determine that there is a slight decline in a common bird species population? This was a good question to ask Charley Burwick, the Springfield Master Naturalist bird brain in residence.

He tells me that in addition to biologists that study specific species, much of the data comes from citizen scientists like you and I. Country wide counts conducted yearly can compare the numbers of all species seen. If there is a trend of declining numbers of a species compared to other common birds, this provides good information on the population in general.

Here are the major surveys which involve birders.

Great Backyard Bird Count February 17-20, 2012 (Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon)
Christmas Bird Count on December 14th this year. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon)
Project FeederWatch November through April. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
All Types of Bird Counts and observations

The sites above also show past results which can be used to determine regional and national trends. While some bird species are in decline, the birders numbers are trending upward. They can be spotted by their binoculars, their posture with their necks thrown back, their constant movement and the characteristic excited cry, "There is another (fill in the blank)!!"

Pygmy Rattlesnake

2011-11-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

Pygmy Rattlesnake- Click to enlarge

Connie Johnson shared these remarks when she brought pictures of a Pygmy Rattlesnake to the last MN Chapter meeting:

"Western Pygmy’s are small pretty rattlesnakes with a tiny rattle. Our personal observations show that they are most apt to be seen from the first of September to the middle of October. This may be due to the temperature and light changes that encourage them to move toward their winter dens.

This photos were taken on my farm road on a cool morning in the middle of September 2011. Usually these snakes are pretty docile and don’t crawl away unless they are disturbed with direct contact. This snake allowed me to get quite close for these photos and did not move his body although he carefully followed me with slight head movements. I was very respectful of his “space”.

Tom Johnson’s book, Amphibians and Reptiles of Missouri, tells us that this snake ranges in length from 15-20 inches long and is the smallest species of rattlesnake in North America.The color is described as brownish gray with small dark brown and black blotches. The head has a distinct black stripe which angles from the eye to the corner of the mouth and the belly is dusky cream with irregularly spaced transverse bars."

The Western Pygmy Rattlesnake, Sistrurus miliarius, is found in the southern counties of Missouri. It has an orange to almost pink stripe along its spine. These slender snakes seldom reach 24 inches so their markings and the tiny rattle require close inspection. Don't depend on hearing their faint high frequency rattle which sounds like a grasshopper.

Although usual shy, they can occasionally be more aggressive. Their bite can cause lots of pain but isn't likely to be fatal. I know of one man who received multiple bites when he picked several of them barehanded out of a wood pile. He ended up on dialysis from the accumulated toxin. Bad decisions can produce bad results.

Human Community

2011-11-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

"What are little boys made of? Frogs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails..."

Mitochondria- Wikimedia

Not quite true but substitute bacteria and you are on the right track. These thoughts were stimulated by an interesting article we came across in the NAMA newsletter*. Not Just Kingdoms But Communities by Susan Goldhor** is a thoughtful brief essay on our relationship to the biological world. I have posted a copy at Google Docs.

It is now generally accepted that the mitochondria in our cells are of bacterial origin, specifically proteobacteria. Without plunging deeply into the biology, the current endosymbiotic hypothesis suggests that bacteria were taken up by a cell (endocytosis- a common phenomona) and subsequently not only survived but reproduced within the cells as they divided.

That is enough science for now. I suggest you read Not Just Kingdoms But Communities. Just one page long, it is rich in insights. Part bacteria, part virus, you may be what your cells ate- billions of years ago.

* North American Mycological Association

** NOT JUST KINGDOMS BUT COMMUNITIES Condensed from Musings by Susan Goldhor Boston Mycoloical Club ,Bulletin, Vol 66 #2, 2011

Mormon Fritillary

2011-11-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

One of the joys of our organization is getting to play "Stump the Master Naturalist" with friends. The odds are with them usually, but today was a rare exception. I am posting this to show the power of some of our online resources.

An old friend and amateur nature photographer, Joe Motto, sent me this picture with the message, "Shot this image in British Columbia. Can you ID him for me?" Since most butterflies can't fly across the continental divide, I knew it wasn't going to be anything I had ever seen.

His picture looked somewhat similar to the Great Spangled Fritillary, Speyeria cybele, but that is an eastern species. With my half-vast knowledge of lepidoptera (and a high-speed internet connection) I identified this western species as what I think is a Mormon Fritillary, Speyeria mormonia.

Great Spangled Fritillary

Knowing that it was so close to our fritillaries in appearance and form, I went to butterfliesandmoths.org/. Using their "Regional Checklist" feature on the top banner, you can find all the listed species for "Canada-British Columbia". Selecting the genus Speyeria brought up the picture to the right.

Mormon Fritillary - BoMoNA

It isn't usually this easy, but it does serve to illustrate that there are a lot of tools available to us amateur naturalists, even of those of us who lack Joe's gift for photography.

You can see some of his remarkable pictures at naturescapes.net. We had the pleasure of traveling to Africa and Borneo with Joe and his wife, Joy, and I can attest to the saying, "It takes a village to carry all his camera equipment."

Tractor Repair 101

2011-11-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

John Deere pack rat nest- Click to enlarge

I had to have my tractor repaired because it was rapidly leaking diesel (3 gallons over night!). As I called today to see if it was repaired, my loving wife said, "They probably found a packrat nest under the hood and it had chewed up the hoses." I smiled tolerantly at her wifely simplistic diagnosis. A man knows that there are any number of reasons for a leak, including plugged filters, defective valves and a loosened thingy under the motor.

While I pondered the complicated fuel system of a tractor based on my half-vast experience, the mechanic then answered the phone. He reported excitedly, "You should have seen the packrat nest under the hood! It was so big that we took a picture of it. The rat had chewed the line out of the fuel tank."

The term packrat commonly refers to our wood rats in the genus Neotoma. There are eight different Neotoma species in North America. Although they are the size of the Norway rat, model for many cartoons and comic strips, they lack the sharply pointed nose and scaly tail. They have lovable big eyes, soft, fine fur, and large ears with whitish feet and bellies.

Although they enjoy building nests under our deck, in our barn, or even our tractor), they usually eat outside unless food is available in the structure. In our case, it had been chewing into bags of corn we were using to trap feral hogs. Linda Ellis has had her car rewired multiple times due to her rats taste for wiring insulation.

They are also known as trade rats as they not only bring colored or bright shiny objects to their nest, but they will at times drop one object to substitute it for another found along the way, effectively trading them. Ours seem particularly enamored of orange electric cords, small screw drivers, alligator battery clips and anything attached to a piece of equipment valued at over $30. The good news is when I lose something, the rat gets the blame.

This wasn't the first visit rats have made to our tractor. Some years back, I put bright red rectangles of bar bait out in the back corners of the barn to kill the rats. A few weeks later my neighbor borrowed the tractor and kindly checked the oil. He found four strips of bar bait neatly lined up on the top of the radiator where a rat had deposited them, leaving tiny foot prints in the dust.

When we bought our creek house it needed some repairs. The carpenter found a packrat nest in the eves which included 12 stick ball point pens, a girl's school picture and a plastic handled paring knife. I don't know what it had in mind but felt we should report it to the sheriff as some kind of pervert. Ever since, Barb sleeps with a gun.

icwdm.org shows range maps and discusses control measures.
Thanks to Larson Farm and Lawn for the picture.

An Ah Haw Moment

2011-11-05T05:35:00.000-07:00

Recently I had an "ah haw!" moment. Actually it was more of an "Ah- a haw!" moment. It was when I discovered that the "flowering dogwood" in front of the cabin is a rusty black haw, Viburnum rufidulum. Unfortunately I had pointed it out to a group of teachers studying forestry at Bull Creek and the instructor Robert DeMoss* very politely corrected me.

Rusty black haw bud **

My problem in identification you might say stems from the stem and the trunk. The bark at first glance looks like the very distinctive flowering dogwood bark. Dogwood leaves are currently a bright crimson color, while this tree's leaves were a little less intense red.

The branches were opposite, just like a dogwood. You may recall "MAD Buck" as a mnemonic reminder for opposite branching trees (Maple, Ash, Dogwood and Buckeye). I was taught "MAD Cap Buck" which includes Caprifoliaceae family, its viburnum genus including shrubs and small trees like the black haws. Just when the "Cap" started to pay off, some %$#&amp// botanists have decided to move viburnums into the Adoxaceae family. Try using that word in a sentence!

The really distinguishing characteristic is the tree buds. The flowering dogwood bud is onion shaped while the black haw has a flame shaped bud, rusty in color with a tiny white band around the base, reminiscent of a ring-necked snake. The nice thing about trying to identify understory trees is that the buds and stems are available, unlike mature oaks and hickories. In addition to avoiding snap judgements, I need to start paying more attention to those budding thoughts.

There is a good description of the rusty black haw at wildflower.org.

*Robert DeMoss is a forester with the NRCS out of Ozark.
** Missouriplants.com

Fall Videos

2011-11-03T17:56:00.000-07:00

Recently Larry Whiteley sent me pictures of a bear sitting in a deer tree stand. Deer stand sounds like it would be for deer which lack the ability to climb. The bear apparently did not recognize that the stand was reserved for hunters and it obviously didn't have a deer permit. I mentioned the pictures to Jay Barber and he told me about a video he had seen of a bear climbing up onto a tree stand- with the hunter in it! Here is the youtube.com video.

On a more relaxing note, this video was sent to me by Gala Solari. It shows a murmuration of starlings in Ireland, a shape shifting flight of thousands of birds seemingly flying patterns for the sheer joy of being able to do so. No one knows why they do this spectacular acrobatic display at the onset of winter, let alone how they avoid collisions.

Murmurations like this are seen annually in Europe. Starlings are native there and their numbers have actually been dropping off lately in Great Britain. We on the other hand have them in large numbers without the joy of the murmurations. The closest we come to this sight are sunset flights of migrating birds such as purple martins and chimney swifts and winter gatherings of red-winged blackbirds.

Enjoy. Video details are at huffingtonpost.com.

Frost Flowers- 2011

2011-11-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

Ice Ribbon

Once again the frost flowers of autumn are amazing. Every year around this time the first freezing temperatures create ice in the thin stems of the frost weed a.k.a. white crown beard (Verbesina virginica). The ice is squeezed out through long splits in the stems, creating thin ribbons. Some years these are delicate thick ribbons at the base of the plant. Another year they may produce a series of "petals" radiating all around the stem like icy pinwheels.

This year's "blooms" are the tallest we have seen. The first hard frost on Saturday morning produced icy ribbons two feet up the stem, a striking sight of glistening white where there had been only dull gray stems before. We walked along the driveway, photographing them as the sun's beams first let them glow. After their brief moment of glory, like Icarus having flown too close to the sun, their icy "wings" melt like his wax and the drops fall to the ground.

Single stem split in fourths

The next frosty morning produced an encore, with ribbons now extending three feet up the stems. This time the stems were split wide open leaving thin columns to support the dead heads for a few more days.

During the growing season, the crown beard and its fellow frost weed, yellow ironweed (Verbesina alternafolia) are unremarkable looking with tall winged stems, large leaves and small flower heads, rather like plain sisters of a sunflower. They grow on roadsides and fence lines in the neglected soils. I avoid mowing these strips, knowing that their brief moment in the sun will be worth the wait.

Past Posts are from October and November 2010 and December 2009.

Juvenile Copperhead

2011-10-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

Juvenile copperhead- click to enlarge

Fall is the season that snakes are on the move, seeking places to den up for the winter. This juvenile copperhead picked the wrong gravel drive to warm up on and was crunched by an ATV.

The copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix, is in the same genus as the cottonmouth, a.k.a. "water moccasin". They are gray to pinkish tan in color with dark brown bands, narrow on top and wider on the sides. These are best viewed from the side where they resemble Hershey Kisses.
Juvenile copperheads have a bright yellow tail which they are said to use as a lure to attract lizards and frogs.

Underside view

I was taught to look for the hourglass shape, but to see this you have to be looking straight down at the snake which is way too close. Our venomous snakes have a triangular shaped head and vertical slit like pupils. This head shape can be deceptive as hog-nosed snakes when threatened will flatten their head and resemble a cobra or adder.

virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com

Another identifying characteristic of all venomous snakes in Missouri is the underside of the tail. Missouri's venomous snakes have a single row of scales beyond the anal plate while harmless snakes have two parallel rows of scales. Be absolutely sure the snake is harmless or dead before you test this fact.

See snakesandfrogs.com for additional pictures.

Beauty of Pollinators

2011-10-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

We just wrote about the tiny pollinators nectaring on the dainty asters of fall. Ted Smith sent me this link to a TED film of the Beauty of Pollinators. It is not only a beautiful video of flowers and their animal benefactors but also a reminder of how diverse pollinators are.

To be further inspired you can listen to videographer Louie Schwartzberg describe his motivation in creating it. This will need to tide us over until spring, so enjoy it now.

Halloween Butterflies

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

White and lavender asters- 1/4" blossoms

Two days ago the thermometer hit 28 degrees and tiny wisps of frost flowers could be found at the base of a few white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica). Now it is back to 72 on the sunlit glade and tiny butterflies are out for their last fling.

The tiny asters are being swarmed by equally tiny butterflies, a mix of dainty sulfurs, silvery checkerspots, gray hairstreaks, and common checkered skippers. The silvery checkerspots are usually gone by now but have apparently extended their time into the fall because of the unseasonably warm weather.

The asters also welcome the attention of small flies and wasps. The black wasps were a quarter inch long and very hungry, ignoring the camera just inches away. They crawled all over the flower head in their search for nectar, in the process spreading some of the seasons last pollen.

Silvery checkerspot

Common checkered skipper

The season favors these midgets of the butterfly world. The only flowers standing along the lane are the tall asters with their tiny quarter inch flower heads, a mix of white heath aster (Symphyotrichum pilosus) and smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve).

Although we were still seeing an occasional great spangled fritillary and anglewing several days ago, they are far too large to land on the aster's head, so the last burst of nectar is reserved for the wee ones.

Discover Nature Schools

2011-10-25T14:24:00.000-07:00

We just spent an invigorating morning at Valley Water Mill Park with the fifth grade class from York Elementary, leading a Discover Nature Schools field trip. Leading may be misleading as much of the time was spent trying to catch up to the lead student. The excitement of discovering nature can be uncontainable.

Mort- a garter snake makes new friends

Mort Shurtz and Matt Boehner led another group and had the find of the day, a garter snake which will probably be psychologically scarred for life by the experience of being petted by so many kids. Other highlights included centipedes, beaver holes, fungi and lots of bugs.

Discover Nature Schools is a curriculum designed by the Missouri Department of Conservation to bring the understanding of nature and its ecosystems to students from 3rd grade to high school. Our emphasis with 5th graders includes specialized structures (thorns, stingers, wings etc.) and discovering the relationships of plants and animals in an ecosystem. Teachers educate the students in the class room and our role is to reinforce this with hands on experience.

One of the neat things about these field trips is how much it forces us to think about the associations. Nothing like the third in a string of "whys" to get you to thinking, especially when you are expected to know the answers!

For more information, see Francis Skalicky's Springfield News-Leader article.

Tracking Bears

2011-10-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge

You may recall that the Missouri Department of Conservation was trapping and radio collaring bears to study their range. Since then MDC, in cooperation with Mississippi State, has been collecting hair samples across the southern part of the state for DNA analysis to get a better idea of the number of bears.

We recently had a collared bear visit Bull Creek. It was seen by several neighbors and a few days earlier it visited our feral hog trap, fortunately not tripping the door shut.

There is now a web site where you can track the path of individual collared bears. Check out the site ,http://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/carnivore/mo_bear/track.asp. The nearest collared bear was wandering around Christian and Taney County in Bull Creek Country. Click on Bear 1117 at the bottom right and scroll down to the map. It may have visited near you.

True Katydid

2011-10-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Common true katydid- Click to enlarge

Early Europeans arriving in Eastern North America were frightened by the mysterious loud sound which pulsated through the forest with no apparent source. During the summer we hear that again, a loud chorus of katydids high up in the trees.

This is the time of year when we tend to see lots of katydids around the cabin at Bull Creek. This particular katydid has distinctive oval wings with veins mimicking a leaf and legs like a leaf stem. There are brown flat surfaces on top of its head and thorax. When squeezed lightly it makes a distinctive raucous squawk which you can hear below. It is a Common True Katydid, Pterophylla camellifolia.

The males typically alternate chirping (stridulation as described in the last blog) at each other when they are 25 to 50 feet apart. When they are close together the chirps get longer and more insistent, an aggressive sound. They shout at each other like a couple of drunks until one leaves. The females on the other hand are more demure, chirping only when handled.

These katydids spend their life in the tops of the trees where the females deposit their eggs under the bark. The larvae feed on leaves high in the tree and most remain on the same tree for life. They are essentially flightless and drop to the ground in an awkward flutter when disturbed. On the ground they stumble to the nearest vertical surface and start climbing which explains why we find them on the side of our house.

The first frosts cause them to drop to the ground. They all die off in a freezing winter, to be replaced by the hatching larvae next spring.

You can hear their call at musicofnature.org and more pictures are available at this site.

Jumping Bush Cricket

2011-10-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

Jumping Bush Cricket (JBC)

If you have heard Jay Barber speak more than three times, you know about his favorite animal, the jumping bush cricket, (Orocharis saltator). It is famous around here for being the last cricket to call in the fall, a harbinger of the oncoming winter as sure as the falling oak leaves.

I hadn't identified the bush cricket's call in the wild until Sunday night. I googled, listened to the sound file on musicofnature.org, then stepped out on the deck at Bull Creek and sure enough, there they were singing. Were they prompted by the night, still warm but with the first cold snap forecast for the next few days? Maybe it's the falling leaves, the movement of the pigmy rattlesnakes seeking their den, or the rattle of chinkapin oak acorns on the metal barn roof.

JBC Range

These bush crickets, less than 1 inch long, are found in the Southeast including Southern Missouri. They prefer open woodlands of deciduous trees but can be heard in shrubs, pines and woodland understory bushes. They raise one generation a year and overwinter in the egg phase. Their sound is very hard to localize, making them difficult to find. Like most crickets, they seem to sense when you are looking for them and grow silent.

The cricket's "song" is actually stridulation, a sound produced by rubbing body parts together. These are specialty organs, frequently with a rasp-like or scraper surface. These rubbing surfaces can include legs, thoracic structures, etc. Crickets and katydids produce their sound by rubbing one wing scraper against the other wing.

JBC stridulating- click to enlarge

David M. Stone has posted this dramatic picture of a jumping bush cricket stridulating on his website, Things Biological. Considering how hard they can be to find, the picture is especially stunning.

Is this the warmup of their vocalizations or their swan song of winter? Step outside and tune in to find out.

* Cricket and katydid songs are at musicofnature.org/songsofinsects
** Stridulation photograph by David M. Stone of http://thingsbiological.wordpress.com

Invasive Thoughts

2011-10-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Barb just presented a Master Naturalist training session on invasive species. As always, this stimulated lots of thoughts and some debate on which are invasive and how important they are.

The number of invasive species is growing by leaps and bounds. This is likely as we - the Greatest Invasive Species from which all others floweth - expand global trade. Ah Columbus, what hath thou wrought?

We also are always looking for an invader's natural predator from its homeland to import in a attempt to control them. Unfortunately it takes years of research to predict likely side effects of the "controlling" species and some times the cure is is worse than the disease. An example is the Kudzu bug*, Megacopta cribraria, which showed up unexpectedly in the US in 2009. The good news is that it eats Kudzu, significantly slowing its growth. Unfortunately, it likes our soybeans for dessert and has become a significant pest which spreading rapidly in the south.

The Kudzu bug has an interesting digestive system. Like most of us it carries bacteria in its intestine. These symbiotic bacteria help it digest food and without them it grows slower and smaller and dies earlier. The bugs apparently "know" this as the females deposit these symbionts with their eggs and the newly hatch nymphs eat them upon hatching, colonizing their gut with the right bacteria from birth.

On a personal level, we have debates on which invasive species to attack first, or even at all. Certainly identifying early invasives such as Gypsy Moth can prevent or delay their spread. Paulownia and Callary Pear (a.k.a Bradford Pear) have not yet taken over and may be controllable.

Harder decisions lie with pervasive species such as Sericea lespedeza and Johnson Grass. It is unlikely that we will ever eliminate them and we must decide which field of battle to fight on and which to ignore. Johnson grass as biofuel would make that decision easier.

Barb found an interview at Invasive.org which is extremely interesting. Bob Flasher trained in cultural anthropology before working on vegetation management and weed control in regional and national parks for twenty years. His thoughts on attacking or relaxing and embracing unwanted plants are both controversial and enlightening. The interview is available in the September 27th posting at invasiveplantnews.com.

* Also called bean plataspid, lablab bug, or globular stink bug. They are a significant pest on lablab beans in India. Lablab beans are frequently grown in North American deer plots.

White Snakeroot

2011-10-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

White Snakeroot

This is the time of year when we see white snakeroot all along the trails and roads on Bull Creek. The plants stand 3 to 5 feet tall with elliptic-oblong leaves which are lance shaped with sharp teeth. The tiny white flowers have no rays. The great spangled fritillaries are nectaring on them in desperation as few other flowers remain.

White snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)* has an interesting toxicology. Animals that eat a large amount of snakeroot or small amounts over a long time will develop a disease called the trembles. An Illinois veterinarian website describes the tremetol toxin which produces a progression of symptoms from tremors, loss of appetite and progressive weakness to death.

It was a public health threat in the early nineteenth century as Europeans move to the midwest and encountered this new plant. Cattle can transfer the toxin to humans who drink the tremetol-laced milk, producing milk sickness. Many thousand of these early settlers died from milk sickness, most notably Abraham Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Abraham was 9 years old at the time and carved the wooden pegs for his mother's casket. Several others died at the time including her aunt and uncle.

USDA studies have shown that deer don't browse white snakeroot. Much like their exotic European human counterparts, cattle and horses lacked the knowledge of their new surroundings and will eat it freely. How many thousand years might it take for cows to "learn" to avoid snake root?

It is interesting to speculate on how deer "learned" about snake root and transmitted this avoidance behavior to their offspring. Is it by sight or by smell or by the mother deer nagging, "Now eat your sapplings but not those tall flowers" Maybe they just think it tastes like brocolli.

*Hot News Flash- A group of botanists comes up with the names of plants. I suspect their name is the Botanist for Steady Work Commission. What ever it is, they came up with a the new name for Eupatorium rugosum (reproted in the original blog) which is Ageratina altissima. Thanks to Linda Ellis for bringing you up to date. I am sure you have all memorized Eupatorium rugosum so please accept my apologizes.

Freshair.net

2011-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

I hate to be caught stealing but sometimes someone else says it better. Bob Korpella (MN Class 2011) writes Freshare.net which always has interesting stories in its Nature section. He has done it again with the two stories below.

The blog Nanoparticles in Trout Brains discusses some disturbing findings on the anatomic changes in trout fed nano particles like titanium oxide which is found in whitening agent found in paints, toothpaste, detergents. Researchers found vacuoles (small holes) in the rainbow trout’s brains after these particles. While the effects are unknown, I can't imagine anything good coming from it, unless it helps them distinguish between real and artificial flies.

A second story discusses why Gypsy Moth caterpillars climb high up on a tree to die from a viral infection. Ordinarily they climb down the trees a night as protection from predators. What causes this strange behavior? Sorry, you will have to read his article.

The latest news on his nature page is always displayed in the lower corner of our blog page.

Monarch Update

2011-09-29T10:33:00.000-07:00

Mass of Monarchs- Wikimed

It is shaping up to be a bad year for monarchs. The Monarch Watch Blog is projecting very low numbers of migrating monarchs this year and an extremely low overwintering population in Mexico.

Their population is being hit by a double whammy. First, the use of engineered crops of herbicide tolerant (HT) corn and soybeans is spreading each year. These allow farmers to plant the corn closer together and spray glyphosate (Roundup, etc) over the crops to eliminate competing weeds. Unfortunately, the milkweed necessary for monarchs to reproduce falls in that category. You can imagine the corn fields as far as the eye can see with nary a milkweed in sight.

Second, the decreased monarchs that will be migrating will face some of the worst conditions in years. Due to the drought in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Mexico, they will be navigating over 1000 miles of parched fields with no remaining nectaring plants. Even our local fields have lost most of their blooms.

Monarch Watch collects its data by volunteers who tag monarchs across the US. Lisa Bakerlink will be demonstrating monarch tagging at the Butterfly House at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Gardens this Saturday at 2:00 PM. She tells me she has lots of butterflies to tag. The public is encouraged to visit and participate in a little bit of natural science. Click on this site for more details.

More on the plight of Monarchs is available at the Monarch Watch Blog.

Mast Survey

2011-09-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Red Oak Acorns

September is the time for completing a mast survey. This does not refer to counting sailboats on Lake Stockton. A mast survey means tromping through the woods assessing this year's production of walnuts, acorns and hickory nuts.

Armed with a clipboard and binoculars, the plan is to closely observe mature black walnuts, hickories, and red and white oaks, then grade their mast (nut) burden in four categories, ranging from heavy to few/none. The binoculars are needed for the tall trees whose branches reach high above the understory.

Why should you care about mast? Mast is necessary for the winter survival of deer, turkey, and squirrels. The amount available helps predict population health and reproduction the following year. This helps wildlife managers plan the next hunting season. Hunters are interested as a predictor of how much game will be on the move.

Surveys are done by the Missouri Forestkeepers Network which mails out the recording sheets to members each fall. There is also an annual tree assessment done by members in October. Both of these reports can be done on your land or a nearby park or forest of your choosing.

Membership in the Missouri Forestkeepers Network is free to any interested individual, family or organization. You may report on your land or adopt any site you want. It could have one tree on it or many trees. Click here to download the enrollment. Mast and tree assessments provide a great excuse to stroll through the forest with a purpose and the gifts don't hurt a bit. You can even get some binoculars for the next hike.

Harlequin Bug

2011-09-25T04:47:00.000-07:00

Harlequin Bug Eggs- Adam Millsap

Adam Millsap sent me the picture of harlequin bug eggs on the underside of his kale at Urban Farm just a few blocks west of the Springfield square. As he noted, they are so beautiful that he hated to crush them, but crush them he must.

Only the adult survives over winter. They emerge early in the spring, just as we are preparing our gardens. They lay around 12 eggs together in a row. They resemble a row of kegs with black hoops. The eggs hatch in 4-28 days depending on the temperature.

The nymphs go through 5-6 cycles (instars) before they become adults. These stages progress from pale orange to black with distinct orange and white decorations. The sexually mature adult develops the most showy colors. They are 3/8 inch long, a flattened oval shape with crossed wing covers forming a "V".

Harlequin Bug Nymph

Harlequin Bug Nymph- under side

Adult- James Castner, University of Florid

The harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica) is a serious pest which attacks cabbage and related species preferentially, although it is capable of attacking almost any garden crop and even fruit trees. Unlike beetles which chew leaves, they suck the juices which tends to kill the whole plant.

These are a type of stink bug, so pinching them with your fingers may come at an olfactory cost. Of interest, the harlequin bug originated in Mexico and was first reported in Texas in 1864. Its progress northward was followed and reported through the turn of the century and it now occurs across the US, generally south of Colorado and Pennsylvania.

Hand picking the bugs, larvae and eggs may prevent the recruitment of large armies requiring chemical measures. Given their destructive habits, I can forgive Adam for destroying this mobile form of art in his garden.

Cost of Clean Water

2011-09-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Bull Creek

David Casaletto has written an interesting piece in the Ozarks Water Watch newsletter. Water Quality: How Clean and at What Cost? considers the cost of both cleaning water to higher standards and applying those standards to even more waters. This especially applies to the recently passed House Bill 89.

Now I know that mentioning a bill passed by the legislature just caused your eyes to glaze over. Me too. That is why his commonsense discussion is so important to read. The pursuit of environmental issues such as clean water and clean air will be all the more difficult in the coming decade. Consider these factors:

There are more of us on the planet and we are expanding into new areas daily, areas that don't necessarily have available water, soil for septic systems and protection from water runoff pollutants such as fertilizer and chemicals.
Clean water and air standards increase as we find more pollutants such as increasing ozone, prescription drugs in the water, etc.
Tackling these issues will mean more regulation and /or more involvement by private citizens and industries.
All of this requires more money, this in an economy that is stretched beyond its limits. We face some difficult choices and trade-offs.

Now, wipe your eyes and read the very digestible Water Quality: How Clean and at What Cost?.

Wood Beetle

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

While looking for fungi at the Missouri Mycological Society (MOMS) foray at Mingo, I turned over a log which disintegrated in my hands, exposing 20 plus large orange beetles. After a quick perusal of Bugguide, I emailed Chris Barnhart to save time. He pointed me to the Passalidae family.They looked familiar, resembling the Bess Beetles I wrote about last November.

Mites under front legs

Those specimens were Horned Passalus - Odontotaenius disjunctus, also known as Bess Beetles and Patent Leather Beetles for their pitch black shiny body. These however were bright orange although they were packed together like the previous bess beetles. The shape, size and parallel grooves down the wing covers were identical. When I turned them over, there were the familiar mites almost invariably associated with their family of Passalids. Information on the fascinating mite farming of many beetles can be found at the Macromite site.

Horn of horned passalus

A closeup side view showed the distinctive feature that gives them their other name, the horned passalus. While holding it for pictures even I could hear its little soft squeaks as it struggled for freedom.

The puzzle of it color remained. It took eight sites on Google to find the answer. The Featured Creatures site of Florida University says:

Mature dark horned passalus

"These young adults lack the characteristic black shell of the species, and instead have a red coloration when they emerge from the pupal stage. This red color slowly darkens to black, at which point the insect is considered a mature adult (Schuster and Schuster 1985)."
Knowing this I dug around the bag of ground up wood and beetles I brought back and sure enough, there was an older sibling I hadn't seen before which was very close to black. This proves once again that color can be deceptive when trying to identify species.

Both the last November blog and Featured Creatures have more detailed information on the interesting life cycle of these decomposers of wood. They only eat dead wood and thanks to them, bacteria and fungi, they enrich the soil. Without the decomposers, we would have dead logs hundreds of feet deep in our woods. Bless their little orange and black bodies.

No Beetles were killed in producing this blog.

Swamp Rabbit

2011-09-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

At the Missouri Mycological Society (MOMS) foray at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge this weekend, Barb learned about swamp rabbits from our new friends, Jack and Marty Toll. Jack did his Master's thesis on these interesting bunnies and later managed the Mingo Refuge for a number of years.

Click to enlarge

The very next day she pointed out a swamp rabbit in the woods. I was able to get a single telephoto picture of the south end of this north-bound rabbit before it disappeared into a thick mass of stinging nettle. You may have to look carefully at the enlarged picture to find it.

A swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) is described at MDC Online as a type of cottontail that is much larger than our more familiar variety. It inhabits the wetlands of the south and Mingo in the Bootheel is perfect territory. It eats reeds, sedges and other plants, switching to twigs and bark of shrubs in the winter.

Swamp Rabbit- MDC

Without the thickets which hide our native cottontails it would seem to be a sitting duck (pardon the expression) in the swamp. Fear not- it has a trick up its fuzzy tail. Swamp rabbits can not only run up to 45 mph, they can also swim and dive under the water, coming under roots and vegetation. They sometimes will hide in shallow water with only their noses exposed.

A swamp rabbit in Georgia gained fame in 1979 while escaping from a pack of hounds. It jumped into a pond and swam toward President Jimmie Carter who was paddling in a boat away from the protection of Secret Service. The encounter could have caused an environmental incident had not the President fended off the vicious animal with a paddle. The whole frightening incident is described in this Wikipedia story.

Presidential Attack! Note rabbit wake to the right.

Lest you think that President Carter was overly cautious, recall that five years earlier he could have seen Monty Python's Holy Grail. You can see that horrifying scene on Youtube. Fortunately, Barb's fierce-some reputation with rabbits in our garden has spread to the southeastern lagomorphs and this poor creature ran away. Lucky for it!

Soldiers Are Mating

2011-09-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

Mating Leatherwings- Click to enlarge

In the fall, a young beetle's fancy turn to thoughts of....... making more beetles.

We are seeing swarms of Soldier Beetles that we described in a past blog. Pennsylvania Leatherwing (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) would normally feed on the nectar of Goldenrod and Thoroughwart (Eupatorium) that bloom from August through October. These members of the daisy family have been struggling with the heat and drought.

The leatherwings are now swarming on the nearest relative, the White Crownbeard (Verbesina virginica) that grows wild along our driveway and the undisturbed field edges. Since we had a second hay cutting last week, they are crowded on this only available food source, with 8-10 beetles on a flower cluster. Walking through these edges put us at risk of insect inhalation.

White Crownbeard proliferates on the untended edges. Its winged stalks grow up to 7 feet tall, dwarfing the modest flower heads which resemble Queen Anne's Lace. However, it produces our favorite flower in the first hard frosts of winter. Thin ribbons of ice are extruded from the dried Frostweed stems, producing a wide variety of "frost flower" shapes in a season otherwise devoid of blossoms.

Frost floweer

Speaking of proliferation, you will notice that most of the beetles are actively mating with three pair or more on each flower head. They are excellent pollinators, crawling over the small florets before moving on to the next one. This helps insure another crop of frost flowers and ice ribbons this winter. As long as they are pollinating the future frost flowers, I don't mind having them fly in my face for a few weeks.

The Cost of Extinction

2011-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last year we wrote about The Sixth Extinction?, the name given to the dramatically increased rate of extinction in recent years. Considering the cost of preserving threatened species, we have to ask "What is the cost in losing a species?" I read about a memorable example in a 1982 Gastroenterology journal.

Gastric-brooding frog- Wikimedia

The first Gastric-brooding frog was found in 1973, the last specimen was found in 1981 and the last laboratory specimen died in 1983. Except for a lucky timing, the gastric-brooding frog might have escaped detection.

The Southern gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus) was an unimpressive looking amphibian which was found in wet forested areas in a small area of southeastern Queensland, Australia. They were 2-3 inches long and were rare when first described. Their ability to raise their young in their stomach brought them to medical attention.

The female would eat the eggs it laid, hold them in her stomach as the tadpoles emerged and developed, carrying them for 6 weeks before regurgitating the young frogs. Studies showed that the stomach was normal prior to ingesting the eggs and after "delivery." During the time she carried the developing eggs and tadpoles acid production and gastric motility ceased. The female frog didn't eat during that six weeks and remained active as the stomach got progressively larger until it comprised most of her body volume.

At the time, the mechanism for the acid inhibition was unknown. Due to laboratory studies done on specimens in the few years before they became extinct, we know now. The jelly around each egg contains prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a substance which was able to turn off gastric secretion and motility. The tadpoles in turn also produced PGE2 in the mucus secreted from their gills, keeping their gastric womb dormant until they are vomited up as frogs.

Consider how many other species hold secrets of medical value, secrets that may follow them into extinction.

See Wikipedia for more details.

Feral Hogs

2011-09-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot written about the feral hog problem in the the plains states, especially the southwest where hog hunting is popular. Texas in particular has a huge problem with an estimated two million feral hogs tearing up the soil and transmitting disease to domestic pigs. Still, it was a surprise to read about the problem occurring in central New York State. While the population is relatively small it points out the potential problem in the northeast. As reported in an Associated Press story:

"Feral swine multiply rapidly, with sows producing several litters a year of four to six piglets, so as with any invasive species, it's crucial to mount aggressive eradication efforts before the population is widely established, Batcheller said. They're also wily and secretive, and become even more so when people try to shoot or trap them."

Hog and raccoons

Pigs are smart, and they learn to avoid areas where their kin have met sudden death. I recently discussed the feral hog problem in a January blog. At that time, the Missouri Department of Conservation had trapped and killed a record 25 hogs on my neighbor's property. Unfortunately, it isn't that easy now.

We have been working with the USDA to trap hogs running wild on adjoining Mark Twain National Forest land. For two months we have been putting out bait corn on the edge of a field where pigs had been seen. Initially we saw 5 hogs on the game camera but after a few days, only a single big boar showed up and he has been a regular visitor. Boars are known to kill and eat piglets and he may be scaring away the females with young.

Over time our corn has developed quite a following. Our game camera that initially captured a single raccoon now pictures up to eight at a time. On a recent night, as I poured corn out, young raccoons came out of the woods to eat at my feet. They looked offended when I threw sticks at them but waited patiently10 feet away until I left. A nighttime inspection with a powerful flashlight makes the nearest tree look like Christmas with all the little eyes glowing back.

Turkey are regular daytime visitors, pecking at the individual kernels left by the mammals. Deer come in from time to time and occasionally we have a United Nations gathering of three species at once. We even have a daytime picture of an unknown trespasser carrying a rifle.

The last few days there have been multiple sightings of a bear wearing an MDC radio collar. It isn't surprising that he came by to get his portrait at our game camera. He even went into the newly placed hog trap to look around. Fortunately he didn't set it off as we would have had a challenge getting it out of the trap safely.

Collared bear- click to enlarge

To paraphrase Forest Gump, "Hog trappin" is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to find.

Late Breaking News

Russian Boar- Click to enlarge

Last night we finally caught the Russian Boar that had been hanging around for a month. Unlike the escaped pigs living and reproducing in the wild, this is a wild boar. Their body is relatively compact and their snout is long and somewhat pointed. The males have tusks and are capable of inflicting severe damage when they attack. This element of danger makes them a popular game animal in the Southwest.
They were first introduced by Columbus who brought eight to the new world. Cortes, de Soto, and La Salle contributed and more were introduced for sport hunting in the early 20th century. They are celebrated at the University of Arkansas as their razorback. Our specimen lived up to his reputation, charging at us in his trap until the last.

Shooting Owls to Save Owls

2011-09-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Spotted Owl from Wikimedia

Peter Kareiva * recently wrote, "A famous person once observed that the signature of a civilized mind is the ability to hold two seemingly contradictory ideas in one’s head at the same time." A thought provoking editorial in the Wall Street Journal will test this premise for those of us who are environmentally concerned.

Environmentalist Wisdom: Shoot One Owl to Save The Other takes a look at the spotted owl debate from the business side. Even with a firmly held opinion, it is always worthwhile to understand the other side of any controversial subject.

To quote the core issue:

"The final Revised Recovery Plan, issued on June 30, calls for expanding protections for owls beyond the nearly six million acres currently set aside. Ironically, it also calls for the "removal"—i.e., shooting—of hundreds of barred owls, a larger and more adaptable rival of the spotted owl that competes for prey and nesting sites, and sometimes breeds with the spotted owl."

The editorial highlights the costs, in both the implementation of protection and the revenue lost in protecting the timbered habitat. The spotted owl debate is a closeup view of a larger conundrum, how much to spend protecting species that may eventually be a lost cause. Another example would be trying to restore the prairie chicken to the small disconnected patches of residual prairie in Missouri.

I would suggest that you take a deep breath and read Environmentalist Wisdom: Shoot One Owl to Save The Other with an open mind, then put it on the other side of the "environmental scale of thought" and hold both thoughts for a few minutes. It will only cause a small headache.

* Peter Kareiva is chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy, writing in the blog at Nature.org.
Extensive information on the spotted owl is at Wikipedia.

Hurricane Migrant

2011-09-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

Chinquapin- from Georgia DNR

Charlie Burwick sent me this story about a whimbrel named Chinquapin which survived a migration from Southampton Island through Hurricane Irene and arrived safely at the mouth of the Amazon in Brazil. It made this incredible journey of 4,000 kilometers (roughly 2,500 miles) in spite of flying through 175 kilometer per hour winds and never lost its bearings. On last year's migration it managed to fly around Tropical Storm Colin.

Chinquapin got its name when it was fitted with a tiny radio transmitter the bird has carried since May of 2010. This allowed nervous researchers record its flight through the Northeast section of the hurricane.

The Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus is a shore bird, a type of curlew. Its breeding range is across North America, Asia and Europe. Their range map for the Western Hemisphere is here. Their primary food is crab although they eat berries and blue butterflies in season. Their curved beak is perfect for extracting fiddler crabs from their burrows. They can wash the mud off their dinner and even remove the claws and legs before swallowing it.

This doesn't directly relate to Missouri wildlife until you think about the many species of our birds that make equally long migrations through storms. In the words of Bill Bryson, "Life just wants to be."

Climate Is A Changin'

2011-09-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Climate change is debatable in many political circles but many animal species are apparently convinced or at least preparing for the possibility. By now you have probably encountered the study from the journal Science as reported by the Associated Press and other media outlets.

Chris Thomas and colleagues analyzed recent studies from around the globe that measured the movement of species into new territory. Species are always on the move but the rate of movement is suddenly much greater. A 2003 study that found species moving north at a rate of just more than a third of a mile per year and up mountains at a rate of 2 feet a year. About 2,000 species examined this decade in Thomas's study "are moving away from the equator at an average rate of more than 15 feet per day, about a mile per year." That is 45 times faster than the previous decade!

Species also move up mountains to escape the heat. The previous rate was 2 feet a year but they are now averaging about 4 feet a year.

What ever the cause, there is no doubt that the last decade was the hottest on record. We can all probably agree that there are climate changes throughout history including droughts, ice ages, etc. With instant news outlets and unavoidable media across TV and computer screens, we are probably more aware of these changes than in the past. I doubt most of us would have been aware of the current conditions in Texas in the world that existed in 1950.

The conflict comes when we begin to assign blame to human behavior. Many cities are setting the blame game aside and preparing for possible scenarios if predictions of---Global Warming--- (there, I had to say it) should happen to be true. Kinda like the animals.

We have all ready noticed that armadillos are increasingly more common in the Ozarks. It is difficult to ascribe this to warming temperatures alone, however similar findings across the continent are hard to ignore.

The Wall Street Journal recently had coverage of communities such as Chicago and San Francisco which are making long term plans to deal with climate change. This includes the possibility of rising sea levels in coastal areas and increased flooding in Chicago from the changing patterns of Midwest storms.

Some of this is simply common sense applied to current problems such as building in flood plains and areas inundated by high tides. I can recall a recent trip along the Mississippi. There was a large sign advertising a industrial development along the river with "Flood Plain" in its name. A short way down the road there was a billboard opposing the development, simply saying "They Call it a Flood Plain for a Reason!"

The study by Chris Thomas and colleagues from the University of York was reported in the journal Science. The abstract and study methods are available at this link.

Paw Paw

2011-08-31T06:00:00.000-07:00


Paw paw fruit

After a series of late freezes have destroyed the Paw Paw crop we were excited to see lots of fruit in our Paw Paw grove. My excitement diminished today as I saw a number of broken branches, evidence that the competition is getting to them before they are ripe. Squirrel, bear and raccoons are all in line as the summer draws to an end.

Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) is a native tree which produces fruit two to six inches long. It has the flavor of an over ripe banana and when mature you may smell them before you see them. It has 1/4" seeds and a custard-like pulp which is good on ice cream, paw paw bread or even eaten raw.

The small tree is easily identifiable by its distinctive leaves. They are alternate, single veined and widest close to the tip. The leaves are among the largest in our forest, ten to twelve inches long, four to five inches wide. In the early spring, before or just as new leaves are coming out, it produces a distinctive maroon flower. This early spring blossoming leaves it vulnerable to late frosts.

Paw paw leaves

Paw paw tends to grow in well-drained, fertile bottom-land soil. How our grove developed up on top of a ridge a mile from the creek remains a mystery. The density of the 40 trees is more understandable as they grow by suckering of the roots, meaning that they are likely all genetically identical. The grove is close to a hollow tree that has been a refuge for bears over the years. They or some other animal may have transferred the seeds in the way a large mammal "moves" big seeds.

Paw paw girls- 2003

It doesn't look like we will have a big harvest like the one in 2003. I can only show the ones that survived the morning as over half were shoved into mouths as we harvested them. I suspect this year we will have some really big raccoons and a few bears with green gooey smiles.

Potter Wasp

2011-08-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Potter wasp nest- Click to enlarge

While looking for caterpillars under leafy branches, we came upon this jug vase-shaped structure, a half inch in diameter, attached to a thin stem. It looked like something I would make if I tried my hand at pottery. We guessed it was a nest of some kind. Dr. Chris Barnhart later pointed me in the direction of a potter wasp nest.

Some build solitary nests in small existing cavities in wood or stone, even using nail holes and screw shafts on farm equipment. Many species also construct their unique vase shaped nests of mud and regurgitated water. Wikipedia quotes studies suggesting that some Native Americans based their pottery designs on these structures.

Potter wasp, Eumeninae family- Wikimedia

They use materials similar to a mud dauber and like the daubers, they provision the nest with a paralyzed caterpillar or spider for their single egg. When the larva hatches, it has food to last until it pupates. The life cycle can go from a few weeks to a year. Adults feed on floral nectar. When you consider the size of a wasp brain, their pottery skills are quite amazing.

Yellowjacket- MDC

Potter or mason wasps are in the family Eumenidae, a diverse group of 200 genera. They are generally black or brown with patches of yellow, white, orange, or red. Wikipedia describes a unique identifying feature, a small plate on the back of their thorax, "a posterolateral projection known as a parategula on both sides of the mesoscutum". When you can identify this on a flying wasp it indicates that 1) it is probably a potter wasp and 2) you are way too close. At the distance I try to keep from a black and yellow wasp, it is difficult to differentiate them from the more aggressive yellowjacket. Probably that is best for all concerned.

The MU Extension has a good resource page on wasps in general.
Pictures from Wikimedia.

Mud Daubers

2011-08-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

A Springfield News-Leader article by Francis Skalicky of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) on wasps led me to some interesting information. It turns out that not all mud daubers are created equal.

Organ pipe dauber nest

The male organ pipe mud dauber (Trypoxylon politum) is not only a master mason but a dedicated family man. After constructing the detailed nest, a family affair, the male stays to guard the nest against parasites while the little lady is off shopping for spiders to feed the future kids that are currently resting in the egg. This trait, more recent evolved in human husbands, is not all that common among male wasps.

Black and yellow dauber nest

The black and yellow mud dauber, Sceliphron caementarium, is more like my generation, leaving the feeding of the kids to the female. Their nest is built built of parallel tubes, later plastered over to form a large and unsightly lump. Once sealed, the adults leave the kids on their own. Consequently there are several insects that will parasitize their nests.

The blue mud dauber Chalybion californicum is a metallic blue species that preys primarily on black widow spiders. It does not build a nest, but uses nests abandoned by other mud dauber wasps. It doesn't carry mud but only water which it uses to renovate their previously used nest. Like other mud daubers, it is rarely aggressive. Think about it- doesn't build new nests, doesn't attack and harvests black widow spiders. Sounds like a good household pet to me.

There is a summary of these wasps in the Discover Nature Field Guide.

Black Vultures Fledge- They're Baaaack!

2011-08-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

August 23- You again?

I stuck my head in the Black Vulture nesting stall to see if I needed to clean out anything and there the chicks were, looking none the worse for their outing. If I hadn't gone all over the stall the day they fledged I would have thought I had overlooked them.

I had assumed that like robins and bluebirds, once they leave the nest they are gone. The hawkmountain.org site says that they fledge at around 10 to 14 weeks but remain dependent on their parents for much longer. Sometimes they are still being fed by their parents eight months later. They also may hang with their parent's social group for several years. With this late teenager behavior I almost expected to see an X-box in the stall.

The hawkmountain.org site has extensive information on black vultures. Stay tuned for more adventures!

Black Vultures Fledge!

2011-08-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last day at home- Click to enlarge

For those of you who have been following the series on the Black Vulture chicks growing up in our barn, they are now coming to a sky near you. I took these pictures on August 15th, 56 days after they hatched.

The egg discovery was covered in a May blog and their hatching in the June 20th entry. They had grown up considerably since they were fuzzy little - well medium sized - balls of fluff.

Video Outake

As you can see now their fluff was falling off by the handfuls. They walked around the stall paying attention to me only if I stepped in to get better pictures. By now they would only raise their wings but no longer bothered to hiss at me.

Two days later I was headed past the old barn when I noticed black birds in the open center portion As I neared I saw two turkey vultures fly out the other end, then two black vultures. They were followed by the smaller chicks, awkward in flight and flapping rapidly like ducks. They were able to gain altitude across the field and clear the distant tree line.

The barn was built before 1900 and has seen its better days. One day it will collapse, hopefully long after we are gone. We have a picture of Christopher Columbus Meadows holding a beautiful horse beside it. It has stored our equipment, housed our harvested gourds and dried the garlic from its rafters.

Barn Swallow

It also serves as a nursery. Resident wood rats chew on gourds and the occasional garlic. A ground hog has taken up residence beside it and undoubtedly has maternal instincts. A colony of barn swallows annually raise chicks that peer over the nests at us as the parents swoop through, chattering their protests that it is their barn.

With all this history, I think our favorite memory will be raising black vultures. We will always wonder which vultures circling the skies are "ours".

Note: Some day this fall we will post a video combining their nursery days.

Mushrooms of August

2011-08-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

In Europe they hunt truffles with trained hogs or dogs but you have to feed and care for them. At Bull Creek, I have Barb who can spot mushrooms while riding along on her ATV and she feeds and cares for me. What a deal! Editor's Note: He is such a lucky guy!

Two-color Bolete- Click to enlarge

Monday's tour produced six species including two nice batches of Oyster mushrooms, a culinary treat. We also found these beauties, Two-colored Boletes (Boletus bicolor).

Even with a distinctive looking mushroom like this one, identification is time consuming for a beginner. Beginning with a careful inspection of the gills, pores or other methods of spore production, you then focus on consistency, texture, odor, bruising and other features. Sometimes the final identification requires microscopic examination of the spores.

Two-colored Boletes are a little easier to start with. The cap is 2-6 inches across and varies from dark red to almost pink. The under surface is bright yellow with tiny pores packed tightly together, hard to see with the naked seventy year old eye. The stalk is thick and very firm, a dark red which fades to yellow near the cap. As is true throughout nature, colors can vary at times.

These are common mushrooms which show up from July to October and are usually found under oak trees, just as we found them.

All mushrooms are edible - once - some only once. Many mushrooms will make you wish you hadn't eaten them but aren't fatal. Occasional individuals may be sensitive to edible mushrooms including even morels.

"Edible" in mushroom reference books means it is safe to eat but says nothing about taste. In theory, cardboard is edible. This Two-colored Bolete is rated as choice. Most of the mushrooms which could be confused with it are edible but I passed on it.

We never eat a mushroom unless we have learned to identify it from an expert who has eaten it in the past, and is standing in front of us looking healthy. At least it made a great picture.

Tobacco Hornworms

2011-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Tobacco Hornworm on Datura

Barb identified these dreaded tobacco hornworms on a Datura "Moonflower" plant we acquired from Larry Wegman. These and their near kin, tomato hornworms, are frequently described with scorn by visitors to the Butterfly House. Both varieties are major pests on tomato plants but I think they deserve a little better press.

In spite of the tobacco in its name, Datura species plants are also a hornworm favorite. The genus Datura includes Jimson weed and various thorn-apples (see the thorn-apple in the picture). Datura are members of the Solanaceae family, which includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, tobacco, petunia and even the deadly nightshade.

Carolina Sphinx Moth- Wikimedia

The tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta is the caterpillar of an attractive moth of the Sphingidae family that includes hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms. Its adult form is called the Carolina Sphinx Moth. They are rapid fliers and hover while feeding like a hummingbird.

Because of their large size, short life cycle and ease of feeding they are used in research settings as well as classrooms. Research includes neurobiology, flight mechanisms and larval nicotine resistance. Given their contributions to research and their habit of eating tobacco, I can almost forgive them for chewing the occasional tomato.

Read more: Datura and Hornworms | eHow.com http://entomology.unl.edu/k12/caterpillars/hornworm/hornwormpage.html

Incredible Osprey

2011-08-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

Osprey- MDC

Dan Crane sent me this arkive.org link with footage of Osprey catching fish. What I am sure is just business as usual for the bird is incredible to me. The last catch shows it hauling out a fish twice its size, taking off from being completely submerged and carrying its prey in one claw!

Osprey are the only raptor that plunges into the water to catch its prey. The fact that they can then take off, let alone with a large struggling fish is impressive. Some of us can't always hold a fish long enough to take out the hook! Osprey have special adaptations which allow this unique fishing style.

"The Osprey is particularly well adapted to this diet, with reversible outer toes, sharp spicules on the underside of the toes, closable nostrils to keep out water during dives, and backwards-facing scales on the talons which act as barbs to help hold its catch." (Wikipedia)

Last fall, Mike Kromrey pointed out an Osprey flying over Valley Water Mill. Never common breeders in Missouri, their numbers were apparently reduced even before DDT took a toll on their population. Like other species at the top of their respective food chain, they are vulnerable to toxins accumulated in fish. We are seeing more Osprey in recent decades due to the reduction of pesticides and the development of reservoirs. (MDC)

More general information on Osprey can be found at this natural history site.

The Ant that Ain't

2011-08-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Velvet Ant- Click to enlarge

I found this critter running rapidly through the cropped grass and weeds by our swimming hole. The consensus among my young naturalists was "Wow, look at that ant!" and they were partially correct. It is a velvet ant, an insect that "ain't an ant."

Velvet-ants are solitary wasps, characterized by their dense hair in vivid shades of red, orange or yellow. The males have wings and usually have different coloration from the wingless females. They differ from ants by having a thicker pedicel, the connection between abdomen and thorax. Adults feed on nectar and water.

I chased this swift creature for several minutes before I was able to get it to run into a zip lock bag. Due to its formidable appearance, I was never tempted to touch it during the chase, a wise decision. Velvet-ants are considered to have the most painful sting of any insect in North America. This particular species is called a Cow Killer, describing the supposed strength of its sting.

The female Cow Killer (Dasymutilla occidentalis) searches the open ground for bumblebee larva. Once found, it eats a hole through the cocoon and drops a single egg in each bumblebee brood chamber. Its larva will feed on the bumblebee larva and then pupate in the chamber that the bumblebee had created for it. Finally it emerges as a warm and fuzzy "ant" - well maybe not so warm.

Detailed information is at this Michigan Entomological Society site.

Mad Hat Insect

2011-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Treehopper helmet- shortsharpscience

An e-mail from Kevin Firth introduced me to treehoppers with their weird "helmets". For those of us new to treehoppers, they are in the Membracidae family which is related to cicadas and the leafhoppers. These are sap suckers, which penetrate wood with their sharp beaks.

The excess sap is concentrated as honeydew which attracts ants. Aphids also produce honeydew and some species are actually farmed by ants which bring them in at night to protect them, taking them out during the day to resume farming. Like some other insects including Lycaenidae butterfly caterpillars, some leafhopper species are protected from predators by the ants who know a "sweet deal" when they see it.

Treehoppers have so-called helmets which are appendages attached to the the back of the pronotum or first thoracic segment. Think of it as just above and just between your shoulder blades if you were suddenly morphed into an insect. These helmets come in a fantastic variety of shapes as you can see here at Bugguide.net.

Treehopper anatomy rewrites the standard description of insects. It includes a pair of legs on the three thoracic segments and a pair of wings on the second and third segment. Wings on the first thoracic segment were present on some ancient treehopper fossils but are thought to have disappeared around 100 million years ago by the loss or repression of a functioning Hox gene.

The New Science blog shortsharpscience describes recent research on these helmets. The new report has found that the helmets of treehoppers are actually a jointed appendage on the first thoracic segment (pronotum). This is thought to be due to a reactivation of the Hox gene, revising what would have been a wing. Since it isn't functional for flight, bizarre shapes are possible.

The science behind this is as fantastic as some of the helmet pictures.

Widow Skimmer

2011-08-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Widow Skimmer- Click to enlarge

Maybe it is just a slow news day but I wanted to post something beautiful. This dragonfly lit on a garden pole and remained for some time. I e-mailed the pictures to my local guru George Sims and got his usual prompt ID, later confirmed by his cohorts at Odonatacentral.org/.

This is a Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), a dragonfly in the King Skimmer group. They are a common dragonfly found across most of the United States. Our specimen is a male, identified by the broad white spots in the mid wing. This is best seen here in the side view but are easily seen when they are flying. They are slow flying for a dragonfly and "easy to catch"- relative to say a hummingbird?.

They lay their eggs in the water, preferably pond or pools, and their larvae (naiads) feed on small aquatic insects. The last molt reveals the adults complete with a set of wings. They then feed on small flying insects, mate, drop their eggs and the cycle begins again.

Don't you love a story with a happy ending?

Good Parasites II

2011-08-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

In Good Parasites I, we asked you to "Imagine what would happen if a destructive caterpillar had no natural parasites.

Gypsy Moth- Wikimedia

Consider the success of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. It has spread across Eastern North America in the last hundred years and seems unstoppable. During periodic population surges of the caterpillar, they cause the death of thousands of acres of trees by defoliation. Most birds avoid the hairy caterpillars. More importantly, they left all their normal parasites back in Europe and Asia when they made the trip here so they have no consistent parasites to control their numbers.*

In the absence of an effective native parasite, more than 45 foreign species have been introduced in a futile and occasionally desperate attempt to control the gypsy moth. One tachinid fly, Compsilura concinnata, was introduced as a known parasitoid of the gypsy moth and other introduced species such as the satin moth and brown-tail moth.

Compsilura concinnata

The gypsy moth is univoltine (undergoes one generation per year), but the flies are multivoltine, having three to four cycles a year. This means that only one cycle will feed off gypsy moth larvae and to survive the year, they have to find other caterpillar larval food sources, attacking species which pupate later. Also, their larva must overwinter in a larval host. Since the gypsy moth overwinters in the egg, Compsilura has to find another host.

Some of the alternate hosts are garden pests such as the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni and the imported cabbageworm, Pieris rapae L. Unfortunately, other hosts include swallowtails, Nymphalidae (brushfooted butterflies) and Saturniidae (giant silk moths). Parasitism rates can be as high as 81% in the cecropia moth and 68% in the promethea moth.**

The lesson of all this-
"A Good Parasite is hard to find,
you always get the other kind.
Just when you think he is your pal,
You look for him and find him fooling 'round some other gal"
- with apologies to Eddie Green.

* Missouri Natural Areas Newsletter Vol. 11 No 1 2011
** University of Minnesota

Good Parasites

2011-08-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Black Swallowtail Parasite- Barnhart

We recently wrote about parasitic wasps which lay eggs on caterpillars, hatching larvae which feed off the caterpillar and usually kill it in the end. They are a major cause of caterpillar mortality. We have special mesh at the Butterfly House sized to prevent most of these small wasps from getting to our cats. We tend to hover like parents over the cats while wishing the were no parasitic wasps and flies anywhere. We need to be careful about what we wish for.

Parasite has become a derogatory word. It is used to describe con men, loan sharks and even a relative who moved into your basement "for a few days" and is still there two years later. Who ever heard of a good parasite?

Parasites are actually an important part of nature. Just as coyotes and foxes have cycles in the control the potential hordes of rabbits in our fields, parasites control the reproduction of their specific host species. If they kill too many caterpillars, they will face extinction.

Variable Oakleaf caterpillar-FIDL

Sometimes the system gets out of balance. The variable oak leaf caterpillar, Heterocampa manteo, is a common larva of a rather undistinguished moth. It eats the leaves of many species of trees but especially attacks oaks. Occasional heavy infestations can affect millions of acres and extend over hundreds of miles. Twice in the last 30 years a swelling of their numbers has defoliated 7-8 million acres in Missouri. Although they may slow the growth of an individual trees, they rarely causing long lasting damage.*

Why they have big years is unknown but you can be sure that their parasites have greater numbers the next few years. This is an important factor in controlling a large outbreak. Fortunately, they have lots of parasites which serve to drastically reduce their numbers back to normal. The Forest and Insect Disease Leaflet (FIDL) -no government pun intended- gives a lot more information.

"In years following large infestations, the egg parasites Trichogramma sp. and Telenomus sp. may kill 90 percent of the eggs. Nearly all egg masses have some parasitized eggs; only the eggs concealed within a cluster escape. This high level of parasitization, plus the failure of many prepupae to pupate in the spring, appear to be the major reasons for lack of consecutive heavy defoliations.
At least seven species of larval parasites attack variable oakleaf caterpillar larvae. The most important species are Diradops bethunei Cress (Ichneumonidae), Protomicroplitus schizurae (Braconidae), and Lespesia schizurae (Tachinidae). Combined larval parasitization may kill 90 percent of the larvae."

The lesson of all this- sometimes you really need good parasites. Just imagine what would happen of a destructive caterpillar had no natural parasites. Stay tuned for the exciting sequel, Good Parasites II

* See the latest Missouri Natural Areas Newsletter

Making Connections

2011-08-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Kevin Firth, a butterfly wrangler and docent for Friends of the Garden allowed me to print this story for our blog.

Green June Beetle - Continis nitida

The Green June Beetle is a large scarab that usually starts to show up about the same time as the more infamous Japanese Beetles that we all know and love. The Green June Beetle (GJB) is a native though, and generally occurs in much lower concentrations than the invasive Japanese Beetle. I have seen only a few this year, but several summers ago, we experienced a rather large population of these beautiful scarabs (at least in my backyard).

The GJB is a noisy and not particularly agile flier--they sound like a B52 when on the wing. I remember trying to mow my lawn one summer as an emergence of these beetles was underway in my backyard and actually being forced to stop and wait for the emergence to end before finishing the task--there were beetles slamming into me from all directions.

The GJB larvae, like many scarabs, lives in the soil and feeds on the roots of plants, particularly grasses. At that time, I wasn't sure what they were, and a quick search of Bugguide gave me the answer.

Scolia dubia- Wikimedia

I also noticed, about the same time, a beautiful wasp visiting the flowers in our landscaping. This turned out to be Scolia dubia and there was a good reason that I was seeing a bunch of these wasps about the same time that I saw the Green June Beetles. Scoliid wasps are parasites of scarab beetles, and Scolia dubia specializes in parasitizing the Green June Beetle. The adult females will dig to find a beetle grub, sting it to paralyze it, and lay a single egg on the grub.

While most of the wasps are observed nectaring on flowers, I have observed these wasps (presumably females) flying low over the yard, landing, and disappearing into the ground. Editors note: I would guess that they are leaving their pickles and ice cream nectar to lay a few eggs.

Giant Leopard Moth

2011-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Giant Leopard Moth

One advantage of being in Master Naturalists is that friends bring you lots of interesting bugs and plants to identify, a game called "Stump the Chump". I sometimes have to remind them that "Master Naturalist" is an organization, not a degree.

Larry Whiteley brought this Bass Pro special today. Fortunately he he had found a uniquely colored moth with an interesting story. The Giant Leopard Moth, Hypercompe scribonia, is very distinctive with dramatic dark ovals and circles on its dorsal forewings resembling a leopard's spots. This specimen was long dead so I livened it up on a floral arrangement.

Caterpillar Defensive Position- Wikimedia

Also known as the Eyed Tiger Moth, it is a member of the Arctiidae family which includes Tiger, Tussock and Lichen moths. Its beautiful hairy caterpillar is related to the Woolly Bear caterpillar, touted as a forecaster of winter weather. The Tiger Moths get their name from the bold bands of various colors on their dorsal wings.

Tiger Moths have a unique defense against bats, a formidable predator during their nocturnal flights. They have long been known to produce ultrasonic sounds but now we know a reason why. A Discover Magazine blog describes sounds the moths emit as interfering with the echolocation system of bats. We can think of it like a fighter plane jamming a missile's radar signal. This tactic greatly reduces the bat's successful rate of moth captures.

New studies of bat echolocation from Brown University add to the wonder. They describe how a bat can isolate the echos of a small insect amidst all the echos from the environment (tree branches, leaves, wires, etc) and those of other bats. Since the attack sequence of a bat lasts less than a second, the moths have to react fast. Fortunately, the moths can produce up to 450 clicks in one-tenth of a second.

Friendly Butterflies

2011-07-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

Beauty with a Crescent beauty

What can bring more joy to a child than a butterfly willing to rest on her finger? We had a lot of Silvery Crescents on the rocky bank of Bull Creek last weekend and they were patient enough to climb on your finger if you held it down to them.

Most butterflies spend some time on moist soil, gravel and even dung, a behavior called puddling. They are collecting minerals they fail to get with the pure carbohydrate in nectar. This behavior can lead to large collections of different species, all gathering on a small area like college kids at a bar.

Great Spangled Fritillary "Scalping"

Human sweat also provides these salts. Some butterflies seem more likely to land on us, whether by their perception of odor or colors. My odor on a hot steamy day would not ordinarily be an attractant, but then as I mentioned, they also will land on dung. Wood Nymphs, Painted and American Ladies and American Snouts seem to be the most often attracted to me.

American Snout

The American Snout, Libytheana carinenta, is one of the most interesting butterflies to see up close. Their mouth parts (labial palps) are greatly elongated, creating their long snout that could remind you of Cyrano de Bergerac or Jimmie Durante, depending on your age. Long pointed protruberances on either end of an insect causes people to fear a bite or sting, but this butterfly is simply looking for salt and other nutrients.

The snout gives them additional camouflage with their leaf-like wings appearing to be attached to a stem, their snout. They frequently add to the deception by hanging upside down from a stem.

The larval host plants for Snouts are Hackberry species- Celtis spp. In the South, they occasionally have population explosions, followed by mass migrations which have been known to darken the sky. These occur when a specific Hackberry leafs out following late summer rains in Texas. In 1921 a migration lasting 18 days was estimated to include more than 6 billion butterflies. (How do you count that many butterflies? Easy- you count their wings and divide by two.)

If you haven't had your snout full yet, there are great pictures at http://www.cirrusimage.com/butterfly_snout.htm.

p.s. Did you know there is a snout moth? Neither did I. See Mobugs

Japanese Beetles

2011-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Beetles take in a little grape

Japanese Beetles have a sweet tooth, or at least a sweet mandible. While they seemingly can eat anything (400 species and counting), on Bull Creek they are often found most predictably on wild grape. Unlike Dracula, they avoid the leaf veins, leaving a clean reticulated pattern like they were carefully dissecting the circulatory system.

They are thought to have arrived in the US in 1916. They have become an urban and garden problem in recent years, matching the observation that most invasive species take around a hundred years to spread and become a major problem.

Now they are facing the government. It turns out that they, like a turn of the century Ozarker, have developed a taste for corn. If they were eating just the leaves, it might not be as big a problem. It turns out that they specialize in nibbling the corn silk, the plant's source of pollination. This in turn prevents the development of the kernel our society has become so dependent on for food, sweetening and now fuel.

Researchers suspect that it will be 5 to 7 years of progressive problems before nature begins to reach an equilibrium. There are many factors that can begin to control a new invasive species. If new predators which are uncommon now develop a taste for them, the predators success can lead to proliferation of their numbers. Diseases that are selective for them could also reduce their numbers.

Nature always finds a way to restore the balance. Unfortunately the process is slow in human terms so don't expect them to fade away any time soon.

More information is available in this News-Leader article

Weaver Ants

2011-07-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Weaver ant gluing leaves

The May issue of National Geographic had a fascinating article on weaver ants. Mark Moffett captures incredible images of their teamwork in weaving their colonial homes. These denizens of Southeast Asia and Australia have one of the most complex societies known.

Among their many skills they can:

Create nests the size of soccer balls by stitching together leaves.
Create a city of these nests, up to 100 which are linked socially by their own brand of communication.
Hold and squeeze larva like a tube of glue to bind leaves together.
Stretch over a third of an inch to pull leaves together before weaving them into a home.
Attack intruders, including photographers by biting with a toxic substance and spraying formic acid to burn the nostrils.

The article describes the beginning of a construction project this way.

Pulling leaves together
"A single worker stands on a leaf and reaches to grasp the edge of another leaf nearby. If the span is too great, a second worker climbs over the first, and the bottom ant grasps the newcomer by its wire-thin waist and holds it out closer to the goal. Still not enough? A third ant clambers over the first two and is lifted out farther yet. Ant by ant, a living chain grows into thin air like the arm of a construction crane. Once the distant leaf is grabbed, the squad pulls in unison, often with nest mates that have formed parallel chains and reinforcing cross-links, to draw the leaves' edges together. Workers begin to array themselves like live staples along the seam between the leaves, legs holding on to one edge, jaws gripping the other."

Read this National Geographic.com website article for all the details.

Deer Exclosure

2011-07-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

Jeff's Nature Home Page

Linda Chorice of the Springfield Conservation Nature Center pointed me to a story on a deer exclosure on NPR. Exclosure refers to the eight foot high fencing used keep deer out of an area. Although this could be used to protect plants or gardens, this particular exclosure was created to study the habitat changes brought on by a heavy population of deer.

Whitetail deer were a daily sight when Henry Rowe Schoolcraft traversed southern Missouri in 1818. There were also numerous wolves, bear and even panther which served as predators to keep the deer population in balance, and a whole country for them to roam and browse. In current times their primary predators (hunters and vehicles) haven't kept them in check.

The deer habitat has changed with agriculture and hay fields taking over past forests and savannas. Browsing opportunities have been somewhat limited so they nibble a higher percent of new young trees in the islands of woodlands surrounded by fields. Meanwhile they have adapted quite well to the more urban life where they are relatively free from hunting pressure. They have developed a more sophisticated taste in dining including table decorations and salads, i.e. flowers and vegetable gardens.

Urban Deer- Outdoorcentral.com

The NPR story highlights the habitat changes seen by excluding deer from 10 acres. There was considerably more diversity in the protected area with a wider variety of forbs and shrubs as well as young trees. This provided for more favorable habitat for mice and chipmunks which are a natural part of the food chain for snakes, foxes, etc.

There are two small exclosures along the trails at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center. Next time you pass by, stop and check out any differences between the plants inside and outside the fence. You may notice a relative absence of new growth trees and shrubs outside as deer browse tender young shoots. Without a chance to develop young trees, we end up with open woods lacking the habitat needed by many small mammals. As the trees age and die, there are no young and teenage trees to take their place. Deer also browse the shrubs which produce berries that feed birds and too many for this urban island of nature eliminates this food source for birds.

The effects of too many deer living on this protected urban island doesn't threaten the survival of birds and our forests. It simply highlights the more widespread effects as habitat is consumed by human activities and deer numbers increase in the absence of natural predators. Hunting controls the population in the wild. In our expanding urban areas...not so much.

MSU conducts studies of the flora in and outside of the exclosure at the Nature Center. Take time to compare this with the surrounding woods at the Nature Center the next time you walk the trails.

* Checkout Jeff's Nature Home Page to view some of his incredible nature photography.

Hickory Horned Devil

2011-07-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hickory Horned Devil- Click to enlarge

The star of the Caterpillar Petting Zoo at the Butterfly Festival was the Hickory Horned Devil. This caterpillar was found in a Table Rock Lake campground but you can find them anywhere there are hickory and walnut trees. You are not likely to overlook one as they are are colorful and hefty. Prominent horns on their head round out their fearsome appearance but they are really harmless unless your happen to be a tree. *

The Devil is the larva of the Royal Walnut Moth, also known as the Regal Moth, Citheronia regalis, the largest moth by mass in North America. The devil is also the largest caterpillar in the US, measuring up to 6 inches long. Although their horns are not sharp, they can defend themselves with some devilish dance moves as seen in this Youtube video.

Like many other Lepidoptera, there is a considerable difference in color and appearance between the first caterpillar instar out of the egg and the subsequent four instars. The final instar turns from a bright green to turquoise seen above, a change we could witness in our caterpillar throughout the day. It finally crawls down to the ground and burrows a chamber five to six inches deep. There it forms a pupa without spinning a cocoon.

First instar with egg **

Third instar- Delaware Nature Soc.

Royal Walnut Moth- Wikimedia

Citheronia regalis, like other saturniids such as the Luna and Cecropia Moths lack a digestive system. They fly for about a week, sensing the other sex with their feathery antennae, mating and laying eggs before they pass on to the great walnut tree in the sky.

* They feed on several trees and shrubs including walnuts, hickories, buttonbush, persimmon, sumac, and sweet gum as well as (good news!) invasive bush honeysuckle.
** Imageshack.us/photo

Green June Beetle-NOT!

2011-07-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Note:

Our beetle- Click pictures to enlarge

Thanks to an alert Shelly Cox* from MDC we have a new ID below. I posted a Green June Beetle story this morning which was all correct except it wasn't the right beetle! Within a few hours of the posting, Shelly read it and identified the beetle as a Fiery Searcher, a.k.a. Caterpillar Hunter. First the differences.

Note that my beetle pictures, like the Fiery Searcher, show long thin antennae and legs that are smooth. The wing covers are streaked with long furrows and scattered tiny pits.
The Green June Beetle picture shows short broad antennae, clubbed at the end, and legs with curved spines on the tibia. Its wing covers are perfectly smooth.

Fiery Searcher- Calosoma scrutator

Green June Beetle - Continis nitida

Note smooth legs,long antennae

Note wing cover grooves and pits

The beetles of the Calosoma genus are large beetles which hunt caterpillars, both good and bad from our myopic human perspective. Most of the 167 known species are black but Calosoma scrutator is a colorful exception. It gets respect from its mandibles which nip prey, predators and unwary bipeds which pick them up. They also can produce a foul smelling spray from glands at the tip of their abdomen.

Both the beetles and their larvae climb trees in search of caterpillars. They are active from May, when the trees leaf out, through the fall. They winter as adults and can live up to three years.

An animal's role in nature is all in the eye of the beholder. The Fiery Searcher is generally considered a beneficial insect, eliminating destructive caterpillars although some lepidopterists and caterpillars may disagree.

The lesson here is to observe small details carefully. Had I taken the time to draw my beetle, the details would have jumped out at me. More on journaling later.

**Shelly Cox writes my new favorite blog, http://mobugs.blogspot.com/. She started out as a Missouri Department of Conservation volunteer in 2003 and lost her "amateur status" when she was hired by MDC as a Naturalist in January of this year. She posts to her blog with regularity and she has the advantage over me of knowing what she writes about (although this weakness will not stop me from writing).

Trogus Wasps In Black Swallowtail Chrysalides

2011-07-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Life is like a box of chrysalis- you just don't know what you're going to get.
- Forest Gump If he had studied entomology

Found in the Bill Roston Butterfly House- two Black Swallowtail caterpillars that had formed their pupa (chrysalis in butterflies, cocoons in moths) and something was wrong. Dr. Chris Barnhart sent these pictures with the following note.

Black Swallowtail chrysalis
"Found a pretty dramatic parasite in the Bill Roston Butterfly House yesterday. Two black swallowtail chrysalides didn’t look right so I opened them up- here are pictures:

WARNING some viewers may find these disturbing…."

Note long Ovipositors!

One of the predators that cause the most problems for caterpillars are wasps. Many wasp species, particular of the superfamily Ichneumonidae (ick-new-MON-ni-dee), lay their eggs in larva (grubs, caterpillars, etc of all types), usually a particular species for each type of wasp.

Immature wasp larva

Ichneumonids have a long ovipositor which looks like a formidable stinger. Some species can use them to bore through several centimeters of wood straight into a grub. This scary appearing appendage is of no danger to you unless you happen to be its favorite caterpillar.

Once imbedded in the caterpillar, grub or other larval host, the parasite larva eats the host's non-vital organs such as fat. It needs its host to stay alive until it is ready to emerge, chewing its way out of the caterpillar which usually dies afterward.


Trogus Wasp adult emerged

This particular wasp is a Trogus species, likely Trogus pennator. Like all the other Ichneumonids, it has no common name. It attacks swallowtail caterpillars except for the Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor. Pipevine contains aristolochic acid which the caterpillar and the adult butterfly retains, causing it to be toxic to attacking predators.

Researcher Karen Sime discovered that Trogus wasps which sampled Pipevine caterpillars with their antennae flew off without depositing eggs. They had the same response to their normal prey caterpillars when they were painted with aristolochic acid.

You can go to this link to Chris Barnhart's set of pictures.
If you haven't had your full dose of ICK! see this National Geographic Video
but remember, we warned you!

Terrible Hairy Fly

2011-07-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hairy Fly- AFP- BBC

You want rare? How about the wingless Terrible Hairy Fly, Mormotomyia hirsuta. This wasn't written by our Buck Keagy but it could have been. It had been found only twice, in 1933 and in 1948. It is found only on a single 20 meter high rock in Kenya, in a cleft with a bat roost. In the words of Dave Barry, "...and I am not making this up." It is a story worthy of Buck Keagy.

It has small non-functional wings and tiny eyes. Its long hairy legs give it the appearance of a spider. It breeds in bat guano which is also where the larva have been collected. Scientists believe the adults live on bat secretions.

A BBC report on a 2010 expedition that found the fly again and collected it for study. They hope that DNA studies will tell more about its evolutionary history.

Unable to fly, its only means of dispersal would be to cling to a bat that moved to another location. They feel that this rock may house the only specimens. It is the only member of its new family and is probably the only fly species which is limited to Africa.

Editor's note:
If you have never read any of Buck Keagy's Sigh-n-tific discovery stories, now would be a good time to ..... watch the Weather Channel for a few hours or listen to some talk radio. If however you insist, you can check out the April 1, 2011 and April 1, 2010 stories.
Remember- I warned you!

Rattlesnake Master

2011-07-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge

It is always exciting to find a new species on Bull Creek. We just found the first Rattlesnake Master on our place. You have to love a name like that.

The ball at the top of the stalk is made up of lots of tiny white flowers surrounded by sharp bracts (specialized leaves below the flower heads). The leaves are very distinctive with long parallel veins and long thin teeth which are curved like a rattlesnakes fangs.

Leaves with long hair-like teeth

Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) almost resembles a yucca but it is actually a member of the carrot family. It is normally a tallgrass prairie species, although ours was in the woods along a north facing trail. This location may be related to the fact that most of the hills like ours were "barrens" several hundred years ago. Schoolcraft traveling through in 1818 consistently described the hills as open grasslands with only a few scattered trees.

According to Illinoiswildflowers, Native Americans used the dried seedheads as rattles. It received its name from the pioneers who claimed the roots were an effective snakebite antidote. In addition to a garden plant, it is promoted for sale in websites like herb-magic.com.

"Wear RATTLESNAKE MASTER, Red Pepper, and Salt in your Shoes, and you can walk with impunity where people have laid down crossing powders and where poisonous Snakes dwell. A living RATTLESNAKE MASTER plant near your front door -- especially the strong-smelling Eryngium foetidum -- is said to keep snakes away."

"We make no representations for RATTLESNAKE MASTER, and sell as a Curio only."

Timber Rattlesnake- Click to Enlarge

Try telling that to this guy we found by our garage door last week! See him laughing? Me neither.

Flowerpot Fungus

2011-07-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Returning from the MOMS* Foray at Ha Ha Tonka, Barb went down stairs to the game room aka. plant green/brown house to water her kids. She returned triumphantly with a mushroom volunteer. At first glance, based on color and ignorance I guessed it was a chanterelle. Unfortunately I sent this out with that comment- Boy was I wrong!

Within minutes I received emails pointing out my error. The first guesses based on the picture alone was a Hohenbuehila species. A flurry of emails from Ken Olson and Jay Justice from MOMS eventually settled on its being in the Hohenbuehila petaloides group. Ken pointed out that "It is commonly found in the soil of potted plants where rotting wood mulch was used."

Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month is full of information as always.
Like many fungi, this one lives on decayed wood. However, it is also carnivorous- think Audrey in the Little Shop of Horrors. In his own word

"What about the wood decay I alluded to earlier? And what about the nematodes? Well as you might know, wood is a good source of carbon but a terrible source of nitrogen, which fungi need to make proteins. Both Hohenbuehelia and Pleurotus can supplement their protein needs by trapping nematodes, which are small flat worms that are very abundant in wood and soil. The fungi have "sticky knobs" on the hyphae that grow through the wood. These sticky knobs attach to curious nematodes as the nematodes attempt to eat the mycelium. The nematode thrashes around and additional parts of its body become stuck. The hyphae then grow into the body of the nematode and digest it, providing the fungus with the nitrogen it needs. That makes these fungi carnivorous"

If we could grow enough of these, we could save money of glue traps. I wonder if it could eat a mouse.

* MOMS is the Missouri Mycological Society.

Blob on a Dock

2011-07-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

This weeks Ozark Water Watch is too good to simply pirate ideas from so I am blatantly stealing it. Hopefully, Editor David Casaletto will forgive me. You can sign up to follow his stories at http://www.ozarkswaterwatch.org/

Blob growing on dock flotation

What in the world is growing on my dock?

The water quality office phone rang last week and Gopala Borchelt, Executive Director of Table Rock Lake Water Quality answered. A local lake resident wanted to know what in the world was growing on their dock and could it be the result of some lake contamination or sewer overflow. Maybe a space alien! Since the dock was nearby, Gopala jumped in the car with camera in hand to see what was up. It turns out the strange blob is not the result of any pollution or invasion but a strange creature that is actually working to help us keep the lake clean.

The blob is a bryozoan colony. Pectinatella magnifica is a member of the animal phylum Ectoprocta (common names: bryozoans, moss animals), a group with a fossil record extending back to the upper Cambrian (500,000,000 years ago!). The majority of bryozoans are marine (several thousand species), but one class, the Phylactolaemata, is found exclusively in fresh water. The species of this class is what is found in our area lakes. The basic ground plan of a bryozoan superficially appears to have more in common with a coral; they are, in fact, ecological analogs. Bryozoans and corals are in different phyla and are unrelated. What seems to be an individual is actually a colony of zooids (not polyps as in corals). Each zooid has whorls of delicate feeding tentacles swaying slowly in the water catching food.

Bryozoan scraped off into a dip net

Though they are not closely related to corals, bryozoans are superficially similar in that they are tiny colonial aquatic creatures that effectively filter particles from the water. The large gelatinous species is native to North America and often grows on docks and other submerged wood. During the summer it releases small larvae that swim away and establish new colonies nearby. In the fall each colony produces thousands of tiny, seed-like disks that remain dormant over winter and germinate the following spring. Most other freshwater bryozoan species form branching tubules that resemble brown moss in the water (Bryozoa = "moss animal"). While freshwater bryozoans improve water quality, some species become a serious nuisance when they clog intake and irrigation pipes. I, for one, am glad for the help the bryozoans are providing in keeping the lakes clean!

Holding a bryozoan (gloves help - it is slimy!)

Quote of the Week

Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man - who has no gills. -Ambrose Bierce

Longhorn Beetles

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Longhorn Beetle- Marvin Smith

I have been seeing lots of these Longhorn Beetles on the Queen Anne's Lace lately. The distinguishing feature is the antennae which are as long or longer than their body. Once that connection was made, it wasn't hard to narrow it down to a Banded Longhorn Flower Beetle (Typocerus velutinus) in http://bugguide.net/node/view/2959.

The first hit when searching the scientific name brought up a very interesting blog, Nature in the Ozarks. It is written in Arkansas by Marvin Smith. He blogs about his nature findings and gardening when he isn't carving up trees to make wooden spoons. I asked to use his picture as my specimen had passed on to the great weed patch in the sky.

Adult Longhorn Beetles (Family Cerambycidae) larvae bore into wood, some species actually killing live trees. The adults emerge from these tunnels to mate and leave eggs on the next available trees.

Cottonwood Borer- okstate.edu

When I was a kid (don't ask when), Cottonwood Borers, Plectrodera scalator, were killing our row of Lombardy Poplars and my father paid me a penny for each beetle I killed. My first proceeds were spent on a ten cent package of pins which I used to pin them onto the tree and watch them struggle. This was less messy than cutting their heads off and just as satisfying. I never progressed to torturing other insects (OK, maybe an occasional lady finger fire cracker in an ant hill) but have to admit I enjoyed this introduction to nature and hunting.

Typocerus velutinus is one of the Flower Longhorn Beetles, insects that feed on pollen and nectar without disturbing the flowers. They seem especially fond of Queen Anne's Lace, a plant that was introduced to the US from Europe in what seemed like a good idea at the time. This is probably the beetle's equivalent of pizza and pasta.


Queen Anne's Lace- Wikimedia

Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota, is also called wild carrot. Our common domestic carrot is actually a cultivar of this species. The USDA has listed it as a noxious weed and it can be a serious pest in pastures. We notice that Soldier Beetles and Lightning Bugs are occasionally on it.

The good news about the Longhorn Beetles is that they are harmless pollinators and contribute in their own way to the variety of colors in your garden.