Algae Problems

Qingdao, China- Eyepress

Until the rains of a few weeks ago, Bull Creek had lots of stringy algae, both in the shallows and floating in the deep pool.  I couldn't cast a lure without collecting it in the hooks.  We were concerned about this being pollution until we saw it in first and second order streams coming in from land without humans or cattle on it.

The picture above makes me realize we didn't know what an algae problem was.  This was taken from the site of the 2009 Olympic sailing regattas just before the races were to begin in the Yellow Sea.  They had 20,000 people and 1,000 boats mobilized to clean up this area of the ocean which encompassed one-third of the race course.

Algae blooms are caused by excessive nitrogen  and phosphorus combined with low flow or stagnant water warmed by the sun.  Although the nutrients often come from agricultural or urban lawn runoff, in our case we were seeing it also in the draws draining the national forest with neither factor in their watershed.

Our fisheries consultant from MDC felt the problem was stagnant low water conditions with dead plant material building up in the unseasonably warm weather.  Lacking a cast of thousands of Master Naturalists, we waited until a nice four inches of rain over two days flushed out the stream.  We are now back to normal.

And the Olympic regatta?  Two weeks later chinadaily.com reported that it was cleaned up with efforts that included creating two 13 mile long barriers.  I am saving these instructions for the Conservation Department if we have another bloom.

Invasive Honeysuckle and Ticks

Lone star tick- Amblyomma_americanum

Do you want to know how to give a tick a "nervous tic"?  Try cutting down invasive bush honeysuckle.  It turns out that this obnoxious arachnid is found more commonly and is more commonly carrying disease where there is a lot of the bushy invader.

Deer and other small mammals are frequently said to be the intended "natural" victims of ticks, a concept supported by their common names of "deer and dog ticks" as well as" lone star".  We humans are supposedly incidental victims.  (Try telling that to the ticks on Bull Creek.  In spite of spraying, I pulled 30+ off my editor after she spent an afternoon pulling garlic mustard.)

A report from Washington University reported in sciencedaily.com describes how deer are bringing ticks to us in more urban areas.   It appears that deer favor bedding down in bush honeysuckle.  The large draping branches can grow 18 feet tall with stems 4 inches in diameter.  They tend to grow in dense tangles, giving deer safe and luxurious overnight accommodations.  In addition, they leaf out before other shrubs in the spring and retain their leaves through the fall, providing a longer term habitat.

Bush Honeysuckle

Bush (a.k.a. Amur) Honeysuckle is a native of temperate Asia, although it is said to be endangered in Japan (we should be so lucky).  It has escaped and thrived in the eastern United States.  A drive anywhere along the highways around St. Louis and north along the Mississippi in the summer features a constant roadside wall of these luxurious bushes with their bright red berries.


Hard ticks (Ixodidae) can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme disease and Ehrlichiosis.  Not only do the bush honeysuckle lure deer and their ticks in toward civilization, but they increase the percentage of ticks carrying disease.

"...the density of white-tailed deer in honeysuckle-invaded areas was roughly five times that in areas without honeysuckle and the density of nymph life-stage ticks infected with bacteria that cause human disease was roughly 10 times higher."

In addition to giving you a great case of the heebie-jeebies, the article in sciencedaily.com has a lot of interesting details on how the studies were done.  If you want to understand how there were "5,000 nymphal ticks within about a three-meter radius of where we put that trap down," this article is for you.

Some facts to impress your friends:

• Ticks are not insects but belong to the arachnid family like spiders and scorpions.
• The first instar emerging from the egg has only 6 legs while the second and third (adult) have 8 legs.
• Only the female lone star tick has the spot on its back.  Its name is Amblyomma americanum-  so think patriotic thoughts as you pull it off and crush it.

If we didn't have enough concerns with invasive species, this raises a further issue with public health.  We who live in the outdoors know to spray vigorously and do rigorous tick checks.  The suburban population has to recognize that ticks are coming in to meet them.  The reports of possible Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in St. Louis just emphasize the need to control invasive bush honeysuckle.

- Tick species, their range and diseases are at this CDC site.
- Missouri Tick Picture Gallery
- Identification and control measure information from
Missouri Extension, Missouri Department of Conservation  and the CDC are on line. 
- A pamphlet,  Curse of the Bush Honeysuckle, showing you how to identify the plant, is available at or from the MDC office or Conservation Nature Center.

White-Nose Invasive Species

Little Brown Bat with white-nose

New research reported by mnn.com suggests that the fungus implicated in the white-nose syndrome killing bats in the eastern United States is an invasive species, brought accidentally to this continent by humans. 

While the fungus kills off up to 90% of little brown bats in affected colonies, there had been no mass deaths in Europe where the fungus also occurs.  It appeared that either the fungus evolved into a deadly variant in North America or it had co-evolved with European bats who had become immune and then migrated to our continent where the bats immune systems were defenseless.

"In the new study, the researchers infected little brown bats, a once-common species that the infection is wiping out, with isolates of either the North American or European fungus. Both types of infection either killed the bats or sickened them to a point where researchers had to euthanize them. This finding nixed the idea that the North American variety had mutated on its own to become more deadly."

This means that somewhere in the great Columbian Exchange of the last 500+ years the fungus accidentally survived the trip across the Atlantic, accompanying humans or their cargo intact. 

At least we have one piece of good news also reported today.  Dr. Lynn Robbins of MSU reported that "No evidence of White Nose Syndrome has been found among bats at Sequiota Park Cave."  The whole news release is available here.

Know Your Bees

Bumble Bee- Wikimedia

We read a lot about colony collapse syndrome which affects the common honey bee.  In most minds this overshadows the role of other pollinators.  Solitary bees, bumble bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, etc. all contribute to pollination.  Frequently they are dedicated pollinators, the main or even only source of pollination.

We have previously discussed the role of the yucca moth as the dedicated pollinator of yucca flowers in a 2010 blog.  Last Thursday, we mentioned the role of beetles and flies in pollinating Trillium_sessile  and other plants with maroon-brown flowers which produce the smell of decay to attract their pollinators.

There is a broad spectrum of bees which tend to run together, as we tend to think that a bee is a honey bee unless it is a bumble bee or something dramatically different.  We now have a great resource to help identify other bee species.  Look up this St. Louis Zoo link and scroll down to the Missouri Bee Identification Guide.  You can download a beautiful two page PDF that will help you learn about these creatures.  There is also a guide to bumble bees just above it.

St. Louis Zoo is very involved in conservation efforts such as hellbender restoration we discussed in the past and American burying beetles restoration which is coming up.  This is exciting work which helps to maintain our planet while we go through the growing pains of reaching nine billion humans on a limited chunk floating in the universe.

If you share our interests, you probably have field guides bending your book shelves.  This is very handy on just two pages and goes to the lamination as soon as possible, and won't break your budget or your shelf.  The only thing the guide lacks is how to get that close a look at a bee without experiencing its wrath.  I would welcome your suggestions, but my plan to ask Barb to catch them for me.

Crepusculum on Bull Creek

Bladdernut- Click to enlarge

The crepusculum is my favorite time to be outside.  This refers to twilight and dusk, those hours between total darkness and the brightness of day.  Many animals are stirring then which are seldom seen in daytime.

Sitting quietly on the edge of Bull Creek the last few nights has been rewarding.  A beaver swam out, circled around, and then decided it was still a little too bright to go to work.  Many crepuscular animals like them avoid predators by nocturnal feeding, heading back home as daylight appears.

As I sat on the bank in a thicket of bladdernut shrubs, Zebra and Tiger swallowtails fed on the tiny flowers, hanging like little pale green bells with long stamen serving as clappers.  Occasionally a loud buzz by my ear would announce the hovering of a Snowberry Clearwing moth, zipping between flowers, demonstrating its ability to fly backward like a hummingbird.

Eight-spotted Forester- Wikimedia

A special treat was the sight of Eight-spotted Forester moths, Alypia octomaculata, landing on small vines.  These day-flying moths may have been laying eggs on their host plants.  I could clearly make out the white and pale tan patches on their black wings although it was too dark to take their picture.

Walking back through the woods, I passed an oxbow pond, the chorus of frogs was almost deafening.  As I stepped to the edge, they become silent, unable to distinguish an admirer from a potential predator. 

On the way back home, the dark field is filled with fireflies, another early spring sighting, appropriate for April Fools day.

Juniper Hairstreak

Juniper Hairstreak- Click to enlarge

It is always exciting to see a new species on Bull Creek.  This afternoon I noticed a small butterfly on the gravel of our road along a cedar glade.  It remained patiently still as I bent down close enough to make out its green coloration with a touch of orange.  I was able to aim my camera blindly and take pictures up to three inches away.

Now it was time to call up Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) as a resource.  The tiny "hair" on the back edge of each wing identified it as a hairstreak, but which one?  Selecting "Image Gallery" and entering "hairstreak" in the common name box brings up this page.  From there it was just a matter of matching the pictures. 

Juniper Hairstreak, Callophrys gryneus, was a perfect match.  Clicking on the name below the picture brings up the facts.  Wikipedia says "Habitats include bluffs, open fields, barrens, and dry or rocky open places. They are almost always found near or on junipers in these habitats."  A perfect fit as our glade is covered with Eastern Red Cedar which is not actually a cedar but Juniperus virginiana.

The territorial males hang out on cedar branches looking for the ladies.  Eggs are laid on the tips of the  leaves where the larvae will later feed.  Check out the Callophrys-gryneus page and you will see pictures of the caterpillar which looks remarkably like the leaves it feeds upon.  The adults feed on a variety of nectar sources.  With only a one inch wingspan, it is no wonder that we have not identified them before.

Every species has its place in the choir, even rattlesnakes and cedars.

WOLF Skull-dugery

Skull-dugery
   -Naturalists digging into a skull to see what the animal did for a living
                                     -WOLF School, 2012 

After I brush-hogged a stretch of multiflora rose along Bull Creek valley, Barb was patrolling the cut stems with her ever present spray of herbicide when she spotted a treasure. She showed me a bleached skull, 4.5" long, with the pride usually associated with discovering a large gold nugget.  When we keyed it out in The Wild Mammals of Missouri, it came up bobcat.

This find was perfectly timed when I was asked a week later to teach skulls to the WOLF* fifth grade class.  If you are familiar with that program, you know that these kids are well trained junior naturalists and you have to be well prepared when you enter that classroom.

Mammal skulls are fun to key as there a limited number of species and some simple rules to enter them into classes.  First, forward facing eyes suggests a predator, while lateral placed eyes usually means potential prey that are always looking for danger.  Think deer versus bobcat.

Pointed Molars of carnivore- Bobcat

The teeth description is crucial in identification.  While the exact number of teeth on both jaws can be critical in species identification, the types of incisors and premolars/molars as well as the presence of canines give some rapid clues about what the animal ate.

• Herbivores (cow, horse, sheep, elk, bison and pig) generally lack canines and their molars are wavy with mountainous appearing edges where the dentine wears off, leaving the outside hard enamel.   Two-toed species such as deer, goats and sheep lack top incisors as well.
• Gnawing herbivores (rodents such as rats, beaver, rabbits and squirrel) have curved sharp incisors to crack nuts and chew wood.  They lack canines and have wavy molars like other herbivores.
• Carnivores have long pointed canines for grabbing and holding prey, sharp incisors and deep grooved molars with points like little canines.  A quick clue is the hard enamel covering all their teeth.
• Omnivores such as coyote, fox, bear, skunk and raccoons eat both meat and insects as well as plant materials.  Their teeth are a cross between sharp incisors and pointed canines like carnivores and flat molars with blunted point covered with enamel.  Think of omnivores like you and I and it is easy to remember.

WOLFs at work

After fifteen minutes training, the WOLFs in teams of two spent several minutes with each of 5 unknowns.  As I expected, they nailed the types and even the species except for the more difficult raccoon.  And they did it without looking at skull pictures in The Wild Mammals of Missouri as I had done.  Score a big win for the WOLF school.

If you aren't familiar with the Wonders of Ozarks Learning Facility (WOLF) program of Springfield Public Schools, you can learn more at their web site. 
A good source of the information above is a pdf found by Googling "Dichotomous Key Skulls" and selecting the www.hillsboroughcounty.org .pdf.