Aphid Wasp

Today my wife and editor found this creature crawling on the inside of the patio door while moving her house plants outside.  Like the trained naturalist she is, she captured it in a bug box and delivered it to me.  Here is her story.

"My plants were in a sorry shape.  Some of them had scale insects and mealybugs. Sweet sticky juice was on the floor under them. Just the sort of thing other insects might love. I'm used to seeing spiders but this was a flying insect with a thread waist. Having no bug box with me, but very curious about what it was, I pinched it between my thumb and pointer finger until I could find a box. I was surprised that it had very hard body."

Barb's wasp

Measuring 11mm, I didn't expect to have much luck identifying it beyond a wasp.  Inaturalist suggested it was an aphid wasp in the tribe Psenini.  These are typically black wasps characterized by an exceedingly slender petiole connecting the thorax and abdomen.  In frontal views it had a square silvery pattern that looked like the grill on a Rolls Royce.

 - Marci Hess CC

Searching for Psenini in Bugguide I came up with photographs of a Pseneo sp. with the identical facial features.   This was closer to an identification that I had dared to hope for.  Marci Hess has this photograph on Bugguide which shows it much better.  It appears to be frowning, probably from the bright light.  Her photograph below has a much better view of the slender petiole.

Barb's wasp

Aphid wasps are members of the subfamily Pemphredoninae.  They capture aphids and take them back to their nest cells.  There they will lay paralyzed, waiting for the wasp larva to emerge and consume it, staying fresh without refrigeration.  In another wasp family, the Aphidius sp. lays a single egg in an aphid.  Its venom stuns the aphid's ovaries, saving its energy for the emerging wasp larva.


Quite a story from catching a little insect on the glass.  I married the right woman.

Crane Fly

Jesse Haworth just posted this picture of a crane fly on the MN Facebook photos page.  You have to look carefully to appreciate the incredible length of its legs.  You can see them better on the photo of this Lunatipula sp. that landed on our patio door.

"My what lovely long legs you have, Lunatipula."

There are 4250 plus species in the family Tipulidae.  This one's leg span was over 4 inches, resembling a mosquito on steroids.  The pointed end of the abdomen suggests it is a female with an ovipositor which can be mistaken for a stinger. 

Halteres - Wikimedia

Unlike many other insects with 2 pair of wings, the order Diptera (flies, mosquitoes and gnats) have modified their second set of wings to form halteres.  Although they resemble antennae that have slipped back onto the thorax, they are used for balance.  They flap rapidly in flight, serving as a type of gyroscope to stabilize the body in flight.  This fascinating mechanism is described further in Wikipedia.

"Halteres thus act as a balancing and guidance system, helping these insects to perform their fast aerobatics.  In addition to providing rapid feedback to the muscles steering the wings, they also play an important role in stabilizing the head during flight."

A common name for them is mosquito hawk, but in fact most adults don't have mouth parts and do not feed, flying only to mate and breed.  And "hawk" they ain't as their flight skills are almost embarrassing.  It is very uncoordinated and erratic. They tend to “wobble” in unpredictable patterns during flight and are so slow you can catch one by hand.

Their larvae live in semiaquatic and aquatic areas but some are found in moist soil and rotting leaves where they feed on decomposing organic matter.  A few species will feed on plant roots and some introduced species are considered lawn pests when  their larvae are present in large numbers.

Stilt bug?  - Ben Caruthers

There are few insects that look like a crane fly, but one group is the stilt bugs, aka "thread bugs."  Yes, believe it or not these are Hemiptera or true bugs!  I think that is what Ben Caruthers posted.  You can read about them here.

Shagbark Witches' Broom

Witches' broom on shagbark hickory

When the hickory trees were just starting to open their buds, I noticed one tree on the glade with large clumps of leaves already fully leafed out on a few of its branches.  Closer inspection showed that these were clustered twigs of a witches' broom.

Witches' broom - Click to enlarge

Witches' broom is a general term for deformities, generally of trees, when a disease or pathogen causes a branch to make a dense cluster of shoots from a single point.  They can be caused by viral or fungal infections, insects, mites, nematodes or even mistletoe.

The mechanism for many witches' brooms is a hormonal disorder.  Normally a plant hormone called auxin controls the terminal bud development, preventing secondary and tertiary branches from overgrowing.  When these diseases affect a branch, another plant hormone called cytokinin inhibits the auxin's control and clusters of shoots develop.

Hickory downy leaf spot - forestryimages.org

The cause of shagbark hickory witches' broom is a mildew fungus (Microstroma juglandis) that invades leaves and twigs.  After inoculation, possibly by a sucking insect, it can cause hickory downy leaf spot as well as witches' broom. 

The leaves of the broom are smaller that normal leaves and tend to fall earlier in the year.  "Some researchers believe that the fungus overwinters as stromata in fallen leaves.  Infectious spores are released from the remains of the fallen leaves in the spring to cause new infections."  However it survives, we have had brooms in this tree for the last 5 years. 

Looking at our forest, you would never know the attacks that occur on hickories.  Over 180 species of insects and mites are reported to infest hickory trees, as well as bacteria, 133 known fungi and 10 other diseases.  We haven't yet included the woodpeckers that dig into them to dig out some of these predators.

Witches' broom leafing before normal buds

Even a healthy appearing hickory is a veritable cafeteria of nature.  A homeowner might be embarrassed to have a tree like this in their yard.  For us it is a favorite, demonstrating the diversity of nature.

Pygmy Rattlesnake

Pygmy rattlesnake in the grip of the grabber

Visiting friends came rushing to our house to report young Belle had spotted a snake in the little drainage on our road.  She showed me the picture. It had a red-orange stripe down the back and incomplete black bands across the back.   Pygmy rattlesnake!  I picked up my snake tool and hurried out to where I found the snake laying contentedly in the shallow water.

Biting the grabber - Click to enlarge

My snake grabber has springy ends with suction cups on each side.  At first the snake thrashed around, jaws open, looking for its opponent.  Soon it figured out what was holding it and began biting the cups.  You can see it in action in this video.  Notice it striking at the grabber, occasionally missing and hitting its own body.  Once off camera I could see it pull and tent its skin.   Biting blindly like this is likely pure reflex, a built in defense mechanism triggered below the brain and not requiring visual stimuli.

Some years ago Barb opened the sliding glass door and found a timber rattlesnake laying along the lower door glide.  This was a little too close for comfort so she went out another door to get a hoe and dispatched it.  Had it been further from the house we would have left it alone or transported it in a pillow case to a new location but here we couldn't afford to miss.*

When I returned to find the dead snake I decided to clean it for the skin.  After cutting off the head I began skinning it at the tail.  Twice the bloody cut neck hit my hand working over a foot away where I was pulling the skin!  It turns out that this is a neural reflex and at times a snake will bite itself as described here from National Geographic.  Many bites are "dry bites" and most sources state that snakes are immune to their own venom.

The western pygmy rattlesnake, Sistrurus miliarius streckeri, is the smallest Missouri rattlesnake, averaging 15-20 inches.  I used a stick to measure our specimen when it occasionally straightened out and estimate it at approximately 17 inches.

Threatening gaping mouth

Its tiny rattle can only be seen and heard by being closer than you want to be.  The buzz is said to be like a grasshopper and the soft sound of the running water drowned it out in the video.  The purpose of the rattle is debated as it doesn't attract prey and is too soft to be effective in warning predators.  One study found that 38% of the time the rattle was shortened or lost in the process of shedding.

Pygmy rattlesnakes live on lizards, snakes, frogs and mice, all of which are found around our house.  Young pygmies have a colorful tail that they will wave as bait to lure toads and frogs into striking distance, a technique called "caudal luring."  Adults tend to sit and wait for prey to pass by.

Bon voyage little pygmy - released 100 feet away

Belle's pygmy was transported to the edge of a field 100 feet from the road.  I have little doubt that it will be back as it favors glades and I wanted to keep it near a habitat where it can be successful.  Their venom and its volume aren't enough to be fatal to a human.  Many years ago I treated a patient who found several in a wood pile and grabbed each one, getting bitten 3 times.  He required dialysis for a week and whether he learned anything isn't known.

They are found in southern Missouri and on through the south central US.  Another name for them is "ground rattler" - in opposition to what, an aerial rattler?  That is one I don't want to see.

*It is against the law to kill a snake in Missouri, unless it is venomous and near your dwelling where it presents a risk to health.  See this MDC site.
 Herps of Arkansas has a lot more information on them.

Cherry Leaf Gall

Tonya Smith takes us on a deep dive into leaf galls.  Hold your breath!

If I had to pick a gall that is colorful with a unique look on it’s host, cherry leaf gall is my pick. As you can see by the photo, the bright red fingerlings protruding upright from the leaf are eye catching.

Microscopic Eriophyid mites are responsible for this creative work. The hollow galls are typically ⅛” to 5/16” long, so less than ½ inch. As you can see by the photo most of the galls crowd together along the midrib portion of the leaf. These galls happened to be red, but this same type of mite can produce yellowish green or brown galls. What factors cause the three color differences? Not all questions can be answered, not even by Google or Alexa.

This mite has two names. The easy and common one is black cherry finger gall mite. You guessed right! It is found exclusively on black cherry trees. The technical name for this mite is Eriophyes cerasicrumena. Might as well toss in the Latin name for its host plant - Prunus serotina.

According to a website based in Minnesota, there are several generations of galls each year with the first galls developing in April (coincided with my timing). The Minnesota Seasons website explains how the adult mites appear in three morphologically distinct forms. The overwintering female, a stage called deutogynes, resides in the tree’s leaf buds ready to emerge on the leaf as it grows in March.

Of course after a long winter, this mite is quite hungry so starts devouring the leaf with its microscopic mouth parts. The saliva has a chemical which causes the leaf cell to expand which forms the pouch. This deutogyne, finishes her business by entering the pouch, laying the eggs then proceeds to die. The May hatchlings are both males and females. This is where the third form comes into play.

The females that hatch in May are in the growing and eating stage called protogyne. These hatchlings will remain in the pouch into summer. According to research in the USDA Agricultural Handbook on mites, the gall is hollow and fleshy with moist tissue from water intake. Usually by July, the overwintering female appears inside the gall.

September is party time when the gall dries up and splits open releasing all three forms. The life cycle starts over with the overwintering female. "The mites are worm like, and have only two pairs of legs. Their primary method of population spread is by wind."  Wikipedia

The life cycle of these mites might be interrupted by the cherry gall azure (Celastrina serotina). The larva of this butterfly feed on the galls and mites making it one of the rare species of carnivorous Lepidoptera. Bug Guide reports this butterfly's range to be northeastern United States and eastern Canada, so the Missouri galls should be safe from this carnivorous species.

You might want to look in the mirror for this next part. Sometimes internet searches on the blog topic provide more information than I care to know. I’m just thankful the mites that live on my face do not create galls.
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Thanks Tonya for that interesting topic.  Class is dismissed except for those bug nerds that would like to follow me further down the "rabbit hole" for fun.

Hackberry nipple galls - REK

I have always been fascinated with leaf galls with many blogs on the subject so I started searching for an image of the mites.  There are  3,600 species of mites in the Eriophyidae family!  The species can only by identified by features seen under an electronic microscope.  Entomologists describe them in the terms below if you would like a sample.  My question is about the scientists staring at the mites.  In the immortal words of Butch Cassidy, "Who are those guys?"

Click to enlarge  P. cerasicrumena - USDA.gov

"Phytoptus cerasicrumena is wormlike and yellowish. The featherclaws are palmate and five-rayed; the dorsal shield of the males and protogynes is marked with a design, and the dorsal setae are short, directed upward; the entire hysterosoma is covered with microtubercles, which are rounded ventrally and elongate dorsally; deutogynes, or overwintering females, lack microtubercles dorsally; and the coverflap of the female genitalia has laterally directed curved ribs."


Note to self - "Must go outside and get fresh air."

Spring Coral Root Orchid

Coral Root Orchids- click to enlarge

Mark Bower recently led us to some orchids he had found.  I expected to see some bright colored small flowers but instead nearly stepped on the little skinny brown stems.  They were initially unimpressive to say the least.  I had to bend down to tell they were orchids.  Like most things in nature the beauty is in looking close and fun is in knowing their story.  Mark identified these as spring coral root orchids.  I asked him to give us details on their lifecycle and it turned out to be fascinating.  Here are Mark's words.
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The orchid family is the largest family among the flowering plants. Ten percent of all seed-forming plants are orchids, with the great majority of species living in tropical and sub-tropical regions.

All orchids rely on fungi during development. They produce very small seeds which are virtually devoid of nutrients. The seed cannot germinate and develop without first being “infected” by the proper fungal species. Once infected, however, the maturing embryo will derive all of its nutrients from the fungus. Most orchids will eventually begin photosynthetic activity and provide their own nutrition, although they will maintain their relationship with the fungi.

Coral Root - Mark Bower

There are about 200 orchid species (out of 28,000) which never produce chlorophyll (acholophyllus) and remain completely dependent on fungal mycelia for their nutrition. This is felt to be a one way street, with the fungus receiving no benefit in return.

One example of an achlorophyllus orchid is the spring coral root, Corallorhiza wisteriana, which is one of Missouri’s native woodland species. It may lie dormant underground for years, all the while being sustained by its mycorrhizal fungal partner. When it does emerge in spring, it forms a purplish brown stem which lacks leaves. The flowers are short-lived and appear nondescript unless examined closely.
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Thanks Mark.

Ladies tresses orchid - Mark Bower

This month's Missouri Conservationist magazine has a feature article on Missouri orchids which focuses on the more colorful species such as ladies' tresses and yellow lady's slippers.  The ladies' tresses above is one of several of the fall-flowering Spiranthes genus.  They are so named because of the spiraling presentation of the blossoms along the stem.

The flower has the typical arrangement of petals as described in Wikipedia.  The medial petal called the labellum extends downward and out, sort of a Mick Jagger look.  This provides a platform for pollinators to land on.

Labellum with a green lower surface - Mark Bower

• The Conservationist article quotes our own Dave Ashley on his studies of pollinators on prairie fringed orchids. I would encourage you to read it here.
• This PDF is a good visual summary of the life cycle of an orchid.

Trailing the Snail

From guest blogger, Tonya Smith, MN
After walking with my eyes glued to the ground looking for fungus after a rain,  I happened to look up at chest level and spotted this snail feasting on the fungi on a dead tree limb.  My close inspection including a camera lens inches away from it did not in any way interrupt it’s meal. It looks like a Whitelip Snail but we would need measurements and pictures of the aperture of the shell looking for teeth to be sure.

Snails are graceful animals that rely on touch and smell since their vision is limited and they have no ability to hear. Using their muscular foot (yes, one foot) lubricated with mucus, land snails glide along a variety of surfaces found in the woods.  If you have ever seen a snail crawling on a glass window or aquarium, you would see their movement is powered by succeeding waves of muscular contractions that move down the ventral of the foot. Wikipedia   The mucus is secreted from a gland on the foot  reduces friction,and the risk of injury from sharp objects including the sharp edge of a razor blade as in this video.   But snails do have their limits. They will not cross copper since it reacts with their slime giving them a shock.

Snails have four tentacles with eyes at the tip of their longer pair of tentacles. Their vision is limited to recognizing light and dark and knowing when to find protective cover from the sun which is critical to their survival. Snails are usually active at night, on rainy days or when humidity is high. All four of its tentacles are equipped with olfactory sensors. These noses-on-stalks allow snails to sample biochemical compounds in the air and on the ground. Snails' acute sense of smell can detect fungi from a distance, home in on a rotten log, smell other snails’ slime, and find their way back to a preferred resting location. They can swivel their tentacles independently and more importantly, regrow them if they get bitten off - a great survival mechanism.

Land snails eat a variety of foods including living or dead plants, rotting wood, algae, and fungi as you see here. Some may also dine on animal scat, tree sap, and dead animals.  A few species are carnivores, feasting on earthworms, roundworms, other snails and their eggs. In the circle of life, land snails are prey for a wide variety of reptiles, small mammals, birds, and insect larvae. Snails eat by scraping surfaces with a specialized structure called a radula. It is a long strip of tissue like a wood rasp with hundreds of replaceable teeth. The radula is drawn back and forth over a surface, scraping food into the mouth.  Here is a video clip of the radula in action.

Since snails are hermaphroditic, they can both “father” and “mother” offspring. When a pair of snails mate, they can fertilize each other, and each may lay a cluster of eggs. Land snails usually lay their eggs in clusters in a small hole they dig into damp soil.  Before hatching, a baby snail grows a protoconch, the embryonic shell which is colorless and very soft. Check out these newly hatched snails in motion.  You won't need slow motion.

The mantle is where new shell material is formed. It starts out soft like the material of the protoconch then expands the shell and hardens it. The protoconch it was born with ends up in the center spiral of the shell when the snail is fully grown. As a snail matures, the number of whorls or spirals which its shell has increases and the rings can be used to approximate the age of the snail. A calcium rich diet is important to the health of a snail’s shell. The baby snail starts this healthy diet by eating what’s left of its egg shell.

Now what about that slimy slime trail? According to Ken Hotopp, an expert on land snails of the eastern U.S. snail slime is “a marvel of chemistry,” and all slime is not the same. It varies in its chemical makeup, acidity, and thickness. Foot slime is thinner, allowing for a smooth flowing movement, but it gets tacky when snails stop, enabling them to attach to a surface, even upside down. The slime that protects snails from drying out has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.

A thick slime is exuded when snails feel threatened, which makes them distasteful to things that want to eat them. Some species have a slime visible under ultraviolet light, probably serving as a warning to predators that see in the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum. Slime can also attract predators. The carnivorous snail, Haplotrema concavum, hunts other snails by following slime trails. (Snail Slime is Sublime)

Snails sense when they’re upside down thanks to equilibrium organs called statocysts. These are capsules filled with liquid and calcareous grains (statoliths) floating within. As soon as the snail moves or changes its position, inertia has the statoliths float against the statocyst's wall helping the snail sense gravity.

How do snails tolerate the cold and hot weather? Snails can hibernate during the colder months of the year by covering their bodies with a thin layer of mucus preventing them from drying out. In extreme dry periods of the summer, sometimes snails also do a similar process to survive called estivation. These methods of adapting are probably one of the reasons they have survived for millions of years. Snails are one of the slowest creatures on the Earth - just behind the sloth which wins the award for the slowest in the world.

On your mark, get set, SLOW! Yes, a snail race has been a tradition in Congham, England. 215 snails competed in the 2019 World Snail Racing Championship with a final 13 competing for the world champion title. Sammy covered the 13 inch course in 2 min and 13 seconds. The world record of two minutes is held by Archie. 

Missouri has more than 100 terrestrial snails. At least 12 land snails are Species of Conservation Concern in Missouri. I was very surprised to learn on a global level, there are more species of land snails and slugs than all the land vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds) combined.

In Maine, a snail became a patient’s greatest comfort. This particular land snail became a companion to author, Elisabeth Tova Bailey, as she coped with her own serious bed ridden illness. A friend brought Elisabeth a pot of flowers that also contained a wild snail the friend had plucked from the ground. Her book titled The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating describes her observations of this snail which lived in a terrarium next to her bed.  Two creative quotes from her book:

“With its mysterious, fluid movement, the snail was the quintessential tai chi master.  The life of a snail is as full of tasty food, comfortable beds of sorts, and a mix of pleasant and not-so-pleasant adventures as that of anyone I know”

https://emojis.wiki/snail/

One little snail sparked my interest to learn more than I anticipated. I discover more moving at a snail’s pace on my walks in nature. Well, maybe I’ll move a little faster than the snail speed of several inches a second. Just in case you have missed it, there is a snail emoji. Use it kindly.

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*You can download Land Snails and Slugs of Missouri by Chris Barnhart

Pocket Guide to the Land Snails of Kansas