Sexton Beetle and Friends

The Creator, if He exists, has “an inordinate fondness for beetles
-Haldane 

It is not every day that I can find a new beetle and identify it.  As Haldane alluded to above, there are more varieties of beetles than any other insect, with over 24,000 species in the United States alone.  Of all living species including plants, one out of five is a beetle.  Therefore, only the most distinctive species can be identified by an amateur naturalist. 
A ride across the field just at dark with an open butterfly net yielded an unexpected find.  This distinctive beetle had orange spots on its hard outer wings and short antennas with orange tipped knobs on the end.  Its abdomen came to a point, unusual for most beetles. Also, he stinks like rotting meat when you sniff him.
Click on pictures to enlarge.

Nicrophorus orbicollis

After letting him chill in the refrigerator, I inspected him with a magnifier and was startled to find eight bright orange mites crawling over the ventral thorax between its legs.  The next morning they were in the same location, showing no signs of wandering off.
Thumbing through insect field guides, I hit upon the identical creature, a carrion beetle in the genus  Nicrophorus.  It is also called a sexton or burying beetle.  While they are usually found around dead animals, my friend had apparently been on a crepuscular cruise, looking for love in one of the wrong places.
The male and female of this genus typically dig under a dead animal. until it sinks into the ground, thus burying for larval food.  They remove the skin and hair, leaving a tasty meatball for the kids to come.  When the larva hatch they are fed pieces by the adults.
German researchers have noted that beetles will fight to decide which one gets the carcass.  The loser frequently will lay its eggs anyway and some of the time the winner will raise some of those larva as its own.  This is called brood parasitism and its best known example in the USA is the cowbird.
Searching by "Necrophorus mites" I came up with the answer for its orange friends.  Many of these beetles carry mites with them to the next dead animal.  As they compete with fly maggots for their tasty treat, taking along mites that will feed on the maggots helps cut down on competition.  The mites sometimes feed on the beetle's larva as well.  So what is the over-all advantage in carrying the mites?  The rest of the story is told in this paper by Karen Wilson of Colorado State University.

"The benefits to the mite are obvious. They feed on the carcass, fly eggs, and in some cases, eggs of the beetle that carry it. They also benefit in dispersal. The benefits to the beetle may be less apparent initially and some costs are involved. In the presence of flies, reproduction of the beetle was shown to be dependent on the presence of certain mites, especially when repeated infestation by flies was a problem. they decrease brood size and increase larval weight. The mites also reduce colonization of the carcass by soil microbes. It is unclear as to whether or not the increase in individual larval size is a true advantage over large brood size. However, larger individuals are more successful in competitive situations and therefore may have a long-term competitive edge."

Remember that in most species that fight over sexual favors or breeding sites, the bigger bug wins.  Carrying a few mites on your chest seems to be a small price to pay for raising the biggest kids on the block
I believe that this is Nicrophorus orbicollis, as described at Insects of West Virginia and Wikipedia.

Northern Water Snake

One of the permanent resident species on Bull Creek is the Northern Water Snake.  Visitors frequently are alarmed at the sight of "a copperhead in your swimming hole."  They are frequently confused because of similar coloration but the water snakes neck bands are complete rather than the "Hershey Kisses" pattern of a copperhead.  They tend to darken with age.
They are frequently found patrolling the edges of the stream, cruising in and out of underwater rock crevices in search of crawdads and small fish, or anything else they can get their mouths around.  Wikipedia says they can also project themselves out of the water, up to 2 m in height to attack prey such as small birds and insects.
Like many snakes, they will bite if threatened and release excrement and musk as a further deterrent.  Their saliva contains a mild anticoagulant, which can cause the bite to bleed more but poses little risk to humans.
Our friend pictured here was found by our neighbor Larry Whiteley.  It was just starting to devour a perch head first.  By the time we went back for a camera it was almost done, with just the tail protruding from its mouth.  With its jaw displaced for swallowing, the head had an ominous triangular shape but the pupil was round, not to be confused with a venomous water moccasin.

Copperhead out for a swim

Speaking of Hershey Kisses, for years I have been reassuring neighbors that if it is swimming in the creek, it isn't a copperhead so leave it alone.  Then several years ago, a friend was at the creek crossing and got this picture.  The copperhead was crossing at the shallows but was proving the exception to my rule.  It pays to observe carefully.  Click on the pictures for a larger view.

A good resource for the Snakes of Missouri is on this Missouri Department of Conservation web page.

Water Matters

Water, water, everywhere; Nor any drop to drink. 

                         - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Water figured in two articles in Thursday's News-Leader.  Francis Skalicky described the Missouri Stream Team program with 4,000 teams monitoring 100,000 miles of streams.  Much of their labor involves picking up trash from stream beds and banks.
More subtle damage occurs from excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the streams.  This encourages excessive plant and algae growth that in turn depletes dissolved oxygen levels in streams. Depleted dissolved oxygen levels can lead to fish die-offs and problems for other stream organisms.
The pollution comes from excessive fertilization of lawns and pastures, byproducts of animal treatment operations with inadequate waste-removal facilities, and poorly functioning septic systems.  Stream team monitoring can detect patterns that helps government and environmental agencies develop management plans for watershed areas.
A more dramatic reason for monitoring our streams is in the News-Leader story on beach closings due to high levels of E. coli.  These occurred at Pomme de Terre State Park, Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Mark Twain State Park, and Crowder State Park.  While stream teams do not do bacteriologic monitoring, their data on pollution can help pinpoint pollution sources.
Stream Teams also get their hands dirty while cleaning up trash along the streams.  On our Master Naturalist Upper Swan Creek team's last trip they either completed another cleanup or they were trying to get a hand-held hillbilly satellite dish set up.
From their pictures, the team apparently included a Prairie Ring-necked Snake.  They are easily recognizable by their small size, uniform dark color on the back, bright yellow-orange belly and distinct yellow ring around the neck. They take shelter under rocks where they find worms, slugs, soft bodied insects and small salamanders.  Since Ringnecks live on rocky, wooded hillsides, they aren't much help in keeping our streams clean.  That requires people like our stream team, so hats off to them.  You can help by joining Stream Team activities.
More information on the Ring-neck is on the Non-venomous Snakes page of the MDC website.

Bird Drop Caterpillars.

Japanese research has identified a hormone that allows some caterpillars to change protective coloration from a bird dropping (like our Giant Swallowtail pictured below) to the color of the leaf they live on.  (see Reuters picture on right)

"A special hormone -- juvenile hormone -- keeps larvae of the butterfly Papilio xuthus, which is commonly found in Japan, in their black and white bird-excrement camouflage.  As they reach the last stage of caterpillar development, levels of this hormone drop, triggering a transformation into the green leaf phase.

Juvenile hormones are known to regulate many aspects of insect development including molt -- when an insect sheds its outer shell -- and metamorphosis -- as when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, he said."

Our Spicebush Swallowtail has a similar conversion in its final instar (larva) and posibly could share this mechanism.  The common Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio cresphontes) which I mentioned in the May 19th blog is in the same genus, but doesn't change color in the final instar.  (Picture from Whatsthatbug.com)  The large bird poop-like caterpillar is famous for its prominent stink glands, called osmetria, which protrude when it is threatened.  This appearance has given it the name "Orange Dog".  There is a lot of information on its entire life cycle at mybutterflyguide.com.
There will be multiple stages of the Giant Swallowtail's life cycle available at the Butterfly House at Close Gardens.

Millipede

Larry Whiteley (yes, the Bass Pro one) came up with this millipede.  Insect identification used to be difficult to impossible but the Internet has made it easier- or has it?  Insect experts (entomologists), like botanists, frequently debate species and come up with new names, seemingly to confuse those of us in the laity.
You can see a similar creature at Whatsthat bug.com which is identified as a flat-backed millipede in the Polydesmida order, subsequently modified to Apheloria tigana Chamberlin, 1939 (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae).  They reassure us that "many species like this secrete a cyanide compound to defend themselves. As long as you don’t eat one or lick it, you should survive.”.  Wikipedia confirms that "members of this order have the ability to produce hydrogen cyanide to ward off predators. 
The posting in Bugguide.net illustrates the some of the problems in identification. Here it is identified as "probably a species of Harpaphe". a subsequent expert opinion states "This may be Harapaphe haydeniana but I am not sure with the color variation in the paranota".
Satisfied with the Harpaphe family, more information is available at Wikipedia. Its cousin, Harpaphe haydeniana (Yellow-spotted millipede or cyanide millipede) has similar characteristics. The family produces cyanide and you have to be careful in handling it. (Don't lick it Larry!) They break down leaf litter, producing soil and nutrients for other organisms.
Millipedes are vegetarians,distinguished by having 2 pair of legs per segment rather than one pair like the predatory centipedes. Even this generalization breaks down as this genus has only one pair of legs in the seventh segment, the other pair having been transformed into gonopods for sperm transfer. Didn't Adam give up a rib for the same cause?
There are way to many bugs on the planet to rely on color and the number of legs. Even the aficionados of the sport of entomology can be stifled without examining the detail of microscopic parts. We interested naturalists may have to be satisfied with a few generalizations. To me, its a Flat-backed Millipede- period!
An excellent resource from the Kansas School Naturalist is available at this site.

P.S.
Thanks to Dr. Chris Barnhart for contacting Neal Youngstead who studies millipedes.  He has a pair of similar appearing millipedes which have not reproduced.  He says

"I have no specific identification for them; Polydesmida, Xystodesmidae, is as far as I can go, but I have not really tried to go farther. This usually gets into the realm of the taxonomic specialist before the species level. The attached paper may be of interest and the photos show how similar some of the species can be."

  (See the pictures on page 2 of the PDF in the right hand column of this PNAS- Procedings of the National Academy of Science
site.
Like I said- Flat-backed Millipede.

Birds by Ear

Some of us are challenged by bird songs and calls.  I have learned the difference between a crow call and a cardinal but am pretty much stuck at that level.  Fortunately, George Deatz of Friends of the Garden introduced me to an exciting new web site. 
Dendroica- An aid to identifying North American birds list 643 species of birds with multiple pictures and simultaneous bird songs to identify them.  This is richer in songs than other sites and easier to use.  On the downside, there is no other information about the birds.  It includes a quiz function which is far too sophisticated for me at present.  You need to complete the free registration to obtain your user name and password.  Note: I have added this site to our Resources page.
The most encyclopedic source on birds is the old standard, Allaboutbirds.org from Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  Over the last year it has undergone some structural changes, making it even easier to use.
The difference between bird songs and calls is described at all-birds.com.
They point out that the more musically complex songs are usually produced only by the male. Since they often learn these songs from their dads or by listening to nearby males, regional dialects are often developed. The male’s song may improve with age, enabling him to attract more female attention (unlike most human males.)
There is nothing like going out with an experienced birder.  Charlie Burwick, aka. "Hawkowl", was at Camp Arrowhead last month, leading a group of scouts preparing for their Birding merit badge.  This is a highly productive, low tech and low cost approach.  That is unless you have to buy him lunch.
Finally, technology has stepped it to help.  Birdjam has an app for your iPhone or iPod Touch to identify sounds, birders can use playback sounds to call up birds, and some birders have specialized in recording songs and calls for identification.
Personally, I am waiting until my phone lets the birds call in and their name shows up on the screen.

Jumping bristletail

Ever wonder what turns a Master Naturalist on?  Chapter members who came early for the Rotten Log presentation were excited to find one of the oldest and least evolved animals on the planet.  No, I am not referring to chronologically advanced members, but to the Jumping Bristletail  we found within the log.
These primative creatures evolved in the Devonian period according to Wikipedia.  At that time over 350 million years ago, fish were first developing legs and huge seed-bearing plants were starting to cover the supercontinent of Gondwana.  Since they feed on algae and mosses and are usually found in leaf litter and decayed vegetation, the abundance of forest must have provided a great niche for them to prosper.
According to UC Berkeley Biokeys, they do not have wings, they have long segmented antennae, and they have 3 cerci coming out of the end of the abdomen.  ((Our friend modestly held them closely together for the picture)  Jumping bristletails can spring up into the air as much as 10 centimeters by flexing their abdomens as we discovered while getting the picture.
I am happy to say he is back in his rotted log with a story to tell his sow bug and millipede neighbors .