Bison

The study of the relationship between the native Americans and the bison is an excellent example of the sustainable use of resources.  On the other hand, the near extinction of bison brought on by market hunting and social pressures in the 19th century demonstrates the need for conservation and the results of restoration of threatened species.   A team of our Master Naturalists, trained by our mentor Jay Barber, are taking this lesson out to area schools.
Bison roamed the soon to be United States and southern Canada for thousands of years prior to man's arrival.  An estimated 60 million traveled in massive herds, thriving on the prairies between the Rocky Mountains and as far east as New York.*  When they first encountered man, he was armed only with spears and the atlatl, but later with the development of the bow and arrow, man became a more serious predator.
The Native Americans initially depended upon an unending supply of bison for all their needs.  Bison were their Walmart, providing food, clothing, shelter, and utensils.,  Virtually every part of the bison was used, including buffalo chips, the main source of fire fuel on the grass covered prairie.  Until the development of agriculture after 2000 BCE, hunting bison and gathering plants was their way of life.
Lewis and Clark and others were amazed at the numbers of bison and relied on them for much of their food in the move west.  Then in the 1850's, hunting them as a sport became popular among the "new Americans".  Building the railroads created the need for meat for the workers and market hunting became a new industry.  New hide tanning techniques led to a demand for buffalo hides in Europe the completion of the railroads provided the transportation, leading to the wholesale slaughter of Bison.
Finally, the discovery of buffalo tongue as a delicacy back East led to the slaughter of animals which were left tongue-less on the prairie, hides and all.  These developing markets led Native Americans to join in the slaughter in trade of guns and other goods.
The economic pressures did what 10,000 plus years of Native American hunting pressure had never come close to creating- extinction.  By 1873, bison were on the verge of extinction.  From 60 million, their numbers dropped to an estimated 400 on the North American continent.  Changing political philosophy and increasing public awareness finally created conservation efforts.  Over the next 50 years the restoration of token herds, led to the bison we see today.
The westward growth of our nation with expanding agriculture would have eventually destroyed the way of life of the bison, even without the hunting pressures.  The story of the bison is more dramatic, but the same story almost played out with deer and turkey.  Hunting pressure from native Americans and settlers in the 1820s decimated those populations until the establishment of game laws and the Missouri Department of Conservation led to their thriving again in the state.
This was not the first episode of extinction of a large mammal by man on this continent.  Smithsonian Magazine this month features an article on the mammoths and the mastodons of North America.  They were separate breeds, frequently confused in the public minds.  Their extinction occurred at the time of the arrival of man across the Bering Land Bridge and the ending of the last Ice Age.  There is considerable debate about which factors caused the extinction.  What ever the cause, as I pointed out in the March 12th blog, megafauna in general "had a bad habit of disappearing around the time of human arrival, be it West Indies about 6,000 years ago or Australia 50,000 years ago."
We know that they were hunted by early Native Americans.   Mastidon State Park just south of st. Louis is the site where archaeologists first discovered a stone weapon with the bones of American mastodons. This was the first solid evidence of the coexistence of humans and mastodons in eastern North America.  The whole story is found here.

By telling the story of Native American use of the bison, near extinction and restoration to the WOLF School (right) and any other area schools, we spread the message of conservation and maintenance of our natural resources.
* The best single Bison resource we have come across is The Time of the Buffalo by Tom McHugh.

Invasives Species Have Natural Enemies

When faced with advancing invasive species, it feels like we are alone in the battle.  We have to remember that where they originally came from, they coevolved with enemies that kept their numbers in check.  This fact offers us some hope.
Invasive thistle is a good example.  Aside from a few native thistle species, the rest you see were brought to this continent to beautify gardens.  They are beautiful and butterflies love them, but cattle don't.  Even vegetarians are disturbed when they take over a prairie.  With 10,000 seeds per flower head, it doesn't take long.  Canada thistle, Scotch thistle and musk thistle are on the Missouri Noxious Plant list.

There are two weevils which attack the thistle.  The thistle-head weevil is a native of Europe.  After studies to "be sure" that it would not attack economically important plants, this beetle was released in the 1970s.  It can be purchased and placed on flower heads.  A less expensive way is to harvest them from infested plants.  You simply spread a sheet under the plant and whack at the flower heads, which is not only productive but lots of fun.

The rosette weevil , Trichosirocalus horridus, feeds on musk thistle during the rosette stage, killing first-year rosettes.  Thistles have a two year life cycle, and killing the rosette prevents it from maturing and producing seed the next season.  Weevils require time to go through their complete life cycle.  Working in fields without grazing cattle they can reduce the thistle population as much as 95%.  There is also a thistle defoliating beetle, Cassida rubiginosa, and a thistle-stem gall fly, Urophora cardui which damage the plants.


Gypsy moths have pathogens also and the good news is that they catch up to them quickly.  New research reported in Science Daily suggests that where the moth goes, their infecting virus and fungal pathogens show up soon after.

The fungal pathogen (Entomophaga maimaiga)was first reported in 1989 and attacks the caterpillars. Land managers gather fungal spore-containing caterpillar cadavers and spread them to try and control new populations of gypsy moths. The virus (Lymantria dispar nucleopolyhedrovirus), which was accidentally introduced near Boston in 1906, also infects gypsy moth caterpillars and is used in a spray by the U.S. Forest Service to control the moths in environmentally sensitive areas.

The new study suggests that land managers efforts to introduce these organisms may be unnecessary.  "Once their traps caught more than 74 moths each in one year, there was a more than 50 percent chance of finding the fungus in that area in the following year.  When more than 252 moths were trapped in a year, there was  more than a 50 percent chance of finding the virus the next year."

If we could live for a few more centuries, we would probably find some semblance of balance from these invaders- and most likely many new crops of invasive species.

Janet's Cat

Janet Haworth found this beauty in her backyard.
While trying to identify it, I discovered a website that shows lots of promise in identifying caterpillars.  Discover Life displays these larva by color, size, etc.  It didn't show our "cat" but as its database expands, the sorting algorithm may become more valuable.

So, back to Bugguide.com, entering caterpillar and paging through pictures, 50 per page.  This is time consuming, not so much from the search but from all the diversions, reading about all the interesting pictures- weird caterpillars, eggs, and cats crawling with parasitic larva of wasps. A cat on the left (Black-waved Flannel Moth was the only other candidate, but its unruly hair ruled it out.  Finally I hit pay dirt with this link which shows what appears to  be Janet's cat.
Cycnia tenera, (Dogbane tiger-moth or Delicate Cycnia) has a wide range from Canada to the Southern US.  Wikipedia says it feeds on dogbane and Indian hemp as well as milkweed.  Each of these plants produces toxic chemicals which deters many herbivores.  Many caterpillars which eat these plants can store the toxins, making them unpalatable to birds and other insectivores.
Janet's caterpillar develops into a white moth with an interesting talent.  Bats have apparently learned not to eat resting or dead C. tenera moths but will catch them in midair, presumably not having enough time to identify them by sight.  The moths emit clicking sounds when the hunting bats switch from search phase calls to approach phase calls.  When handled by the bat, the moth produces clicks and bats are more likely to drop them than mute moths.  Presumably the coded message is "eat me and you will get sick, sucker."
All this and more comes from this Wikipedia link.

Creation Myths

I just came across Creation Myths by Nancy Gibbs.  This thoughtful editorial concisely bundles the pros and cons, moral and political choices, and ecological issues arising from Craig Venter's recent announcement of "the creation of life in a lab."
I think you will find this an interesting editorial.  See this in time.com.

Sericea Lespedeza- Fugitive From Justice

Sericea lespedeza is not on the "Eleven Most Unwanted" list in Missouri, otherwise known as the Noxious Weeds of Missouri.  One of the most invasive species, its absence is due to politics that I won't go into.  However, its failure to pass the legislative test doesn't mean it should be ignored.  It is a major invader of agricultural fields, prairies and even glades such as Rocky Barrens where it has become a major problem.

As described in MDC Online, it was first introduced to the US in 1896.  It was planted in pastures because although it was exotic, it was easy to plant and would grow virtually anywhere (a big red flag for invasive characteristics.)  Two varieties of sericea were developed for improved forage quality and nematode resistance. These varieties were used on highway rights-of-way, dams, and waterways. In the 1930s it was planted on strip-mined land in southeast Kansas and Missouri.  It was used extensively by MODOT and other states transportation departments for stabilizing soil although its root system is a long tap root.

It is avoided by grazing animals, with the exception of the famously omnivorous goats.  Sericea has large amounts of tannins which taste bad to animals (and insects) and interfere with digestion by binding proteins.  If cut for hay, after several weeks the tannins break down and they can be used for feed.
Like many invasive species, its tall prolific branching shades out natural species.  Being very shade tolerant, it can easily invade forested land.  Its lack of palatability means that surrounding plants are more likely to be grazed down, giving it a head start.  It also produces allelopathic chemicals which are released from the roots and leaves.  These chemicals inhibit seed germination and growth of grasses.
Identification information is available at this MSU Website.

If any of you Master Naturalists would like some hands-on experience, call Kevin Hedgpeth with the Missouri Department of Conservation.  He is tasked with spraying Sericea lespedeza at Rocky Barrens and another site and could use the help.  You can reach him at 417-751-3856 or Kevin.Hedgepeth@mdc.mo.gov

Assassin Bug Larva

I came across this critter crawling on a friends shirt.  It looks innocent at first glance until you notice the distinctive upward turned abdomen and the curved beak tucked up between its front legs.  This is a larval (nymph) of an assassin bug (Reduviidae), a large family with 7,000 species in the family, most of which will go through 5 larval stages before adulthood.  This looks like a wheel bug nymph, a common bug around our cabin.

Assassin bug larva- Patrick Coin

Reduviidae go through an incomplete metamorphosis in which the first nymph (instar) that emerges from the egg has a resemblance to the eventual adult it will become.  The first instar of the wheel bug has a bright red back (picture from Bugguide) which is quite distinctive while the latter instar (pictured above) shows graying much like we humans.  The final stage of adulthood bring them their wings and sex organs.  This is similar to withholding the driving permit and hormones from a teenager.
The adult wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) is easily identified by the gear-like armor on its back.  Like all true bugs (Hemiptera), the mouth parts (mandible, maxilla and labium or lips) have evolved into a piercing beak, called a rostrum. It carries it tucked up below its thorax until swinging it out to stab into an unfortunate prey.  Other true bugs, (Hemiptera for you Latin speakers), such as cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, and shield or stink bugs use their beak of plants.

On the other hand, Assassin bugs are predatory, feeding off the insides of other insects.  They have strong front legs which tightly grasp their prey as they stab their beak into it and inject digestive juices.  After these have done their work they are able to suck out their dinner like a high protein milkshake.  Most other insects which use this external digestion process have two tubes, one to inject and one to suck out the contents.  Reduviidae have just one large tube to inject and then slurp up the feast.
Wheel bugs tend to move in a jerky motion, and their brief flights produce a loud buzzing sound.  They may bite humans who handle them, an extremely painful experience producing an open sore that can take months to heal.  If that isn't enough to dissuade you from picking one up, their "bad gas" problem may be.  They have two orange glands beside the anus that eject a foul scent when they are disturbed.
To start using "Reduviidae" in conversations with friends, go to howjsay.com.

Project Wet

Today's Project WET was advertised as training for teachers, educators and the odd Master Naturalist.  What they didn't say was that it was also entertainment for older kids, in one case really older.  The session was taught by Jay Barber (the guy with the rose in the previous posting) and Erica Cox, our adult leader and the Director of Missouri Project WET.

Project WET is a nonprofit organization with a global reach, dedicated to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education.  It gives professional and volunteer educators a wide variety of tools to connect with children K to 12 as well as adults.
We experienced some of the many tools and games.  Being adults, of course, we were more reserved and lacked the element of competition which kids typically exhibit.  (Betting was limited to chocolate bars.) 
Our activities included H2Olympics where we demonstrated the cohesion and adhesion properties of water. An example was guessing how many drops of water could be stacked on a penny before the water would run off and then competing to see which team could pile on the most.  Modesty prevents me from announcing which team won, but the answer is well over 50 drops and less than the age of the oldest member.  (Click on pictures to enlarge)

Another exercise starts with a brim full glass of water.  We then guessed the number of pennies we could add before it overflowed.  Because of the cohesion of water, a high dome of water (called a meniscus- see the penny above) formed long before the first drop ran down the side.  (Notice also in the photo lower right, the cohesive dent in the surface as the penny is held on the surface.)
We ended by creating teaching projects which we used on each other.  This gives a real life feel to how these educators can use the many tools we covered in Project WET.

By the way, did you know that you can power a small model boat in races across the water with small slivers of soap?  You can, but I'm not allowed to tell you how.  You would have to train in Project WET to learn this as well as our secret handshake.  Sorry Barb, I've been sworn to secrecy with a WET oath.