Tough Trees

 "Life just wants to be, but it doesn't want to be much."  Bill Bryson

I am amazed how occasional trees survive damage or disease and continue to grow and produce leaves.  The tree above has been hanging on at our Bull Creek crossing for 30 years, producing enough foliage to survive.  The burl of the tree below didn't seem to overcome its will to live.

We have found a number of trees with dramatic bent trunks that have resisted the pull of gravity.  They are frequently called "trail trees," said to have been tied down as a sapling by Native Americans to mark the direction of a trail to future generations.  There are some examples described in reputable sources described on Wikipedia. 

There is no way to confirm the story on our trees and our examples are far too young to support this story. They were most likely pinned down by a falling tree while saplings and resisted the pull of gravity to grow to maturity. Either way, the size of these otherwise healthy trees is remarkable.

This tree above was on its last legs but still managing to produce a few leafy branches high up to catch what little light came through from its healthy neighbors. It gave up the ghost a few years later.

Another example of surviving against the odds is this tree which was completely girdled by sapsuckers in search of juicy sap. At the time, it looked perfectly happy. Considering how easy it is to kill a tree by even light girdling, this was one tough tree.

I have other examples posted on Flickr in the Strange Trees of Bull Mills album.  Keep your eyes open when hiking the woods and look for other wounded veterans that continue to hang on.

Bumblebee Watch

American bumble bee male

Our MN Richard Herman has been participating in the Missouri Bumblebee Watch, a citizen science project sponsored by the Xerces society for Invertebrate Conservation for the last two years.  The purpose of this project is to gather and record information about native bumblebees across the country to develop a database for further research into the species.  The Bumblebee Watch is currently in operation in 20 states and part of Canada.  Participants are trained in identifying local bumble bees and recording information about species and other pertinent information.

 

American bumble bee female

This year 6 species of bumble bees were recorded in Missouri during the season that starts the beginning of June and runs until the end of September.  Bumblebees are active before and after these dates but are not formally included in the study.  Two of the more common species included in his pictures are the American bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus) with 263 sightings and the common eastern bumblebee, (Bombus impatiens) with 704 sightings.

 

Common eastern female

Editors note:

Richard's photos were made holding the bumblebee by the wing.  I don't know if his bees were unconscious, dead or just very cooperative.  Either way he should get extra credit as hazardous duty pay for his efforts.

This MDC Field guide link has much more information on bumblebees in Missouri.

 

Mark Bower's New Species!

Violet Coral Fungus

Mark Bower recently found two different fungi along Bull Creek that are new species!  The Violet Coral fungus shown here is a beauty shown at our last Master Naturalist meeting before it was known to be a new species never before identified! It will soon be getting a new name.

I asked Mark to share with us some details of how a new species of fungus is identified.  Here is his description for us naturalist nerds.

--------------------------

 

There is an ongoing effort to document the great variety of fungal species in the U.S. It is spearheaded by a nonprofit DNA lab in Michigan in conjunction with participating local mushroom clubs such as our Missouri Mycological Society.  Until recently, our fungal species have been separated based on macroscopic and microscopic features. Many were named because they closely resembled European species.
 
With the relatively recent advent of faster and cheaper DNA sequencing, we are finding that numerous species have been misidentified. For example, Red Russulas are extremely common in Missouri. They used to be labeled “Russula Emetica.” It turns out that the European species doesn’t exist in North America. Missouri’s “Red Russulas likely represent dozens of distinct species that happen to look alike. The same is true for many other fungal groups.
 
I began participating in the MycoMap project in July 2024 and have provided hundreds of specimens for DNA sequencing. The results are just now trickling in, but so far two new species have been identified. 

The first is a grayish Russula which I initially passed over because it was chewed up and I was tired. I changed my mind and returned to collect it. It turns out it is a new species which has the provisional name Russula redolens MO-01. It is so-named because it resembles Russula redolens - the “MO” stands for Missouri and the “01” means that this is the first specimen found.
 
 

I presented the purple coral-shaped mushroom to the Master Naturalist group recently because I thought it was attractive. We now know that it is a new species, with the provisional name Clavaria zollingeri MO-01.  I think this project is very exciting, as it will provided much-needed documentation of our very diverse fungal species.
 
Mycota Lab is a 501c3 molecular DNA laboratory based just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The current focus of the lab is documenting macrofungal diversity at large scales with a goal of creating a reasonably comprehensive outline of North American macrofungal biodiversity by 2035. The initial goal formed in late 2022 was to sequence 10,000 specimens per year for the next 10 years, bringing in over 100,000 new collections. In 2023, over 20,000 specimens were attained.
 
Mycota Lab has several key initiatives to achieve these goals. The first is the Continental Mycoblitz - www.MycoBlitz.org. For several weeks each year, any individual from anywhere in North America can submit specimens to their lab for free DNA sequencing. Thus far over 1,000 people from across the continent have participated in these events. The second key initiative is the MycoMap Network -www.MycoMap.org. For 2024 collectors can submit new specimens without restriction from the following areas for free DNA sequencing: Arizona, California, Indiana, Michigan, New Brunswick/PEI/Nova Scotia/Newfoundland, and Puerto Rico.

Editor's note:

I can't end without showing the coral fungus in its full size glory.

Leatherwing Beetles

 

Mark Bower sent me this picture of beetles covering his goldenrods.  He tentatively   identified them as Goldenrod Soldier Beetles.

I immediately recognized them as Pennsylvania Leatherwings.  Looking them up I found that both names are commonly used to describe Chauliognathus pensylvanicus.  I will leave that pronunciation to you.

Of even greater interest, there is a fungus association, a beetle made for our mycologist friend!  To quote this Wikipedia entry:

"Adult C. pensylvanicus may be infected by the fungus Eryniopsis lampyridarum. After the fungus infects the host, it takes about two weeks for it to eventually kill its host. Before the host dies, the fungus orders the beetle to climb a plant and then attach itself to a flower by biting down with its mandibles into flower heads. About 15–22 hours later, the fungus causes the dead beetles to raise their elytra and expand their metathoracic wings in order to maximise infection of other beetles.  With their wings raised, the dead beetles may still attract mates as live males were observed mating with the deceased, infected females, this then transmits spores from one insect-host to another."

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology at this link

This is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or in this case an infection or STI.  There is more recent information on this in this Science Alert story.  The Parasite of the Day blog has more on the fungus association.  As other soldier beetles are attracted to daisies, the plant acts as a pub which attracts other uninfected beetles.  Sound familiar?  Meanwhile other infected beetles fall to the ground where the fungi can survive until they hitch a ride on other beetles.

This is written in the name of science, even if it sounds a little X-rated.

Brave Little Bagworm

I found a  bag worm that had dropped out of a cedar tree onto a table on our deck. After watching it struggle on the table's edge, I moved it onto several leaves for security and food. At one point it suddenly lost its grip and was caught by a silk safety line until climbing back up to the leaf.  You can follow its journey in this Youtube video. 

The evergreen bagworm moth is Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis--try saying that fast three times!  It is in the Psychidae family of bagworm moths.  The MDC Discover Nature Field Guide describes it here.

"Adult male evergreen bagworm moths are furry and look a lot like blackish bees with long, tapering abdomen tips. They have comblike antennae and usually have clear wings (which is very unmothlike), since they lose most of their wing scales as they squeeze out of their larval cases. Adult females lack wings and antennae; they look a lot like caterpillars or maggots and usually do not leave their bags."

Hanging by a thread

The larva will go through seven instars and the last one will be an inch long.  "Bagworm larvae eat the leaves and soft stems of many types of trees and shrubs, including evergreens. In Missouri, they are most commonly noticed on eastern red cedar and on the various junipers and arborvitaes used in landscaping."

MDC goes on to say, "The eggs, caterpillars, and adult females don’t leave their protective bags or even fully leave their pupal casing, which complicates matters slightly: The males must seek out the females. Receptive females emit pheromones (scents that attract the opposite sex), and a male, finding a female’s bagworm bag, must extend and poke his abdomen into the female’s case in order to mate with her. The female deposits her hundreds of eggs into her own bag and dies within a few days. If she doesn’t drop onto the ground when she dies, her dried-up body may remain with the eggs until they hatch in late spring the following year."

This give a whole new meaning to the term "bag lady."

More detailed information can be found at the University of Florida Entomology.

Rough Greensnake

This weekend, Noppadol Paothong brought his family to the creek and they spotted this Northern Rough Greensnake in a tree right by our house on Bull Creek.  Even knowing it was there it took me a minute to find it, and it was even harder to photograph.  You can see it in action in this video.  In addition to its coloration and the difficulty finding it even when it was pointed out to me, I was amazed with its climbing ability.  Once I saw it stretched out seven inches into space, reaching for another branch.

Information on almost any animal, insect or plant in Missouri is available through MDC.  Simply search the topic name followed by MDC.  In this case I entered "greensnake MDC" although even "green snake MDC" also works.  Here is the site that comes up.  They not only have pictures but frequently usually show similar species as well as lifecycle, food, and connections with nature and humans.  

It is hot and humid so I will leave you with this while I go out to see if I can f.ind it again.

Shadbush Spring

Many years ago, Barb replaced a Bradford pear with a downy serviceberry tree, aka. shadbush. It is the native tree you see in our woods with white flowers like a Bradford pear but with smaller blossoms.  In our yard it provides shade for a field of violets which the Barnharts are feeding to their voracious Regal Fritillary caterpillars, destined to repopulate our Missouri Prairie Foundation prairies with this threatened species.

This time every year we are visited by a flock of cedar waxwings which come to feast on the early ripening serviceberries.  I watched as flights of 10-20 waxwings suddenly swooped in, shaking the tree branches as they gorge on the berries for 3-5 minutes, then just as suddenly take off as though they heard a starter gun.  Their coordination is remarkable.  It is as though they had a little earpiece where they hear an announcement, "Taking off in three, two, one, NOW"

At one time I estimated the multiple incoming flights totaled over 80 birds on the tree, jumping around like they had too much coffee. You can watch the party on this Youtube link.

Cedar waxwings are known to occasionally become intoxicated from eating overripe fermenting berries of other tree species.  They maintain their frugavore habit in the winter by eating cedar berries.  They are also unique in feeding berries to their young.  I can hear them now saying "Now eat your veggies so you can learn to get high when you are older!"

 

 

 

A few more days and the feeding orgy will be over and they'll be eating petals and sap of shrubs and trees as well as plenty of insects during breeding season, providing extra protein for their growing young.