It was dubbed the “Great Solar Eclipse”, the Great North American Eclipse”, and several other lofty names, but in the lower Susquehanna valley, where about 92% of totality was anticipated, the big show was nearly eclipsed by cloud cover. With last week’s rains raising the waters of the river and inundating the moonscape of the Pothole Rocks at Conewago Falls, we didn’t have the option of repeating our eclipse observations of August, 2017, by going there to view this year’s event, so we settled for the next best thing—setting up in the susquehannawildlife.net headquarters garden. So here it is, yesterday’s eclipse…
Here’s one of our first views through a break in the clouds as photographed using a number 12 welder’s glass to shield the camera.A shot through the welder’s glass with minimal cloud cover reveals a sunspot (AR3628) visible at between ten and eleven o’clock on the solar surface.Clouds aren’t necessarily a bad thing during a solar eclipse. Putting the welding filter aside, we were able to photograph the sun directly, without risk of damage to the camera. Again, sunspot AR3628 can be seen just off the limb of the moon at between ten and eleven o’clock.It’s 3:21 P.M. E.D.T., and it’s about as good as it’s going to get. Fortunately for us, the clouds are maximizing the effect.The sky darkened dramatically as the moon obscured more than 90% of the sun’s disk. Looking toward the northwest, where observers in locations including Erie, Pennsylvania, were experiencing a total solar eclipse, the sky appeared almost night-like.Here in the lower Susquehanna region, the clouds made our partial solar eclipse an eerie one.Our home-brew solar-powered radio shut down.Our male Mourning Dove perched above its nests site and began a premature evening chorus of sorrowful coos.The flock of Fish Crows that has been lingering in the area for several weeks was seen making their way to a small grove of nearby evergreens where they often spend the night.Since early winter, Turkey Vultures have been roosting at a site about a half mile from our headquarters. Each evening, they can be seen leisurely riding the late afternoon thermals as they glide in to pass the night at their favored resting spot. During the height of the eclipse, as clouds co-conspired to quickly darken the sky and diminish the thermal updrafts, our local vultures were making a hurried scramble, flapping madly to get back to their roost.Within fifteen minutes, the cloud cover thinned and the moon started to slide away. Rays of sunshine quickly renewed the pace of an early spring afternoon. Soon, the bees were buzzing around, the crows were out looking for trash, and the vultures were piloting the skies in search of deadbeats.The Great Eclipse of 2024 left us with a sunny smile.
Homo sapiens owes much of its success as a species to an acquired knowledge of how to make, control, and utilize fire. Using fire to convert the energy stored in combustible materials into light and heat has enabled humankind to expand its range throughout the globe. Indeed, humans in their furless incomplete mammalian state may have never been able to expand their populations outside of tropical latitudes without mastery of fire. It is fire that has enabled man to exploit more of the earth’s resources than any other species. From cooking otherwise unpalatable foods to powering the modern industrial society, fire has set man apart from the rest of the natural world.
In our modern civilizations, we generally look at the unplanned outbreak of fire as a catastrophe requiring our immediate intercession. A building fire, for example, is extinguished as quickly as possible to save lives and property. And fires detected in fields, brush, and woodlands are promptly controlled to prevent their exponential growth. But has fire gone to our heads? Do we have an anthropocentric view of fire? Aren’t there naturally occurring fires that are essential to the health of some of the world’s ecosystems? And to our own safety? Indeed there are. And many species and the ecosystems they inhabit rely on the periodic occurrence of fire to maintain their health and vigor.
For the war effort- The campaign to reduce the frequency of forest fires got its start during World War II with distribution of this poster in 1942. The goal was to protect the nation’s timber resources from accidental or malicious loss due to fire caused by man-made ignition sources. The release of the Walt Disney film “Bambi” during the same year and the adoption of the Smokey the Bear mascot in 1944 softened the message’s delivery, but the public relations outreach continued to be a key element of a no-fire policy to save trees for lumber. Protection and management of healthy forest ecosystems in their entirety has only recently become a priority. (National Archives image)
Man has been availed of the direct benefits of fire for possibly 40,000 years or more. Here in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, the earliest humans arrived as early as 12,000 years ago—already possessing skills for using fire. Native plants and animals on the other hand, have been part of the ever-changing mix of ecosystems found here for a much longer period of time—millions to tens of millions of years. Many terrestrial native species are adapted to the periodic occurrence of fire. Some, in fact, require it. Most upland ecosystems need an occasional dose of fire, usually ignited by lightning (though volcanism and incoming cosmic projectiles are rare possibilities), to regenerate vegetation, release nutrients, and maintain certain non-climax habitat types.
But much of our region has been deprived of natural-type fires since the time of the clearcutting of the virgin forests during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This absence of a natural fire cycle has contributed to degradation and/or elimination of many forest and non-forest habitats. Without fire, a dangerous stockpile of combustible debris has been collecting, season after season, in some areas for a hundred years or more. Lacking periodic fires or sufficient moisture to sustain prompt decomposition of dead material, wildlands can accumulate enough leaf litter, thatch, dry brush, tinder, and fallen wood to fuel monumentally large forest fires—fires similar to those recently engulfing some areas of the American west. So elimination of natural fire isn’t just a problem for native plants and animals, its a potential problem for humans as well.
Indiangrass (seen here), Switchgrass, Big Bluestem, and Little Bluestem are native species requiring periodic forms of disturbance to eliminate competition by woody plants. These warm-season grasses develop roots that penetrate deep into the soil, sometimes to depths of six feet or more, allowing them to survive severe drought and flash fire events. In the tall grass prairies, these extensive root systems allow these grasses to return following heavy grazing by roaming herds of American Bison (Bison bison). Without these habitat disturbances, warm season grasslands succumb to succession in about seven years. With their periodic occurrence, the plants thrive and provide excellent wildlife habitat, erosion control, and grazing forage.
To address the habitat ailments caused by a lack of natural fires, federal, state, and local conservation agencies are adopting the practice of “prescribed fire” as a treatment to restore ecosystem health. A prescribed fire is a controlled burn specifically planned to correct one or more vegetative management problems on a given parcel of land. In the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, prescribed fire is used to…
Eliminate dangerous accumulations of combustible fuels in woodlands.
Reduce accumulations of dead plant material that may harbor disease.
Provide top kill to promote oak regeneration.
Regenerate other targeted species of trees, wildflowers, grasses, and vegetation.
Kill non-native plants and promote growth of native plants.
Prevent succession.
Remove woody growth and thatch from grasslands.
Promote fire tolerant species of plants and animals.
Improve habitat for rare species (Regal Fritillary, etc.)
Recycle nutrients and minerals contained in dead plant material.
Let’s look at some examples of prescribed fire being implemented right here in our own neighborhood…
Prescribed fires are typically planned for the dormant season extending from late fall into early spring with burns best conducted on days when the relative humidity is low.Prescribed fire is used regularly at Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, to keep accumulations of woody and herbaceous fuels from accumulating on and around the training range areas where live ordinance and other sources of ignition could otherwise spark large, hard-to-control wildfires.Prescribed fires replace the periodic natural burns that would normally reduce the fuel load in forested areas. Where these fuels are allowed to accumulate, south-facing slopes are particularly susceptible to extreme fires due to their exposure to the drying effects of intense sunlight for much of the year. The majority of small oaks subjected to treatment by the prescribed fire shown here will have the chance to regenerate without immediate competition from other species including invasive plants. The larger trees are mostly unaffected by the quick exposure to the flames. Note too that these fires don’t completely burn everything on the forest floor, they burn that which is most combustible. There are still plenty of fallen logs for salamanders, skinks, and other animals to live beneath and within.
A prescribed fire in late winter prevents this grassland consisting of Big Bluestem and native wildflowers from being overtaken by woody growth and invasive species. Fires such as this that are intended to interrupt the process of succession are repeated at least every three to five years.In its wildlife food plots, prescribed fire is used by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to prevent succession and control invasive species such as Multiflora Rose, instead promoting the growth of native plants.An example of a woodlot understory choked with combustible fuels and dense tangles of invasive Multiflora Rose. A forester has the option of prescribing a dose of dormant-season fire for a site like this to reduce the fuel load, top kill non-native vegetation, and regenerate native plants.A dose of prescribed fire was administered on this grassland to kill the woody growth of small trees beginning to overtake the habitat by succession.The Pennsylvania Game Commission employs prescribed fire at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area and on many of their other holdings to maintain grasslands.Prescribed fire is used to eliminate invasive species including Multiflora Rose from grasslands at Middle Creek W.M.A. Annual burns on the property are conducted in a mosaic pattern so that each individual area of the grassland is exposed to the effects of fire only once every two to five years. Without fire or some type of mechanical or chemical intervention, succession by woody trees and shrubs would take hold after about seven years.Prescribed fire is planned for a fraction of total grassland acreage at Middle Creek W.M.A. each year. Another section of the mosaic is targeted in the following year and yet another in the year that follows that. Because burns are conducted in the spring, grassland cover is available for wildlife throughout the winter. And because each year’s fire burns only a portion of the total grassland acreage, wildlife still has plenty of standing grass in which to take shelter during and after the prescribed fire.Prescribed fire at Middle Creek W.M.A. provides grassland habitat for dozens of species of birds and mammals including the not-so-common Grasshopper Sparrow……and stocked Ring-necked Pheasants that do nest and raise young there.On a few sites in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed , prescribed fire is being used to establish and maintain savanna-like grasslands. This one, located on a dry, south-facing slope near numerous man-made sources of ignition, can easily be dosed with periodic prescribed burns to both prevent succession and reduce fuel accumulations that may lead to a devastating extreme fire.One year following a prescribed burn, this is the autumn appearance of a savanna-like habitat with fire-tolerant Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida), Bear Oak, warm-season grasses, and a variety of nectar-producing wildflowers for pollinators. These ecosystems are magnets for wildlife and may prove to be a manageable fit on sun-drenched sites adjacent to man-made land disturbances and their sources of ignition.Savanna-like grasslands with oaks and other scattered large trees, some of them dead, make attractive nesting habitat for the uncommon Red-headed Woodpecker.Prescribed fire can benefit hungry Wild Turkeys by maintaining savanna-like grasslands for an abundance of grasshoppers and other insects in summer and improving the success of mast-producing oaks for winter.In the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, the caterpillar of the rare Eastern Buck Moth feeds on the foliage of the Bear Oak, also known as the Scrub Oak, a shrubby species that relies upon periodic fire to eliminate competition from larger trees in its early successional habitat.Leaves of the Bear Oak in fall. The Bear Oak regenerates readily from top kill caused by fire.Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) is a native cool-season grass with a colorful inflorescence in spring. But given the right situation, it can aggressively overtake other species to create a pure stand lacking biodiversity. It is one of the few native species which is sometimes labelled “invasive”.Prescribed fire can be used to reduce an overabundance of Reed Canary Grass and its thatch in wetlands. Periodic burning can help restore species diversity in these habitats for plants and animals including rare species such as the endangered Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii).On the range areas at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, disturbances by armored vehicles mimic the effects of large mammals such as the American Bison which periodically trampled grasses to prevent succession and the establishment of woody plants on its prairie habitat. To supplement the activity of the heavy vehicles and to provide suitable habitat for the very rare Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia) butterflies found there, prescribed fire is periodically employed to maintain the grasslands on the range. These burns are planned to encourage the growth of “Fort Indiantown Gap Little Bluestem” grass as well as the violets used as host plants by the Regal Fritillary caterpillars. These fires also promote growth of a variety of native summer-blooming wildflowers to provide nectar for the adults butterflies.A last record of a wild American Bison killed in Pennsylvania was an animal taken in the Susquehanna watershed in Union County in 1801. The species is thereafter considered extirpated from the state. Since that time, natural disturbances needed to regenerate warm-season grasses have been limited primarily to fires and riverine ice scour. The waning occurrence of both has reduced the range of these grasses and their prairie-like ecosystems in the commonwealth. (Exhibit: State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg)A male Regal Fritillary on the range at Fort Indiantown Gap, where armored vehicles and prescribed fire provide suitable prairie-like habitat for this vulnerable species.Prescribed fires return the nutrients and minerals contained in dead plant material to the soil. Following these controlled burns, insects like this Honey Bee can often be seen collecting minerals from the ashes.A Greenbottle Fly gathering minerals from the ash following a prescribed burn.
In Pennsylvania, state law provides landowners and crews conducting prescribed fire burns with reduced legal liability when the latter meet certain educational, planning, and operational requirements. This law may help encourage more widespread application of prescribed fire in the state’s forests and other ecosystems where essential periodic fire has been absent for so very long. Currently in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, prescribed fire is most frequently being employed by state agencies on state lands—in particular, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources on State Forests and the Pennsylvania Game Commission on State Game Lands. Prescribed fire is also part of the vegetation management plan at Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation and on the land holdings of the Hershey Trust. Visitors to the nearby Gettysburg National Military Park will also notice prescribed fire being used to maintain the grassland restorations there.
For crews administering prescribed fire burns, late March and early April are a busy time. The relative humidity is often at its lowest level of the year, so the probability of ignition of previous years’ growth is generally at its best. We visited with a crew administering a prescribed fire at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area last week. Have a look…
Members of a Pennsylvania Game Commission burn crew provide visitors to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area with an overview of prescribed fire and the equipment and techniques they use to conduct a burn.Pennsylvania Game Commission Southeast Region Forester Andy Weaver will fulfill the role of Burn Boss for administering this day’s dose of fire. His responsibilities include assessing the weather before the burn and calculating a probability of ignition.The Burn Boss briefs personnel with information on site layout, water supply location(s), places of refuge, emergency procedures, the event’s goals and plan of action, crew assignments, and the results of the weather check: wind from the northwest at 5 miles per hour, temperature 48 degrees, and the relative humidity 63%. Today’s patient is a parcel of warm-season grasses receiving a dose of fire to eliminate invasive non-native plants, woody growth, and thatch. The probability of ignition is 20%, but improving by the minute.To begin the burn, a test fire is started in the downwind corner of the parcel, which also happens to be the bottom of the slope. Fuel ignition is good. The burn can proceed.Crews proceed uphill from the location of the test fire while igniting combustibles along both flanks of the area being treated.A drip torch is used to ignite the dried stems and leaves of warm-season grasses and wildflowers. Each member of the burn crew wears Nomex fire-resistant clothing and carries safety equipment including a two-way radio, a hydration pack, and a cocoon-like emergency fire shelter.An all-terrain vehicle equipped with various tools, a fire pump, hose, and a small water tank accompanies the crew on each flank of the fire.A mowed strip of cool-season grasses along the perimeter of the burn area is already green and functions as an ideal fire break. While the drip torch is perfect for lighting combustibles along the fire’s perimeter, the paintball gun-looking device is an effective tool used to lob incendiaries into the center areas of the burn zone for ignition.With green cool-season grasses already growing on the trails surrounding the burn zone, very little water was used to contain this prescribed fire. Where such convenient fire breaks don’t already exist, crews carry tools including chain saws, shovels, and leaf blowers to create their own. They also carry flame swatters, backpack water pumps, shovels, and other tools to extinguish fires if necessary. None of these items were needed to control this particular fire.This fast-burning fire provides enough heat to damage the cambium layer of the woody tree and shrub saplings in this parcel being maintained as a grassland/wildflower plot, thus the process of succession is forestalled. Burns conducted during previous years on this and adjacent fields have also controlled aggressive growth of invasive Multiflora Rose and Olives (Elaeagnus species).Crews proceed up the slope while maintaining the perimeter by igniting dry plant material along the flanks of the burn zone.Ignition complete, the crews monitor the fire.The Burn Boss surveys the final stages of a safe and successful prescribed fire. The fire has left behind a mosaic of burned and unburned areas, just as a naturally occurring event may have done. Wildlife dodging the flames may be taking refuge in the standing grasses, so there is no remedial attempt to go back and ignite these areas. They’ll be burned during prescribed fires in coming years.By June, this grassland will again be lush and green with warm-season grasses and blooming wildflowers like this Common Milkweed being visited by a Great Spangled Fritillary.And later in the summer, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails on Joe-pye Weed.Indiangrass in flower in mid-summer.Bobolinks glow in the late August sun while taking flight from a stand of warm-season grasses maintained using springtime prescribed fire. The small dots on the dark background at the top of the image are multitudes of flying insects, many of them pollinators. The vegetation is predominately Indiangrass, excellent winter cover for birds, mammals, and other wildlife.
Prescribed burns aren’t a cure-all for what ails a troubled forest or other ecosystem, but they can be an effective remedy for deficiencies caused by a lack of periodic episodes of naturally occurring fire. They are an important option for modern foresters, wildlife managers, and other conservationists.
Only fools mess around with bees, wasps, and hornets as they collect nectar and go about their business while visiting flowering plants. Relentlessly curious predators and other trouble makers quickly learn that patterns of white, yellow, or orange contrasting with black are a warning that the pain and anguish of being zapped with a venomous sting awaits those who throw caution to the wind. Through the process of natural selection, many venomous and poisonous animals have developed conspicuously bright or contrasting color schemes to deter would-be predators and molesters from making such a big mistake.
The brilliant colors of the “Red Eft”, the terrestrial sub-adult stage of the aquatic Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), provide protection not as a form of camouflage, but as a warning to potential predators that “I am inedible” due to the presence of tetrodotoxin, a strong neurotoxin. Over the generations, natural selection has better enabled the brightest of the individual “Red Efts” to survive to adulthood and reproduce. Meanwhile, those efts that provided a less obvious visual clue to their toxicity frequently allowed their pursuer to learn of their defense mechanism by the taste-test method. As one might expect, far fewer of these latter individuals survived to breed and pass along their more cryptic color variation.
Visual warnings enhance the effectiveness of the defensive measures possessed by venomous, poisonous, and distasteful creatures. Aggressors learn to associate the presence of these color patterns with the experience of pain and discomfort. Thereafter, they keep their distance to avoid any trouble. In return, the potential victims of this unsolicited aggression escape injury and retain their defenses for use against yet-to-be-enlightened pursuers. Thanks to their threatening appearance, the chances of survival are increased for these would-be victims without the need to risk death or injury while deploying their venomous stingers, poisonous compounds, or other defensive measures.
Armed and Dangerous The yellow-and-black color pattern on this European Paper Wasp signals a potential aggressor that they have come upon a social insect and could be struck with a venomous sting. The warning colors alone may be all the defenses necessary for this wasp to survive an otherwise fatal encounter.
One shouldn’t be surprised to learn that over time, as these aforementioned venomous, poisonous, and foul-tasting critters developed their patterns of warning colors, there were numerous harmless animals living within close association with these species that, through the process of natural selection, acquired nearly identical color patterns for their own protection from predators. This form of defensive impersonation is known as Batesian mimicry.
Let’s take a look at some examples of Batesian mimicry right here in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.
Suppose for a moment that you were a fly. As you might expect, you would have plenty to fear while you spend your day visiting flowers in search of energy-rich nectar—hundreds of hungry birds and other animals want to eat you.
You might not hurt a fly, but plenty of other creatures will. This Greenbottle Fly relies upon speed and maneuverability to quickly flee predators.Like the Greenbottle Fly, the Common Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga species) needs to be constantly vigilant and survives by being quick to the wing.
If you were a fly and you were headed out and about to call upon numerous nectar-producing flowers so you could round up some sweet treats, wouldn’t you feel a whole lot safer if you looked like those venomous bees, wasps, and hornets in your neighborhood? Wouldn’t it be a whole lot more fun to look scary—so scary that would-be aggressors fear that you might sting them if they gave you any trouble?
Suppose Mother Nature and Father Time dressed you up to look like a bee or a wasp instead of a helpless fly? Then maybe you could go out and collect sweets without always worrying about the bullies and the brutes, just like these flies of the lower Susquehanna do…
FLOWER FLIES/HOVER FLIES
The Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) is an unarmed Honey Bee mimic. This one is gathering nectar on goldenrod flowers.The Transverse Flower Fly (Eristalis transversa) is another bee mimic. Members of the genus Eristalis scavenge carcasses in aquatic habitats. Their larvae are known as rat-tailed maggots, a name that references their long siphons used for breathing surface air while submerged in ponds, streams, and wetlands.Flower flies of the genus Spilomyia are convincing mimics of temperamental yellowjacket wasps.The Yellowjacket Hover Fly (Milesia virginiensis) is usually heard long before it is seen. It will often approach people and persist with a loud buzzing, sounding more like a bee than a bee does. Scary, isn’t it?The Maize Calligrapher (Toxomerus politus) is a hover fly mimic of wasps. Seen here on Indiangrass, it is believed to associate primarily with Corn (Zea mays).The Narrow-headed Marsh Fly (Helophilus fasciatus) is a wasp mimic. Like other mimics of hymenopterans, they are important pollinators of flowering plants.This hover fly of the genus Syrphus is another wasp mimic.
TACHINID FLIES
The Feather-legged Fly (Trichopoda species) is a wasp mimic. Its larvae are parasitoids of stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs.
BEE FLIES
Bee flies of the genus Exoprosopa convincingly resemble bumble bees.The larvae of Exoprosopa bee flies are believed to be parasitic on the larvae of the parasites of bee and wasp larvae that mature in the soil. Confused yet?
So let’s review. If you’re a poor defenseless fly and you want to get your fair share of sweets without being gobbled up by the beasts, then you’ve got to masquerade like a strongly armed member of a social colony—like a bee, wasp, or hornet. Now look scary and go get your treats. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
What’s all this buzz about bees? And what’s a hymanopteran? Well, let’s see.
Hymanoptera—our bees, wasps, hornets and ants—are generally considered to be our most evolved insects. Some form complex social colonies. Others lead solitary lives. Many are essential pollinators of flowering plants, including cultivars that provide food for people around the world. There are those with stingers for disabling prey and defending themselves and their nests. And then there are those without stingers. The predatory species are frequently regarded to be the most significant biological controls of the insects that might otherwise become destructive pests. The vast majority of the Hymanoptera show no aggression toward humans, a demeanor that is seldom reciprocated.
Late summer and early autumn is a critical time for the Hymanoptera. Most species are at their peak of abundance during this time of year, but many of the adult insects face certain death with the coming of freezing weather. Those that will perish are busy, either individually or as members of a colony, creating shelter and gathering food to nourish the larvae that will repopulate the environs with a new generation of adults next year. Without abundant sources of protein and carbohydrates, these efforts can quickly fail. Protein is stored for use by the larval insects upon hatching from their eggs. Because the eggs are typically deposited in a cell directly upon the cache of protein, the larvae can begin feeding and growing immediately. To provide energy for collecting protein and nesting materials, and in some cases excavating nest chambers, Hymanoptera seek out sources of carbohydrates. Species that remain active during cold weather must store up enough of a carbohydrate reserve to make it through the winter. Honey Bees make honey for this purpose. As you are about to see, members of this suborder rely predominately upon pollen or insect prey for protein, and upon nectar and/or honeydew for carbohydrates.
We’ve assembled here a collection of images and some short commentary describing nearly two dozen kinds of Hymanoptera found in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, the majority photographed as they busily collected provisions during recent weeks. Let’s see what some of these fascinating hymanopterans are up to…
SOLITARY WASPS
A Great Black Wasp on goldenrod (Solidago species). Like other solitary wasps, a female Great Black Wasp will sting and paralyze a host insect upon which she’ll deposit her eggs. After hatching, the larvae will begin consuming the host’s body as a source of protein. The parasitized insects are often katydids or grasshoppers.A Great Black Wasp feeding on nectar, a source of carbohydrates. Unlike social bees and wasps, solitary wasps are equipped with a stinger solely used for immobilizing prey, not defending a nest. They are therefore quite docile and pose little threat to humans.A Great Black Wasp powdered with pollen. Hymanopterans that gather nectar and/or pollen are tremendously important pollinators of hundreds of species of plants.A female Thread-waisted wasp (Ammophilia species, probably A. nigricans) drags a paralyzed caterpillar to her excavated nest where she’ll deposit an egg on the body. After hatching, the larval wasp will feed on the disabled caterpillar. The protein will enable the larvae to grow, pupate, and later emerge as an adult wasp.The female Eastern Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus) excavates an underground nest with branch tunnels connecting a dozen chambers or more. As the common name suggests, the female wasp paralyzes a cicada, then makes a strenuous effort to fly and drag it back to the nest for placement in a cell. Each male wasp egg is deposited upon just one immobilized cicada, but a female egg is provided with a cache of several cicadas to provide adequate protein for growth to a larger size. Nest cells are sealed with soil, then the larvae hatch in just a couple of days. Within about two weeks, they have consumed the cicada protein and are fully grown. Wrapped in a cocoon, they spend the winter in the nest, then pupate in the spring before emerging as a new generation of adults.The Black-and-yellow Mud Dauber (Sceliphron caementarium) builds a mud-ball nest within which it packs paralyzed spiders to function as a source of protein for its larvae.A Black-and-yellow Mud Dauber at nest.The Pipe Organ Mud Dauber builds this elaborate nest in which their eggs and paralyzed spiders are deposited in cells sealed with mud partitions. After consuming the spiders, the larvae pupate, overwinter, then emerge from their cells as adults during the following spring. To escape the protection of the nest, the new generation of adults bore through the mud walls. Adult Pipe Organ Mud Daubers resemble the Great Black Wasp, but have a white or yellow distal segment on their rear legs resembling a pair of light-colored socks.A closeup of the previous image with the lengths of the nest tubes compressed to show four scavenger flies (Miltogramminae), possibly two species, that have invaded this Pipe Organ Mud Dauber nest. Scavenger flies are kleptoparasites that victimize various solitary bees and wasps, depositing larvae directly into the host species’ nest cells to consume the protein cache stored therein.
CUCKOO WASPS
Cuckoo Wasps (Chrysididae), also known as Emerald Wasps, parasitize the nests of other species of wasps. Females lay their eggs inside the host’s nest, then flee the scene. Upon hatching, larval Cuckoo Wasps feed on stockpiles of prey intended for the host species’ offspring. Like the adult mud daubers that have already matured and departed this nest by digging a hole through the wall of the cell within which they were hatched, the metallic green Cuckoo Wasp in the upper left has just emerged in much the same way.
SWEAT BEES
A Sweat Bee (Lasioglossum species) collecting nectar and pollen on White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima).Sweat Bees (Lasioglossum species) visit human skin to lick up the electrolytes left behind by evaporating perspiration.Sweat Bees in the genus Lasioglossum demonstrate various social behaviors ranging from species that are solitary nesters to those that create colonies with work forces ranging in size from as few as four to as many as hundreds of bees. Some Lasioglossum practice kleptoparasitism, while others are quite accomplished foragers.A female Augochlorine Green Sweat Bee (Augochlorini) collecting nectar on White Snakeroot. Notice the pollen “baskets” on the rear leg.An Augochlorine Green Sweat Bee (Augochlorini). Sweat bees nest in subterranean cavities and in hollowed out sections of trees.A copper-colored Augochlorine Green Sweat Bee (Augochlorini) collecting nectar and dusted with pollen.
LEAFCUTTER AND MASON BEES
A Leafcutter Bee (Megachile species). Like Mason Bees, female Mason Bees deposit each of their eggs on a “pollen loaf” within an individual cell inside a preexisting tunnel-like cavity in wood, stone, or in the ground. Unlike Mason Bees, female Leafcutter Bees cut a circular piece of leaf to create each of the cells in their nest. After hatching, the larval bee feeds on the pollen loaf, pupates, then emerges from the shelter of the nest to start a new generation, usually during the following year.A Leafcutter Bee (Megachile species) visiting Wild Bergamot. Female Leafcutter and Mason Bees lack pollen “baskets” on their rear legs but instead have pollen “brushes” on the underside of the abdomen to gather the protein they need to create a “pollen loaf” for each nest cell.A Leafcutter Bee (Megachile species) collecting nectar from White Snakeroot.A Mason Bee (Osmia species) emerging from a nest in spring. Mason Bees create nesting cells within preexisting cavities in wood, stone, and other other supporting structures. Within the nest cavity, each egg is deposited atop a cache of pollen and nectar, a pollen loaf, then enclosed behind a partition of mud. The female Mason Bee will usually repeat this process until an entire cavity is filled with cells. During the following spring, a new generation of adult Mason Bees digs its way through the cell walls to emerge and repeat the process. These bees readily use paper straws or holes drilled in blocks of wood for nesting.A mason bee nest box with holes drilled into blocks of wood.Mason Bees seal each cell and the outer end of their nest cavity with mud. These outer nest cells can been parasitized by a variety of wasps. Here, the outer cell of a Mason Bee nest has been victimized by a tiny chalcid wasp (looks like another one to the lower left). Several species of female chalcid wasps (native Monodontomerus species or non-native Pteromalus venustus) enlarge weak points in the outer partition of a mason bee nest, then sting and paralyze the larval bee inside before depositing their eggs. Within the cell. the wasp larvae consume the larval Mason Bee and the “pollen loaf” provided for its growth. These same parasitic wasps prey upon Leafcutter Bees as well.
BUMBLE BEES, CARPENTER BEES, HONEY BEES, AND DIGGER BEES
A Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) collecting nectar and pollen on goldenrod. Bumble bees are our sole native group of social bees. Their wax nests are built in a burrow or other shelter. The eggs are deposited in cells along with a supply of pollen for nourishing the larvae upon hatching. Honey is stored in “honey pots” within the nest. New queens are produced along with male bees during the late-summer and fall. Only the new generation of fertilized queens survive the winter to lay eggs and produce workers to construct a new nest.A pair of Common Eastern Bumble Bees collecting nectar and becoming dusted with pollen. Their fuzzy coats and semi-warm-blooded metabolism allows them to be active in cooler weather than is tolerated by other bees.Flowering plants including the Great Rhododendron find success attracting pollinators to their reproductive blossoms by offering carbohydrate-rich nectar to insects like this Eastern Bumble Bee. The yellow spots on the flower’s upper petal help to guide visitors toward their sweet treat.An Eastern Carpenter Bee feeding on goldenrod nectar. Compare the almost hairless abdomen to that of the bumble bees. Carpenter bees are semi-social insects. Females lay their eggs in cells within galleries bored into wood. These nests are completed with great precision, avoiding creation of any second entrance by mistakenly breaching the outer surface of the excavated wood. Each egg/larvae is provided with a supply of protein-rich pollen. Males often hover outside their mate’s nest to prevent competing males from entering the area.A worker Honey Bee, a female member of a sisterhood of foragers from a nearby hive, visits goldenrod alongside Common Eastern Bumble Bees. Honey Bees were brought to North America during the 1620s, the earliest years of the trans-Atlantic migration of European colonists, to pollinate cultivated plants and to provide a reliable source of honey and beeswax. Within the Honey Bee’s social structure, the queen of each hive lays the eggs to produce the female worker bees. Once each year, male drones are produced along with a new generation of queens.In nature, Honey Bees build hives in tree cavities. Recently, this colony constructed a hive in a screech owl nest box at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters. To provide protein for the hatching larvae, worker bees collect pollen and deposit it within the hexagonal cells of the vertically aligned beeswax combs. After an egg is deposited upon the pollen cache, each cell is sealed with more beeswax. Young females tend these nest combs before maturing and becoming foraging worker bees.In apiculture, Honey Bees are raised in man-made hives. This Pennsylvania Association of Beekeepers display gives visitors to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg a look at the inner workings of a live bee hive. Nectar collected by worker bees is turned into honey to provide the supply of carbohydrates needed to fuel the colony through the winter. Note the honeycombs on the glass.A possible Small Carpenter Bee (Ceratina species) visiting White Snakeroot. Small Carpenter Bees nest inside hollow stems and twigs. Some species are eusocial, with a queen’s daughters and sisters sharing responsibility for finding food and rearing the young. Females overwinter inside a one of the excavated stems and begin a new nest there in the spring.A Digger Bee (possibly Melissodes species) with “pollen baskets” full of pollen collected from nearby flowers. Digger Bees in the genus Melissodes are often known as the Long-horned Bees. These social insects excavate underground nests and many species practice communal living.
SCOLIID WASPS
The Two-spotted Scoliid Wasp (Scolia dubia), also known as the Blue-winged Scoliid Wasp, is most frequently observed feeding on nectar. Scoliid wasps are solitary nesters, though they may assemble into groups while visiting flowers. They often ignore the presence of humans and are seldom disturbed by their presence. Females seek out the burrowing grubs of beetles including the Green June Bug (Cotinis nitida) and possibly the Japanese Beetle. After stinging a grub to paralyze it, the wasp will deposit her egg on its body, then bury it. Upon hatching, the larval wasp will feed on the grub for nourishment as it grows.Don’t like having your watermelon overrun by Green June Bugs while you’re eating? Then you ought to go out of your way to be nice to the Two-spotted Scoliid Wasp.The Double-banded Scoliid (Scolia bicincta) parasitizes beetle larvae as hosts for its larvae. For carbohydrates it relishes flower nectar.
PAPER WASPS
A Northern Paper Wasp (Polistes fuscatus). Paper wasps prey upon numerous garden pests, particularly caterpillars, to collect protein. Though they are social insects equipped with stingers to subdue their victims and defend their nests, paper wasps are surprisingly docile.A Northern Paper Wasp (Polistes fuscatus) feeding on nectar from a goldenrod flower.A Northern Paper Wasp harvesting wood pulp from the side of a mason bee nest box at susquehannawildlife.net headquarters. The pulp is chewed in the wasp’s saliva to create the paper used to construct the colony’s open-cell nest.Common Paper Wasps (Polistes exclamans), also known as Guinea Paper Wasps, at their open-cell nest. This and the nests of most other paper wasps are suspended on a filament or a pedicle. Many paper wasps can excrete an ant repellent on this section of the nest in an effort to prevent invasion. Like many other social hymenopterans, a defending wasp can secrete a pheromone venom during the stinging process to warn the colony of danger at the nest. In winter, Common Paper Wasps seek shelter in stumps and other locations to hibernate.The European Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula) is a non-native species which builds nests in man-made structures including bird houses. To collect protein, they prey on a wide selection of insects and other invertebrates. As such, European Paper Wasps are widespread and successful here in North America.
YELLOWJACKETS AND HORNETS
An Eastern Yellowjacket feeding on lanternfly honeydew. Eastern Yellowjackets derive much of their success from being generalists, collecting carbohydrates from nearly any sweet source, natural or man made. They are quite fond of ripe fruits, flower nectar, and sugary snacks and drinks, especially soda. Protein for nourishing their larvae is derived from the wide variety invertebrates upon which they prey and from carrion. These foods are chewed into a paste form in preparation for placement into the brood cells.A subterranean colony of Eastern Yellowjackets is started anew each spring by a young queen that has survived winter hibernation in diapause, a state of interrupted development. She constructs the new nest’s first cells using pulp made by chewing rotting wood. The first brood of workers scales up construction while the queen continues producing eggs. At the nest, these social insects will viciously attack anyone or anything perceived to be a threat, so give them their space and leave them alone. Many yellowjacket infestations of homes and other buildings are the work of non-native German Yellowjacket (Vespula germanica) [not shown], an invasive species that constructs paper nests in void spaces including walls and attics.Yellowjackets may be moody and aggressive, but they do fall victim to a number of predators. A Robber Fly (Promachus species) has taken down and is devouring this Eastern Yellowjacket.A Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) feeding on Spotted Lanternfly honeydew on a Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima). In the absence of nectar-producing flowers, many bees, yellowjackets, and hornets have turned to the invasive lanternfly and Ailanthus combo to turn the sun’s energy into the carbohydrates they need. For protein, they prey upon spiders, flies, caterpillars, and a variety of other insects.To create paper for nest construction, this Bald-faced Hornet is collecting wood pulp from the surface of a weathered picnic table. Away from the nest, these hornets demonstrate a calm, carefree demeanor and can be closely observed.A Bald-faced Hornet nest in a pine tree. These hives are strictly temporary. Within the nest, a generation of drones (males) and new queens are produced late each year. These wasps leave the colony to mate. With the arrival of freezing weather, all inhabitants within the nest, including the old queen, perish, as do the drones that departed to breed. Only the new queens survive winter hibernation to propagate the next generation of wasps, starting with the workers needed to construct a fresh nest and reestablish the colony.Did you ever get the feeling you’re being watched? Don’t go messing around with Bald-faced Hornet nests. The occupants therein, like other social bees, wasps, and hornets, are equipped with stingers and venom for defending their colony. This is an adaptation that has developed over time to assure the survival of populations of these insects. Think about it this way, a solitary wasp that loses a nest loses only their individual brood of offspring. There is minimal impact on the wider local population of such insects. Conversely, a social wasp or hornet that loses a nest loses an entire colony, possibly negating the benefits of their cooperative behavior and threatening the survival of the species. Insects that cooperate to build societies for survival can be more vulnerable to the catastrophic impacts of certain circumstances like disease, weather, and invasion of their colonies. Therefore, natural selection has provided them with contingencies for these dangers, for example, the instinct to construct protective shelters and the adaptation of stingers and venom for defense against intruders and would-be predators. Oh, and by the way, the Bald-faced Hornet can spray venom, often aiming for the eyes, so keep your distance.European Hornets (Vespa crabro), an introduced species, are predatory on a variety of flying insects for protein. For carbohydrates they are attracted to sweets like this lanternfly honeydew on Tree-of-heaven.European Hornets constructing a paper nest in a tree cavity.
POTTER WASPS
A potter wasp (Eumenes species), probably a Fraternal Potter Wasp (E. fraternus), hovering near a European Paper Wasp on Partridge Pea. The female potter wasp builds a small mud nest resembling a tiny clay pot. One of her eggs is inserted and left hanging on a thin thread. Then a paralyzed caterpillar is deposited as a source of protein to nourish the larva upon hatching. Lastly, the pot is sealed with a lid made of wet mud. Upon maturing, the new generation of adult wasps perform a pottery breaking to emerge and take flight.
ANTS
Field Ants (Formica species, possibly Formica pallidefulva) clear the entrance to their underground nest. Field ants are eusocial insects, they work in concert to build, maintain, and defend the nest, rear young, and find food. There is no social caste system. Field Ants are predators and scavengers when collecting protein. For carbohydrates they often rely on the honeydew produced by aphids. As a method of improving and sustaining the production of honeydew, some ant species will tend colonies of aphids by moving the younger individuals from depleted portions of plants to more healthy tissue. Field Ant nests contain chambers used for a variety of functions including raising young and storing food. Some nests include multiple queens and some colonies consist of more than one nest. Ants in the genus Formica are weaponized; they can spray formic acid to repel intruders and defend their colony.
We hope this brief but fascinating look at some of our more common bees, wasps, hornets, and ants has provided the reader with an appreciation for the complexity with which their food webs and ecology have developed over time. It should be no great mystery why bees and other insects, particularly native species, are becoming scarce or absent in areas of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed where the landscape is paved, hyper-cultivated, sprayed, mowed, and devoid of native vegetation, particularly nectar-producing plants. Late-summer and autumn can be an especially difficult time for hymanopterans seeking the sources of proteins and carbohydrates needed to complete preparations for next year’s generations of these valuable insects. An absence of these staples during this critical time of year quickly diminishes the diversity of species and begins to tear at the fabric of the food web. This degradation of a regional ecosystem can have unforeseen impacts that become increasingly widespread and in many cases permanent.
How can anyone be surprised by the absence of bees and other pollinators in farmland? Manicured and cultivated ground offers little in the way of year-round shelter and food sources for insects and other wildlife.This savanna-like habitat on a south-facing slope provides the abundance of nectar-producing, pollen-rich wildflowers needed to nourish a diverse population of insects including bees, wasps, hornets, and ants. Goldenrods, asters, and White Snakeroot are some of their late-season favorites.
Editor’s Note: No bees, wasp, hornets, or ants were harmed during this production. Neither was the editor swarmed, attacked, or stung. Remember, don’t panic, just observe.
SOURCES
Eaton, Eric R., and Kenn Kaufman. 2007. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, NY.
Looking for a native wildflower that’s tall, showy, and a great choice for attracting wildlife, especially butterflies and bees? Then check out Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa).
Wild Senna currently blooming in a roadside wildflower garden on Pennsylvania State Game Lands.
Wild Senna, also known as American Senna, is a host plant for the larvae of Cloudless Sulphur and Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe) butterflies. It thrives in almost any moist, well-drained soil in habitats including open woodlands, forest edges, meadows, and gardens like yours. Its height at flowering ranges from three to six feet. If you prefer, this perennial wildflower can even be cultivated as a shrub-like form. It is easily grown from seed, which is available from Ernst Conservation Seeds of Meadville, Pennsylvania, as well as numerous other vendors. And don’t forget to give Wild Senna’s two close relatives, Partridge Pea and Maryland Senna, a try as well. They attract the same species of butterflies and are just as easy to grow. You’ll like ’em.
Cloudless Sulphur butterflies from populations in the south colonize the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed each summer in varying numbers.Close-up view of a Wild Senna flower cluster. Typical of members of the pea family, the seeds of all native Senna species develop within pods after blooming and are sought after by wildfowl (Galliformes), particularly Northern Bobwhite.Partridge Pea with flowers and seed pods in the susquehannawildlife.net garden. Smaller than the other Senna species, Partridge Pea reaches a height of just two to three feet.
Here’s a look at some native plants you can grow in your garden to really help wildlife in late spring and early summer.
The showy bloom of a Larger Blue Flag (Iris versicolor) and the drooping inflorescence of Soft Rush (Juncus effusus). These plants favor moist soils in wetlands and damp meadows where they form essential cover and feeding areas for insects, amphibians, and marsh birds. Each is an excellent choice for helping to absorb nutrients in a rain garden or stream-side planting. They do well in wet soil or shallow water along the edges of garden ponds too.The fruits of Smooth Shadbush (Amelanchier laevis), also known as Allegheny Serviceberry, Smooth Serviceberry, or Smooth Juneberry, ripen in mid-June and are an irresistible treat for catbirds, robins, bluebirds, mockingbirds, and roving flocks of Cedar Waxwings.Also in mid-June, the fragrant blooms of Common Milkweed attract pollinators like Eastern Carpenter Bees,……Honey Bees,……and butterflies including the Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus). In coming weeks, Monarch butterflies will find these Common Milkweed plants and begin laying their eggs on the leaves. You can lend them a hand by planting milkweed species (Asclepias) in your garden. Then watch the show as the eggs hatch and the caterpillars begin devouring the foliage. Soon, they’ll pupate and, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to watch an adult Monarch emerge from a chrysalis!
Are you worried about your well running dry this summer? Are you wondering if your public water supply is going to implement use restrictions in coming months? If we do suddenly enter a wet spell again, are you concerned about losing valuable rainfall to flooding? A sensible person should be curious about these issues, but here in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, we tend to take for granted the water we use on a daily basis.
This Wednesday, June 7, you can learn more about the numerous measures we can take, both individually and as a community, to recharge our aquifers while at the same time improving water quality and wildlife habitat in and around our streams and rivers. From 5:30 to 8:00 P.M., the Chiques Creek Watershed Alliance will be hosting its annual Watershed Expo at the Manheim Farm Show grounds adjacent to the Manheim Central High School in Lancaster County. According to the organization’s web page, more than twenty organizations will be there with displays featuring conservation, aquatic wildlife, stream restoration, Honey Bees, and much more. There will be games and custom-made fish-print t-shirts for the youngsters, plus music to relax by for those a little older. Look for rain barrel painting and a rain barrel giveaway. And you’ll like this—admission and ice cream are free. Vendors including food trucks will be onsite preparing fare for sale.
And there’s much more.
To help recharge groundwater supplies, you can learn how to infiltrate stormwater from your downspouts, parking area, or driveway…
Does your local stream flood every time there’s a downpour, then sometimes dry up during the heat of summer? Has this problem gotten worse over the years? If so, you may be in big trouble during a drought. Loss of base flow in a stream or river is a sure sign of depleted groundwater levels in at least a portion of its drainage basin. Landowners, both public and private, in such a watershed need to start infiltrating stormwater into the ground instead of allowing it to become surface runoff.You can direct the stormwater from your downspout, parking area, or driveway into a rain garden to help recharge the aquifer that supplies your private or public well and nearby natural springs. Displays including this model provided by Rapho Township show you how.
…there will be a tour of a comprehensive stream and floodplain rehabilitation project in Manheim Memorial Park adjacent to the fair grounds…
Have you seen banks like these on your local stream? On waterways throughout the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, mill dams have trapped accumulations of sediments that eroded from farm fields prior to the implementation of soil conservation practices. These legacy sediments channelize creeks and disconnect them from their now buried floodplains. During storms, water that would have been absorbed by the floodplain is now displaced into areas of higher ground not historically inundated by a similar event.Adjacent to the Manheim Farm Show grounds, the Chiques Creek Stream Restoration Project in Manheim Memorial Park has reconnected the waterway to its historic floodplain by removing a dam and the legacy sediments that accumulated behind it.Chiques Creek in Manheim following removal of hundreds of truck loads of legacy sediments. High water can again be absorbed by the wetlands and riparian forest of the floodplain surrounding this segment of stream. There are no incised banks creating an unnatural channel or crumbling away to pollute downstream waters with nutrients and sediment. Projects similar to this are critical to improving water quality in both the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay. Closer to home, they can help municipalities meet their stormwater management (MS4) requirements.Mark Metzler of Rettew Associates guides a tour of the Chiques Creek rehabilitation. Here, cross vanes, stone structures that provide grade control along the stream’s course, were installed to gently steer the center of the channel away from existing structures. Cross vanes manipulate the velocity of the creek’s flow across its breadth to dissipate potentially erosive energy and more precisely direct the deposition of gravel and sediment.
…and a highlight of the evening will be using an electrofishing apparatus to collect a sample of the fish now populating the rehabilitated segment of stream…
Matt Kofroth, Lancaster County Conservation District Watershed Specialist, operates a backpack electrofishing apparatus while the netting crew prepares to capture the temporarily stunned specimens. The catch is then brought to shore for identification and counting.
…so don’t miss it. We can hardly wait to see you there!
Have you noticed a purple haze across the fields right now? If so, you may have wondered, “What kind of flowers are they?”
A purple haze of color stretches across fields not already green with cold-season crops like winter wheat.
Say hello to Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum), a non-native invasive species that has increased its prevalence in recent years by finding an improved niche in no-till cropland. Purple Dead Nettle, also known as Red Dead Nettle, is native to Asia and Europe. It has been a familiar early spring “weed” in gardens, along roadsides, and in other disturbed ground for decades.
Purple Dead Nettle owes its new-found success to the timing of its compressed growing season. Its tiny seeds germinate during the fall and winter, after crops have been harvested and herbicide application has ended for the season. The plants flower early in the spring and are thus particularly attractive to Honey Bees and other pollinators looking for a source of energy-rich nectar as they ramp up activity after winter lock down. In many cases, Purple Dead Nettle has already completed its flowering cycle and produced seeds before there is any activity in the field to prepare for planting the summer crop. The seeds spend the warmer months in dormancy, avoiding the hazards of modern cultivation that expel most other species of native and non-native plants from the agricultural landscape.
Flowering Purple Dead Nettle as a volunteer cover crop among last year’s corn stubble in a no-till field.Like the flowers of orchids, Purple Hedge Nettle blossoms are described as yoke shaped or bilateral (zygomorphic). Psychedelic experiences are produced only through observation, not by ingestion. A member of the mint family, its edible young leaves and tops have nutritional value, making a unique addition to salads and soups.We call them “weeds”, but what do we know? Purple Dead Nettle, Common Dandelion, and Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), three edible non-native invasive species with similar life cycles seen here flowering along a rural road among fields where intensive farming is practiced. Shepard’s Purse, like many members of the mustard family, is already producing seeds at the bottom of the flower cluster by the time the uppermost buds open for business.In preparation for seeding of a warm-season crop, herbicide is applied on a no-till field to kill Shepherd’s Purse and other cool-season plants. To help prevent sediment and nutrient discharge from lands where high-intensity agriculture is practiced, no-till methods are used to reduce runoff from the areas of bare soil that would otherwise be created by traditional plowing.
While modern farming has eliminated a majority of native plant and animal species from agricultural lands of the lower Susquehanna valley, its crop management practices have simultaneously invited vigorous invasion by a select few non-native species. High-intensity farming devotes its acreage to providing food for a growing population of people—not to providing wildlife habitat. That’s why it’s so important to minimize our impact on non-farm lands throughout the remainder of the watershed. If we continue subdividing, paving, and mowing more and more space, we’ll eventually be living in a polluted semi-arid landscape populated by little else but non-native invasive plants and animals. We can certainly do better than that.
An Eastern Carpenter Bee visits the flowers of an emergent Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) in the susquehannawildlife.net headquarters pond. Each Pickerelweed blossom has conspicuous yellow spots on its uppermost petal, an adaptation shared with the Great Rhododendrons featured in a post earlier this month (July 1). For each of these species the purpose of these pollen look-a-likes is the same, to attract bees to the pistils and stamens of the flower. Do these lures work? Just take a look at the pollen accumulated on the rear leg of this bee.
With the gasoline and gunpowder gang’s biggest holiday of the year now upon us, wouldn’t it be nice to get away from the noise and the enduring adolescence for just a little while to see something spectacular that isn’t exploding or on fire? Well, here’s a suggestion: head for the hills to check out the flowers of our native rhododendron, the Great Rhododendron (Rhododendronmaximum), also known as Rosebay.
The Great Rhododendron is an evergreen shrub found growing in the forest understory on slopes with consistently moist (mesic) soils. The large, thick leaves make it easy to identify. During really cold weather, they may droop and curl, but they still remain green and attached to the plant.
Thickets composed of our native heathers/heaths (Ericaceae) including Great Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel, and Pinxter Flower (Rhododendron periclymenoides), particularly when growing in association with Eastern Hemlock and/or Eastern White Pine, provide critical winter shelter for forest wildlife. The flowers of native heathers/heaths attract bees and other pollinating insects and those of the deciduous Pinxter Flower, which blooms in May, are a favorite of butterflies and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
A close relative of the Great Rhododendron is the Pinxter Flower, also known as the Pink Azalea.
Forests with understories that include Great Rhododendrons do not respond well to logging. Although many Great Rhododendrons regenerate after cutting, the loss of consistent moisture levels in the soil due to the absence of a forest canopy during the sunny summertime can, over time, decimate an entire population of plants. In addition, few rhododendrons are produced by seed, even under optimal conditions. Great Rhododendron seeds and seedlings are very sensitive to the physical composition of forest substrate and its moisture content during both germination and growth. A lack of humus, the damp organic matter in soil, nullifies the chances of successful recolonization of a rhododendron understory by seed. In locations where moisture levels are adequate for their survival and regeneration after logging, impenetrable Great Rhododendron thickets will sometimes come to dominate a site. These monocultures can, at least in the short term, cause problems for foresters by interrupting the cycle of succession and excluding the reestablishment of native trees. In the case of forests harboring stands of Great Rhododendron, it can take a long time for a balanced ecological state to return following a disturbance as significant as logging.
Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) may be particularly sensitive to the loss of winter shelter and travel lanes provided by thickets of Great Rhododendron and other members of the heather/heath family. (Vintage 35 mm image)
In the lower Susquehanna region, the Great Rhododendron blooms from late June through the middle of July, much later than the ornamental rhododendrons and azaleas found in our gardens. Set against a backdrop of deep green foliage, the enormous clusters of white flowers are hard to miss.
Great Rhododendrons sport an attractive blossom cluster. The colors of the flower, especially the markings found only on the uppermost petal, guide pollinators to the stamens (male organs) and pistil (female organ).To this Bumble Bee (Bombus species), the yellowish spots on the uppermost petal of the Great Rhododendron may appear to be clumps of pollen and are thus an irresistible lure.
In the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed, there are but a few remaining stands of Great Rhododendron. One of the most extensive populations is in the Ridge and Valley Province on the north side of Second Mountain along Swatara Creek near Ravine (just off Interstate 81) in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Smaller groves are found in the Piedmont Province in the resort town of Mount Gretna in Lebanon County and in stream ravines along the lower river gorge at the Lancaster Conservancy’s Ferncliff and Wissler’s Run Preserves. Go have a look. You’ll be glad you did.
Great Rhododendron along Route 125 along the base of the north slope of Second Mountain north of Ravine, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.Great Rhododendrons beginning to bloom during the second week of July along Swatara Creek north of Ravine, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Note how acid mine drainage continues to stain the rocks (and pollute the water) in the upper reaches of this tributary of the lower Susquehanna.
With autumn coming to a close, let’s have a look at some of the fascinating insects (and a spider) that put on a show during some mild afternoons in the late months of 2019.
Bush Katydids (Scudderia species) are found in brushy habitats and along rural roadsides. Their green summer color fades to brown, maroon, and gold to match the autumn foliage where they hide. Bush katydids often remain active until a hard freeze finally does them in.The Eastern Buck Moth (Hemileuca maia) is fuzzy, appearing to wear a warm coat for its autumn expeditions. Adults emerge in October and may fly as late as December. Females deposit their eggs on the twigs of Bear Oak (Quercus ilicifolia), Blackjack Oak (Q. marilandica), or Chestnut Oak (Q. montana), trees that, in our region, seem most favorable for the moth’s use when growing on burned barrens and mountain slopes. The spiny caterpillars are known to feed only on the foliage of these few trees. In the lower Susquehanna valley, the Eastern Buck Moth is rare because its specialized habitat is in short supply, and it’s all Smokey The Bear’s fault.The Sachem (Atalopedes campestris) wanders north from the Atlantic Coastal Plain into the Susquehanna valley each summer. In some years they become the most numerous small orange butterfly of all, particularly around home gardens. The larvae will feed on Crabgrass (Digitaria species), but have not found success overwintering this far north. By November, adults begin to look pretty drab.From 1978 through 1982, the Asian Multicolored Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis) was introduced into the eastern states by the United States Department of Agriculture. It has become a nuisance in many areas where it swarms, sometimes bites, and often overwinters in large smelly masses within homes and other warm buildings. As you may have guessed, it’s possibly displacing some of the less aggressive native lady beetle species.On a chilly afternoon, a sun-warmed Bold Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax) pounced and dispatched this sluggish worker Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) that was trying to gather pollen from a late-season Purple Coneflower bloom. This spider is bold indeed.Under bridges, inside bird nest boxes, and sometimes beneath porches, the female Pipe Organ Mud Dauber (Trypoxylon politum), a predatory wasp, builds these elaborate nests composed of long rows (pipes) of nursery cells. Into each cell one or more paralyzed spiders is deposited along with one of the female’s eggs. When hatched, each larva will feed upon the paralyzed spider(s) inside its cell, then pupate. The pupae overwinter, then emerge from their cells as adults during the following spring. In the autumn, males often stand guard at an entrance to the nest to prevent parasitic species, including some flies (look at the fifth pipe from the right), from laying eggs on the pupae. These wasps are not aggressive toward humans.A Black-and-yellow Mud Dauber (Sceliphron caementarium) observes a neighboring nest of Common Paper Wasps (Polistes exclamans). The Common Paper Wasp, a species also known as the Guinea Paper Wasp, is a native of the southern United States. It is currently expanding its range into the lower Susquehanna valley from the Atlantic Coastal Plain. These two wasp species and the Pipe Organ Mud Dauber are known to regularly coexist. All three will take advantage of man-made structures for their nest sites. People using the picnic tables beneath this pavilion roof never noticed the hundreds of docile wasps above.Those moody Eastern Yellowjackets (Vespula maculifrons) can get very temperamental during warm autumn days. These wasps may appear to have no enemies, but away from areas impacted by man’s everyday activities, they do. The Robber Fly (Promachus species) hunts like a flycatcher or other woodland bird, waiting on a perch along the forest’s edge for prey to pass by, then ambushing it, yellowjackets included.The invasive Spotted Lanternfly, a native of eastern Asia, continues to spread destruction. It established itself throughout much of the east side of the lower Susquehanna River during the summer and fall of 2019. Their route of travel across the farmlands of the region intersects with plenty of vineyards to obliterate and few, if any, natural enemies. Expect them to begin colonizing the west shore en masse during 2020.In 2020, plan to roll a few Spotted Lanternflies over, enjoy the view, and wait for the crimson tide to pass. With any luck, they’ll peak in a year or two.
SOURCES
Eaton, Eric R., and Kenn Kaufman. 2007. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, NY.
It’s sprayed with herbicides. It’s mowed and mangled. It’s ground to shreds with noisy weed-trimmers. It’s scorned and maligned. It’s been targeted for elimination by some governments because it’s undesirable and “noxious”. And it has that four letter word in its name which dooms the fate of any plant that possesses it. It’s the Common Milkweed, and it’s the center of activity in our garden at this time of year. Yep, we said milk-WEED.
Now, you need to understand that our garden is small—less than 2,500 square feet. There is no lawn, and there will be no lawn. We’ll have nothing to do with the lawn nonsense. Those of you who know us, know that the lawn, or anything that looks like lawn, are through.
Anyway, most of the plants in the garden are native species. There are trees, numerous shrubs, some water features with aquatic plants, and filling the sunny margins is a mix of native grassland plants including Common Milkweed. The unusually wet growing season in 2018 has been very kind to these plants. They are still very green and lush. And the animals that rely on them are having a banner year. Have a look…
The flowers of the Common Milkweed were exceptionally fragrant this year. At their peak in early June, their hyacinth-or lilac-like aroma was so prevalent, it drifted into our building and overwhelmed the stink of the neighbor’s filthy dumpster that he had placed 12 feet away from our walls (100 feet from his).Common Milkweed attracts a pollinating Greenbottle Fly (Lucilia species). The dumpster attracts the invasive House Fly (Musca domestica), carrier of dysentery, typhoid, and other wonderful diseases. Are you following this? Remember as we proceed, milkweed is “noxious”.Busy Eastern Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa virginica) load up with pollen from the flowers of the Common Milkweed.A Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) munches on a tender fresh Common Milkweed leaf in mid-June.Following the pollination of the flowers, seed pods will begin to grow. We trim these off the plants. The removal of the extra weight allows most of the stems to remain erect through stormy weather. You’ll still get new plants from underground runners. As you may have guessed, we’re trying to keep these plants upright and strong to host Monarch butterfly larvae.
We’ve planted a variety of native grassland species to help support the milkweed structurally and to provide a more complete habitat for Monarch butterflies and other native insects. This year, these plants are exceptionally colorful for late-August due to the abundance of rain. The warm season grasses shown below are the four primary species found in the American tall-grass prairies and elsewhere.
Big Bluestem, a native warm-season grass in flower.Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium “Fort Indiantown Gap”) in flower. This variety grows on the tank range at the military base where the armored vehicles and prescribed burns substitute for the herd animals and fires of the prairie to prevent succession and allow it to thrive.Partridge Pea can tolerate sandy soil and is a host plant for vagrant Cloudless Sulphur butterflies.Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is a popular native grassland wildflower.Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) in flower. This and the other native plants shown here are available as seed from Ernst Seed Company in Meadville (PA). They have an unbelievably large selection of indigenous species. You can plant a small plot or acres and acres using really good mixes blended for purposes ranging from reclaiming pipeline right-of-ways and strip mines to naturalizing backyard gardens.A Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) butterfly, a migratory species like the Monarch, on Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). Yes, it is that Echinacea, the same one used as a supplement and home remedy.
There was Monarch activity in the garden today like we’ve never seen before—and it revolved around milkweed and the companion plants.
A female Monarch laying eggs on a Common Milkweed leaf.A third instar Monarch caterpillar with Oleander Aphids (Aphis nerii) on a Common Milkweed leaf. Both of these insect species absorb toxins from the milkweed which makes them distasteful to predators.Fifth instar (left and center) and fourth instar (right) monarch caterpillars devour a Common Milkweed leaf. There were over thirty of these caterpillars in just a ten by ten feet area this morning. We hope that if you’re keeping a habitat for Monarchs, you’re enjoying the same fortune right now!A slow-moving Monarch stopped for a break after making the circuit to deposit eggs on milkweed throughout the garden.Third instar (top), fourth instar (right), and fifth instar (left) Monarch caterpillars quickly consume the leaf of a Common Milkweed plant. Caterpillars emerging from eggs deposited today may not have sufficient late-season food to complete the larval segment of their life cycle. Need more milkweed!After benefiting from the nourishment of the Common Milkweed plant, a fifth instar Monarch caterpillar begins pupation on Big Bluestem grass.Two hours later, the chrysalis is complete.Another chrysalis, this one on flowering Switchgrass just two feet away from the previous one. An adult Monarch will emerge from this pupa to become part of what we hope will be the most populated southbound exodus for the species in over five years.There it is, soon ready to fly away. And all courtesy of the noxious milkweed.A chrysalis can often be found on man-made objects too. This one is on the rim of a flower pot.Ornamental flowers can attract adult Monarch butterflies seeking nectar. We’re now more careful to select seeds and plants that have not been treated with neonicotinoid insecticides. There’s growing concern over the impact these compounds may be having on pollinating species of animals. Oh…and we don’t mow, whack, cut, mutilate, or spray herbicides on our milkweed, but you probably figured that out already.
SOURCES
Eaton, Eric R., and Kenn Kaufman. 2007. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York.
