tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25652197371895412362024-03-05T09:49:34.082-08:00Occasional NYC Insect StoriesAmy Berkovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05486150676418044419noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565219737189541236.post-84125511338954551592010-08-01T13:44:00.000-07:002010-08-02T14:00:07.489-07:00New York City Flowerfall Event<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may or may not have noticed, but NYC is in the middle of a major flowerfall event—at least on some blocks!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTo_o5ypX94JfldFMzqTn_8W70DSTvvkMFn4I5xlaJJbXJnSRtKd_gQwZOikgNbDNkTJpqXpsBeWaT-ROhRMRQw7mqAlqmkx-cMK2_wIXu5ItfA58n4EFAmwI_Otgx-IrNSMJYHa6nqRA/s1600/IMG_8733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTo_o5ypX94JfldFMzqTn_8W70DSTvvkMFn4I5xlaJJbXJnSRtKd_gQwZOikgNbDNkTJpqXpsBeWaT-ROhRMRQw7mqAlqmkx-cMK2_wIXu5ItfA58n4EFAmwI_Otgx-IrNSMJYHa6nqRA/s640/IMG_8733.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pay attention to such things because two of my students have studied flowerfalls in the tropical rain forest. (Julie Feinstein reared over 1300 insects, including butterflies and moths, weevils, and many, many flies, from flowers shed by trees in the Brazil nut family; Amie Whigham is analyzing some of the factors that appear to make senescing flowers so appealing to insects).</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The flowers currently filling our gutters are dropping from the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Japanese pagoda tree (</span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Styphnolobium japonicum). </span></span></span></i></div></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjriA3FErKLfnLBxEc69yLukOzMnWYarHNdd7ReV3LyvwoursOralL4U4NAt8bN3TMFBKsuInQuYxtCPvKkD1QtdggCbUCSpvCufkpT5L7Pz6Zd4jXeOO1SzqWVo3D93x7PzsA3ZE6gTBs/s1600/IMG_8693sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjriA3FErKLfnLBxEc69yLukOzMnWYarHNdd7ReV3LyvwoursOralL4U4NAt8bN3TMFBKsuInQuYxtCPvKkD1QtdggCbUCSpvCufkpT5L7Pz6Zd4jXeOO1SzqWVo3D93x7PzsA3ZE6gTBs/s400/IMG_8693sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(Thanks to Carol Gracie, co-author of </span></span></span></i></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><a class="title" href="http://www.amazon.com/Wildflowers-Field-Forest-Northeastern-Glassberg/dp/0195150058/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280782422&sr=1-1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Wildflowers in the Field and Forest:</i></span></span></a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><a class="title" href="http://www.amazon.com/Wildflowers-Field-Forest-Northeastern-Glassberg/dp/0195150058/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280782422&sr=1-1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States</i></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">,</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for the identification-- </span></span></span></i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I confuse </span></span></span></i></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this exotic with <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> until I see the fruits).</span></span></span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both are common street trees in NYC.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">Perhaps these </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">dumpster-diving honeybees </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">(</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">Apis mellifera</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">) </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">are seeking left-over nectar:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pdPw3xNHjD8f2My5JhlxGdtqweHRXJZVHbRzygVILfd-3CkgJRdZpIP38XN6s94VesUOun07Rzwn_ooDDUGsBWM4UEo3mkEreE00uQJkOcN01erisX3pxbgGC9kTWLGw_TpYVZWq6oQ/s1600/IMG_8570sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pdPw3xNHjD8f2My5JhlxGdtqweHRXJZVHbRzygVILfd-3CkgJRdZpIP38XN6s94VesUOun07Rzwn_ooDDUGsBWM4UEo3mkEreE00uQJkOcN01erisX3pxbgGC9kTWLGw_TpYVZWq6oQ/s400/IMG_8570sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrvtAs9ZTchM_BwxYzYfc5E-bKzfpDVn8W1F9Ws_AldSUpL7zh4yhxzXnEkCoLToh_qBp0cdfTOGrFW2GX03PMfAmFrittcpQKrWatU4vjmZtrB1JyMHYbGMuWqesT2YSteZD85b3AQE/s1600/IMG_8578sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrvtAs9ZTchM_BwxYzYfc5E-bKzfpDVn8W1F9Ws_AldSUpL7zh4yhxzXnEkCoLToh_qBp0cdfTOGrFW2GX03PMfAmFrittcpQKrWatU4vjmZtrB1JyMHYbGMuWqesT2YSteZD85b3AQE/s400/IMG_8578sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pigeons and sparrows seem to like the flowers too:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9wNwz0vyeWZpQ0mJVZLB15QHYk-VTOwCScmwHLYkn7OfkBS7wvXO8sUuaqVDio2riHFctq41vYf2b85fVHaIv6yKg72Fewc-bxaj_HFtROtR5cDXVFRiTsnBYjdzeBMkFffWXajMmEA/s1600/IMG_8739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9wNwz0vyeWZpQ0mJVZLB15QHYk-VTOwCScmwHLYkn7OfkBS7wvXO8sUuaqVDio2riHFctq41vYf2b85fVHaIv6yKg72Fewc-bxaj_HFtROtR5cDXVFRiTsnBYjdzeBMkFffWXajMmEA/s640/IMG_8739.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"> <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">I</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">f you follow insects at all, you are probably aware that honeybees are on the decline (if not, search for ‘colony collapse disorder’). I once got into a huge fight at a party because I steadfastly refused to tell a partygoer that I liked honeybees. While I concede that they are tremendously important pollinators of many food crops, in natural environments they can be considered non-native ‘pollen hogs’ that outcompete our native bees (we have more than 4000 native bee species in the US, and most are inconspicuous, solitary insects). Colony collapse disorder? At the risk of irritating party-goers and colleagues alike, I would suggest that epidemics are simply the price that social animals pay.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">For an amazing interpretation of social interactions amongst the honeybees, try to get ahold of Jim Self and Frank Moore's hard-to-find, but classic, East Village dance video, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Beehive</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">.</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">For more information on native pollinators, see: </span></span><a href="http://plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Habitat_Development_for_Pollinators_NJ.pdf">http://plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Habitat_Development_for_Pollinators_NJ.pdf</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="file:///WHMI/WEB/pdf/TechnicalLeaflets/NativePolinators.pdf">ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/WHMI/WEB/pdf/TechnicalLeaflets/NativePolinators.pdf</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Amy Berkovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05486150676418044419noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565219737189541236.post-2651486829606779072010-07-20T14:03:00.000-07:002010-07-20T14:28:10.829-07:00There are a gazillion insect stories in the naked city; this is one...<div class="MsoNormal">Long, long ago…. I got rid of the tomatoes, and planted my community garden plot with milkweeds and goldenrods. I had decided to feed not myself, but the BEETLES. I especially hoped to attract two cerambycids: locust borers <i>(Megacyllene robiniae), </i>which mate on goldenrod but lay their eggs on locusts,<i> </i>and milkweed beetles <i>(Tetraopes tetrophthalmus), </i>which feed on--you guessed it--milkweeds<i>.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">During the next year or two, I actually saw the occasional locust borer. But the milkweed took over within a few years, and while it attracted a number of other milkweed feeders, I had pretty much lost all hope of attracting <i>Tetraopes tetrophthalmus</i>... until just last week, 15 YEARS LATER, when one individual arrived! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">First I noticed some unusual feeding damage;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">many of the leaves were missing their tips. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Then Mary T. spotted the culprit... </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">and documented its presence with her Iphone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkp6QkH4bqcVNc5k4PuoaSX7Ma4lIr-doI2GHqH-CMI98YWHJciQQ4DNa9Dm2wFZoGx7tdCaE0dL3wS94VGTfUPRtbp4GZa9ZfyQI4vswwKEHnQE3Ol3duCovD5GpxL1gCdmMJ-Hf6ISU/s1600/The+Culprit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkp6QkH4bqcVNc5k4PuoaSX7Ma4lIr-doI2GHqH-CMI98YWHJciQQ4DNa9Dm2wFZoGx7tdCaE0dL3wS94VGTfUPRtbp4GZa9ZfyQI4vswwKEHnQE3Ol3duCovD5GpxL1gCdmMJ-Hf6ISU/s400/The+Culprit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Can you see it? The long antennae gave it away.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">I hurried back the next morning, hoping to catch it feeding.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xwhrSo9mrbLfA-xcEs2snMHCYIyIwKZd87tmqknKwc0ljmHhqwl_uh2emNOxbWqg1WB8zluDJ-s8IdIOyTdvbpnk7SdRC7Nna52UVGNYFvOQB0hlYEYc9DOteL8xZJhDDNInkeLvpp8/s1600/T_tetraopthalmus_milkweed_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xwhrSo9mrbLfA-xcEs2snMHCYIyIwKZd87tmqknKwc0ljmHhqwl_uh2emNOxbWqg1WB8zluDJ-s8IdIOyTdvbpnk7SdRC7Nna52UVGNYFvOQB0hlYEYc9DOteL8xZJhDDNInkeLvpp8/s400/T_tetraopthalmus_milkweed_sm.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">But <i>T. tetropthalmus</i> (so called because the upper lobes of its eyes </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">are completely separated from the lower lobes) </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">was NOT pleased to be disturbed, </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">and flew off to take refuge amongst the rose prickles.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjtBgsRkqVxir_72ShMgfNJTXlQiNzXo1lMZVM19a0iW1kKjHqgH9oL8tAhPvrdMR4sJnPmKqfCfI_VR4tUH75CuVmMaTKYACesaIr-RkwGTcVxEyJlDSfVgBR7qjAO_jyXq9u7YYU34/s1600/T_tetraopthalmus_Rosa_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjtBgsRkqVxir_72ShMgfNJTXlQiNzXo1lMZVM19a0iW1kKjHqgH9oL8tAhPvrdMR4sJnPmKqfCfI_VR4tUH75CuVmMaTKYACesaIr-RkwGTcVxEyJlDSfVgBR7qjAO_jyXq9u7YYU34/s400/T_tetraopthalmus_Rosa_sm.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">I returned to my milkweeds to check out the feeding damage </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">more closely. After all, not just any insect can feed on milkweed, </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">with its gooey latex and toxic cardiac glycosides...</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">It turns out that "Tetro," like numerous other insects that eat </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">latex-producing plants, avoids the mess by slicing right </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">through the leaf midrib! This diverts the flow of latex, </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">allowing the crafty engineer to feed with near-impunity. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIkyy4daDKfT0nnSB1b_Yv29viTX3eZfLua1fyKl64bdkupridW9gHc_6f81fBsbc7gyGTndVH08IKsyf__rPHyYWpYcza_DBf6IwPdsm7NBLGBi0PvCWP86eyvSuzM0EbkBiLiMk-Yg/s1600/Milkweed+feeding+2_Tetraopes_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIkyy4daDKfT0nnSB1b_Yv29viTX3eZfLua1fyKl64bdkupridW9gHc_6f81fBsbc7gyGTndVH08IKsyf__rPHyYWpYcza_DBf6IwPdsm7NBLGBi0PvCWP86eyvSuzM0EbkBiLiMk-Yg/s400/Milkweed+feeding+2_Tetraopes_sm.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Look CLOSELY!</div>Amy Berkovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05486150676418044419noreply@blogger.com6