invasive species

Two Visitors – Day 667

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Bumblebee – Photo: L. Weikel

Two Visitors

While I worked at my laptop on the porch this morning, I entertained visits from two distinctly different creatures. One of my two visitors was beautiful, but terribly destructive and most unwelcome. The other was not only beautiful, but also singularly and adorably focused upon fulfilling its purpose of being a master pollinator, making it a most welcome and appreciated guest.

Busy Bumblebee – Photo: L. Weikel

Little Bumblebee

I was delighted when the bumblebee you see in these photographs started immersing herself in the begonias hanging off the edge of our porch. These blooms have been – bar none – the best flowers to grace my porch probably ever. This particular hanging basket of creamy peach, brilliant orange, and dazzling yellow faces has consistently churned out blossom after blossom since early spring.

When this bumblebee showed up this morning, bouncing from one blossom to another, intently burying its head, thorax, and abdomen deep into the begonia’s sensuous petals, I grabbed my phone, hoping to get close enough to capture the intimacy of the moment.

As you can see, little bumblebee was more than happy to show me its best side and allow me to document its efforts to being the best pollinator in its age group. I was especially fascinated by the big blob of something sticking to one of its legs. It could be pollen, I suppose. But it actually looked, to me, like a part of the blossom’s plumbing.

Anyway, I was over the moon that bumblebee permitted me to get so close and capture some shots of it without seeming perturbed at all by my presence.

Photo: L. Weikel

Unwelcome Intruder

As I stood on the edge of the porch marveling at the details I could see in my bumblebee photos, I felt something thwack onto my left shoulder. In fact, I could just barely see it in my peripheral vision, but I had a feeling I knew what it was – and I was not happy.

I flicked it onto the floor in front of me and – sure enough – it was a spotted lantern fly. UGH. Shocked and appalled at the audacity of this intruder to actually hurl itself onto my body, my loathing overrode my initial, natural inclination not to kill things. Knowing they are extremely quick to evade capture or death, and before I even thought twice, I stomped on it.

They don’t belong here. They’re killing our trees.

Within the span of five minutes I was graced with visits from two diametrically opposing creatures. One that spreads life and one that destroys it.

Not sure what I make of that. I wish I didn’t have to kill anything, but sometimes we’re forced to make choices we wish we didn’t have to make. I’ve asked them to leave, but they’ve insisted on remaining and going after our trees. They’re invasive and persistent.

So…it’s from this:

Spotted Lantern Fly Nymphs – Photo: L. Weikel

To this:

The only good kind of Spotted Lantern Fly – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-444)

Correction and Clarification – Day 580

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 1 Comment
Nascent Wild Raspberries – THE REAL THING! – Photo: L. Weikel

Correction and Clarification

Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader of this blog, it is essential that tonight’s post be one of correction and clarification.

Yesterday’s post, Prickle of Hope, was a musing about my love for the wild raspberries that flourish in the woods and along the roadsides near our home. They usually burst onto the scene in all their juicy goodness during the first week of July.

The impetus for last night’s post was my spying what I carelessly mis-identified as my precious wild raspberries, when actually what I photographed was an invasive species called wineberry. I saw the fecund bushes I photographed yesterday calling to me, like little sirens, albeit in a place where we don’t usually stop to indulge. So I wasn’t being discerning. Instead, I got caught up in my own memories.

I hang my head in shame, as I definitely know the difference when the berries are fully formed. Wineberries are deceptively akin to wild raspberries at first blush – but only if you’re not paying attention. Not only do they have lots of distinctive little red hairs all over them, but also trust me when I say it’s highly unlikely you’d willingly stuff handfuls of them in your mouth once you’ve tasted just one of them.

Edification

Besides being sneaky little devils that trick those who are unaware or inattentive into believing they’ve snagged a sweet treat, wineberry shrubs are also nasty invasive buggers. They’ll proliferate rapidly and choke out the indigenous raspberry and black raspberry bushes, and the tangled and dense thickets woven by wineberry bushes also pose a threat to wildlife and other native plants.

Chastened by my former self-described (in another life – in this lifetime) wingman, Bill, I was determined to take photos of the bushes and nascent berries forming in the areas I know 100%, for sure, are wild raspberries. I was appalled at the thought that I’d been consuming wineberries in vast quantities. I couldn’t imagine I had, so I could only hope I’d misidentified yesterday’s shrubs.

And I can confirm here and now that the raspberries Karl and I indulge in every year are, in fact, wild raspberries. Following are photos to help you see the difference for yourself.

(Above) Wineberries – notice the tiny red hairs on berry buds and stems! – Photo: L. Weikel

 

Wild raspberries – Photo: L. Weikel

Bottom Line

The bottom line, my friends, is to beware the red hairy ones! And don’t let wineberry shrubs proliferate on your property if you can help it.

Thanks again, Bill!

Here are photos of the baby berries of both, for comparison’s sake:

(Above) Wineberry – Photo: L. Weikel

Wild Raspberry – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-531)

Stumped – Day 333

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Spider on my walk – Photo: L. Weikel

Stumped

I’m stumped. I don’t know if it’s because I have a headache or what, but I am having a devil of a time coming up with anything you might find interesting to read.

I’m using as my ‘featured image’ a photo of a spider that Karl and I came upon on our walk the other night. If you look carefully, you can see the rainbow background of a speed limit sign, which is where she was busily creating a rather massive web.

She actually made me screech when I initially approached to ask for her photo. She bolted across the web in my general direction so quickly that it freaked me out. I wonder if she was sleeping and I scared her every bit as much as (or probably even more than) she surprised me.

I was impressed by her size, speed, and beauty.

Another Thing

I’m ever vigilant about the evil Spotted Lantern Flies (SLF), and always on a hair trigger eradication campaign. Even though I’m pretty sure they’ve been spotted in abundance along the towpath, as well as other places surrounding us, I am hopeful that maybe we will escape the worst of this infestation.

I’m doing my part. I’m happy to report that, so far, we have not encountered more than one SLF per walk, and – even better – taken many walks without seeing any.

Karl always knows when I’ve found one, though, because a host of profanities suddenly spews onto the pavement, completely out of context to what we may have been discussing, as I vigorously stomp on the singlet I’ve discovered. And you have to either be quick or crafty when trying to smoosh these jerks. They quite unexpectedly jump/fly. Quickly, maddeningly, and far!

I’ve been trying to keep an eye out for egg masses but haven’t found any. So I don’t know if the occasional singlets I’m discovering may have been hitchhikers on cars passing by (which is my hope) or I’m just awful at spotting the egg cases.

I sure hope we can keep them at bay and avoid an infestation around here. Stay on the lookout for them and show no mercy.

(T-778)

Full Moon and Invasive Species – Day 158

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Full Moon and Invasive Species

I took the photograph above as I walked out of a meeting this evening about the Spotted Lanternfly. It’s a cool photo, I think, because not only is the moon shining in all her glory, but a car was driving by at the time, its headlights illuminating a path (a choice?) facing all of us.

The moon is going to be full tonight (actually, 7:12 a.m., EDT tomorrow morning), and is obviously illuminating and bringing to fruition a number of items, both great and small.

There is the release of the (redacted version of) the Mueller Report, shedding a great deal of light on the intricacies of the conclusions reached by the Special Counsel after interviewing something like 500 witnesses and examining documents and other evidence over the course of the past 22 months.

I’m not one to routinely or voluntarily read 400+ page reports, but I’m actually considering reading this one for myself. Somehow or another, I feel like it is something I need to read and see with my own eyes in order to both believe and reach my own conclusions.

There’s so much at stake in what has been investigated, particularly with respect to the astonishingly effective and pervasive ways in which Russia interfered in our 2016 elections (although they apparently began their calculated efforts to influence discord in our system in 2014 or even earlier). This is incredibly serious and I’m almost wild-eyed with disbelief that we have not come together as a nation in absolute outrage at the idea that, basically, our country has been hacked by a foreign power.

I simply cannot fathom that this infiltration and manipulation of our country and its pride and joy, its claim to fame – our free and fair elections – is not uniting us.

To say I am dismayed and heartbroken barely covers it.

More Than One Invasive Species…

And speaking of invasive species (or countries), there is the Spotted Lanternfly, which apparently arrived in Pennsylvania in 2012 on some imported landscaping stones. Since it has no natural predators here in the U.S., it flourished and was first reported as a problem in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014. Pretty much the entire area of Southeastern Pennsylvania is now under quarantine.

No matter where you live, you should check out what these critters look like so, if you see them, you can report it and get rid of it. We must protect each other by making sure they do not spread into any other counties or states. So those of us who live where we are under quarantine must educate ourselves and do what we can to prevent them from hitchhiking on us, our cars, our produce, etc., to other areas.

Right now, for instance, it is also important to notice egg casings and destroy them. The way these creatures practically inundate trees when they swarm is awful and disquieting.

So it seems this full moon is revealing the existence of invasive species of a couple different kinds.

The truth upon which we will succeed in ridding ourselves of both (or all) is working together.

(T-953)