Night of the Living Blog!

Rumors of my blog's demise have been greatly exaggerated...mainly by me.

I can assure you, however, my high plains rambling continues in earnest!  This past spring I was able to get out and do some serious exploration of a region that I must admit I was not very enthused about upon my arrival in the Spring of 2013.  This spring, exploration quickly turned into a succession of binge-explorations and hunts for all manners of life in a region still quite foreign to me. While I certainly miss the eastern woodlands (especially their mushrooms!), I have found myself increasingly intrigued and amazed by the western Kansas high plains.  The diversity of terrain in an initially boring-looking area is especially surprising.  Once you navigate your way out of the seemingly endless sea of corn there is sandsage prairie a few miles from home, chalk badlands to the north, red and gypsum hills to the east and shortgrass prairie everywhere in between.

Due North of Garden City, the bluff tops at Scott State Park are covered in an awesome crust of caliche.

View from a blowout on Sandsage Prairie south of Garden City.

Red hills of Big Basin Prairie Preserve southeast of Garden City.

Yep, those are Bison.

Monument Rocks in the "Chalk Badlands" north of Garden City.

This past season definitely made up for my first year here and I certainly have plenty of digital proof of my ramblings.  Fall is progressing nicely (I can tell by the light snow of corn chaff in the air) and eventually winter will be here...despite my constant requests otherwise.  Stay tuned, this blog is officially undead.

And if you find yourself in western Kansas, first, know that everything is going to be OK!
Secondly, check out some of these awesome places:

Sandsage Bison Range and Wildlife Area 

Scott State Park

Monument Rocks

Big Basin Prairie Preserve

Happy Hiking!

Cacti ain't so tough...

If it weren’t for a pile of caterpillar poop (“frass” if you want to be fancy), I never would have found myself cutting open a prickly pear pad (and by "myself", I mean watching my lovely wife cut open a prickly pear pad as I became distracted by some large ants), nor would I have learned about cactus-boring caterpillars.

Prickly Pear, Opuntia sp., is a common sight in southwest Kansas.

There I was, minding my own business, walking around a dried up lake adjacent to some remnant sand-sage prairie that is officially “not open to the public”, hoping to reap the benefits of some remnant sand-sage prairie edge effects, when I noticed a pile of frass on a prickly pear pad.

Yes, it does look like something pooped on some Prickly Pear, 'cause that is insect poop.

I’ve seen caterpillar poop in many places before, but never on prickly pear.  Of course, this warranted further investigation.  After finding a stick sturdy enough to compliment the small blade of a pocket knife, the suspect pad was opened.

I can't imagine being interrupted mid cacti-binge.

The culprits were quickly revealed.  Gray-ish blue, black-spotted larvae enjoying the dickens out of some prickly pear pads.

Prickly Pear so good this caterpillar could not be bothered to acknowledge the camera.

May I introduce to you the North American cactus borer, Melitara sp.(a boring brown moth).  Of course, we now have these larvae housed with fresh prickly pear pads at our home.  I mean, don’t YOU want to know which species of cactus borer this is?

By the way, cactophillic insects can be quite effective.  Another cactus borer, the South American cactus borer, Cactoblastis cactorum (that is the best name on Earth), helped eliminate millions of acres of invasive prickly pear in Australia in the 1920’s and later it was used in South Africa and even Hawaii.  That same moth is now invasive in North America, so keep an eye out for any bright orange caterpillars you see in prickly pears.  For more information on that invader, see HERE.

Otherwise, go find some cacti to look at too closely!

Big Flippin' Ants!

Here in southwest Kansas it has been hard to miss the large, pebble-covered mounds of the harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex spp., or "Pogos".  These impressive ant mounds can be up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) wide and extend up to 3 meters (10 feet!)  into the earth.   

Damn my lack of scale!  This P. barbatus mound was 3 feet in diameter.

Again, lack of scale, but this P. occidentalis nest was quite noticeable from 100 feet away.

 Naturally, once I found myself standing over one of these mounds in awe, it was also hard to miss the large, red ants busily moving in and out of the mound.   

The Red Harvester (P. barbatus) hard at work.

More P. barbatus, apparently a darker form, ignoring my camera.

 There are 22 species of harvester ant in North America and 6 of these can be found in Kansas.  While it can be tricky to determine exactly what species of harvester ant you are looking at, there are a handful of characteristics (aside from the obnoxiously large mound) that can help you determine that you are definitely looking at a harvester ant.

1. Harvester ants are noticeably large for ants, 5-10 mm (.2-.4 in)
2. The commonly encountered harvester ants are dark, rusty red or red
3. Harvester ants have large heads and formidable looking jaws
4. If you look a little closer, you’ll notice that the ant’s abdomen is joined to the thorax by a noticeable “stalk” consisting of two segments.
5. Before the two segments of the “stalk” start, there is a pair of bad-ass spikes!

See? Not so hard.  While these ants are large and intimidating, luckily they are not overly aggressive (at least in my experience so far).  However, the sting of the harvester ant can be quite painful, the venom affects the lymph system and lasts a long time.  Apparently harvesters are responsible for killing at least three small children in Oklahoma.  

"Dude, have you seen the pair of bad-ass spikes on my epinotum?"   "Yeah.  Hey, who's that jackass with the camera?"

 So why are these ants known as “Harvester” ants and not “large, intimidating, kill-you red/rusty-red ants”?  Well, that’s easy.  Harvesters primarily feed on the seeds of various grasses.  Ants actively forage, or harvest, grass seed and store them back at the nest.  Harvester ants also tend to clear away, or harvest, all vegetation surrounding their mounds, sometimes creating a mound clearing up to 7 meters (22.9 feet!) in diameter.  Additionally, I had my face/camera nary .3 meters (12 inches) from these ants the entire time I watched them bounce the weevil from “Club Pogo”.  I am unscathed.  I could not say the same thing if I had been .3 meters (12 inches) from a fire ant mound…more likely I would just be saying, “son of a B$%#&@!!!”.  To further support the idea that these ants are not overly aggressive and are quite content to chow down on grass seeds, a quick story. 

 

Once upon a time, the author (that’s me!) came upon a visible commotion at the entrance of a harvester mound.  Upon closer inspection, a few harvesters were observed to be grappling with a weevil a bit larger than any of the ants.  Surprisingly, the ants were not trying to drag the weevil into the dark depths of the mound, they were actually trying to eject the weevil from the mound itself.   The ants carried the stubborn weevil about ten inches from the mound opening and dropped it.   Immediately, the weevil scurried back to the opening and again was forced out by the ants.  The weevil did not attempt a third entrance into the mound but wandered off completely unscathed while the ants went back to the business of their harvest.  One (as in me) may wonder (repeatedly) if the weevil was interested in the ants' stored seed or if it was just trying to escape the sun.  Anyways, the ants and weevil lived happily ever after.

P. barbatus bouncers escort Scaphomorphus frontalis from "Club Pogo".

Scaphomorphus frontalis don't care.  Scaphomorphus frontalis has other things to do anyways.

  Go look at some ants!

A Kansas Welcoming Committee...

I bet you were just sitting around wondering, "How the hell do you tell the difference between a Southern Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans) a Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) and a Northern Black Widow (Latrodectus variolus)?"  Well, it has nothing to do with how they talk, that's for sure.  And what perfect timing you have; I was just sitting down to blog about this very subject.  

You see, while scavenging through a pile of cement rubble for border material for one of my new raised beds, I came across my first Kansas widow.  Immediately I exclaimed, "Awesome!  My first Western Black Widow!" (okay, maybe I didn't, but I thought it).   Moments later, however, that creeping little voice in my head reminded me that I have never actually bothered to learn the distinguishing characteristics between the three black widows possible in the U.S. and I that I didn't even have a clue about their range overlap.  BugGuide quickly helped me with this dilemma.  So, here is a quick summary of what I learned that will help me (and maybe you!) feel more confident in future black widow identifications. 

1. Referring to some BugGuide info and a few other internets resources, there is some degree of range overlap for the three species of widow. Though it seems like the Northern and Southern widows try to stay mostly Eastern. 

Confirmed occurrences (dark brown) of the Western Black Widow, courtesy of BugGuide

Confirmed occurrences of the Southern Black Widow, courtesy of BugGuide

Confirmed occurrences of the Northern Black Widow, courtesy of BugGuide

2. Dorsal markings are not as important for identification as I initially thought.  Southern widows tend to be all black overall (aside from the hourglass) at maturity.  Mature Western widows also gain an overall black or even "shiny brown" appearance.  Northern widows can apparently have a row of red spots and white bands dorsally even when mature.   However, all immature widows can show a huge variation in the presence and degree of dorsal red and white markings when immature.  Take these images for example:

I photographed this sizable specimen on top of Stegall Mountain in Missouri.   I am going to assume this is  a mature Northern widow, remember the thing about Northerns retaining dorsal red spots?

Stegall Mountain, Peck Ranch Conservation Area, Missouri

 This slightly smaller specimen found under some rocks displayed some really great dorsal markings.  I am going to assume again a Northern widow since I did not photograph its hourglass.

Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, Columbia, Missouri

Now here is the specimen in question.  The Black Widow that inspired me to learn!  I'm going to call this one a Western widow.  You will see why in a second.

Immature Western Black Widow, Holcomb, Kansas

 3.  The HOURGLASS is very important!  Though one source sites exceptions to these general rules, the following hourglass specs can be useful in ID'ing widows.  Northern widows tend to have an hourglass marking that is not connected in the middle.  Western and Southern widows have connected hourglasses, however, in the Western widow, the two halves of the hourglass will be similar in size and shape.  The Southern widow will have an hourglass with the half closest to the abdomen tip almost rectangular in shape.  

Western Black Widow (specimen in question) hourglass, best I could get inside a clear container.

Southern Black Widow hourglass, Chris Wirth, BugGuide

Northern Black Widow hourglass, Chris Wirth, BugGuide

So, anyways, today I did meet my very first Western Black Widow (we'll see what the experts on BugGuide say....)!  I need more rubble for my garden...

Fairwell to a Woodland Spring.....

A brief post for a brief break from loading the moving truck.  I find myself severely antsy for some  Springtime woodland rambling.  I also find myself quite sad to miss out on the fully awake Springtime woodlands.  Luckily, I have Springtime sand-sage prairie to look forward to.  That and the promise of an ample amount of space to install new vegetable and native flora gardens.

Anyways.  You know how I know Spring is (mostly) here?  A brief jaunt into the sleepy-eyed woodland last Friday revealed that the wild leeks are defiantly breaking through the cold ground.  

Wild Leeks, Allium tricoccum, a tasty indicator of Spring

In a couple of weeks my favorite Springtime harbinger would be blanketing the hillside with pungent, excellent-when-dried leaves for the picking.  When I located this population of leeks a few springs ago I opted to collect leaves rather than bulbs; the leaves are equally as flavorful and potent as the bulbs.

This is officially more leeks than you can shake a stick at.

 Additionally, one can tell that Spring is springing by the tiny spots of red moving all about the mossy rocks and trees in the woodland.  Velvet mites are out and about in force!

Velvet Mites, Trombidium sp., were out patrolling the moss in abundance

They look so soft.  I could easily fall asleep on a bed of velvet mites......

Luckily, I am too exhausted from moving boxes for 3 days to fully accept the fact that I will be heading for Kansas right before Morel season hits.  This was gonna be my motherload year, afterall!

Stop reading this and go play in the woods!

A Cautionary Snow Tale

Not all winter storms produce cuddly snow creatures like giant ladybugs and yet-to-be-described species of morel.  Some storms bring forth creatures so vile that none dare speak their names.  This was the unfortunate case with Winter Storm Rocky.

The day started out as usual for any major snow event in Columbia, Missouri.  I woke to the faint sound of plows moving snow off the the main roads, leaving our sleepy little street untouched.  This sound was soon replaced with the whir and spin of various small vehicles stuck in the slush and ice outside of our apartment.  Winter Storm Rocky tried its best to show up Winter Storm Q, but fell slightly short.  Only once, in the wee hours of the snowy morning, did I hear the sound of Thundersnow.  An honorable attempt, however.

Winter Storm Rocky's meager offerings

As I said, the day started out as usual.  The dog, to his dismay, was walked and he decided quite firmly that there was no suitable real estate to properly conduct the business of the hour.

Marmaduke says "No way"

 There was a minor amount of snow hi-jinx and frolicking by the members of the household. 

Sarah, demonstrating proper snow-frolic technique

Anthony, full frolic

It was during mid-frolic that Winter Storm Rocky made its true intentions known.  The care-free snow-frolickers were set upon by a denizen-of-the-snow-so-vile-none-dare-to-speak-its-name (Dotssvndtsin, for short). 

The horror that is Dotssvndtsin

They say that a person who looks into the coal-black eyes of Dotssvndtsin is never the same again. 

Don't you listen?  Don't look directly into the eyes of Dotssvndtsin.

The frolickers put up a decent fight, but were no match for this snowy juggernaut of doom.

No amount of snow angels can protect one from the icy grasp of Dotssvndtsin.

Dotssvndtsin, impervious even to formidable winter weapons such as the snow shovel.

There is no telling when or where Dotssvndtsin may appear.  All it takes is a bit of snow and a dash of tree debris.  Some say the carrot nose is the key to the demise of the Dotssvndtsin, but nobody has ever lived long enough to test that theory.  Next time you are out in the snow, keep warm and watch your back...

No snow people or real people or dogs were harmed in the making of this blog.

Thundersnow and Friends

Looks like I got my wish....and maybe even more than I wished for.   Winter Storm Q brought Columbia between 9 and 11 inches of snow (depending on who you ask).  However, this wasn't ordinary snow, this was THUNDERSNOW!  Winter Storm Rocky is following in Q's footsteps and may hit us Monday and Tuesday with a similar amount of (thunder)snow.  Until then, I will enjoy documenting some rarely seen denizens of the snow. Thundersnow?  Pshhh, check these out....

Perhaps the last morels I will see before leaving Missouri for the mushroom-less (I cannot even fathom such a thing) southwest Kansas.

The elusive Snow Morel, Morchella nix

Just before I discovered those beauties, I stumbled across this beast.

A giant Adalia bipunctata!  Waiting to challenge Godzilla, no doubt.

Maybe there is something to that Thundersnow after all.....