#juvenile invasive caterpillars

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Attack Of Caterpillars

Juvenile invasive caterpillars of the tussock moth (Euproctis spp.) feeding on a Sonnerati alba mangrove leaf in Seychelles. The unintentional introduction of non-native species can have devastating effects on local flora and fauna.

By Christophe Mason Parker, Seychelles

Mangrove Photography Awards

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Wheel Out the Wheel Bug

The wheel bug, also known as Arilus cristatus, is a member of the assassin bug family found throughout eastern North and Central America. They thrive in a variety of environments including grasslands, deciduous and tropical forests, and gardens; anywhere where flowers are abundant.

The wheel bug is so named for the distinctive, spiny wheel-shaped hump along its thorax and abdomen. The body is otherwise elongated and dark grey with white spotting. As an assassin bug, the species also sports an enlarged proboscis for deeding. This species is also noted for being one of the largest true bugs endemic to North America, at a whopping 3.8 cm (1.5 in) long.

As an assassin bug, A. cristatus is a voracious predator within its natural habitat. Individuals catch caterpillars, beetles, sawfly larvae, aphids, and stink bugs with their long forelimbs and then inject their target with a potent paralytic, dissolving its insides and slurping up the resulting soup. Due to their spiky bodies and painful bite, the wheel bug has few natural predators. However, eggs are often prey to parasitic wasps.

Wheel bugs begin mating in September and continues throughout the fall. After mating, the female lays anywhere from 40 to 200 eggs on a leaf, in a cluster resembling a cylindrical honeycomb. The eggs incubate over the winter and juveniles emerge the following spring. They mature throughout the summer and become full adults the following fall, where they mate and then die.

Conservation status: The wheel bug has not been evaluated by the IUCN, but populations are widely dispersed throughout its range and the species is generally ecologically stable. In many areas, it is one of the only predators of other invasive or pest insect species.

Photos

Rick Kelly

Seth Ausubel

Richard Orr

[crazywolf828]

I appreciate your worm advocacy mainly 'cause pound for pound they're waaaaayyyy more benign than snails & caterpillars. Invasive spine sex and poison pricklies for days with those respective taxa.

Okay so like less than fun fact here, technically every species of earthworm but two is invasive to north America 😬 so basically like forever ago a glacier came through and killed off all native earthworms north of like Pennsylvania I believe? So more in the south is the only place you'll find those two native species. Anyway, the north is full of forests, what do forests have? A whole lot of leaf litter and decaying matter and that is a breeding ground for worms. Now the thing is, worms are great for soil and plants, but not as good for certain animals and insects. For example, larger earthworms can be eaten by adult salamanders, while they're too large for juveniles which leads to a decline in the salamander population.

Unfortunately there isn't really a way to control worm population, that would be wild, and normally they move slowly but thanks to humans (it's always humans) they're spread faster by construction, earthmoving, shipped plants, heck even fishing bait. I mean you go buy some nightcrawlers those were bred captively, if you didn't use them all people generally just dump them on the ground and go on their way, I mean I certainly used to, and then they're in a place they shouldn't be.

Sorry this got so long winded and like way off topic and snails and caterpillars are invasive to some places as well but like, no one knows about the worms!!!

[wigmund]

From American Bird Conservancy Bird of the Week; July 7, 2017:

‘Anianiau

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Magumma parvus POPULATION: 10,000-19,999 TREND: Declining HABITAT: Wet upland forests on Kaua’i

The ‘Anianiau is the smallest of the Hawaiian honeycreepers, a group that includes endangered species such as ‘Akikiki and ‘Akeke‘e. Its common name comes from a Hawaiian word meaning “straight-beaked,” and its scientific name, parvus, comes from the Latin word for “small,” referring to this bird's tiny size.

Like the I'iwi and Palila, ‘Anianiau were decimated by the introduction of mosquitos to the Hawaiian Islands. Other threats include habitat loss, climate change, introduced invasive plants, and predators such as rats and cats.

Nectar-sipping Native

‘Anianiau are birds on the move, actively feeding on nectar from native trees, including 'ohi'a, and other native and introduced plants. Like other nectar-feeding honeycreepers such as ʻApapane, the ‘Anianiau has a specialized brush-tipped tongue that it rolls into a tube to drink nectar. It may also use its bill to pierce flowers at the base and sip the nectar.

‘Anianiau also gleans arthropods such as caterpillars and spiders from foliage high in the tree canopy. It spends most of its time in the outer foliage of trees, rarely visiting the trunks or larger branches and very rarely, if ever, coming to the ground. It may sometimes forage in small flocks, particularly at rich nectar sources.

Sweet Trills

The male ‘Anianiau sings a high-pitched, sweet-sounding trill from dawn until dusk as it defends its territory. It will vocalize during the entire breeding season, which runs from February to June. Only males are known to sing, but both male and female utter high-pitched calls.

'Anianiau by Peter LaTourrette

Once they pair up, ‘Anianiau build an open-cup nest from mosses, twigs, grass and bark, usually in an 'ohi'a tree. The male will often feed the female as she builds. ‘Anianiau and other Hawaiian honeycreepers frequently steal nest material from each other, even from other active nests, as they build.

The female incubates her clutch of about three eggs for several weeks; during this period the male brings food to the female, who briefly leaves her nest to receive it. Both sexes look after the young, which leave the nest about 18 days after hatching. Like other Hawaiian honeycreepers, ‘Anianiau fledglings have distinctive “juvenile” calls.

Ongoing Conservation Efforts

The ‘Anianiau currently occupies only about 15 percent of its previous range, and is now restricted to mountain ranges mostly above 1,950 feet. Although relatively tolerant of habitat disturbance, the ‘Anianiau is more common in undisturbed native forest, including protected areas such as the Alaka'i Wilderness Preserve.

ABC is keeping abreast of recent advances in biotechnology that aim to modify, suppress, or even eliminate mosquito populations, which could help stop the spread of introduced diseases such as avian malaria that have wiped out so many native Hawaiian birds.

ABC has helped fund rat control efforts on Kaua'i in cooperation with the Kaua'i Forest Bird Recovery Project, with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and other organizations. ABC and other conservation groups recently called for Congress to increase conservation funding in the Hawaiian Islands to support critical conservation work—work essential for saving ‘Anianiau and other endangered honeycreepers.

[wigmund]

From American Bird Conservancy Bird of the Week; May 12, 2017:

Blackburnian Warbler

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Setophaga fusca POPULATION: 10 million TREND: Increasing HABITAT: Breeds in coniferous and mixed forests of North America; winters in forests in Central and northern South America

Blackburnian Warblers stand out among warblers for their bright orange and black breeding colors. In fact, they are the only warbler to bear orange coloring on their throats, making them relatively easy to distinguish from the American Redstart — the only other warbler with orange and black plumage.

The species is widely distributed throughout northeastern North America, where it breeds primarily in the eastern half of southern Canada and the northern United States. Individuals are occasionally seen as far west as the Pacific coast and as far east as Bermuda, Tobago, and the Lesser Antilles.

Genetic analysis reveals that the Blackburnian Warbler is most closely related to the Bay-breasted Warbler. The two species overlap throughout much of their range, share approximately 97 percent of their genetic information, and may occasionally hybridize.

Creatures of the Canopy

Most species that share a similar morphology, diet, or other biological traits will avoid competition by geographically separating themselves. This is not the case with warblers. Many warbler species overlap in the same geographic region, where they typically separate themselves based on foraging behavior or ecological niche. Blackburnian Warblers, for example, are creatures of the forest canopy and especially the treetops.

Blackburnian Warblers hunt caterpillars, beetles, spiders, and other small insects on the upper branches of trees — mostly conifers. They are primarily “gleaners” — meaning they seek out and capture prey from foliage and crevices — but they may also capture some insects in flight or by diving or “hawking.”

The Migratory Life-cycle

As with many migratory songbirds, Blackburnian Warblers typically travel after nightfall and then settle into habitat to rest and forage during the day. Most fly straight across the Gulf of Mexico, and the earliest arrivals tend to reach the southern United States by March or early April. Once in the United States, the birds may slow their travel speed, sometimes traveling only 25 miles in a single day.

Depending upon their destination, males reach their breeding grounds in mid-April to mid-May, often arriving approximately a week before females. The birds pair almost immediately after arrival on their breeding grounds, and then begin the task of nest building.

Blackburnian Warblers almost always build their nests in the outer reaches of conifer tree limbs, often 10 yards or more above the forest floor. Scientists believe the females build their nests without help from their mates, completing construction of the cup-like structure in approximately three days.

The chicks hatch after approximately 12 days of incubation — by the female only — and remain in the nest until they fledge. The fledglings remain with one or both parents until they can forage successfully on their own, and then sometimes congregate with other fledglings, including those of Black-capped Chickadees.

Blackburnian Warbler female by Frode Jacobsen

Blackburnian Warblers — both adults and juveniles — begin their migration south in August or September, often joining larger mixed-species flocks of warblers and other songbirds for the journey. They reach their wintering grounds as early as September or late as November, where they typically forage alone or in small mixed-species flocks.

Deforestation a Concern

With an estimated global population of 14 million, the Blackburnian Warbler is defined as a species of least concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Redlist. However, individual populations of Blackburnian Warbler may be vulnerable to pressures relating to deforestation and habitat degradation in both their wintering and summering grounds. Because the birds prefer fully forested habitat, their numbers often decline when forests are fragmented by development, logging, or natural causes such as disease. For example, the species has largely disappeared from regions where the balsam woolly adelgid and hemlock woolly agelid — both introduced invasive insect pests — have decimated fir and hemlock forests, including the southern Appalachians as well as some New Jersey, New York, and New England forests.

Deforestation of the Blackburnian Warbler's preferred winter habitat — montane forests in Central and South America — may present a greater threat to the species. The species may benefit from bird-friendly agro-forestry, such as shade-grown coffee or cacao. The warbler occurs in ABC's Santa Marta BirdScape, where we and our partners work to maintain forest and to establish coffee or cacao plantations growing beneath shade trees, providing habitat for the birds.