Showing posts with label insects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insects. Show all posts

Poppy - with and without fuzzy worker bee

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Photo by Hitomi Dames

Photo by Hitomi Dames

Hitomi shot these at the Twin Ponds Community Garden. Now we know they have pollinators at work. The garden should have a bumper crop.







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Back off, Bernice, said Bea,

Saturday, July 4, 2020

Photo by Gloria Nagler


hanging onto the stamen, you know we're supposed to stay six inches apart! 
--Gloria Z Nagler



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Poetry: Photo - Lavender and bees

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Photo by Wayne Pridemore


LAVENDER and BEES

Haiku from Irina's poetry corner 

Photo by Wayne Pridemore



Spring is well and truly here,


kissed by busy honey bees.


Joyful is my heart.


Photo by Wayne Pridemore





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A-courting we shall go!

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Photo by Gloria Z Nagler

I often spot Cabbage White Butterflies together in mating season, though two's company, three's a crowd comes to mind here:)
--Gloria Z Nagler



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She kicked up her heels and did a little "thanks for the nectar" dance

Monday, June 22, 2020

Photo by Gloria Z Nagler


When the mind is pure, Helene mused, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. (Well, Buddha actually said that, but who better than a bee to quote Buddha?)
--Gloria Z Nagler



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Trapping for gypsy moths in Shoreline

Friday, June 19, 2020

Gypsy moth trap on tree in north Shoreline
Photo by Debbie Seger



The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) began its annual hunt for pests that threaten the state’s environment and agriculture industry on June 1.

Trappers are setting thousands of traps statewide to monitor for the introduction or spread of over 120 invasive pests and diseases, including gypsy moth, Asian giant hornet, apple maggot and Japanese beetle.

Gypsy Moth Detection Trap - please let me be
Photo by Debbie Seger

State law gives WSDA authority to trap for invasive pests on private property. In the past, trappers would nevertheless attempt to obtain permission from property owners before hanging traps. This year, due to COVID-19 concerns, WSDA has a “no knock” policy, and trappers will place traps without first contacting homeowners. This is to protect both the community and WSDA employees.

Traps in Shoreline have generally been placed on trees near the street.

Gypsy moth
Photo courtesy WSDA



The agency continues its decades-long survey for gypsy moths and trappers will place approximately 20,000 gypsy moth traps statewide this summer. This will include intensive trapping in areas in Snohomish County that were treated for gypsy moths in May to ensure the gypsy moths were eradicated in those areas. (see previous article)

This is the culprit that munches through forests
Photo courtesy WSDA


Gypsy moths pose a significant risk not only to agriculture in the state but also threaten Washington’s forests, parks and cityscapes. Gypsy moths cause extensive ecological damage by eating more than 500 kinds of trees and shrubs and have been known to defoliate entire forests.

There is a strongly scented attractant circle visible inside the box.
Photo by Debbie Seger

In 2018, for example, Massachusetts lost a quarter of all their hardwood trees in the state, including three of every four oak trees. Gypsy moths also reproduce rapidly, each female laying 1,000 eggs or more, meaning early detection and eradication is critical to controlling this invasive species.



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Bee butt

Saturday, June 6, 2020

Photo by Gloria Z Nagler


Bee butt!




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First confirmed sighting of Asian giant hornet in Washington state

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Asian giant hornet
Photo by Joel Nielsen
UPDATE: The lab has confirmed that this is a queen. This means that no hive was established without a queen.


The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reported the first confirmed sighting of an Asian giant hornet (sometimes called "murder hornets" in Washington this year.

On May 27, a resident near Custer, Whatcom county, Washington found the dead specimen while walking on a roadway. The resident submitted a photo and report using WSDA’s online Hornet Watch Report Form

On May 28, WSDA entomologists concluded that the photo appeared to show an Asian giant hornet.  This was confirmed May 29 after laboratory testing.

The hornet was detected near the location of a suspected Asian giant hornet bee kill in 2019. WSDA had already planned trapping in the area and will maintain that plan to try to find any colony that may be there.

"At this time, there is no evidence that Asian giant hornets are established in Washington State or anywhere else in the United States,” according to Osama El-Lissy, Deputy Administrator, for USDA/APHIS’ Plant Protection and Quarantine program.

The first find of the year in the United States comes just days after the British Columbia government confirmed their first detection of the year in Canada near Langley, B.C. That specimen was initially reported to authorities on May 15.

Asian giant hornet is the world’s largest hornet and a predator of honey bees and other insects. A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours.

WSDA received the first report of Asian giant hornet last December from a resident near Blaine and later learned of another specimen in the area which Washington State University had collected. These were the first-ever confirmed sightings of Asian giant hornet in the United States.

Since the specimens were confirmed in Washington late last year, state entomologists have been working with USDA to create trapping and eradication plans for this invasive pest in order to protect honey bees and the hundreds of crops in Washington that depend on those bees for pollination.

“This is truly a collaborative effort,” Sven Spichiger, managing entomologist for WSDA’s Pest Program, said. “From federal and state partners to individual beekeepers and proactive community members, it will take all of us working together to locate and eradicate Asian giant hornets from our state.”

WSDA plans to locate these hornets through trapping and public reporting of Asian giant hornet sightings.

WSDA has also provided trapping instructions for citizen scientists who would like to build and place traps starting in July for Asian giant hornets on their property and report the results to WSDA. Commercially available hornet and wasp traps will not catch Asian giant hornets as the holes are too small for Asian giant hornets to enter the traps.

Although not typically aggressive toward humans, Asian giant hornets do pose a human health threat. Their string is more dangerous than that of local bees and wasps and can cause severe pain, swelling, necrosis, and, in rare cases, even death. Anyone who is allergic to bee or wasp stings should not approach or attempt to trap for Asian giant hornets.

Learn more about Asian giant hornets and the state’s trapping and eradication project here.


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Save the orcas? Save the bees

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Native bee in rhododendron
Photo by Mike Remarcke

Did you know that 600+ bee species call Washington State home? Did you know that the majority of them are native bee species?

While none of our native bees make honey, or live in hives, native bees are the most important pollinators of wild plants, helping to maintain ecosystem diversity.

In addition, bees are essential to feed the world’s growing human population: On average, one out of every three bites of food people eat needs a pollinator to reproduce!

Bees also pollinate most of the plants growing next to streams that provide shade to keep our creeks, streams and rivers cool – no bees, no salmon!!

Want to save orcas? Save the bees!

--From Demarus Tevuk Sandlin for a presentation at Northwest Stream Center in Snohomish county.

She produces and writes educational content for Crown Bees, a mason and leafcutter bee company in Woodinville.




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Spray plane will be back Tuesday

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Photo by Wayne Pridemore

The Washington State Department of Agriculture has scheduled the third gypsy moth treatment for Woodway and Boulevard Bluffs Tuesday, May 26.

Treatments will begin as early as 8am, weather permitting. However, because of our cloudy morning weather, the previous two treatments didn't start until around 10am. It takes about 40 minutes to complete the spraying in the town of Woodway, just north of Richmond Beach.

Expect low flying aircraft. On the second spraying, the cloud cover forced the pilot to fly low. The set up runs over Innis Arden and Richmond Beach startled residents who were not aware of the spraying. (Tell your neighbors!)

More information about gypsy moth treatments, including maps, can be found HERE

Questions? Call the WSDA Gypsy Moth Hotline at 1-800-443-6684 or email  gypsymoth@agr.wa.gov

Gypsy moth caterpillars are voracious eaters. In 2017, gypsy moth caterpillars defoliated one-third of the entire state of Massachusetts.



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No, photog, I did not lose my grip;

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Photo by Gloria Z Nagler


I have six quite proficient hooked feet! I'm dangling here coz stamen have pollen, dummy.
(Hortense could be snarky on occasion)

--Gloria Z Nagler



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Spraying for gypsy moths in Woodway gives Shoreline residents a good view

Sunday, May 17, 2020

WSDA aircraft sprayed for gypsy moth in Woodway
Photo copyright Marc Weinberg

As promised, the Washington State Department of Agriculture's plane arrived on Friday to spray Woodway, just north of Richmond Beach, for the voracious gypsy moth caterpillars.

The caterpillar of the Gypsy moth will eat its way
through entire forests
Photo courtesy WSDA

The non-native Gypsy moth is capable of defoliating thousands of acres of trees in a single year unless eradicated. Left unchecked, this invasive species can eat its way through a forest in short order. In 2017 an infestation defoliated one third of the state of Massachusetts.

Treatments occur as gypsy moth caterpillars emerge in the spring and begin to feed on vegetation. 

The WSDA plans three applications of Btk (see previous article and below) from 3 to 14 days apart. The spraying is weather dependent. Friday's spraying was delayed several hours when the morning weather was cloudy and raining.

Photo by Wayne Pridemore

672 acres of Woodway was the target, but the pilot lined up his runs over Richmond Beach Saltwater Park, then flew north to Woodway. It repeated this process several times as it moved eastward after each flight. The entire run took about 40 minutes.

Woodway was completed after two hours and the pilot flew north to repeat the spraying in the Boulevard Bluffs area of Everett.

The pilot set up his runs over Shoreline
Photo by Wayne Pridemore

The low-flying aircraft gave Shoreline residents a good view.

The treatment consists of aerial applications of a soil bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, or Btk, which is an insecticide approved for use in organic agriculture and in organic gardening. It has an excellent safety record around people, plants, pets, fish, birds and bees and has been used globally for decades as a safe and effective treatment for combatting gypsy moth. 

You can sign up for alerts here: WSDA's 2020 Gypsy eradication webpage.


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Attention Richmond Beach: State Dept of Agriculture will be aerial spraying Woodway for gypsy moth

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Gypsy moths ate one-third of the tree cover
in Massachusetts in 2017
Photo courtesy WSDA

Starting Thursday, May 14, 2020 a low-flying aircraft will spray a product called Btk on Woodway to help eradicate both gypsy moth and Hokkaido gypsy moth.

The product is a naturally occurring soil bacteria, Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki.) It is not considered harmful to humans, pets, birds, fish or bees, but it is sticky. 

It washes off with soap and water but residents near the spray area may want to cover cars and remove items normally left outside.

Btk will be sprayed in three applications approximately 3 – 14 days apart. All treatments are weather dependent and the schedule is subject to change. 

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) expects to complete all applications by the middle of June.

People in or near the treatment areas can sign up for alerts HERE, which are sent out the day before applications take place. The public can also enter an address in a map on the agency website to verify whether their residence is near a treatment area.

Spray area - Woodway in
Snohomish county

Gypsy moths pose a serious threat to Washington’s environment, with the caterpillars feeding on over 500 types of trees, plants and shrubs. The pest is permanently established in 20 states across the Northeast and Midwest, where it has defoliated millions of acres of forest and urban trees.

In 2017, gypsy moth caterpillars defoliated one-third of the entire state of Massachusetts and in 2018, they lost about one-quarter of their hardwood trees, including three-quarters of their oak trees, in large part due to gypsy moth infestations.

WSDA has been trapping for gypsy moths for over 40 years and has successfully prevented them from establishing in Washington by safely eradicating reproducing populations. 

Visit the agency’s gypsy moth webpage to learn more or call the WSDA toll-free hotline at 1-800-443-6684.



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Approach of the Bombus melanopygus (Black-tailed Bumble Bee)

Friday, May 8, 2020

Photo by Gloria Z Nagler


Look at her loaded pollen baskets -- one hard-workin' bombus! (Got a new macro lens for my b'day so prowled the garden for likely subjects the other day)

--Gloria Z Nagler




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Why a bee is nicknamed 'Cinderella' - Saturday at the Shoreline Library

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Bee pollinating a water lily
on Lake Washington
Photo by Gloria Z Nagler
Saturday, January 18, 2020, 2-3pm at the Shoreline Library, large meeting room, 345 NE 175th St

Did a bee go extinct because of greenhouse tomatoes? 

Why is a bee nicknamed Cinderella? 

Follow a gardener’s adventures into the field with bee scientists and farmers to explore the lives of bees.

Tucked into stories where bees build turrets and paint walls are lessons on how bees live — and how our gardens can help them. 

Based on the book Our Native Bees: North America’s Endangered Pollinators and the Fight to Save Them.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Shoreline Library in memory of Cathy Dann-Jones.


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Hadlee loved autumn

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Photo by Gloria Z Nagler


when the bees were largely gone and the flowers were All Hers...

(Hadlee is likely a hoverfly - sometimes I just can't find an exact match in any of my zillion field guides:)

--Gloria Z Nagler



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Photo: Spider

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Photo by Mike Remarcke

There are still a few of the orb weavers around, waiting to set up their egg sacs and die. They are all named "Charlotte" of course. In the meantime, they are catching and eating lots of small, annoying flying creatures. From the damage to the center of her web, she caught at least one creature this day.

They tear down their webs and create a new one every morning. The guy wires that anchor the webs are, relatively speaking, stronger than steel. I once saw a spider anchor her line to my small fruit tree. The line, glittering in the sunlight, stretched up and over 50 feet to the top of my neighbor's tall maple. That must have been some ride down!

DKH



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Photo: Beatrice hovered .. undecided

Monday, September 30, 2019

Photo by Gloria Z Nagler


...she preferred the dainty dandelions to these unwieldy sunflowers, but had just read that dandelions' nectar lacks critical amino acids necessary to produce offspring. What to do, what to do...

--Gloria Z Nagler



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Photo: Whoopsie!

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Photo by Gloria Z Nagler


...Wally needed to work on his landings...



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Photo: Holding on to summer

Monday, September 9, 2019

Photo by Frank Kleyn

This beautiful cross orb weaver has recently caught something, because there is unrepaired damage to her otherwise perfect web.

These are beautiful spiders with their multi-tone earth colored stripes and their graceful legs.

I personally appreciate the fact that I have never found one inside my house, and they don't run, jump, or make any sudden moves!

They just make perfect Halloween-style webs and eat those bugs that do want to come in my house.

So do not cringe, or knock her down - just appreciate how her work helps you - and remember that you are bigger than she is.

DKH



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