INTERESTING ARTICLE IN BRITISH NEWSPAPER

BELOW IS AN ARTICLE FORWARDED TO ME BY MY FELLOW BLOGGER, MONICA SMITH, ORIGINALLY FROM THE UK. EVEN THOUGH SCORPIONS AREN'T INSECTS, I THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD ENOUGH TO BE INCLUDED IN MY BUG BLOG. THE SCORPION IN THE ARTICLE LOOKED A LOT LIKE OUR NATIVE BROWN SCORPIONS THAT WE FIND IN THE HOUSE OCCASIONALLY AND HAVE TO KEEP THE CATS AWAY FROM! THANKS TO MONICA FOR SENDING IT TO ME. THIS WAS FROM THE "HARROWGATE ADVERTISER".

Exotic discovery in Harrogate street
The scorpion was found in the Mayfield Grove area. (S)

Published Date: 13 September 2010
A POLICE wildlife officer in Harrogate is asking for the public's help to trace the journey of a scorpion found in the town
The two-inch long scorpion was discovered in the Mayfield Grove area of Harrogate on Thursday, September 2. It was handed into the local police station by the member of the public who found it.The creature was already dead when officers took it into their charge, but they would like to know how a species that is native to North Africa or the Middle East, and is more at home in desert regions, came to be on a road in northern England.PC Gareth Jones, Harrogate's wildlife officer, said: "Although I haven't managed to identify the exact species of scorpion yet, I do know that it is not one commonly traded in pet shops across the country. It may well have been a stowaway in a consignment of fruit or hitched a lift with someone who may have inadvertently brought it back following a foreign trip." Anyone who saw the wee beast before Thursday, September 2 is asked to contact PC Gareth Jones at Harrogate Police Station on 0845 60 60 24 7.

HAPPY BEE ON CONE FLOWER

HERE'S A HAPPY LITTLE BEE ON A CONE FLOWER. PHOTO TAKEN BY MY HUSBAND AT ZILKER BOTANIC GARDEN IN AUSTIN, TX. GETTING LOTS OF RAIN FROM HERMINE. YIPPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FLESH EATING BEETLES ON SMITHSONIAN PAYROLL

Strange but true. The Osteology lab of the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum in Washington DC routinely uses the Dermestid beetle (Dermestes maculatus) to safely and delicately clean flesh and fatty tissue from the bones of their newly acquired animal specimens. Researchers there find the Dermestid beetles do a much better job than chemicals, usually producing a flesh-free skeleton in record time (depending on the size of the animal). Ironically, these very same beetles are the scourge of taxidermists because they will eat fully mounted specimens just as readily as newly dead ones. They will also frequently eat mounted insect specimens if they can get into the display cases. Consequently these beetles are employed in a sealed and locked room to prevent any escapees.

The Dermestid beetles of which there are between 500 and 700 species, are members of the Coleoptera order and can range in size from 1 to 12 mm. They are also known as skin beetles, larder beetles, hide or leather beetles and carpet beetles. While they can be very destructive to household items, fortunately they are not very widespread. Simple housekeeping practices will prevent problems.

The Dermestid is also useful to forensic entomologists in determining times of death of victims of crimes or accidents as their growth patterns follow a predictable timetable. So if you have a body with 3rd instar larvae on it, you are able to determine how many days previous death may have occurred. Toxicologists also can test the beetles and their larval sheddings for traces of poison as chemicals can show up in the beetles after they have eaten. .

For those of you who may be interested in starting a taxidermy sideline, I have checked the internet and found that Dermestid beetles are available at $25 for 250!

Jr. in his house

TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS AUDUBON INSECTARIUM

LAST MONTH, I TRAVELED TO NEW ORLEANS AND BEYOND. ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS WAS THE NEW ORLEANS AUDUBON INSECTARIUM LOCATED IN THE OLD CUSTOMS HOUSE. NOT ONLY WERE THE DISPLAYS EDUCATIONAL BUT DOWNRIGHT PAINTERLY IN THEIR ARTISTIC COMPOSITION. THERE WERE LOTS OF INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS AS WELL AND A NICE INDOOR BUTTERFLY GARDEN WHERE YOU COULD WATCH BUTTERFLIES HATCHING. SUPER SEAFOOD TO BE HAD THROUGHOUT THE TRIP. SURE GLAD I VISITED BEFORE THE BP OIL SPILL IN THE GULF.

INTERESTING CLIPPING ABOUT HONEYPOT ANTS

USE OF A DICHOTOMOUS KEY FOR EASY INSECT ID

Now I can tell your eyes are already starting to glaze over and you are considering skipping reading this blog entry. DON’T!!! This is a really easy way to narrow down the possibilities when identifying an unknown insect.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word “dichotomous” simply means “the process of dividing a group into two parts, esp. mutually exclusive or contradictory groups”. Fine so far, right?

So let’s say you find an unknown insect-like critter in your garden. You can first ask yourself (or the bug), “Do you have 8 legs or only 6 (or maybe a whole lot)?” If the answer is 6, you know you have a true insect and not a spider or other Arthropod such as a centipede. Now look for wings. Are there 2 or 4? Only 2 wings would indicate a member of the fly family. Are the wings clear or scaled? Scaled wings are the type found on moths and butterflies. You can continue in this fashion until you are satisfied you have a handle on what the critter may be.

This process can be as simple or as complex as you wish depending on how closely you want to come to exact species ID. Depending on how specific you want to get with the insect, you can go as far as what kind of hairs it has on its behind! Using this key is a way to eliminate what it cannot be. It is similar to the way a physician will approach diagnosis of an unknown disease or condition. Doctors use clinical tests to rule out certain conditions the same way you can use a dichotomous key to rule out what the insect cannot be.

There are several good dichotomous keys I have found on the Internet. One I especially like is at the site of the Amateur Entomology Society. You can go to www.amentsoc.org/insects , click on “What bug is this?” then “key to adult insects”. Another helpful site is www.bugguide.net . This site has a pictorial key to help you match up similar shapes of insects.

So why not give it a go and see if you can use this simple process of elimination to ID your next unknown bug. You will be very proud of yourself and so will I!

A CONGRATULATIONS CARD FROM A DEAR FRIEND

One of my dearest friends from up north in Massachusetts is such a whiz at card creation. She's a sales agent for Stampin' Up which is a cool company that sells card making stuff. So here's her fun congratulatory card complete with butterflies and a magnifying glass. How cool is that!!!!

BUGS IN THE MAIL

So now that I am a so-called "bug expert", I have received more than a few requests for ID of a bug. Today I received in the mail from my dad (2100 miles away) a tiny package well wrapped with a little corpse inside. He caught and semi-squashed this critter in his dining room. As near as I can tell, this would be some type of leaf-footed bug. They like to come inside when it gets cold and hang out in houseplants. I'm surprised this one lasted inside as long as it did in New England. This is a picture of what it looked like before Dad squashed it.

PREVIEW OF PLANTS FOR SALE AT GREENHOUSE

We have been busy in the Master Gardener greenhouse repotting our little plant babies in preparation for the spring sale in April. We have a nice variety of plants so far and will also try a couple of new items such as herb pots and hanging baskets. I was gratified to see a lady bug busy among our transplants and so far we have not had any insect or fungus problems. Everybody cross their fingers now!!

HERE'S WHAT I THINK OF SNOW

Yesterday it snowed all day on and off with only a little accumulation fortunately. Having lived in New England for a good portion of my life I am not as enchanted by it as the locals. To the left you can see what I think of snow. Although in New England we refer to it as "poor man's fertilizer". My one lone daffodil is blooming courageously despite the weather.

The Prince’s Rainforest Project

GARDEN FRIEND FOUND IN POTTING SHED

Yesterday, I got inspired to clean out my potting shed/greenhouse in preparation for Spring and I found this interesting abode inside an old pot. It appears to be a nest of some kind of Mud Dauber Wasp of which there are several species. Most are in the family Sphecidae or Crabronidae. Their favorite food is the black widow spider so I would consider these wasps to be my friend in the garden. They are rarely aggressive and can be identified by their very long skinny waist. Actually, most wasps are beneficial and will usually leave you alone if you leave them alone. "Live and let live" is the policy in my garden.

A BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY IN THE HILL COUNTRY

THE BEAUTIFUL (ALMOST 70 DEGREE) WEATHER HAS INSPIRED ME TO CREATE SOME HANGING BASKETS FOR MY FRONT PORCH. IN THEM I PUT PANSIES, RED LETTUCE AND ALYSUM. IT WAS SUCH A NICE DAY, I ACTUALLY CAUGHT A COUPLE OF FLIES SUNBATHING AND SOME OF THE FLOWERING TREES HAD BEES BUZZING AROUND THE BLOSSOMS.

I RECEIVED SOME FUNNY FLY PHOTOS IN AN E-MAIL FROM A FRIEND. SURE WISH I KNEW WHO WAS CLEVER ENOUGH TO DO THOSE DRAWINGS. THE E-MAIL HAD ABOUT SIX PICTURES OF FLIES DOING DIFFERENT SUMMERTIME THINGS. AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH LOTS OF DIPTERA AND TOO MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS!!!

Howdy Fellow Bug Lovers, I am a newly certified Entomology Specialist with the Hill Country Master Gardeners who is eager to share information and experiences with other insect enthusiasts. As you can tell from my photo, I tend toward the silly and irreverent. That said, I will always strive to impart factual and correct information regarding our six-legged friends.