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Things That Go Bump and Boo in the Night
It was about things that go bump and boo in the night during the annual Bohart Museum Society's Halloween party. The society's annual Halloween...
Skull shares the habitat of the giant cave cockroah (Blaberus gigante). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Kate Brown, a third-year UC Davis School of Medicine students, with her Monarch wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Entomologist Leia Matern answers a question from her daughter, Tilly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
HAY EXPORTS FROM WESTERN STATES HAVE INCREASED DRAMATICALLY
For those of you not yet convinced that we live in an increasingly international economy, button up your Dacca-made parka– globalization is...
My Foe-Bermudagrass!
I’m fighting – and losing at this point – with Bermudagrass (Cynodan dactylon). Have you ever had a gardening problem, be it a weed or much-loved plant which fails to thrive, which has you thinking that TNT might be a good herbicide? I have but I’ve decided that explosives might be frowned upon during an IPM discussion.
My foe came into my yard courtesy of my neighbor. Evidently, at one time, they had a lawn in the backyard which extended from the house to the back fence and almost as wide as the entire yard. I never had any stolons come creeping into my yard UNTIL they had a concrete contractor come to install a patio. Well, very soon after that, came little fingers of green from under the fence and into my side yard. Eek, a mouse, er I mean Bermudagrass!
Realizing that since I left to work at 4:30 a.m. and returned around 5pm, I had no time for this “little” green invasion, I put the other adult at home to work (or so I thought). My plan was for Bruce to use the spray bottle of herbicide on the grass slowly creeping toward my roses, but he thought the plan was to merely report the progress the grass was making! Pretty soon, it seemed like only mere minutes, my yard had disappeared under a sea of thick stems and fine leaves. What to do?
Since the day I discovered that “his” plan was not “my plan”, we have been preparing to do battle! Since merely pulling the long, knotty and rather strong strands of grass is not working and our backs are tired; we have gone directly to the last step of IPM and selected our chemical allies.
This process was rather easy since reading the labels on the containers (the 1st step) eliminated a number of products right off the bat. Using gyphosate will not do as it is a non- selective weed-killer and kills grasses as well as broadleaf plants. That left only the selective dicot (grasses) herbicides. By looking around, reading labels, and asking professionals for suggestions, we are using a product whose main ingredient is fluazifop which can be sprayed over the top of roses, daylilies, and other plants which are in my yard. Hopefully next year my acreage of Bermudagrass will be smaller and what I planted will be visible. That will be extremely satisfying to Bruce and me!
All in all, I guess I should be happy that my neighbors didn’t plant either “running” bamboo or horsetail reeds!
Mat of bermudagrass.
About Those Jumping Spiders!
Every day should be Spider Appreciation Day, but especially on Halloween. Ophthalmologist and professor Ivan Schwab of the UC Davis Health...
Jumping spider peering between the petals of a yellow rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of jumping spider as it emerges from its hiding place. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of jumping spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The prey (honey bee) that the predator (jumping spider) was seeking. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
California's lead ammunition ban was product of years of research
California recently passed a law that will ban the use of lead ammunition when taking wildlife with a firearm. The intent is to protect scavenging birds and other wildlife from the threats of lead poisoning from spent lead ammunition.
While the new law, which was passed on Oct. 11, 2013, will be phased in over the next six years, the research that helped shape it has been going on for some time and much of it was done by researchers at the University of California, Davis.
Scavenging birds and other animals are susceptible to lead poisoning when they inadvertently ingest spent pellets or bullet fragments in the tissues of animals killed by lead-based ammunition.
"Lead is a soft metal, so it fragments upon impact leaving hundreds of pieces around the wounded area of the animal," Kelly said. "Many scavengers forage in large groups, meaning a single carcass or gut-pile containing spent lead ammunition can expose many individuals."
Kelly and Johnson’s studies were funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and published by the journal PLoS ONE in 2011.
While their research illuminates the threat posed by lead ammunition, Kelly and Johnson make clear that hunting itself is not the issue at hand.
"Hunting is an irreplaceable tool for wildlife management, especially now that we have fewer large predators but more invasive species like wild pigs," said Johnson in 2011, when the studies were published. "Yet we know that accidental consumption of lead can make animals and people sick."
"It just makes good sense to use non-lead ammunition, wherever it is available, to protect wildlife as well as eliminate any potential risk to hunters and their families," she added.
Lead poisoning has been an ongoing issue for birds at rehabilitation facilities, with Golden Eagles being hit especially hard.
"By the time they get to the center, we’re often unable to treat them because they’re so close to death," said Michelle Hawkins, director of the school's California Raptor Center. "We put in our best efforts, but very commonly it’s a losing battle. Prevention is definitely the way to keep these birds from having this problem."
National Geographic published a story about the lead ban on Oct. 11, quoting Johnson on the need for long-term monitoring of birds. She and Kelly say it should start right away so that wildlife can be tracked between now and 2019, when the law must be in full effect.
