Arborist

August 12, 2025

I came across another example of how one decision leads to the necessity of making others this week. We have been checking out buying a motorhome for the last eight years. We began when we still lived in Kansas, but after the move to Arkansas the concept fell off our radar. This last year my sister and brother-in-law purchased a small teardrop trailer with their son and then a larger trailer for their use. They camped most of their married life, so this was not a surprise. She told us that while it was cheaper to stay in a hotel than buy and maintain a trailer, they enjoyed the outdoor freedom. One reason I (and now Melissa) retired was to travel. Now that we have the kids, this has become problematic (for me). It is more difficult to find a hotel that allows pets (not impossible) and even more so now that we have 175 pounds (75 kg) of dogs. Boarding is a possibility but adds another US$1,000 to the vacation. That moved us to buy a Class C motor home. These vehicles are smaller than the Class A motorhomes and have slide-outs for maximum square footage. The purchase meant we also needed to decide where to keep the vehicle. The fenced side yard was an obvious choice, but that meant we needed to enlarge the gate and cut down a tree for access. While I could have taken days to cut the tree and haul it to the dump, we decided to call an arborist.

When I went online, I found arboriculture is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, and other perennial woody plants, and a person who practices or studies arboriculture is called an arborist. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to their environment. The practice of arboriculture includes techniques for selection, planting, training, fertilization, pest and pathogen control, pruning, shaping, and removal. A tree surgeon is more typically someone who is trained in the physical maintenance and manipulation of trees and more a part of the arboriculture process rather than an arborist. Risk management, legal issues, and aesthetic considerations have come to play prominent roles in the practice of arboriculture. Businesses often hire arboriculturists to complete “tree hazard surveys” and generally manage the trees on-site to fulfill occupational safety and health obligations. Arboricultural matters are also considered to be within the practice of urban forestry, yet the clear and separate divisions are not distinct or discreet.

Both the arborist and the fence man showed up at the same time today. While they were working in the same area of the yard, they did not seem to interfere with each other. The tree came down in a matter of hours (not my days) and the limbs were either ground or stacked in 15-inch (38cm) lengths to be used as firewood when we go camping. The fence took a little longer. It needed two posts removed and another set. This shortened the total area but allows for a 12.5-foot (3.8 m) entrance. That is enough to safely drive my 10 foot (3 m) wide motor home through the gate and park it in an enclosed area. As I said, one decision often leads to several others.

THOUGHTS: One of the reasons people call an arborist is the perceived risk of death by falling trees. This is influenced by media and often hyped, and the risk has been reported to be close to 1:10,000,000, or almost as low as death by lightning. Trees in urban green spaces and their careful conservation are sometimes in conflict with aggressive urban development, despite how urban trees contribute to livability of suburbs and cities objectively (reduction of urban heat island effect, etc.) and subjectively. Tree planting programs implemented by a growing number of organizations and cities are mitigating the losses and often increasing the number of trees in suburbia. This includes planting 2 trees for every 1 tree removed or paying landowners to keep trees instead of removing them. Each tree absorbs about 55 pounds (25 kg) of C02 annually. My two fruit trees help replace the one Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana). Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Cicada-killer

August 11, 2025

I have been seeing the scattered exoskeletons of the cicada (superfamily, Cicadoidea) brood hatch that is occurring in Arkansas this summer. Brood XIX emerges every 13 years, and its last emergence was in 2011. It is a large brood that encompasses 15 states. Although they are not in Arkansas, Brood XIII is also emerging in other parts of the country. Although the cicadas are large and a brood hatch can become messy when great numbers emerge at the same time, they are not agricultural pests or a threat to humans. Trees may be overwhelmed by the sheer number of females laying their eggs in their shoots and small branches. Yesterday while watering my garden, I noticed what looked like a large wasp trapped between the screen and window on the porch. When I find wasps on our porch, I shoo them away or if they persist, I will spray them. I have been stung too many times to allow these pests to establish close to our house. The insect looked like a yellow jacket but was over twice the normal size. What I found out was this was an eastern cicada-killer.

When I went online, I found the eastern cicada-killer wasp (Sphecius speciosus) is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Bembicidae. They are also erroneously called sand hornets, although they are not true hornets, which belong to the family Vespidae. Their name comes as they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them. The species is found in the Eastern and Midwest US and south into Mexico and Central America. Adult eastern cicada wasps are 0.6 to 2.0 inches (1.5 to 5.0 cm) long. They have hairy, reddish, and black areas on their middles (thoraces), and black to reddish brown rear (abdominal) segments that are marked with light yellow stripes. The wings are brownish. The females are slightly larger than the males, and both are among the largest wasps in the Eastern US. European hornets (Vespa crabro) are often mistaken for eastern cicada killers, although they are smaller at 1.4 inches (3.5 cm) long. The males are smaller than the females because they are not given as much larval food. The females benefit from being larger as they must carry the cicadas they have killed to a burrow for nesting. Cicada killers exert a measure of natural control on cicada populations which may directly benefit the deciduous trees the cicadas feed on.

Despite their fearsome appearance, female cicada-killers are not aggressive and rarely sting unless they are mistreated. Their sting is not much more than a “pinprick”. Males aggressively defend their perching areas on nesting sites against rival males, but they have no stinger. Although they appear to attack anything that moves near their territories, male cicada killers are just investigating anything that might be a female cicada killer ready to mate. Their close inspection may appear to be an attack, but male and female cicada killers do not land on people with the intent to sting. If handled roughly, females will sting, and males will jab with a sharp spine on the tip of their abdomen. They are generally not aggressive towards humans and usually fly away rather than attacking. I initially tried to swat the wasp but its size and being behind the screen protected it. I finally gave up and decided if it could get out of the screen on its own it would go away. Since it was not there this morning, I assume it had done so.

THOUGHTS: The size of the cicada-killer and its resemblance to a yellow jacket made me fearful when I first encountered it. It seemed docile rather than the aggression I have seen from other wasps. Still, I wanted it to go. After I found out what it was, I was glad I left it alone. We do not have a cicadae problem, but this was nature’s way of providing control. One benefit of my garden is taking time to observe the interaction between the flora and fauna (plants and animals) that thrive there. Identifying the different species and their place in my sub-ecosystem has been enlightening. We are all part of the same planet. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Hadal

August 04, 2025

Inside the front section of Friday’s newspaper was a Reuters article about a new discovery in the northwest Pacific. Thriving communities of marine creatures turn chemicals into energy rather than eating organic matter. These chemosynthesis-based animal communities were dominated by tube worms (Riftia pachyptila) and clams (genus, Spisula) and were found during a series of dives aboard a crewed submersible to the bottom of the Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian trenches. The creatures are beyond the reach of sunlight and are nourished by fluids rich in hydrogen sulfide and methane seeping from the seafloor. These ecosystems were discovered at depths greater than Mount Everest (29,032 feet/8849 meters). The deepest ecosystem was 31,276 feet (9,533 m) below the ocean surface in the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, or 25% deeper than such animals had previously been documented. The research was published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. Marine geochemist Mengran Du of the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, said, “What makes our discovery groundbreaking is not just its greater depth – it’s the astonishing abundance and diversity of chemosynthetic life we observed.” The discovered ecosystems exist in the hadal zone.

When I went online, I found the hadal zone, or hadopelagic zone, is the deepest region of the ocean found only within the oceanic trenches. The hadal zone ranges from around 3.7 to 6.8 miles (6 to 11 km) or 20,000 to 36,000 feet below sea level, in the long, narrow, topographic V-shaped depressions. The cumulative area occupied by the 46 individual hadal habitats worldwide is less than 0.25% of the world’s seafloor, but the trenches account for over 40% of the ocean’s depth range. Most hadal habitat is found in the Pacific Ocean, the deepest of the conventional oceanic divisions. The deepest ocean trenches are considered the least explored and most extreme marine ecosystems and are characterized by a complete lack of sunlight, low temperatures, scarce nutrients, and extremely high pressure exerted on an immersed body (hydrostatic pressures). The major sources of nutrients and carbon are fallout from upper layers, drifts of fine sediment, and landslides. Most organisms are scavengers and animals that subsist on decomposing plants and animal parts (detrivores). As of 2020, over 400 species are known from hadal ecosystems, many of which possess physiological adaptations to the extreme environmental conditions. There are high levels of a species being found in a single defined area (endemism).

While some marine animals have been documented at even greater depths, (36,000feet/11,000 m) below the surface in the Pacific’s Mariana Trench, those were not chemical eaters. In the new research, scientists used their submersible (the Fendouzhe) to journey down to the hadal zone. The hadal zone is where one of the continent-sized plates that make up Earth’s crust slides under a neighboring plate in a process called subduction. Marine geologist and study co-author Xiaotong Peng, said this environment harbored “the deepest and the most extensive chemosynthetic communities known to exist on our planet.” The newly observed ecosystems were dominated by two types of chemical-eating animals. Tube worms that were red, gray or white in color and around 8 to 12 inches (20-30 cm) long and clams that were white in color and up to 9 inches (23 cm) long. Some of these appear to be previously unknown species.

THOUGHTS: Even in the harsh environment of the hadal zone life has found a way of surviving and thriving. Some non-chemical-eating animals were also found living in these ecosystems. The study illustrates how life can flourish in the most extreme conditions on Earth (and beyond?). This makes it possible (even probable) that exploration will find life on Earth is not alone. The question will be how we handle the discovery. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Red-bellied

July 14, 2025

Last weekend Melissa called me into the kitchen to watch the large bird that had been battling two squirrels over “rights” to what was left in my soot feeder. I grabbed my camera and by the time I arrived the squirrels had been driven off, but the bird was still there. Melissa said she had watched the bird attack the two eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) for about 20 minutes. The bird alternately flew at both squirrels keeping them at bay. This was a new species identification for Melissa, and the bright red head led her to believe this was a red headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). I occasionally see one of these birds at my feeders and had even identified one early in January (although without a photo). At first, I also thought it might be a red-headed woodpecker. My apps instead identified this as a red-bellied woodpecker.

When I went online, I found the red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. While the species breeds mainly in the eastern US, it ranges as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. The most prominent feature is a vivid orange-red crown and nape, but this is not to be confused with a separate species in the same genus, the red-headed woodpecker. The red-headed woodpecker has an entirely red head and neck, a solid black back, and white belly. Red-bellied woodpeckers are 9 to 10.5 inches (22.85 to 26.7 cm) long, have a wingspan of 15 to 18 inches (38 to 46 cm), and weigh 2 to 3 ounces (57 to 91 g). The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish tint on its lower underside. Adults are mainly light gray on their face and underparts and have black and white barred patterns on their back, wings, and tail. Adult males have a red cap going from the bill to the nape while females have a red patch on the nape and another above the bill. White patches become visible on the wings in flight. The reddish tinge on the belly is difficult to see in field identification.

I have never noticed the red spot on a red-bellied woodpecker and have instead identified them by the black and white barred pattern on their backs. I always wondered why they were called red-bellied, and now I know. Predators of adult, red-bellied woodpeckers include birds of prey such as sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus), Cooper’s hawks (Astur cooperii), black rat snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis), and house cats (Felis catus). Known predators of nestlings and eggs include red-headed woodpeckers, owls (Order, Strigiformes), pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus), black rat snakes, and eastern gray squirrels. When approached by a predator, the birds either hide from or harass the threat with alarm calls. They will defend their nests and young aggressively and may directly attack predators that come near. While this bird did not have a nest, it was aggressively defending its food supply.

THOUGHTS: By driving off the gray squirrels the red-bellied woodpecker was it was exerting its territorial rights. A defended territory is typical of songbirds but is also found in many other orders of birds. Territory may be held by one bird, a pair, or a flock and can be held for all or only part of a year. It may be very large (eagles) and provide all the resources the bird needs or be very small such as nesting territories. It may be vigorously defended or loosely guarded. Typically, territories are defended against others of the same species but may also be defended against other species. Humans also claim both small and large areas we define as ours and actively defend. These are also shared, but generally only with those we define as “us”. Globalization is forcing humans to make new choices on us and them. Cooperation and sharing resources may provide for all. Hoarding resources has and will always lead to conflict. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Wildflower Bed

July 07, 2025

Five years ago, I blogged about my stint as director of a conference center in Kansas. The camp was located on 63 acres (25.5 ha) of mixed trees and (originally) prairie grass that was now mostly seeded with Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) for lawns. During the summer we spent 5 to 6 days a week on the mower cutting grass. Part of our mission was to provide opportunities for education, so I decided to let the prairie grass return. The first year we let most of the camp return to natural grass to evaluate where the prairie grass was still abundant. The second year we selected about 12 acres (4.5 ha) to return to native prairie. We also reseeded those acres with the Big Five grasses prominent in the Tall Grass Prairie that used to dominate Kansas. This provided lawn for camp activities and nature trails with identification signage for eco-visitors. To complete the prairie’s restoration, we seeded a variety of prairie wildflowers in prominent locations along the roads. Being on the flyway of the Monarch butterfly, I transplanted 20 milkweeds (Asclepias syriacaplants) from the lawns into a wildflower bed near the entrance of the camp.

When I went online, I found a wildflower is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, even if it is growing where it would not naturally be found. This can refer to the whole plant, even when not in bloom, and not just the flower. The term “Wildflower” is imprecise, and more exact terms refer to specific types of flowers including native species naturally occurring in the area, exotic or introduced species not native to the area, invasive species that outcompete other plants (introduced deliberately or accidentally), and plants that have become naturalized (imported but considered native by the public). Wildflowers can be annual (germinates from seed, live one year), perennial (live multiple years, return each growing season), or biennial (two-year life cycle, blooming in the second year). In recent years, wildflower gardening has gained popularity. A planted wildflower bed not only looks attractive but has the advantage of supporting pollinators, reducing maintenance, and conserving water.

I wanted to duplicate my conference center experience when we moved to Arkansas, but I could never decide where to plant the wildflowers. Melissa’s mom established several flower beds that I thought Melissa wanted me to maintain. Melissa likes the look of a green lawn and symmetrical flower beds more than the asymmetrical look of a wildflower bed. I was also interested in expanding my garden into the front beds to replace the roses neither of us liked. Indecision meant we did nothing for five years. Last year we did decide to place wildflowers in one of the beds in front of the house but never got around to doing so. When Melissa retired this year, she decided she would plant a wildflower bed. We sprayed to kill all the grass that had taken over the beds, spaded the soil and weeded the bed to prepare it, Melissa sowed the seed, and then we waited. The first thing that grew was more grass and weeds, so I weeded the bed again. The wildflowers finally began to grow. Now we have a wildflower bed in the front of the house.

THOUGHTS: One of the problems with weeding the wildflower bed was knowing what to pull and what to leave. Removing the grass was obvious, but how do you tell the difference between the wildflowers Melissa planted and the weeds that grew naturally? In essence, all wildflowers are weeds if they are intruding in the vegetables or “planted” flowers. I decided to leave any plants I could not identify. If it grew a flower it was supposed to be there, whether Melissa sowed the seed or not. The same could be said for people. If they flourish in a new location they are meant to be there, no matter how they arrive. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Smallmouth

June 30, 2025

My MSN browser scroll included an article on the attempts to eradicate an invasive fish from a midsized lake in the Adirondacks. While the fish are native to North America, they were introduced widely across the Adirondacks in the 1900’s, where they took over many lakes. Their arrival led to declines of native fish species and stunting of growth rates in prized brook and lake trout, which compete for the same prey. A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that in response to the annual removal of a quarter of the invasive fish from the lake, the numbers of fish 5 inches (12.7 cm) and under have increased while fish larger than 12 inches (30.5 cm) were mostly eliminated. The findings have important implications for fish management. It highlights the importance of preventing non-native species invasions before they happen and illustrates how efforts to suppress a species may backfire, leading to the opposite effect. The smallmouth bass rapidly evolved to grow faster and invest more in early reproduction, leading to an even larger population of smaller fish.

When I went online, I found the smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), also known as brown bass, bronze bass, and bareback bass, is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae). It is the type species of its genus Micropterus (black basses) and is a popular game fish throughout the temperate zones of North America. Males are generally smaller than females. The males tend to range around two pounds, while females can range from three to six pounds. The maximum recorded size is approximately 27 inches (69 cm) and 12 pounds (5.4 kg). The color of the smallmouth ranges from golden olive to dark brown dorsally which fades to a yellowish white ventrally with dark brown vertical bars or blotches along the body and dark brown horizontal bars on the head. The combination of muscular fusiform body shape and camouflage like coloring make these fish highly effective ambush predators. The color varies greatly depending on age, habitat, water quality, diet, and the spawning cycle. The fish has spread through stocking, along with illegal introductions, to many cool-water tributaries and lakes in Canada and especially the US.

Peter McIntyre, professor in the departments of Natural Resources and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and among the senior authors, said, “Twenty-five years ago, Cornell’s Adirondack Fishery Research Program set out to test whether we could functionally eradicate smallmouth bass from a lake. It took us 25 years to prove why the answer is no: the fish evolved to outmaneuver us.” Efforts began in 2000 to suppress bass in Little Moose Lake in the Adirondacks by using a generator to electrify the water to temporarily stun fish (electrofishing). Scientists then scooped them up, released the native species back into the lake, and removed all captured bass. The removal of 1000’s of fish worked for several years, then the smallmouth began to make a comeback, especially the smaller fish. Genetic analysis revealed that selection pressures from removing fish resulted in dramatic genetic changes between 2000 and 2019 in the genomic regions associated with increased growth and early maturation.

THOUGHTS: The introduction of smallmouth bass to the mountain lakes presented a new apex predator. The brook (Salvelinus fontinalis) and lake (Salvelinus namaycush) trout are threatened by warming surface waters and depleted oxygen levels in cooler deeper water during the summer, and then competition with the smallmouth. The genetic evolution resulted in a lose-lose for anglers. The trout are disappearing, and the smallmouth are too small to keep. Ecosystems are delicate balance and human intervention is rarely positive. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Leafcutter

June 29, 2025

Melissa went shopping with me yesterday to get out of the house. I needed to get some roasted peanut chips for the birds and Melissa wanted to look at the succulents. She was surprised by the large number of inexpensive arraignments, and by their state of disrepair. They were all soaked in water (causes root rot) and the leaves were starting to fall off. Melissa bought a large arraignment to divide into separate plants and try and save them. As we were checking out, I mentioned to the attendant that the plants were getting too much water. She agreed and said she had also bought several to save them from dying. When we got home Melissa began dividing the arraignment and repotting them into a cactus medium. The plants were in potting soil (retains water) rather than cactus medium and the bright containers were made of plastic (retains heat). Each of the plants were root-bound from their previous pots and the soil had not been broken up. As Melissa dug through the potting soil she came across what looked like a leaf tube buried deep in the soil. When she googled the odd structure, she found it was the egg nest of a leafcutter.

When I went online, I found leafcutter bees (Megachilidae), are part of a widespread (cosmopolitan) family of mostly solitary bees. Characteristic traits of this family are the restriction of their pollen-carrying structure (scopa) to the ventral surface of the abdomen, rather than on the hind legs as in other bee families, and their typically elongated flap-like structure immediately in front of the mouth (labrum). The scientific name Megachilidae refers to the genus Megachile, translating roughly as large lipped (Ancient Greek mégas – “big” and kheîlos – “lip”). Their “large lips” and strong jaws are well-suited for collection of building materials for the nest. These bees get their names from the materials they use to build their nest cells. Leafcutter bees use leaves while mason bees use soil. A few species collect plant or animal hairs and fibers (carder bees) while others use plant resins in nest construction (resin bees). All species feed on nectar and pollen, but a few are kleptoparasites, which feed on the pollen collected by other megachilid bees. The parasitic species do not possess scopae. North America has an estimated 630 different megachilid species. Most are native but a few are introduced, accidentally and intentionally. Globally the number of species identified exceeds 4,000 and represents 15% to 20% of named species of bees.

The Nonparasitic Megachilidae divide their nests into cells with each cell receiving a supply of food and an egg. The larva hatches from the egg and consumes the food supply. After molting a few times, it spins a cocoon and pupates, then emerges from the nest as an adult. Males die shortly after mating, but females survive for another few weeks, during which they build new nests. Nest cavities are often linear, like the one found by Melissa, but not always. Above ground megachilid bees are more commonly cultivated than ground nesting bees. They accept nesting materials made from hollow stems, tubes, and blocks with preformed holes (“nest blocks”), and several megachilids have become important species for agricultural or horticultural pollination. In North America these cultivated bees include the introduced alfalfa leafcutter bees (Megachile rotundata), used extensively in alfalfa pollination, and the orchard mason bee or blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria), used in orchard pollination. Other species are also in commercial use in North America, Europe and Asia.

THOUGHTS: Arkansas is home to at least 40 species of bees and the genus Megachile, has an estimated 15 to 20 species, including many leafcutter species. Finding the nest tube of a leafcutter bee shows how easy it is to transport a species to another area. While the leafcutter is beneficial, not all invaders are. People criticize states like California which have tight controls on agricultural products. Perhaps we should all be vigilant. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Cactus Barrel

June 24, 2025

Earlier this week Melissa called me into the kitchen to take care of a “problem” she had found while working on her succulents. Our pool/pond on the back patio has been teeming with grey tree frogs (Dryophytes versicolor) caught in the height of mating season. This has resulted in successive scores of tadpoles that grow up to be adults. I often see one of the small frogs hopping across the straw mulch that covers the potato plants as I am watering. The frogs also like to hide behind the cushions on the Adirondack chairs on the patio. It appeared one of the larger adult frogs was not content hiding on the patio or in the American elm (Ulmus americana) trees that line the back property line and had decided to take up residence in the “jungle” of succulents Melissa was working with on the kitchen table. Melissa does not like hoppy things and called on me to remove it. I thought it was interesting and snapped a photo before grabbing the frog and releasing it over our back fence (away from the kids). It was not until I later looked at the photo that I realized the frog had been hiding next to a cactus barrel that appeared to have a bloom on its top.

When I went online, I found Cactus Barrel Milkweed (Larryleachia cactiformis), is a small perennial stem succulent with a globular body displaying a pattern of repeated shapes or polygons (tessellate) with either five pointed (pentangular), flat, or depressed projections (tubercles) on the surface. The species can vary greatly, particularly in the color of flowers, which open in the summer. The cactus barrel is native to South Africa and Namibia and grows at an altitude of a half to one mile (800 to 1600 m) above sea level. It is found amongst a belt of natural shrubland (Fynbos) and desert (Succulent Karoo) vegetation on the quartz hills of the Kamiesberge mountain range. The species is highly succulent (juicy) and adapted to the very harsh and bright habitats of the desert. The plant is an excellent example of convergent evolution and is easily mistaken for a cactus. It is widespread and the Red List of Threatened Species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it is common and not threatened.

One of my apps first misidentified my photo of the cactus barrel as a candelabra cactus (Euphorbia lactea). This made sense as when I looked at the photo there appeared to be a yellow flame coming out of the top of the succulent. When I mentioned this to Melissa, she pointed out the yellow bloom was on a low-lying elephant’s foot (Dioscorea elephantipes) succulent behind the cactus barrel. Melissa had placed four different types of elephant’s foot in the bowl, and said the only way to tell the difference (even for most botanists) was by the color and shape of the bloom. My flaming candelabra was an optical illusion formed by the angle from which I took the photo. I obviously have a long way to go when it comes to succulent identification.

THOUGHTS: The cactus barrel milkweed succulent is like other members of the Apocynaceae genus in its difficulty for cultivation. Propagation is a problem as the plant does not offset or seed readily and grows difficultly and slowly from seedling. Melissa has had this small specimen for two years and it has yet to flower (despite my declaration). Humans can also find it hard to propagate (spread) and are easy to be misidentified. When we say other newcomers “all look alike” we lump individuals into categories that may not define their true nature. We need to wait and take time to see what flowers (fruits) they produce to understand and accept them. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Hammerhead

June 17

Inside the back section of my local newspaper was an article on an invasive species that has been reported in Texas. The worms have been reported throughout Texas for decades but several weeks of excessive rainfall have literally flushed the creatures into the open. Usually, during the day the worms can be found under leaves, rocks, or logs. The rain has brought them out to driveways, patios, and sidewalks. Ashley Morgan-Olvera, director of the Texas Invasive Species Institute, said while the worms are not a direct threat to humans or household pets, they do have a lasting effect on the ecosystem as they prey on the earthworms that are responsible for distributing oxygen, draining water, and creating space for plant roots. This genus is collectively known as hammerhead worms.

When I went online, I found hammerhead worms (Bipalium) are a genus of large predatory land flatworms (planarians), also known as broadhead planarians. The name Bipalium comes from Latin bi- (two) and pala (shovel or spade), because species in this genus resemble a pickaxe. Hammerhead worms are unique in that they possess a highly ciliated (hair-like) region on the ventral epidermis (a creeping sole) that helps them to creep over the substrate. The worm is typically light honey colored with a darker collar and one to five strips on its body. The worm can grow up to 15 inches (38 cm) in length. Bipalium species are predatory and some species prey on earthworms while others also feed on mollusks. These flatworms can track their prey. To feed on their prey, the hammerhead often turns the pharynges out of their mouths (evert), which are located on the midventral portion of their bodies and secrete enzymes that begin the digestion of the prey. The liquefied tissues are sucked into the branching gut of the flatworms by ciliary action. Hammerhead worms are native to Asia, but several species are invasive to the US, Canada, and Europe.

The hammerhead does not bite but they do secrete a poisonous chemical for protection from predators which can cause skin irritation. If a cat or dog eats a hammerhead it will likely get nauseated and throw it up, but there is no long-term threat. Morgan-Olvera said if you see a hammerhead do not try to kill it or cut it up. The worm can reproduce asexually and if you cut it up and leave it in the yard a new head could form within about ten days. To dispose of the worm, place the whole worm in a resealable bag with salt or vinegar and put it in the trash. The worms can also be sprayed with a combination of citrus oil (orange essence) and vinegar. You should always wear gloves when handling the worms to avoid irritation and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water followed by hand sanitizer. The Texas Invasive Species Institute is asking if you spot a hammerhead that you contact your local extension agent to let them know

THOUGHTS: Four invasive species of hammerhead worms have been found in the US which are thought to have come via infected plants and soil. The worms are veracious predators and have been identified as a nuisance in the earthworm raising beds of the southern US. In 2019, the worms were found as far north as Montreal, Canada. The worms have few natural enemies due to their toxic surface secretions and control is difficult. However, because of their cannibalistic tendencies they may be their own worst enemy. While humans are rarely cannibalistic, we are also considered our own worst enemy. Rather than following an innate need to survive, the danger comes from a conscious choice to harm each other. The choice can also provide compassion and aid. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Long-beaked

June 14

Charles Hamilton Smith circa 1837.

Biologists have confirmed the existence of a 200-million-year-old species of egg-laying mammal thought to be extinct. Footage was captured in 2023 by Oxford University during an expedition to the Cyclops Mountains in Indonesia. Researchers said the species had not been recorded in the region for more than 60 years (a dead specimen), but evidence of the animal’s existence was found in recent decades. In 2007, researchers found “nose pokes” in the Cyclops, or the trace signs made when they forage underground for invertebrates. Indigenous groups also reported sightings of the species in the past two decades. In 2017 and 2018, researchers combined participatory mapping with indigenous and other knowledge to assess the probability the animals still existed. Camera traps deployed in the Cyclops in 2022 and 2023 garnered 110 photos from 26 individual events. In a paper published in the journal NPJ Biodiversity in May 2025, by combining modern technology with indigenous knowledge researchers confirmed the long-beaked echidna had been found,

When I went online, I found the Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), also known locally as Payangko, is one of three species from the genus Zaglossus that inhabits the island of New Guinea. The species lives in the Cyclops Mountains near the cities of Sentani and Jayapura in the Indonesian province of Papua in Western New Guinea. It is named in honor of naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The long-beaked is the smallest member of the genus Zaglossus, being closer in size to the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). The weight of the type specimen when it was alive was estimated to be 4.4 to 6.6 pounds (2 to 3 kg). The male is larger than the female and is further differentiated by the spurs on its hind legs. The species has five claws on each foot like the eastern long-beaked echidna, and has short, very fine and dense fur. The diet of the long-beaked echidna consists primarily of earthworms, in contrast to the termites and ants preferred by the short-beaked echidna. The long-beaked is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, and there had been no confirmed sightings between its collection in 1961 and November 2023, when the first video footage of a living individual was recorded.

The long-beaked echidna is not a social animal and only comes together once a year, in July, to mate. The female then lays the eggs after about eight days, with the offspring staying in their mother’s pouch for around eight weeks. The long-beaked is nocturnal and rolls up into a spiky ball like a hedgehog (family Erinaceidae) when it feels threatened. According to the research paper, these are the “sole living representatives” of egg-laying (monotreme) lineage that diverged from marsupials and placental mammals (therians) more than 200 million years ago. The long-beaked echidna also once lived in the Oenaka Range of Papua New Guinea, but the Cyclops Mountains are the only location where the long-beaked has been recorded in modern times. The long-beaked echidna is one of just five egg-laying mammals in existence today, including the platypus and two modern echidnas.

THOUGHTS: The long beaked echidna were one of more than 2,000 “so-called lost species”, or species that have gone undocumented for sustained periods of time. The research paper said, “Rediscoveries offer hope that others survive, especially in places where biological research has been limited.” Only 3% of the earth’s land mass is unexplored, but over 80% of the ocean remains unexplored. It is estimated that between 15,000 and 18,000 new species are discovered annually, in addition to lost species rediscovery. While all types of species are discovered every year, insects are by far the most common. There is still a lot that humans do not know about the earth and new discoveries are always possible. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.