Observations in nature

June 9, 08 Hub Don’t let June drive you buggy, interesting observations in nature and in my backyard.

The late spring and summer is the insect world. Like it or not, that is how it is. There are few insects that ever find the day too hot. House Centipedes are common arthropods with long, flattened, and segmented bodies with one pair of legs per segment. The house centipede is up to 1 1/2 inches long and has 15 pairs of very long, slender legs and dark and white bands encircle each leg. The body is brown to grayish-yellow and has three dark stripes on top.

Though house centipedes are found both indoors and outdoors it is the occasional one on the bathroom or bedroom wall, or the one accidentally trapped in the bathtub, sink, or lavatory that causes the most concern. However, these locations are not where they normally originate. Centipedes prefer to live in damp portions of basements, closets, bathrooms, and un-excavated areas under the house and beneath the bark of firewood stored indoors.

House centipedes feed on small insects, insect larvae, and on spiders. Thus they are beneficial, though most homeowners take a different point-of-view and consider them a nuisance. Technically, the house centipede could bite, but it is considered harmless to people.

House centipede control consists of drying up and cleaning, as much as possible, the areas that serve as habitat and food source for centipedes. Residual insecticides can be applied to usual hiding places such as crawl spaces, dark corners in basements, baseboard cracks and crevices, openings in concrete slabs, and so forth. Residual insecticides available to homeowners are the "ant and roach killers" and the "home pest control sprays." Centipedes discovered outdoors should not be controlled.

Carpenter Ants---'Large black ants' have become the most common topic of discussion for gardeners during the past week. Apparently, wet weather has been favorable to the carpenter ants and their numbers have increased with a corresponding increase in the numbers of workers and swarmers invading homes. The following are answers to some of the most common questions.

Are you sure these are carpenter ants? If the words "large, black ants" describe your specimens, then yes, they are probably carpenter ants. For further proof of identification, look for the evenly rounded thorax, that is the main body.

Are the ants with wings also carpenter ants? Probably, if they are large, black, winged ants. Winged ants are swarmers; that is, members of the colony produced as reproductives (kings and queens) for the purpose of flying off and starting new colonies.

Is moisture and wood decay always necessary for carpenter ant nesting? No. Carpenter ants usually nest in moist wood such as inside hollow trees, dead limbs, logs, stumps and firewood, and in structural wood exposed to water from leaks or condensation on or around window and door frames and sills, shower and tub walls and kitchen plumbing walls, roof sheathing and rafters. Nests may be in sound timbers, dry cracks and joints, existing cavities such as hollow doors, or even in foam insulation.

How can I treat for carpenter ants? Begin by trying to locate the nest. This is easier said than done, but the effort pays off. Look at both indoor and outdoor sites, and look at night when foragers are most active. Look for ant trails or a general direction of movement or feed foragers small dabs of honey and then follow them to the nest. If necessary, you can replace damaged or decayed wood at the infestation site and correct moisture problems.

Homeowners can treat with an organic 'ant and roach killer' insecticide sprays or boric acid dust. Outdoor nests can be directly treated with organic turfgrass insecticides or barrier treatment around the house foundation can also be used to prevent foraging ant entry. Garden centers, nurseries, hardware stores are great sources for options.

Observation on a walk---Not to far from our home is a natural sand out cropping. I noticed on day some birds flying in and out of the sandy hillside. It turned out to be Barn Swallows. Barn Swallows are found routinely at bridges, barns and mine shafts, but before people left their mark on the land and providing new nesting sites the bird settled for caves, cliff crevices and holes in banks and trees.

For chimney swifts the story is similar. As homes and factories sprung up, swifts moved to their chimneys from natural nesting and roosting sites inside hollow trees. Its not a completely trouble free transition; some swifts were killed when furnaces were fired up in a spring cold snap. We hear so much about the human connection to the decline of many bird species, but in the cases of the barn swallow and chimney swift bird populations have grown substantially as a result of human housing assistance.

A close cut observation---While watching a leaf cutter bee I got to thinking about how we gardeners start plants in some unusual ways. One way is by taking a leaf cutting.

Successfully starting plants from leaf cuttings is an easy way to experience one of nature's miracles, totipotency. Totipotency is the ability of each and every plant cell to regenerate an entirely new plant. Leaf cuttings can be made from the leaf blade and petiole, leaf blade alone, or sections of the leaf. Many houseplants such as rex and rhizomatous begonias, African violets, Streptocarpus, gloxinias and Sansevierias are willing candidates.

To start a plant from leaf sections, select a shallow pan to hold the cuttings. A sweater box with a transparent lid works well. Wash it thoroughly with diluted bleach and allow it to dry. Fill the box with 3 to 4 inches of moist, gritty builder's sand.

Water the donor plant well the day before removing the leaf. Using a sharp knife or razor, cut off a mature, healthy leaf from the plant. Young leaves wilt too easily and old leaves do not root well. Lay the leaf on a flat cutting surface. Cut the petiole (leaf stalk) from the base of the leaf and slice the leaf into wedges. Each wedge should have a vein in the center and a piece of sinus (the place where the leaf and leaf stalk meet) at its tip. A rex begonia leaf usually produces 5 wedges. Dip the sinus end of the leaf into rooting hormone and tap off the excess. Sink the wedge into the sand so that a third of the leaf is buried. The remainder of the leaf should stand upright. Line the wedges up so there is at least an inch between them from all directions. An alternative to slicing the leaf into wedges is make a cut in the leaf across each vein and then pin the leaf to the sand using thin wire or bobby pins. Water lightly and cover the box. Place the box in an area that receives bright indirect light or about a foot away from grow lights. Maintain temperatures of about 65 degrees. Check the box regularly and water when the surface of the sand becomes dry. New plants will emerge from the cut areas in a few weeks.

For several weeks little progress will be evident. Roots will begin to grow from the wedge's tip. In about 2 months, small leaves will begin to emerge from the sand if the leaf cutting was successful. If unsuccessful, the wedge will rot after only a few weeks. Remove the new plants from the sand when the leaves are about the size of your thumbnail. Gently shake the sand from the roots and remove the original leaf fragment if it hasn't already rotted away. If leaves have been pinned, carefully cut away the old leaf portions from the new plant. Pot each plant in a 2 1/2 inch container using a well-drained potting medium. Keep the new plants out of direct sun for a few days to acclimate, and then move them to a sunny east or west window. Keep the humidity high around the plants by placing the pots on a tray of pebbles and water or running a humidifier. Water plants thoroughly when the surface of the soil begins to dry. As the roots fill their current containers, repot into the next larger pot size. Before long you'll have a normal sized plant to enjoy. Leaf cuttings can be taken at any time of the year. The process is a slow one, but very rewarding.

I have often wondered if that first gardener noticed what the leaf-cutting insect was doing and if a leaf fragment did develop into a new plant, just my fragment of an imagination meandering. Have a great week gardening!!! Gardening Angel