Monarch Migration

The monarch migration has begun! We are seeing so many monarchs in the Cherry Creek habitat this week. This is really good news.  Thousands of monarchs died in Mexico due to a surprise snow storm, in March, before they started their migration this spring. The fact that there are so many this fall is a good sign.  We will remain hopeful that the population will rebound.

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Monarch on zinnia in the Cherry Creek Pollinator Habitat in September.

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Several monarchs on the zinnias in the pollinator habitat during fall migration.

To continue helping monarchs and other pollinators in the fall it is important to have fall blooming perennial plants like asters and tall sedum.  Also consider annual flowers such as zinnias and sunflowers in the landscape too.

Enjoy the great fall weather!

MJ

Where have the butterflies gone?

Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar in parsley. Photo by Jody Green

Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar in parsley. Photo by Jody Green, Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County.

As I drove home yesterday, a monarch butterfly flew very near my truck! I was relieved to have missed it (or it missed me!) Unlike other years, I just haven’t encountered a lot of butterflies in my pollinator garden at home or on the road.

Are you seeing butterflies and moths? Are you also wondering where the butterflies have gone? I’ve gotten several calls from people who grow host plants in their landscapes specifically for butterflies. Some call me every year to report what they are seeing. But, like my own garden, people are reporting very few butterflies or caterpillars. Continue reading →

Picky eaters: Bumble bees prefer plants with nutrient-rich pollen

Bumblebee on a common milkweed in the habitat

Bumblebee on a common milkweed in the Cherry Creek Pollinator habitat

This is an excerpt from on-line Science Daily June 27, 2016:

Bumble bees have discriminating palettes when it comes to their pollen meals, according to researchers at Penn State. The researchers found that bumble bees can detect the nutritional quality of pollen, and that this ability helps them selectively forage among plant species to optimize their diets.

According to Anthony Vaudo, a graduate student in entomology who led the study, scientists previously believed that bees’ preferences for flowering plants were driven by floral traits, such as color, scent, morphology or nectar concentration.

“Here we show that bumble bees actually choose a plant for the nutritional quality of its pollen,” said Vaudo. “This is important because pollen is bees’ primary source of protein and lipids.”

Read more about this Penn State University study in the on-line Science Daily June 27, 2016

Here’s to Sharing the Buzz!

Soni

Nebraska Extension provides research-based information to help you make informed decisions any time, any place, anywhere – http://lancaster.unl.edu

Getting to Know Leafcutter Bees

Thanks to our colleague Dr. Jonathan L. Larson for providing this information. Dr. Larson is an Extension Educator in Nebraska Extension in Douglas-Sarpy Counties

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QUICK FACTS

  • Leafcutter bees are important pollinators that are members of the family Megachilidae. They tend to be stout-bodied, dark in color, and have pollen collecting hairs on their “belly”
  • They visit many crops including alfalfa, blueberries, cherries, almonds, onions, carrots and dozens of different wildflowers
  • Leafcutter bees pose little sting hazard in comparison to the honey bee or even Beedrill and even though they can cosmetically damage some plants it is best not to use insecticides against them

Continue reading →

The August 2016 Issue of the NEBLINE is on-line!

The August NEBLINE Newsletter is now online. This is a free resource from our office and this month you’ll find information on making the recycled bee nesting tubes and creating healthy habitats for beneficial insects. Enjoy and Here’s to Sharing the “Buzz” – Soni

Home Wise! Family Smart!

The NEBLINE Newsletter

The August issue of the free NEBLINE newsletter is now on-line. Visit http://lancaster.unl.edu/nebline and click on the link to the August 2016 NEBLINE!

Here are some of the articles featured in this issue – – – –

  • 4-H Clover College 20th Anniversary
  • Cool Summer Salads – You can make salads in a jar & Two Ingredient Vinaigrette Recipe for Salads
  • Using La Niña to Forecast the Weather
  • Inheriting a Farm, Seminar Aug. 17 (Local program)
  • Don’t Banish the Booster Until Children Are 57″ Tall
  • All Ears for Earwigs
  • Diversity is the Key to Attracting Wildlife
  • Choosing a Birdbath
  • Helping Pollinators: Build a Solitary Bee Nest Using Recycled Materials
  • August Garden Guide
  • Grow Your Own Pest Control: Creating Habitat for Beneficial Insects
  • Lincoln Center Kiwanis Receives the August Heart of 4-H Award
  • 4-H’ers Test Family and Consumer Science, Entrepreneurship Skills at Life Challenge & Animal Science Skills at PASE
  • Emerald Ash Borer Seminars Offered…

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She’s a Killer, a Cicada Killer

You may see one of these amazing wasp on one of the flowering plants in your garden. Learn more about Nebraska’s largest wasp.

Home Wise! Family Smart!

The annual or dog-day cicadas are back for their free daily concerts which I call, “The Sound of Summer”. Anyone who isn’t familiar with the cicada sounds, can look and listen to this video that I took of a cicada over the long weekend.

This post isn’t about the cicada, but a predator of the cicada called the cicada killer wasp. They are out and about right now, scaring homeowners who are concerned about being stung by these huge wasps.

Cicada killer wasp is a large wasp on sedum Cicada killer wasp is a large (up to 2″ long), black wasp with bright yellow markings on the abdomen. Adult wasps feed on nectar and larvae feed on cicadas.

The cicada killer is the largest species of wasp in Nebraska. They are sometimes mistaken for killer bees, yellow jackets or hornets but they are a type of solitary wasp. Solitary wasps do not live in large colonies with multiple individuals…

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The Story of What You See: Nature Journaling

Home Wise! Family Smart!

Nature JournalLooking for special way to document your outdoor adventures? Try nature journaling! Nature journals can be enjoyed by young and the young-at-heart, used at home or on vacation. There’s no right or wrong way to use a nature journal.

You can purchase journals or make your own. Once you have your journal, go outside to your backyard, neighborhood park or a scenic location while you are traveling on vacation. Sit down and look around. What do you see? What do you hear? Make a list or draw a picture of what you see. Write down your feelings and your thoughts. Create a poem. Collect fallen leaves to press in your journal.

Supplies:

  • Notebook or heavy paper
  • pencil or color pencils

Optional supplies:

  • markers
  • watercolor paint and brushes
  • tape
  • scissors
  • glue stick
  • magnifying glass
  • bird, plant, wildlife field guides
  • camera
  • tote bag to carry supplies

Source: Nature Journaling. Youth Gardening Activities – Nebraska Extension…

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STEM’ing in the Habitat

STEM is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. We took time out yesterday to integrate more STEM opportunities into the Cherry Creek Habitat. Urban entomologist, Jody Green and myself set out traps to monitor for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and the Aedes mosquitoes that can carry Zika virus.

The trap for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was placed 3 feet above plants so we attached it to the pole in the middle of the habitat. On the livestream view of the habitat – you can just see the green trap on the blue pole under the bee nesting tubes. The Stink Bug trap will be checked every Monday and results documented. Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs are an invasive species and are a pest of plants including fruit trees, ornamentals and some crops. (more from USDA).

The mosquito trap was anchored behind the bee nesting structure. This trap has to be checked every five days. We placed a wooden tongue depressor in a cup with two inches of water. Since Aedes mosquitoes lay their single eggs on a dry surface, we’ll remove the stick after 5 days and send to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to have it checked for eggs. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are more likely to spread viruses like Zika, dengue, chikungunya and other viruses. Aedes aegypti has not been found in Nebraska yet, but it is very close (range map – Center for Disease Control & Prevention).

In addition to helping get our traps set, Jody enjoyed taking some photos and a little video of the action in the habitat.

For more information on topics mentioned in this post:

Here’s to Sharing the Buzz!

Soni

Nebraska Extension provides research-based information to help you make informed decisions any time, any place, anywhere – http://lancaster.unl.edu

All Bees – All the Time!

It’s hard to believe that on June 3, I posted photos of the brand new nesting blocks going into our native bee nesting structure in the Cherry Creek Habitat. We’ve been watching the leafcutter bees and they are quickly filling up all the blocks. Mary Jane had some some tubes in her office so she brought those out and we added them to the structure and to the insect hotel. The little bees are sure fun to watch as they carry their leaves into the holes.

To learn how to create your own pollinator-friendly habitat, visit http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/bees.shtml.

Here’s to Sharing the Buzz!

Soni

Nebraska Extension provides research-based information to help you make informed decisions any time, any place, anywhere – http://lancaster.unl.edu

Summer Blooming Plants for Pollinators

Coreopsis
Coreopsis
Monarda
Monarda
Liatris
Liatris
Purple poppymallow
Purple poppymallow
Culver's root
Culver’s root
Linden
Linden
Buttonbush
Buttonbush
Butterfly milkweed
Butterfly milkweed
Penstemon grandiflorus blooming in the habitat.
Penstemon grandiflorus blooming in the habitat.

To celebrate pollinator week consider certifying your landscape in the Nebraska Pollinator Habitat Certification program. Summer flowering plants that bloom in June and July are an important section of the application.  Your pollinator habitat must have plant diversity and long blooming plants are necessary for every pollinator habitat. To see the application, visit this web site: http://entomology.unl.edu/pollinator-habitat-certification

MJ Frogge

June and July Blooming Plants

Allium cernuum – Nodding Onion
Amorpha canescens – Leadplant
Aruncus dioicus – Goat’s Beard
Asclepias sp. – Milkweed
 Cepholanthus occidentalis – Buttonbush
Coreopsis lanceolata – Tickseed
Coreopsis tinctoria – Plains Coreopsis
Dalea purpurea – Purple Prairie Clover
Echinacea angustifolia – Narrowleaf Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea – Purple Coneflower
Gaillardia sp. – Blanketflower
Liatris sp. – Gayfeather
Monarda sp. – Bee Balm
Packera plattensis – Prairie Groundsel
Oenothera sp.  – Evening Primrose
Penstemon cobaea – Prairie Penstemon
Penstemon digitalis – Beardtongue
Penstemon grandiflorus – Large Beardtongue
Rosa arkansana – Prairie Rose
Rosa blanda – Smooth Rose
Rosa carolina – Carolina Rose
Ruellia humilis – Wild Petunia
Silphium perfoliatum
Tilia sp. – Linden
Tradescantia sp. – Spiderwort
Verbenena canadensis – Rose Vervain
Veronicastrum virginicum – Culver’s Root
Arenaria hookeri – Hooker’s Sandwort
Callirhoe involucrata – Purple Poppymallow
Calylophus serrulatus – Yellow Sundrops
Erigeron sp. – Fleabane