Ruby-throated Hummingbird (June 9th, 2008, Our house in Brandon, Canon 20D, 400 5.6L)

by Roland D. Hallee

Back in May, my wife and I moved to camp for the summer. It’s always great to leave the city and live in the serenity by the lake for about five months.

And, on that Sunday, we were greeted by my wife’s favorite bird, the ruby-throated hummingbird. It was nice to see the little critters back with us.

As usual, the rule of thumb for their return from the south is around the middle of May.

But, since then, a phenomenon has occurred. Although we see a multitude of female hummers, as of last Friday, we had not seen a single male. Finally, on Saturday, one appeared, briefly mind you, and stayed about 2.5 seconds, then was gone. We have not seen another since. Kind of a mystery to us.

The ruby-throated hummingbird, Archilochus comumbris, the only hummingbird species found in Maine, winters between southern Mexico and northern Panama. During their migration south in the fall, usually mid-September, older male and female birds are better prepared for long-distance flight than first-year birds by having higher body weights and larger fuel loads.

Adults of the species are not social, other than courtship, which lasts a few minutes, they lead solitary lives. They do not migrate in flocks, so individual birds may spend the winter anywhere in this range where the habitat is to their liking. They probably go to the same place every winter.

While we’re talking about their migration, let’s put a myth to bed. The myth states that hummingbirds hitch a ride on the backs of geese as they migrate south. The legend is entertaining, but false. Hummingbirds and Canada geese migrate at different times and to different locations. It is also a fact that not all hummingbirds migrate south for the winter.

Following the mating, the male departs and the female provides all parental care.

When it’s time to return north to their breeding grounds during the spring migration, portions of the population fly from the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico, across the Gulf of Mexico, first arriving in Florida and Louisiana. That in itself is an amazing feat. How can such a small creature travel the 500 miles nonstop over water? It would seem the caloric energy would far exceed the hummingbird’s body weight of 0.11 ounces. Research has discovered the tiny birds can double their fat mass in preparation for their gulf crossing, then expend the entire calorie reserve from fat during the 20-hour crossing when food and water are unavailable.

During the courtship displays, they make ticking sounds with their wings, and shuttle side-to-side in flight. I once witnessed a male hummingbird during courtship by flying, rather rapidly, in a U-shaped pattern, beginning at the top of the inverted arch, flying downward, circling back up to the same height as it began, and back again, several times. It was pretty impressive to watch.

Hummingbirds have one of the highest metabolic rates of any animal. During flight, their oxygen consumption per gram of muscle tissue is approximately 10 times higher than that seen in elite human athletes.

They feed frequently during the day. When temperatures drop, especially on cold nights, they may conserve energy by entering hypothermic torpor (the process of lowering their body temperature to conserve energy).

During their hovering at feeders, the hummingbird’s wings beat up to 80 times per second. They are also the only bird that can fly backwards. Once, while my wife was sitting on the deck near a potted geranium plant, a hummingbird came to feed. It got so close she could actually feel the cold breeze coming off the bird’s fluttering wings.

Hummingbirds almost never stop. Although I have seen them sit on a perch at the feeders. They spend nearly all of their time in the air. Their legs are so small and weak, they typically can’t walk at all. But in the air, they are masters. They can, however, shuffle to move along a branch, and can scratch its head and neck with its feet.

Speaking of feeding, when is a good time to put out the feeders in the spring? In the northeastern United States, they should be ready by the end of March. Don’t wait until you see your first hummingbird, that may be well after the first ones arrive.

As unlikely as it seems, hummingbirds have predators. A variety of animals prey on hummingbirds given the opportunity. Due to their small size, they are vulnerable. However, only very swift predators can capture them, and a free-flying hummingbird is too nimble for most predators. Chief predators include sharp-shinned hawks, praying mantises, green frogs and bull frogs. Praying mantises especially have been seen to ambush adult hummingbirds at feeders on more than one occasion. Blue jays are common visitors at nests, as well as bats, squirrels and chipmunks.

The oldest known ruby-throated hummingbird to be banded was a little over nine years old. Almost all hummingbirds over seven years old are females, with males rarely surviving past five years of age. The reason probably being that males may lose weight during the breeding season due to the high energy demand of defending a territory. Also, the high demands of the migration can take its toll.

Maybe we’ll see more males, and their brilliant throats, before the summer is over.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

“Game, set, match,” is an expression used to indicate a competitor has won the game in which sport?

Answer can be found here.

Crane fly

by Roland D. Hallee

Have you ever gone to bed on a warm summer night, and seen this thing flying around that resembles a large mosquito?

It happens to me all the time at camp.

Sitting up in bed, grabbing the book I’m reading, or possibly a magazine for some light and quick reading. And, there it is, buzzing around the light, and becoming extremely annoying. It looks like a giant mosquito.

One of my relatives recently posted a photo on Facebook of that exact same insect on her arm. In the posting, she notes, “it’s a good thing I’m not afraid of spiders.” Wait a minute, this insect has six legs. All arachnids have eight legs. That is not a spider.

Well, I quickly fired off an email to my biologist contact at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, along with the photo. It didn’t take long to receive a reply.

His response was, “this is a cranefly, a true fly in the order Diptera, and probably from the family Tipulidae. There are over 1,500 species of Craneflies in North America and possibly several hundred in Maine. The adults are harmless, some species not feeding at all, and some species feeding predominantly on nectar.”

In colloquial speech, the cranefly is sometimes called Daddy Longlegs, a term also used to describe opiliones, or harvestmen, both of which are arachnids. The larvae of the cranefly are known commonly as leatherjackets.

Craneflies are found worldwide, though individual species usually have limited ranges.

The adult crane fly, like mentioned earlier, resembles an oversized mosquito, and has stilt-like legs that are deciduous, easily coming off the body.

The adult female usually contains mature eggs as she emerges from her pupa, and often mates immediately if a male is available. Adult craneflies have a lifespan of 10 – 15 days. Cranefly larvae (leatherjackets) have been observed in many habitat types on dry land and in water. They are cylindrical in shape, but taper toward the front end, and the head capsule is often retracted into the thorax. Larvae may eat algae, microflora, and living or decomposing plant matter, including wood. Some are predatory.

The sole purpose of the adult crane fly is to mate and, for the females, to lay eggs for next spring’s crop of flies. Crane flies are harmless to handle, so the next time one makes its way indoors, simply cup it gently to release outdoors. Think of it as a romantic gesture.

Some lavae species consume some living aquatic insects and invertabrates, which could potentially include mosquito larvae. Many, however, because of their short lifespan, never eat at all.

Numerous other common names have been applied to the crane fly. Many of the names are more or less regional in the U.S., including mosquito hawk, mosquito eater, gallinipper, and gollywhopper.

There are other misconceptions about the crane fly.

There is an enduring urban legend that crane flies are the most venomous insects in the world, but have no ability to administer the venom; this is not true. The myth likely arose due to their being confused with the cellar spider as they are also informally called “daddy longlegs”, and although the arachnid does possess venom, it is not especially potent.

Despite widely held beliefs that adult crane flies prey on mosquito populations, the adult crane fly is anatomically incapable of killing or consuming other insects.

Crane flies are generally thought as agricultural pests. Since the late 1900s they have become invasive in the United States. The larvae have been observed on many crops, including vegetables, fruits, cereals, pasture, lawn grasses and ornamental plants.

Should you kill crane flies? Adult crane flies are harmless and do not feed on blood. However, crane fly larva, known as leatherjackets, can cause damage to your lawn. You can kill the flies immediately with an insecticide or you can take preventative measures by killing their larva.

First, you must use home remedies with essential oils to prevent adult crane flies. It will also prevent them from laying their eggs in your garden or lawn. There are many essential oils that you can use to make your treatment, the most common being lavender, and peppermint oil.

It is harmless to humans, can be a nuisance to agriculture, but I wish it would stop reading over my shoulder.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

How many Major League baseball teams are there in California?

Answer can be found here.

Firefly

by Roland D. Hallee

A reader recently told me they saw some fireflies recently, and asked whether it is early for them.

I guess it all depends on a number of factors.

Most people associate fireflies with soft summer evenings, but late in February and into March it is possible to see winter dark fireflies glowing in the woods. The larvae and pupae have the ability to bioluminescence, but lose the necessary organs as they become adults during their two-year lifespan.

But the adults emerge out in the warmer late spring, early summer, when it’s warm and humid. And that’s when we usually see the flashing with the adults, the nocturnal species; we’re probably more aware of those. It’s usually June and July when they’re mating and very active as adults.

Larvae are predators and can be found in decaying logs, especially pine; they tend to live in colonies because the habitat is good. So keep a look out and you may see the glow high up on trees or lower down on fallen snags.

Fireflies are attracted to high grasses and shrubbery, and they rest on tall blades of grass during the day. Mowing too often can actually reduce the number of fireflies in your yard in general.

While some fireflies produce larvae that glows, called a glow worm, the fireflies in Maine do not. Technically, Maine fireflies are called a Big Dipper Fireflies. Fireflies use their blinking lights to attract a mate, but they also communicate other messages, like claiming a territory.

Do adult fireflies eat mosquitoes or other insects? Well, the eating habits of fireflies generally differ from those of the predatory larvae. Most of the adult fireflies feed on dew droplets, pollen, or nectar from flowers, but there are some exceptions. Some of the species are known to eat smaller insects

As a child, when we visited family in Canada, we used to go to a camp on the lake. Coming from a generation that believed “children should be seen, and not heard,” we were relegated to “go find something to do,” when the adults got together. We would go catch fireflies. Catch fireflies carefully, treat them gently and release them into the wild again when you’re done, and you’ll be able to enjoy these fascinating creatures without causing any harm.

These fireflies are a family of insects in the beetle order, with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, glowworms, or lightning bugs for their conspicuous production of light, mainly during twilight, to attract mates. Light production originated as an honest warning signal that the larvae were distasteful; this was co-opted in evolution as a mating signal in the adults. In a further development, female fireflies mimic the flash pattern of other species to trap their males as prey.

Fireflies are found in temperate and tropical climates. Many live in marshes or in wet, wooded areas where their larvae have abundant sources of food. While all known fireflies glow as larvae, only some adults produce light, and the location of the light organ varies among species and between sexes of the same species. Fireflies have attracted human attention since classical antiquity; their presence has been taken to signify a wide variety of conditions in different cultures, and is especially appreciated aesthetically in Japan, where parks are set aside for this specific purpose.

Most fireflies are distasteful to vertebrate predators, as they contain a steroid similar to the those found in some poisonous toads.

In the United States, one of the most famous sightings of fireflies blinking in unison occurs annually near Elkmont, Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains, during the first weeks of June. Tourists from all over the U.S. make the annual pilgrimage there to witness this marvelous natural display.

With all this, what are their interactions with humans?

While fireflies do contain toxins, they are harmless to humans unless eaten in massive quantities. Whether you know them as Lightning Bugs or Fireflies, these are beneficial insects. They don’t bite, they have no pincers, they don’t attack, they don’t carry disease, they are not poisonous, they don’t even fly very fast.

Throughout history, fireflies have put on some spectacular shows for humans to watch. Unfortunately, their numbers are in decline. So, if you should be privileged enough to witness a nighttime performance, enjoy!

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who was the last Boston Red Sox pitcher to hurl a no-hitter?

Answer can be found here.

Female winter tick

by Roland D. Hallee

Recent news reports have indicated a high rate of deaths among young moose in northern Maine. Lee Kantar, the moose biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW), said the winter ticks are to blame. The ticks, also called moose ticks, are a worsening problem in the areas of the northern U.S. and southern Canada that moose call home. Infestations of ticks contributed

to a record high death rate for young moose tracked by wildlife managers in rural Maine.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife placed collars on 70 moose calves in remote parts of the state last winter and 60 of them had died by the beginning of May, Maine Public reported. The 86 percent mortality rate was the highest since the agency started the tracking survey.

Kantar confirmed the majority of overwinter mortality occurs in calves prior to their first birthday in May.

“We have been assessing cause specific mortality of adult cow and calf moose for 9 years with GPS collared animals,” Kantar said. “Winter tick is the primary driver/cause of mortality for calves. The winter tick is a unique species of tick that has a different life cycle than the common ticks known to most people (e.g., deer and dog ticks).”

He continued by saying unlike other ticks that have a multi-year life cycle that involves getting on and removing blood from three different hosts, winter ticks spend their entire life cycle (larva, nymph and adult) on one host (typically moose) and take blood meals off the moose at each stage.

“Adult female winter ticks, in order to produce eggs, take a minimum of one milliliter of blood from the moose,” Kantar explained. “The winter ticks get on the moose in the fall and stay on them until May where they drop off then the females lay eggs and die. A moose can harbor 30,000-90,000 ticks ” According to Kantar, “the amount of blood removed by these ticks causes blood loss, weight loss, restlessness, lethargy, hair loss, secondary bacterial infections and anemia. In cases like this spring, high infestation rates on moose can lead to death in young animals and depress female reproductive rates.”

Researchers have studied the dynamic of winter tick and moose for decades. “Typically losses like we saw this spring occur once over the course of many years,” Kantar continued. “However, in the northeast due to shifts in climate and past moose densities we have experienced multiple years of moderate-high juvenile losses. Moose are wild, free-ranging animals. There is no veterinary labelled, approved treatments for moose.” Moose range over 10-12 square miles. Maine is home to tens of thousands of moose.

“Solutions to ticks must address this large scale problem in a way that does not harm the environment and other wildlife,” Kantar said. “Therefore we are limited in options to treat moose and winter tick. Reducing the density of moose is believed to be one of the only possibilities to determine if winter tick numbers can be reduced. MDIFW is conducting further research on reducing moose numbers in one half of one Wildlife Management District over the next five years to measure moose population parameters (density, composition, mortality and reproduction) as well as winter tick numbers to determine impacts of the program.”

The reported numbers for this spring represent only one Wildlife Management District (WMD 4) and represents only GPS collared calves that had these GPS radio collars placed on them this past January.

“It is highly likely that this mortality rate is representative of the entire management unit, but caution must be used to assume that these numbers are consistent throughout the entire moose range in Maine,” Kantar explained.

“While reducing moose density is counterintuitive to people, the science behind the relationship of disease/parasites and animal density is deeply rooted and widely studied,” Kantar added. Kantar went on to say, with 90 percent of Mainers approving of moose hunting, biologically and otherwise population reduction at this level to determine feasibility is a prudent and important step in combating winter ticks. Longer summer/fall temperatures and weather and subsequently shorter winters allow winter ticks to have more days to get on moose in the fall. Each day the weather remains mild, ticks are getting on moose so the number of ticks continues to grow until weather shuts down the ticks looking for a host. This is why winter tick numbers can increase to the point on a moose that they become lethal. Combating the weather is out of our hands. Maine moose country is predominately private land – there are limitations in scope, scale, resources and practicality in how to best fight ticks.

“Our website has additional information on this,” Kantar concluded.

According to the University of Maine Extension Service, winter ticks are most commonly encountered in fall and winter. Their preferred hosts are moose and other ungulates, including deer, elk, and caribou, and occasionally horses and cattle. Though they can be found anywhere on a host, they seem to prefer the ears, belly, anal region, and under the legs. Incidental hosts include dogs, beavers, black bears, and coyotes. Winter ticks rarely bite and feed on humans.

Although winter ticks are not a threat to human health, they can pose a significant threat to wildlife, moose in particular. Deer and other ungulates seem to easily remove the ticks during grooming. Moose, however, are not as successful at tick grooming and can become host to over 100,000 winter ticks. Heavy infestations on an individual can result in severe anemia, skin irritation, hair loss, and distraction from feeding. The total effect from heavy infestations can ultimately result in death of the individual.

Ticks hide in the leaf litter present in the wooded or brushy areas they tend to populate. When snow falls, it only serves to insulate the dormant ticks, which are protected by the layer of debris. Or, in the case of soft-shell ticks, they survive by staying underground in burrows or dens.

In 2019, the Maine Center for Disease Control confirmed 1,629 cases of Lyme disease in Mainer.

The winter tick has a large geographic distribution in North America. They can be found coast to coast through much of Canada and the United States ranging from the Yukon Territory in the north to along the Mexican border in the south. They can be found in a wide variety of habitats, but are strongly associated with the presence of moose. Winter ticks are found in forested areas throughout the state of Maine, particularly in central and northern counties.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What is the diameter of a basketball hoop in inches?

Answer can be found here.

Hammerhead worm

by Roland D. Hallee

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Joro spider that is working its way up the east coast of the U.S., and could arrive in Maine within the next 10 years.

Well, hang on to your hats, because here we go again with a native Asian invader to the state of Maine. The hammerhead worm — a toxic, predatory invasive worm capable of unlimited self-cloning — has arrived in Maine.

The first sightings were reported last fall from southern and central parts of Maine of the hammerhead worm, a flatworm that can range from 8- to 15-inches long and is distinguished by the unique hammer or shovel-shaped head.

“We have a couple of reports of them already,” said Gary Fish, state horticulturist with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. “I don’t think anyone in Maine is up to speed on them,” he said in a news article published in the Bangor Daily News by Liz Baker.

The discovery is bad news for Maine’s gardeners since hammerheads prey on earthworms, which contribute to the health of Maine soil by turning organic materials into useful compost. Earthworm activity also helps aerate the soil, which increases soil nutrients and moisture intake.

The hammerhead worm can prove additionally troublesome because it has no known predators.

The hammerhead worm is native to Asia and has been reported as far south as Florida, as far west as California and now as far north as Maine, according to the University of Florida.

The biology of the hammerhead reads like a horror movie. It does not have respiratory or circulatory systems or a skeleton, and it may or may not have eyes. What it does have is a single opening on its head that serves as both its mouth and its anus. (Sounds like something that is tailor made for an episode of Svengoolie.)

Baker spotted one slithering up her foundation in Lewiston last fall.

In the BDN article, Baker said, “I was fascinated. Totally creepy and strange but I love learning about different species [and] I had never seen anything like it.”

The truly amazing trait of hammerhead worms is that they are basically immortal. Like other flatworms, they reproduce asexually by what is known as “fragmentation.” For example, they leave the tip of their tail stuck to something, and it will develop on its own into a new worm.

That also means if you cut a hammerhead into pieces, in 10 days or so you are going to have multiple new hammerheads — all capable of fragmentation.

They are also the first land invertebrates found to produce the same toxin that is found in pufferfish. In the fish, the toxin is lethal to humans with one pufferfish containing enough to kill 30 adult humans. Little is known about the hammerhead toxin’s effects on humans, but it is believed a person would have to eat a large quantity of them to be lethal. Yuck! Are you kidding me? Who’d want to eat a worm? However, it is a good idea to wash your hands after handling hammerhead worms.

So, what do you do if you spot hammerhead worms, and don’t want to see an entire colony form in your yard?

Because hammerhead worms consume beneficial worms, secrete poisonous toxins, and transmit harmful nematode parasites, they should be removed and dispatched whenever found.

If you spot a hammerhead worm, take a photo. Should you kill hammerhead worms? Yes, but first take a photo and send it to your local cooperative extension service, your state’s department of natural resourc­es. These groups study and track invasive species like this worm, gathering numbers and locations of sightings.

Collect hammerhead worms in a sealable container. If you find a hammerhead worm in your garden, capture it in a sealable plastic bag or some other sealable container. Don’t touch it with your hands; use a stick, gloves, or paper towel to place it into the container. If you do touch it, be sure to wash and disinfect your hands. Placing the worms in a container ensures they won’t be able to get away and makes it easier to apply a solution to kill them.

Apply salt and/or grain vinegar concentrate to the hammerhead worms in the bag, seal the bag, and place it in the freezer for 48 hours to ensure the worm has dissolved. Soapy water, neem oil, citrus oil, boric acid, or pesticides may also work.

Do not cut the worm into pieces. Each section can regenerate into a fully developed worm within a few weeks.

Discard the dissolved worms and sanitize the container.

After a hammerhead worm has been sealed in a plastic bag, treated with salt (or a combination of salt and vinegar), and placed in the freezer for 48 hours, the Texas Invasive Species Institute recommends discarding the still-sealed baggie in the trash.

Alternatively, you can use a glass jar with a lid or any kind of plastic sealable container. Most sources advise tossing the sealed container into the trash, but if you prefer to reuse it, it should be cleaned and disinfected with alcohol or another strong disinfectant.

If you have found one hammerhead worm, there are probably more, so remain vigilant. Examine your garden, particularly in the early morning after a rain when they’re likely to be easily found on the surface.

It’s important to keep an eye out for these invasive, toxic worms. The slimy predators threaten earthworms, which are vital to our ecosystem because they help decompose organic matter and incorporate soil amendments. Knowing how to identify and correctly kill and dispose of these nuisance worms will help keep your garden and your pets safe and healthy.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Who holds the Boston Red Sox team record for most hits in a single season?

Answer can be found here.