by Roland D. Hallee

There is nothing like beating a subject to death. But, in this case, it’s worth every word.

You have to be living in a cave not to know that deer ticks are at an all time high. They are everywhere. Friends and family have told me stories about their encounters with the insect, and they all have one thing in common. They have all had multiple numbers on them at one time.

Also, as you know, deer ticks are hazardous to your health, primarily because they are the carriers of the dreaded Lyme Disease. In the last decade alone, the population of ticks of all kinds has ballooned in the United States. The number of ticks that carry Lyme disease has been on the rise in the mid-Atlantic states, and has skyrocketed throughout the Northeast. It has gained a reputation as a serious health problem in many areas.

On top of that, with most of us trying to get outdoors this time of year, and with the recent mild winter we experienced, the deer ticks are already active and will be out in force this summer. My wife and I have been to camp to begin opening up for the season, and we are already wary of their presence. We haven’t seen one, yet, but we know they are out there.

Only adult female ticks and nymphs can transmit infections through their bite. Male ticks attach, but they don’t feed or become engorged. Adult females have red and brown bodies and are larger than males. Nymphs are actively feeding between early April and early August.

Although not all deer ticks are infected with Lyme disease, you never really know. Only ticks that have fed on infected mammals are infected. About half of deer ticks are infected (usually white-footed mice can be other culprits).

Deer ticks live two to three years, and in that time usually enjoy three blood meals. In the spring and summer of its second year, a nymph will take its second meal. They insert their mouth parts into the skin much like a corkscrew, which ensures them a nice tight grasp. They often take up to five days to complete their meal.

This fact is key to reducing panic when discovering a tick. An infected tick must be attached to its host for at least 24 hours, and up to 48 hours to transmit the disease. It’s the very reason for checking your body right away after any possible exposure to a tick-infested environment.

Deer ticks crawl. They usually grab onto people or animals that brush up against plants near ground level, and then they crawl upwards to find a quiet place for their blood meal. Although many sources will state that ticks don’t land on you from an overhanging tree branch, many people have insisted it has happened to them.

Ticks live in wooded, brushy areas that provide food and cover for mice, deer and other mammals. The ideal tick environment is humid. Your exposure will be greatest along trails in the woods and fringe areas between woods and the border, where they will wait patiently on the tips of vegetation for an unsuspecting host to walk by.

Life is too short to avoid the outdoors during our short spring, summer and fall. In Maine, that is about half the year. There is no need to be brave, just be smart: cover your body; wear repellent; check yourself for ticks, if you find a tick, remove it immediately; shower soon after being outdoors; throw clothing in the dryer, that will kill any ticks present; and finally, if you are concerned, don’t hesitate to contact your doctor.

The best way to remove a tick is to use fine-point tweezers and grab the tick as close to the skin surface as possible. Pull backwards gently but firmly, using an even, steady pressure. Do your best not to jerk or twist. Don’t squeeze, crush or puncture the tick’s body, the fluids inside may contain infection-causing organisms. After removing the tick, wash the skin and your hands thoroughly with hot soap and water. If any mouth part of the tick remain in the skin, leave them alone. They will be expelled on their own. It could take weeks. Trying to remove them will only cause you unnecessary pain.

For the deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, deer are the preferred host, but they can also be found on small rodents. After the female is engorged, the tick drops off and overwinters in the leaf litter of the forest floor. The following spring, she will lay several hundred to a few thousand eggs in clusters. They are very hardy creatures. They will be active even after a moderate to severe frost, as daytime temperatures can warm them enough to keep them actively searching for a host. In the spring, they are one of the first invertebrates to become active.

It may be monotonous to keep hearing about the health hazards of being infected by a deer tick, but it’s one that needs to be repeated.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

The 1927 New York Yankees batting order, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, was known by what nickname?

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

I think this week we will make a diversion from the usual. To paraphrase an old adage, “Even though our ancestors came across on different ships, we are all in the same boat, now.”

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but I will present my take on observations I have made since the outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent order to stay at home.

Because I am one of those deemed essential workers because of my job in the media, I get around a little, but I don’t flaunt it nor abuse it. It’s from the house to the car, to the office, which is closed to the public, confined with one other worker. At the end of the day, it’s back to the car and back home.

Because I am doing some work from home, I discovered last Friday that my printer was out of ink. Figuring it was essential that I go get some, we traveled to Staples, where the store was practically empty. We only saw three people. My wife and I needed a few items at home, so we figured while we were out, we would do that task so we could hunker down for the rest of the weekend. We avoided Walmart where the line was almost never-ending. We have friends who went there over the weekend and stood in line for two hours. Not a healthy situation.

So, we went to Hannaford where there was a short line – everyone obeying the six-foot markers that had been installed on the sidewalk. Something wonderful happened. Everyone, young and old, was extremely patient and cordial, even though we were standing in the rain. Something else developed. There we were, actually having conversations with total strangers. How refreshing was that?

They were only allowing 50 patrons at a time in the store. Once my wife and I were permitted to enter, we considered all the other people waiting in line, and hurried as best we could to get what we needed, going our separate ways in the store to gather the items, check out and let someone else enter the store, and out of the weather. We wondered how many other people did that. They even had toilet paper, which we took only one 4-pack, leaving some for others. Again, thinking of our neighbors.

The following day, we continued our early and accelerated spring cleaning. Following that, we dressed warmly, and went off for a walk through the neighborhood and around the nearby park. A power walk that took about 20 minutes. Once home, on a relatively quiet day, weatherwise, we sat on our side porch to enjoy the rest of the afternoon until the temperature starting dropping.

In that hour we sat there, we couldn’t help but notice people in the neighborhood still going about their routines – and some not so routine – while the rest of us conscientious citizens stayed home in the hopes it would help mitigate this pandemic. We watched one building, which we couldn’t help because it is located right across from us, where a group of young people – mostly teenagers – as they came and went out of the apartment all day long, piling into cars and pickup trucks, and certainly not practicing social distancing. We wondered what it was they were doing that was essential.

Obviously, there are people out there that are not taking this crisis seriously. Also, from our home, we can see one of Waterville’s more traveled streets, and the flow of vehicles was non-stop, all day long.

This is not meant to complain, but to alert some people that this virus is for real, and we need to take the appropriate measures to try to end it sooner than later.

On Sunday morning, we attended church services, at home, of course. It was a little strange to see it live and not being able to actively participate. We also noticed over 200 other parishers were viewing the service. It made us think how very fortunate we are to not be among the infected, and to live in a rural state like Maine, away from the “hot spots” in the country, and separated from all the congestion of everyday living in the more populated regions.

So, to everyone else out there, let’s be smart, considerate, patient, and above all safe. The bottom line is that everyone else’s safety depends on you.

DEFIANCE

Did you hear about the doctor who decided it was OK to play a round of golf at the Augusta Country Club, despite Gov. Janet Mills’ order for all golf courses to close in conjunction with the stay at home order, and social distancing? It seems he essentially claimed the order didn’t pertain to him because no one was profiting. Nice example, doc, for the rest of us.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the four Boston Red Sox batters to have hit 200 or more home runs at Fenway Park?

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

Well, here we are. All stuck in the same place. I realize the severity of the COVID-19 coronavirus that has now taken a strangle hold on all of our normal every day lives.

But, after speaking with several other people, with the media blitz we are getting from the news, it is becoming a little much. I understand that it is suggested that we all stay in our homes, until this passes, so as to not spread the virus any more than is occurring.

Last weekend, I spent many hours in my garage, at home, while processing the maple sap I gathered during the previous week. That is always a promising time of year. The gathering of maple sap, and converting it to that sweet, homemade maple syrup, usually, in my mind anyway, marks the end of winter. At least it’s within sight. I even took the time to clean my car from the winter grime and clutter that accumulates inside the car, by what seems like mysterious ways. Where did all those receipts and cough drop wrappers come from?

The day was Saturday, and it was quite a pleasant day, save for the cold wind that would gust up from time to time. One thing I did notice was that my neighborhood, which is located in the middle of the city of Waterville, was quieter than normal. Far less vehicular traffic than in the past. No buses nor children walking home from their daily schooling. Not a sniff of diesel fuel in the air.

Oblivious of the coronavirus outbreak were the numerous birds that visited our feeders which hang from our side porch. In and out, all day long, going about their normal routine.

Squirrels scurrying about, from tree to tree, down the driveway and across the street. A never-ending process of survival. I did notice, however, that winter, and even the spring’s strong winds, had dislodged a nest from high in one of my pine trees. Do squirrels begin to build new nests, or do they bunk in together in someone else’s crib?

On Sunday, a beautiful day of sunshine without a cloud in the sky, my wife and I decided to take a Sunday drive. Something we had not done in quite some time because there was always something else to do. With our church suspending all Sunday Masses for the foreseeable future, we took advantage of the extra time to get out of the house. After all, we would be in our car, and have no physical contact with any other human beings.

We decided to do the circular drive through the towns around China Lake. Rumors had it that ice was out.

We proceeded out of Winslow and toward China on Rte. 137/202. As we approached the head of the lake, it was, “nope, ice is not out yet.” Let’s go take a look at Three Mile Pond and Togus Pond. “Eureka, ice out at both locations.” There is hope after all.

The last destination would be our lake, where we spend the summers, Webber Pond. Sure enough, ice is out on Webber Pond, except for a small portion in the east cove. Historically, that will disappear quickly as winds shift the ice.

After arriving home, we sat and discussed our little excursion of the day.

It reminded us of the “good ol’ days.” Being able to go for a Sunday drive without the problems of heavy traffic. Hardly anyone on the roads.

It almost seems like since the outbreak of this virus, life has actually slowed down.

It is interesting, though, to observe Mother Nature, at its finest, continue at its own pace, with all the wildlife going about their own routine.

The bears are awakening from their winter slumber, as are skunks, raccoons, and something I saw in the road on Sunday that I was not able to identify while driving back to Waterville along Rte. 201. Soon, we should begin to see opposum, woodchucks and other species that go into partial hibernation during the winter months.

Spring is all around us, and we anxiously await the warmer days and the time when this virus has become history and part of our memories.

Stay safe. Think about the coming of warmer weather, and the emminent all out war against black flies and ticks.

ICE OUT
DID YOU KNOW?

Ice out has been recorded on China Lake since 1874. In the 132 years between 1874 and 2005, ice went out in March on only four occasions – 1901, 1902, 1953, and 1981. In the 14 years since, March ice out has also occurred four times, 2006, 2010, 2012, and 2016. Should ice go out before next Wednesday, it will mark the fifth time in 15 years.

You could make a good case for climate change.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

How did former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra get his first name?

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

What a beautiful sight!

On my way to work last week I spotted a small flock of red-winged blackbirds. A sure sign of spring. They are probably the first migrating birds to arrive back from their southern winter homes.

The red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, is found in most of North America and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the southern United States.

It is believed that it is the most abundant living land bird in North America, as bird-counting of wintering red-winged blackbirds sometimes show that loose flocks can number in excess of a million birds per flock and the full number of breeding pairs across North and Central America may exceed 250 million in peak years. It also ranks among the best-studied wild bird species in the world. The male is all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the red-winged blackbird’s diet.

The common name for the red-winged blackbird is taken from the mainly black adult male’s distinctive red shoulder patches, which are visible when the bird is flying or displaying. At rest, the male also shows a pale yellow wingbar. The female is blackish-brown and paler below. The female is smaller than the male.

The range of the red-winged blackbird stretches from southern Alaska to the Yucatan peninsula, in Mexico, in the south, and from the western coast of North America to the east coast of the continent. Red-winged blackbirds in the northern reaches of the range are migratory, spending winters in the southern United States and Central America. Migration begins in September or October, occasionally as early as August.

The red-winged blackbird inhabits open grassy areas. It generally prefers wetlands, and inhabits both freshwater and saltwater marshes, particularly where cattail is present. It is also found in dry upland areas, where it inhabits meadows, prairies, and old fields.

The red-winged blackbird has many predators. Virtually all of North America’s raptors take adult or young red-winged blackbirds, even barn owls, which usually only take small mammals, and northern saw-whet owls, which are scarcely larger than a male red-winged. Locally, they are one of the preferred prey species of short-tailed hawks. Crows, ravens, magpies and herons are occasional predators of blackbird nests. Additional predators of blackbirds of all ages and their eggs include raccoons, mink, foxes and snakes, especially the rat snake. Marsh wrens destroy the eggs, at least sometimes drinking from them, and peck the nestlings to death.

The red-winged blackbird aggressively defends its territory from other animals. It will attack much larger birds. Males have been known to swoop at humans who encroach upon their nesting territory during breeding season.

The maximum longevity of the red-winged blackbird in the wild is 15.8 years.

The red-winged blackbird is omnivorous. It feeds primarily on plant materials, including seeds from weeds and waste grain such as corn and rice, but about a quarter of its diet consists of insects and other small animals, and considerably more so during breeding season. It prefers insects, such as dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, moths, and flies, but also consumes snails, frogs, eggs, carrion, worms, spiders and mollusks. The red-winged blackbird forages for insects by picking them from plants, or by catching them in flight. In season, it eats blueberries, blackberries, and other fruit. These birds can be lured to backyard bird feeders by bread and seed mixtures and suet. In late summer and in autumn, the red-winged blackbird will feed in open fields, mixed with grackles, cowbirds, and starlings in flocks which can number in the thousands.

Red-winged blackbirds are polygynous, with territorial males defending up to 10 females. However, females frequently copulate with males other than their social mate and often lay clutches of mixed paternity. Pairs raise two or three clutches per season, in a new nest for each clutch.

Predation of eggs and nestlings is quite common. Nest predators include snakes, mink, raccoons, and other birds, even as small as marsh wrens. The red-winged blackbird is occasionally a victim of brood parasites, particularly brown-headed cowbirds. Since nest predation is common, several adaptations have evolved in this species. Group nesting is one such trait which reduces the risk of individual predation by increasing the number of alert parents. Nesting over water reduces the likelihood of predation, as do alarm calls. Nests, in particular, offer a strategic advantage over predators in that they are often well concealed in thick, waterside reeds and positioned at a height of three to six feet. Males often act as sentinels, employing a variety of calls to denote the kind and severity of danger. Mobbing, especially by males, is also used to scare off unwanted predators, although mobbing often targets large animals and man-made devices by mistake.

In winter, the species forage away from marshes, taking seeds and grain from open fields and agricultural areas. It is sometimes considered an agricultural pest. Farmers have been known to use pesticides—such as parathion—in illegal attempts to control their populations. In the United States, such efforts are illegal because no pesticide can be used on non-target organisms, or for any use not explicitly listed on the pesticide’s label. However, the USDA has deliberately poisoned this species: in 2009, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reported poisoning over 950,000 red-winged blackbirds in Texas and Louisiana. This poisoning has been implicated as a potential cause of the decline of the rusty blackbird, a once abundant species that has declined 99 percent since the 1960s and has been recently listed as Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

Love ‘em, or hate ‘em, when the red-winged blackbird makes its appearance in the north, it’s a pretty good sign that spring is not far into the future.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the only Red Sox pitcher to have won the American League Most Valuable Player Award.

Answer can be found here.

by Roland D. Hallee

I remember as a youngster growing up in a family of Canadian heritage, how we used to make annual pilgrimages to the land of our ancestors in Canada. My dad was born in Canada, and came to the United States at the age of three years, with his adopted parents.

So, every summer, usually in June, he and our mother would pack us four boys into the family Buick and venture into different parts of Canada, from the Gaspé, to L’Abitibi (Norandeau and Rouen), where our biological grandfather had a farm, to Sherbrooke and Montreal.

Our most frequent visits were to Lac Megantic, in the province of Québec, where our dad’s half-brother and family lived. There were many nights when the family would gather.

One particular night, when I was probably nine or ten years old, we went to visit some family who had a place on the lake. Back in those days – mid- to late ‘50s – children were “seen and not heard.” So, while the adults gathered inside for long conversations, and playing cards, us children would be sent outside to find something to do.

On that evening, I remember the lake being as calm as a piece of glass, and the moon shining brightly. But, what didn’t dawn on me then, but has greater meaning now, was the nearby field aglow with thousands of fireflies. We moved into the field in an attempt to capture some of the fireflies in jars to illuminate the area. It was fun, adventurous, and “gave us something to do.”

I now look back at that evening and think to myself, “what ever happened to all the fireflies?” We used to see some at our camp in Vassalboro, but I don’t think I have seen one in many, many years.

Where have they gone?

Actually, the phenomenon is worldwide.

In recent years, all around the world, the lights of fireflies are going out. The dazzling beetles are disappearing from long-established habitats. Often it is not clear why, but it seems likely that light pollution and the destruction of habitats are contributing factors. Biologists are scrambling to understand what is happening to fireflies so we can save them before their lights fade permanently.

In America, fireflies with flashing lights are known as lightning bugs. In Europe they are known as glow worms. All these terms are misleading. They are not flies. They are not bugs. They are not worms. They are beetles.

There are approximately 2,000 species of fireflies.

However, fireflies are in trouble. In 2019, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation published a report on North American fireflies, warning that “populations appear to be in decline.” It was co-authored by Sara Lewis, professor of evolutionary and behavioral ecology at Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts, and author of a book on fireflies, Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies.

The extent of the decrease is unclear because most firefly populations have not been tracked. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), only created its Firefly Specialist Group in 2018. Fireflies are difficult to study: they are hard to find when not glowing.

“The best data we have is from the UK,” says Lewis. Citizen scientists have tracked the UK’s one firefly, the common glow-worm, Lampyris noctiluca, since the 1970s. For most species there are only anecdotes, but they all tell the same story, and biologists who study wild fireflies are convinced.

Recently, Lewis and her colleagues published the first systematic review of threats to fireflies in the journal BioScience. They surveyed 49 firefly experts from around the world, asking them to rank 11 potential threats in order of importance. According to the experts, the biggest threats to fireflies are habitat loss, pesticides and light pollution.

While some animals adapt to life in human environments such as cities, many fireflies need particular habitats, so are vulnerable if those habitats are destroyed.

The congregating fireflies of south-east Asia are an example. The males have flashing lights with which they attract females. They gather at night in a mangrove tree, and flash – whereupon the females fly in and choose mates. In some species the males synchronize their flashes, creating spectacular displays that tourists love.

The second biggest threat, according to the survey, is light pollution. This takes many forms, from bright and direct streetlights to the diffuse “skyglow” that means the sky is never truly dark. Most biodiversity studies have largely neglected light pollution, says Lewis. “But for fireflies it’s front and center.”

The light can make them lose track of the time or their position. The fireflies may struggle to recognize important objects, such as their snail prey. In species where one sex is attracted to the glow of the other, artificial lights may disrupt mating. Finally, really bright lights may dazzle or even blind the fireflies.

Many fireflies display late at night, when it would naturally be very dark. “If there’s a lot of background illumination from streetlights or even skyglow, then their signals are going to be less visible,” says Lewis. These nocturnal species are most vulnerable to light pollution.

Fireflies’ eyes are particularly sensitive to certain kinds of artificial light, says Alan Stewart, of the University of Sussex. His team studied the eyes of British common glow-worms, in which males are attracted to glowing females. The males’ eyes were tuned to the females’ green light, but when blue light was added, the males struggled to find the females. This means new LED streetlights, which are longer-lasting and thus environmentally beneficial, are likely to disrupt the fireflies more than old-fashioned sodium streetlights, due to their blueish light.

The third major threat is pesticides. This never occurs to most people, says Lewis, because they see fireflies only as displaying adults. “People don’t really think about the life cycle,” she says. Most of a firefly’s life is spent as a larva, on or under the ground, or underwater. There, they are exposed to pesticides. Firefly larvae are especially at risk because they are predators, normally hunting small snails, each of which may contain a dose of pesticide. “If people were aware of that, I think they would be a lot more hesitant to spray pesticides on their lawn,” says Lewis.

Beyond these external factors, there are also risks tied to fireflies’ lifestyles. In a 2019 paper published in Biodiversity and Conservation, Lewis and her colleagues highlighted “numerous risk factors.” For instance, adults often cannot fly far – and in some species may not fly at all – so they struggle to move if their habitat is threatened. Many species also have specialised diets, so can starve if their food supply is lost.

The good news is, now we are starting to understand what is happening to fireflies. Some practices, such as the harvesting of fireflies, simply need to stop. Japan has achieved this. In the early 1900s, firefly shops collected the insects, packed them into bags and sent them by bicycle courier to big cities where they were released for people to enjoy. “That put a huge dent in firefly populations,” says Lewis. In the 1920s a young man named Kiichiro Minami figured out how to rear fireflies in captivity, with no scientific training. Minami started releasing the fireflies back into rivers, restoring the population. This is still happening. “Schoolchildren raise fireflies in class and release them into rivers,” says Lewis. While Japan’s fireflies have not been restored to their former numbers, they are a conservation success story.

Beyond that, Lewis identifies three actions that should help every firefly species. First, she says, “if there’s a place with firefly biodiversity or abundance, try to preserve that habitat.” Not all of us can do that, but one thing anyone who lives near fireflies can do is reduce light pollution. “Turn off your lights during firefly season, or just turn off your lights in general. Have motion-detector lights that only come on when you need them.” And reduce the use of pesticides.

People can also help by reporting firefly sightings. Anyone in North America can do so by joining the organization Firefly Watch, which has been running since 2010.

With care, many of us may one day have fireflies sparkling in our backyards again. It is so sad that our children and grandchildren have never seen a firefly, and may never. By doing what you can to help save fireflies, it will give you something to do.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Which pitcher holds MLB’s record for the most career no-hitters?

Answer can be found here.