From the UC Blogosphere...

My Old Flame

I usually can't get within 25 yards of a dragonfly.

Not so in our back yard.

A flame skimmer or firecracker skimmer (Libellula saturata) has apparently decided that this is where he wants to be.

Last Saturday, for nine hours, he perched on a six-foot-high bamboo stake, leaving only for a few seconds at a time to snag a flying insect before returning to eat his prey.

The flame skimmer, about a 2.5-inch Odonata, looks prehistoric. In fact, according to a UC Berkeley website, "The oldest recognizable fossils of the group (Odonata) belong to the Protodonata, an ancestral group that is now extinct. The earliest fossils so far discovered come from Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) sediments in Europe formed about 325 million years ago. Like modern-day dragonflies, the Protodonata were fast-flying with spiny legs that may have assisted in capturing prey; their wingspan was up to 75 centimeters (30 inches). The group went extinct in the Triassic, about the time that dinosaurs began to appear."

Meanwhile, back in our yard (325 million years into the future), Big Red kept snagging insects and flying back to his six-foot-high perch to eat them. Then occasionally he'd claim a five-foot-high bamboo stake. Too much high rise? A little acrophobia?

At first I kept my distance, hoping I wouldn't frighten him. However, he just looked at me as if I were part of the permanent landscape. Camera movement didn't faze him. After capturing multiple images from every angle possible, I thrust the macro lens about an inch away from his head. He did not move.

Am I a dragonfly whisperer or just lucky? 

The flame skimmer prefers a habitat of warm water ponds, slow streams or hot springs. We have a fish pond, a pool and a birdbath in our yard, so I guess that's why he hangs out here.

And we have the perfect perches--bamboo stakes. They're meant to stake our tomato plants but now they're "dragonfly sticks."

We suspect Big Red won't last long. A Mama scrub jay is nesting in our shrubbery and when her babies chirp for food, off she flies in search of a tasty morsel. Mama Bird chased a bright orange gulf fritillary butterfly (missed!) and now, I expect, she'll go after Big Red.

It's a bug-eat-bug world out there, and sometimes it's a bird-eat-bug world when you don't want it to be.

A flame skimmer perches on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A flame skimmer perches on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Different view, different time: same flame skimmer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Different view, different time: same flame skimmer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flame skimmer peeks over the bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flame skimmer peeks over the bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

From the back, the flame skimmer is equally gorgeous. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

From the back, the flame skimmer is equally gorgeous. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flame skimmer devouring lunch, an insect he caught in mid-air. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flame skimmer devouring lunch, an insect he caught in mid-air. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Media gets UC input for stories on unconventional farming

Reporters sought UC Cooperative Extension expertise for recent articles about unusual farming efforts in two parts of California.

Fresno Bee reporter Robert Rodriguez covered the story of sisters in their early 20s who have settled on their dad's Laton alfalfa farm after he suffered complications from a black widow bite. The young women purchased chickens on a whim and began producing specialty eggs under the brand name "Just Got Laid."

Rodriguez spoke to Shermain Hardesty, UCCE specialist in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics at UC Davis, about trends in cottage farming.

"The timing is right for operators who can make a connection with consumers," Hardesty said. "People will support that."

Sacramento Bee reporter Edward Ortiz wrote about a return to dry-land farming in the Central Valley, with examples of farmers opting out of irrigation in producing particularly tasty apricots, wine grapes and tomatoes.

UC experts, however, commented on the difficulties associated with dry-land production in the valley.

"Dry farming would be a hard life because you're at the whim of the rains," said Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. "It would have to be a fairly small-scale farm, and in some cases, it would be a good road to poverty."

For the Modesto Bee version of the story, Roger Duncan, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Stanislaus County, told the reporter dry-land farming doesn't appear to be catching on locally.

Duncan said wine grape growers might withhold irrigation early in the growing season to control leaf growth and improve fruit quality, but water is still needed later on. He noted that the valley in the 19th century was widely planted with wheat that relied on rainfall. The boom ended when irrigation allowed diverse fruits, vegetables and other crops to be grown.

Wildlife Pests

 

Managing Animal Pests in Your Garden

By Steve McDermott   Master Gardener

 

In San Luis Obispo County, our suburban homes rub up against the wilder, normal habitats of our native animal neighbors.  Sometimes we interrupt their natural patterns of survival, and often times add attractive alternatives to their food choices.  Colorful flowers, nubile sprouts, and fresh fruit often become more attractive to native creatures than their normal faire of wild grasses and scarce foliage.  But for the home gardener, the animals may be considered wildlife “pests” that damage pretty plants, edible fruits and tasty vegetables. 

How to manage this inherent conflict is challenging, but not impossible.  Here are a few tips for the backyard gardener. 

Most wild animals feed at night or in the early morning and late evening, so they are not easily seen.  This is especially true of large animals such as deer, raccoons, opossums, and rabbits. The most general advice that can be given about controlling these prowlers is to provide barriers. The largest and most pastoral looking animal, a deer, requires the most effort to block from your garden.  Physical barriers, such as 8-foot fences are required to keep them out of large gardens. Tall, wire-mesh fencing may be used around smaller areas and trees.  Besides physical barriers, there are odor repellants available on the market, although some have limited effects.  Check with your local nursery about deer resistant plants such as Digitalis, Euphoria, Narcissus, Tulipa, Nepeta, and ornamental grasses.  Roses and other thorny plants are not resistant to deer.

 

Rabbits, skunks, opossums and raccoons are also pests in local gardens.  They, too, need barriers.  Those that climb need tall fences with 11/2 foot unsupported wire above fencepost tops so the animals fall off.  A large dog will generally be a helpful deterrent, as will odor repellents. Random lighting and sprinkler systems will confuse them and cause them to look for easier places to forage.  In all cases, garbage should be carefully stowed away in a container with a tight fitting lid so as to not provide an attractive dining area.  Overgrown vines and ground covers should be trimmed since they are favorite habitats.

Poor ol' Ladybug

The lady beetle, aka ladybug, was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

We don't know how she managed to get tangled in the cellar spider's web or why the cellar spider opted to have her for dinner instead waiting for a tasty honey bee, a nutritious leafcutter bee or a plump bumble bee.

Nevertheless, we came upon this predator-prey attack in our backyard. It was too late to save the ladybug.

Ordinarily, the ladybug's bright red coloration serves as a "warning" to predators. Plus, ladybugs are known to ooze a foul-tasting chemical that tastes so bad that predators leave them alone.

"The bright colors of many coccinellids discourage some potential predators from making a meal of them," according to Wikipedia. "This phenomenon is called aposematism and works because predators learn by experience to associate certain prey phenotypes with a bad taste. A further defense known as 'Reflex bleeding' exists in which an alkaloid toxin is exuded through the joints of the exoskeleton, triggered by mechanical stimulation (such as by predator attack) in both larval and adult beetles, deterring feeding."

So why the cellar spider's unusual menu choice? "The spider's 'taste buds' probably weren't very good," quipped a UC Davis scientist.

Cellar spider traps and wraps a ladybug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cellar spider traps and wraps a ladybug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cellar spider proceeds to eat the ladybug, an insect that scientists agree is "foul-tasting" to predators. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cellar spider proceeds to eat the ladybug, an insect that scientists agree is "foul-tasting" to predators. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Spring Plant Sale!

The San Luis Obispo County Master Gardeners are having their first Spring Plant Sale. So come and join us in the Garden Of The Seven Sisters for the afternoon on Saturday June 22 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. See you there!

 

Click link below for flyer!

 

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