Monday Myth: Cockroaches...They Ain't No Fly

Cockroaches get a bum wrap. They "creep" and "crawl", but then so does every other arthropod. They come into our homes, offices and schools... But so do fleas, spiders and the like. And for reasons I don't fully understand, cockroaches take the cake on the "ew" factor of filth. But in fact, cockroaches are NOT the dirtiest insect around, and indoor infestations are often indicative of "dirty" conditions on our part (throwing the "ew" factor right back at us).

The truth: cockroaches are not the slum-lords of the insect world. They aren't to blame for the filth; they just stop by to help clean it up, adding their two bits here and there. To find true ew, you have to look elsewhere. There is probably one in your home right now. They have been proven to carry more species of bacteria than a cockroach. It belongs to one of the largest orders of insects (Diptera, personally my least favorite): the House fly, Musca domestica.

Why? How comes here this evil? House flies breed in decaying organic matter -- especially feces. As adults, they feed readily on sewage, garbage, and your lunch -- landing on all three indiscriminately. In addition, House flies have sponging mouth parts which means they can only lap up liquid. So after landing on a food source, they regurgitate to soften it, and then use their spongy labella to feed like a dog drinking water. They also defecate on their food at the same time. Lovely. With all this landing and regurgitating and crapping, the perfect storm of pathogen transfer is created. In addition to a variety of the nastiest bacteria affecting humans, the House fly may also transmit typhoid, cholera, polio and other intestinal diseases, as well as protozoan parasites such as Toxoplasma and Giardia. In essence: the House fly puts cockroaches to shame.

Yet we shoo them away like a minor nuisance. Or go overboard and 'zap' them, spewing their guts and bacteria far and wide with greater efficiency than even they could have realized. But there is a middle ground... Fly swatters work great, as do tight-fitting window screens and closed screen doors. There are light traps (that don't zap) with sticky boards and pheromone traps of all sorts one can hang up, too. Managing breeding and feeding sources (garbage, feces, moist piles of lawn clippings) greatly helps reduce House fly numbers considering that a single female produces 75-150 eggs PER BATCH (with 5-6 batches in her life of less than a month). s Biological controls in the form of parasitic wasps, which kill fly larvae, can be released in large numbers on farms (dairies and feedlots are are often acquainted with this option).

Pesticides are not an inherent part of successful fly management. Fly strips, automatic spray dispensers, and other pesticide employments are reactive and do not address the source of the problem. Discovering and eliminating the feeding and breeding sources of House flies is cheaper in the long run, and a better investment of time.

Cockroaches are also known to carry a variety of bacteria. And they sport proteins in their exoskeletons which irritate asthmatics. But at least they're not...House flies. There's more good stuff on fly management at UC Davis.

Changing Shades

I've succumbed to wearing a new brand of shades known as potential-posts. Few bloggers can seem to resist them. From what I gather, newish bloggers are particularly prone to not taking them off. Potential-posts come with special guilt-wipes for cleaning the film of opportunity lost off the lenses. Breaking out the guilt-wipes is to announce a sort of momentary lament. Hats off to anyone who puts it all out there, who never needs the guilt-wipes.

I'm still wrestling for balance with my potential-post shades, but sorry to say an incredible blogger -- and the person who, I realize in writing this, inspired me to blog -- is retiring his. He's a surgeon of all things who's the perfect prescription for anyone fresh from hospital. Feeling a little dazed and confused? Or how about just plain scared (as I was)? Go see Dr. Schwab. He's carried a highly successful -- and one might say pioneering -- blog for two years. During that time there has been a growing consensus that you don't read Dr. Schwab's posts...you savor them. The political rants, to boot. His strength of character comes through in each post, as touching and honest as an old family friend; I doubt he's ever needed the guilt-wipes. His archive remains at Surgeonsblog. Check it out...and go prepared to get hooked.

Whatever his new endeavors hold, I sure hope Dr. Schwab keeps his shades handy.

Pacific Northwest Visit

I've been remiss in posting much lately because the past several weeks have been pretty eventful. Aside from (accidentally) butchering my cat and playing catch-up at work, I'm now in full swing with literature searches, reading, and other prep for graduate studies this fall (hooray! woohoo!). Planning a cross-country move for September to boot. Busy isn't necessarily interesting, but I'll try to weed out the post-worthy.

For now, here are a few more pictures from my recent 12-day trip to the PacNW. I posted some on it here, too...

Progressive potties. Portland, OR airport.
...Just one more reason to love the Pacific Northwest.

These toilets have been at PDX for a while now, but this time I had my camera with me. As the flash went off in the stall, the recent indiscretions of a certain Republican politician came to mind. Prolly not such a good idea.

Mt. Rainier (left) floating over Safeco Field in downtown Seattle.
Mt. Hood (right) near Portland trying to hide.

...Within three days of arriving, I was criss-crossing Washington and Oregon getting in visits and views. Temps peaked in the upper 50's for the first several days. Bring on the cords, clouds, and rosy cheeks! I've missed it. Won't be much longer now.

The Columbia plateau, north-central Oregon.

This train depot is less than a mile from where I'll be spending my next two summers while conducting my graduate field research. Trains, trucks, and agriculture (including a burgeoning wine grape industry) dominate the landscape. Stay tuned for posts on drunken train-hopping.

The Columbia River curving West.
Oregon on the left, Washington on the right.

Driving back from a 5-day visit w/my graduate advisors at the research station, I stopped to take a short hike up from the river. It was the first real sunny day, but still with a chill -- perfect. The "short hike" to stretch my legs landed me on top of the Columbia Gorge, where the winds are quite something and the views are spectacular. You can see the white-caps on the river for most of the way up. Wind-surfing capital, indeed!

Some of these waves are as big as bugs... The VW kind.

Field cricket, Gryllus sp.

A wriggling field cricket in high winds atop the Columbia Gorge. Expleti -- er, exclamations of awe at the high winds were lost on my own ears. And then there were the gusts...I could barely keep my balance while taking this photo. All things considered, not a bad pic. But not my doing -- it's the new Ricoh!!

A gossamer-winged butterfly, family Lycaenidae
(subfam. Polyommatinae, "the blues")

This butterfly took a rest in a warm, protected and sleepy meadow of lupines atop the Columbia Gorge. Probably glad to find a substrate that's steady!

Niece Kya

I hope (but doubt) that my forthcoming graduate studies in entomology at OSU will allow an occasional moment with this 4-yr old little bug.

Butcher Mommy

A little out of context from my usual posts, but an extreme note of caution is in order for anyone with a cat and scissors: never trim a cat's tail with scissors. Never. I mean ever. Just put 'em down, and back away.

Otherwise, you may find that the tip of the tail is easily snipped -- no matter how careful you think you're being. In the case of a cat who, oh say, has tail feces you're trying to cut out, snipping the tail tip is unbelievably easy to do. You and the cat may not even register it...until the blood comes. Crazy...amounts...of blood. You now have feces and blood to deal with, to say nothing of a possible medical emergency. Tail-bleeding may stop after 10-15 minutes, only to restart later with a vengeance whereupon the tail whips about, as tails tend to, splattering blood everywhere and across everything/everyone. It may appear there is no stopping the bleeding, whereupon you immediately transport your cat to the emergency vet hospital, oh say late on a Friday night. Once there, you discover that surgery is needed. Surprise! Yep, surgery. The tail is a continuation of the spine, and as such has vertebrae; when the skin on the tip of the tail is, uh, accidentally removed, it becomes necessary to free up loose skin to close the wound by surgically removing the terminal vertebra. Makes sense. At least according to the emergency vet, who, as far you're concerned at this moment, is God.

Listening to God -- er, the emergency vet -- you can either pay $1100 (in addition to the big fat bill for walking through the front door) for her to perform the surgery, or wait a few hours until morning for your local vet to do it at 1/3 the cost. You may choose to wait, and return home in the wee hours of the morning with a dopey, angry, crying cat. Your home is covered in dried blood from floor, to walls, to furniture. Your cat is wailing. You are beyond guilty. All things considered, you may become physically sick. But this is no time to rest, or clean, or throw up because you need to stay up and carefully watch/console your thrashing, drugged cat. He/she could remove the tail bandage, thus causing another horror-movie round of bleeding.

So don't pick up scissors for shave jobs. That's all I'm sayin'. And if you wait to see your local vet, they may disagree with the need for surgery and advise two weeks of bandaging, antibiotics, and pain meds. Hence, a less severe tail-snipping incident leads to "merely" the above followed by an uncomfortable, bandaged, and club-tailed kitty. And for you: a lot of blood-cleaning and time off from work to make sure your cat-who-ejects-cones does not remove his wrappings.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!!

My dad, his wife, Karen, and I spent Father's Day this weekend scorpion hunting and later viewing all things celestial in the Tucson night sky. Starizona is a Tucson telescope business that offers star parties several times a week. My many questions had instant answers, complete with physics and chemistry details. After seeing the Hercules Globular cluster and the rings around Saturn, I can see why Dad is hooked. He is even considering buying a scope -- one that's almost large enough for me to crawl inside.

In spite of a very bright moon -- which we also viewed in all its pock-marked glory -- we also had good views of Jupiter (and four of its moons), Vega and two of the stars (Altair and Deneb) which make up the summer triangle, and a white dwarf star.

The Hercules Globular Cluster

Dad and Karen recently moved from the very place I stand poised to return to... Wierd how life works. Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Graduate Research: First Glimpse

The first few days have passed at the agricultural research station where my graduate field studies will take place. Though I don’t officially start grad school until fall, I set aside time during my current visit to the PacNW for a site visit to learn more about my project and meet (be assessed by) the third co-advisor of my committee.

An immature stonefly, order Plecoptera

I spent some time in the lab sorting aquatic invertebrates we collected, a component which may or may not be a part of my research project. My project is still pretty loosely defined. It’s partially up to me to clarify some of the questions with my interests -- an endeavor more easily stated than done. I lack my bearings in the aquatic stuff, so more lit. searches and lots of reading await me .

The research station is East of the Columbia Gorge and only a few miles from the river as the crow flies, I would estimate. The agricultural fields are mostly round given the widespread use of center-pivot irrigation here. Everyone is so nice, even the teenagers. I can't get over it. (I have been in Phoenix for several years after all.)

Center-pivot irrigation

One night was spent at the home of one of my co-advisor and his spouse: lovely and large, it's perched on the grassy banks of the Columbia River. Windows everywhere boast an unobstructed view…It was exquisite. I’d met the other two advisors previously. This third one is a character! Self-described as terse, I believe he is really a sheep (or perhaps joker?) in wolf’s clothing. An excellent scientist and all-around great person, too. All my advisors are amazing. I am so lucky. Now, about all those non-entomology courses they’re having me take… ;)

One of my advisors demonstrating how to sample for aquatic insects

Living in the student housing at the research station and visiting field sites quenched my wanderlust for roaming this past week. It rears up each spring, a remnant from temp/seasonal wildlife work. Guess old habits die hard. Come early September, I'll get another dose of it before classes begin... And I can hardly wait. For now, back to AZ.

Field housing... "Roughing it"

Seattle Marineros

Seattle Waterfront

I'm visiting the Pacific Northwest, and was treated to a Mariners game yesterday (belated birthday gift from my best friend -- thx Beck!). Safeco field honored Latin American beisbol on our chosen game day. Free hats were given out that read "Marineros".

The Mariners had been on a loosing streak, but I told my gramps: I'm in town, their luck is about to turn... :) And it sure did! After being stomped by the Detroit Tigers in four previous games, the Mariners won 5-0. Reed scored a homerun, Johjima stole home successfully during a double fumble by the catcher, and the ninth was a no-hit closing by J.J. Putz to complete the shut out. All the players I remember are now retired or traded (Wilson, Martinez, Griffey, Moyer, etc.). Including, too, hall of famer inductee-to-be Dave Niehaus. So I really look forward to learning the players again once I move to Oregon for school this fall. Guess I should get acquainted with college sports, too... Jeesh, even my surgeon knows more about the Beavers than I.

Safeco Field's retractable roof closing

The rain and chilly weather hit the week I arrived, but no complaints from me. Bring it on! I have 105-degree heat and bland blue skies awaiting me back in Arizona.

Before the game we visited Pike Place Market. One of my favorite vendors is Old Seattle Paperworks (downstairs). I love skimming their historic reprints of Portland and Seattle during the late 19th/early 20th centuries, before paved roads and dams changed the landscape. Coming from a long line of Pac NW farmers and loggers, it's pretty neat to think my great, great grandparents walked those streets.

The annual market festival was taking place, so there were several mini-parades and lots more people than usual. Becky and I got piroshkies at the Russian bakery and then meandered through the crowded market. Everyone was in a good mood, in spite of the intermittent rain and sun breaks.

Becky and I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast near downtown the night before. Capitol Hill Guest House -- it was beautiful. We awoke at least one guest with our giggling (they told us later it was a pleasant, early morning sound). I'm just glad we didn't get kicked out; best friends since 9, we often regress to devilish antics. Beck treated me to dinner at my favorite Seattle restaurant, Elliott's Oyster House. Their clam chowder is award-winning, and in my humble opinion challenged only by a small Irish pub in Ocean Shores. I also tried my first taste of creme brulee. Wowee! I'm not a fan of custard-like things, but was so impressed I plan to learn and perfect it over the summer. It requires torching the top to caramelize the sugars. You can also broil it, but I shall use fire (fire! fire!). I hope you're up for another experimental dish, Jack. {Picture: Becky found a nice nook!}

Before leaving the city, we had a quick visit with my cousin who attends the University of Washington. Ryan is in his sophmore year excels in all the courses I detested: physics...calculus... Eck. More power to him!

Unfortunately, I did develop the flu last night upon returning to my Mom's near Portland. I'm downing shots of Airborne, but even my eyelids feel achey. All I want to do is rest -- which is good, because tomorrow I head out to the Columbia Gorge area to satiate my inner hobo. I'll spend 5 days getting acquainted with my future field sites, meet the third member of my graduate committee, and maybe even slip into some hip waders to collect my first bit of data... I'm hoping for some good invert shots, too.

Javelina: Duck or Dodge

I frequently encounter javelina -- or more specifically for the southwest:"collared peccary". I am lucky enough to live close to our nation's largest city park preserve, with a fenced-off greenbelt adjacent to my apartment, and a spill pond immediately below my deck. The combination of shelter, water and plentiful prey draws many forms of wildlife, which I've written a little about here.

Javelina: regular visitors to my apartment

My encounters with javelina are fairly regular, always the same: either duck or dodge. They are at once shy (hence, "duck" to get a good picture) and unpredictably aggressive (hence "dodge" upon being charged). I guess the thrill of the chase goes both ways!

Being charged by javelina is not inevitable and bears over-rating (but I dare ya not to dodge!). They are most often happy to move off without any encounter. If happened upon at close range or otherwise startled, they may burst forth in a head-on sprint -- as if suddenly whipped from behind. I have been charged this way many times and to their credit, they always veer at the last minute. I now keep a cautious, albeit curious, eye out when walking home along the dimly-lit path from my night-time work outs, but dodges still occur due to limited views.

It is comforting to know that even in the nation's 4th largest
metropolitan area, ungulates -- not muggers -- are the cautionary visitor.

The javelina venture into the complex for a drink and a nibble, especially during dry stretches. It is not unusual for the Sonoran desert to go more than 2.5+ mos. without measurable rainfall -- tough even for desert-adapted animals. Since our buildings and parking lots replaced their succulent cacti and water-retaining tubers, it's only fair that we share. The javelina's adaption to urban environments is to be celebrated, though not all my neighbors would agree.

It's difficult getting a good picture of javelina, in part because they're primarily nocturnal and emerge well after dark. I've belly-crawled and bush-crouched to no avail. But suddenly, this lovely family of four came to visit below my deck during our recent cold snap.

Unusual day-time activity... Needed more calories?
Perhaps the cold was too exciting to nap through...

Javelina are often mistaken for pigs. Both are grouped in the order Artiodactyla , which includes other even-toed hooved animals (hippos, camels, deer, etc.). Our domestic pigs and wild boar are actually (descended from) European transplants, whereas javelina are native to the New World. Their range is from mid-level South America to the U.S. southwest (AZ, TX, NM). Pigs and javelina began their evolutionary separation more than 30 million years ago, and have many diverging characteristics...

Collared peccary, Tayassu tajacu (a juvenile)

Javelina facts:

Family: Tayassuidae (consists of 3 genera of peccaries)
Neighboring families: Hippopotamidae (hippopotamases) and Suidae (pigs).
Size: up to 22 inches at shoulder, and 3 ft. long; 35-60 lbs (males are larger than females)...smaller than pigs.
Characteristics: covered in bristling hairs; have white vertical band on shoulder; one pair of bottom canines protrude straight upward (whereas with pigs & boar, the canines are curved or lateral).
Social organization: entire life spent in same social group of up to 20 individuals; scent gland on rump helps in identification of group and social hierarchy within group.
Voice: muffled grunts; the young give a loud bark-quack ("bwaak!"), squeals, grunts.
Food: primarily herbivorous: cacti (esp. prickly pear), roots, grass shoots, fruit, nuts; also opportunistic, and will eat eggs, scavenge on garbage, etc.
Reproduction: average 2 young per mating; 1-2 mating cycles per year
Habitat: diverse: javelina inhabit grasslands, deserts and forests in both arid and tropical habitats.
Status: not protected; hunting is allowed at least in Arizona.


Interesting links for more on javelina:

• The Living Desert: The Peccary
• Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos, The World Conservation Union.
• Arizona Game and Fish Department

Friday Sky

The weather gods have bestowed a freak cold snap on the Southwest, granting Phoenicians one last chance to indulge in sweaters, hot tea, and open windows. We went from a high of 110 deg. F to a high of 68 deg. F in about 48 hours. A lover of all things cold and cozy, I am in seventh heaven on the deck, shivering under a sweater with my hot tea.

Freak cold snap...Aaaaahhh, clouds.

It's old hat to other regions in the throws of spring, but a unique sight for the low desert in May. I snapped this in Scottsdale, near where I used to live. For some really neat sky photos, check out Sky Watch Friday.

Hel-lo Ricoh!

IT IS HERE!! My new Ricoh Caplio R7...









Ricoh Caplio R7

Thanks to Alex Wild (myrmecos blog), macrophotographer extraordinaire, for tipping me off to Ricoh in my search for a compact digital with good macrophotography capabilities. The Caplio R7 is perfect! It powers on in an instant, like an elf on speed, and boasts a 1 cm macro focus -- 1 cm!! From everything I've recently read, these cameras are known for quality. I went with the 8.2 megapixel R7 (2007 generation) after reading several reviews comparing it to the 10 megapixel R8 (this year's model). Bleh, who needs 10? Plus, it sounds like the upgrade came at a price to image quality.

I have no idea yet how to use half the features, but even without a clue it already blows my former 4 megapixel Sony drivel out of the water.

Organ Pipe cactus, Stenocereus therberi

{A note regarding the vendor: popflash.photo. After an hour of frustration with three other vendors, which included waiting on hold for 10 min and being forgotten about after I declined to buy an extra battery at $65, and having the camera price ridiculously jacked up by another as we spoke (they hung up on me when I asked what gives), it looked like I might not buy a camera after all. Crazy. I was begging -- begging -- for someone to take my money and honor their online price. I almost gave up, then came across popflash. They sold me the Ricoh for less than anyone else, it came tax-free due to their location (CA), and it even came with a nice Lowepro camera case and a surplus 2-hr. battery (ya, the same "$65" battery the other place was pushing). They also told me it was a load of bologne that I needed a "special" camera card for this particular camera (yet another lie by the previous vendor). Popflash was SO kind, and turned an icky experience into a really pleasant one. While they saved me money this time, I'd pay extra in the future just to do business with them.}

Monday Myth: Solpugids

I needed a DEAD solpugid to get a shot like this.

When alive, they're too busy running away.

I must be one lucky duck because the above critter -- a Solpugid (sol-pew-jid) -- was sitting freshly dead and perfectly intact at the bottom of my apartment stairs last night. I was headed back from an evening workout and came upon it posed as-is with the chelicerae displayed in all their glory -- score!! Bet a neighbor found and doused it with hairspray (or some such) moments earlier, then booted it out the front door to die. This individual is the third in two weeks, and they're much bigger than last year's. I figured they're vying for a Monday Myth feature. So I scooped the dead-but-still-imposing body up for a postmortem photo shoot.

Sun spiders, wind scorpions, and a host of other common names are used to describe Solpugids. So I just call them Solpugids. They belong to the class Arachnida, as do scorpions and spiders; however, Solpugids are distinct from both in several ways:

• Solpugids have a segmented abdomen like a scorpion, but lack a tail of any kind.
  
• Solpugids have pedipalps (modified mouthparts) that are held pincer-like (similar to scorpions), but are not actually pincers.
  
• Solpugids have chelicerae that are forward-projecting and beak-like. This is a fairly unique feature.

One important distinction between solpugids and their scorpion/spider cousins: Solpugids have no venom. Crazy, I know. The terrifying and homely creature has no bark to back up its bite. Bacterial infection from fine "hairs" (setae, seen above) covering the body and chelicerae is thought to explain bite site agitation; however, a good washing may prevent that. Contrary to popular myth (and the common name "deer slayer" in certain foreign countries), Solpugids do not bring down large mammals, to say nothing of draining their blood. True, they might pack a wallop with those chelicerae if one was so inclined... But I've encountered more than a dozen in my apartment and find them to flee from human activity entirely.

Ollie likes to harass even the dead ones.

There are more than a dozen families containing around 900 species worldwide. Most live in arid climates and are nocturnal predators of various invertebrates or small vertebrates (lizards, etc.). The largest I saw in my apartment last year -- among more than a dozen -- were barely an inch in body length. The three so far this year: 1.25 - 2.5 in.!

The Sting

An adult Centruroides sculpturatus, Bark scorpion;
approx. 2" long

I am going to get stung by a Bark scorpion, Centruroides sculpturatus. I know this. And the reason I know this is because I am going to help it sting me.

I've been working with and living amongst Bark scorpions in the desert southwest for four years now. During that time, I've changed their dirty cages in our lab, lovingly fed them hoards of stinky crickets, watched their babies being born, handled dozens of them -- carefully, and by the tail. And I have "rescued" countless individuals headed for the schmoosh by coworkers or neighbors. I've given several presentations to homeowners and school kids about the facts and fantastics of bark scorpions, and yet I cannot describe fully what it is like to be stung. I feel somehow deficient, like I'm not part of the club... Or half the scientist I could or should be by educating on a topic that in effect I have only read about or heard described: what it feels like to be stung by our nation's most poisonous scorpion. I'm a fraud. I must be stung.

So before I relocate for graduate school in the NW, I'm inducing a Bark scorpion sting (if I don't step on one in the night before then). My departing gift to myself. The sting set up will be in early August, a little sooner if I can get the guts up. Stay tuned!

{This isn't a ratings ploy. A surprising number of internet searches on concerns over Bark scorpions/stings are pulling up my blog, even though I've posted very little on scorpions. Clearly people are freaked out. So I decided to use this personal event to allay fears (anticipation of a sting is probably disproportionate to the sting itself). I'll post pictures and, most importantly, a full description of the sting and its after-effects.}