Old Newsbrief Articles
Spotlight on an Invasive
Agrilus prionurus (Soapberry Borer)
An insect pest of western soapberry (Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii) has recently been detected in Texas. Agrilus prionurus, a native of Mexico, was first reported in Bastrop County in 2003. Since then, it has been detected in several additional areas, including Fort Worth, Dallas, Waco, College Station, Austin, Houston and Corpus Christi. As its populations expand rapidly in Texas, this pest is killing all sizes of soapberry trees. It may eventually threaten western soapberry populations throughout the tree’s range, which extends from northern Mexico to Missouri, and west to Arizona.
The adult beetle is about ½ inch-long, shining black and distinctively marked with four small white spots on the wing covers. Larvae are flat-headed wood borers that may attain an inch or more in length as they mature. After feeding beneath the bark, the larvae bore into the wood to complete development and to pupate. The adult leaves a D-shaped exit hole as it emerges.
Western soapberry appears to be this insect’s sole host in Texas and the tree exhibits little resistance to this introduced pest. Little else is known about the insect’s biology or methods of control. For more information or to report new infestations, contact the authors: Ron Billings or Joe Pase.
Thanks to TexasInvasives.org for this news item and photograph.
A Diamond in the Rough
We received the following account from our fellow naturalist Kurt Bundy, in reference to last Saturday June.
Saturday afternoon while staring mindlessly into our little pond in Sheridan, Texas something began to rise in the water just in front of me as I was sitting on the pier. It took me a second to figure out what it was but in fact it was a about a 4-5 foot snake bringing to surface about an 18 inch catfish. With the catfish in his mouth he proceeded to take it to shore where he pushed and pulled and hissed and blew bubbles all in a futile attempt to get the fish entirely out of the water.
He did manage to get the fish turned around in such a position as to try to ingest him head first. I didn’t think in spite of quite an effort he was going to be able to do this. He did manage to get the catfish in his mouth up to the catfish’s eyes, but no more. He certainly worked at it and the fish fought this off as best he could for as long as he could. After about 50 minutes, the snake seemed to start pushing the fish back into the deeper water and let him go. The snake swam back to shore, rested about 5 minutes and swam off into the pond. We saw no evidence that the fish didn’t make it, but it was a tough time for both, to be sure.
Kurt related that he unfortunately had only a phone camera, so the best available photo is attached. With a little research, it is reasonably certain the species is a Diamond-backed water snake Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer. The editor has witnessed similar encounters between smaller individuals of this species attacking oversized fish, which lends credence to the identification from a behavioral perspective. The “chainlike markings” are diagnostic for this species, which typically approaches 48″ long, with the maximum recorded length of over 68″ (Dixon & Werler).
Who are CPC Volunteers?
Chapter members and their families enjoyed the food and fun at the August graduation ceremony for the Class of 2007. Veterans recognized several newly certified members while encouraging others to continue working toward their certification.
Look for more photos of grizzled ol’ hands and newly minted TMNs in November’s Coastal Prairie Reporter.
Photo by future member Rob Fogal
What else do our volunteers do?
Why, they volunteer for other groups, too!
CPC Secretary Carrie Jo Sample was elected as President of Brazos Bend State Park Volunteer Organization recently. Please join us in wishing her the best of luck and much success in her new position. We’re looking forward to working with Carrie in the future to create and grow volunteer programs and projects that benefit both of our groups.
May’s field trip to Brazos River announced
Bottomland forest will be filled with wildlife.
Come on out for May’s field trip/chapter meeting at chapter president Karl Baumgartner’s Rosenberg Brazos River property, 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m on Saturday, 16 May. Bring your family, friends, anyone with an interest in becoming a Texas Master Naturalist™. This should be an ideal TMN-type outing, a great way for those curious types to see what we’re all about.
You’ll be met with a breakfast spread of coffee and doughnuts, for you to sip and munch on while Karl gives a short talk on the past 25 years in the life of this piece of Brazos River-bottomland. Tom Prentiss may be there to describe the types of water snakes that can inhabit the property’s four small lakes.
After that, we’ll walk along the river, taking in such sights as native plants, trees, insects, birds and mammals. Bill Godley, a Class of 2007 member, will head up the bird-watching endeavor. Get a first-hand view of how an invasive plant (trifoliate orange) can practically ruin a natural habitat if left unchecked.
Bring your own brown-bag picnic lunch and beverage. A short chapter meeting will follow lunch.
All you fisher-types – feel free to bring along your pole or fly rod for lunchtime fishing. This is such a beautiful time of the year on the coastal river bottoms. Yesterday in a 5-minute span Karl saw four deer come out of the forest and start grazing, and heard the spring calls of parula warblers nesting in the Spanish moss, a pileated woodpecker flying over the pond, and from the neighboring pasture a bobwhite quail. If you haven’t visited this site before, you can learn more about it in CPR May 08. (Select News and Archives in the nav bar at left, then The Coastal Prairie reporter. Karls’ story “Discover your own natural retreat” starts on page 9. Several good photos accompany the article.) And be sure to see the map on the link below.
Don’t forget to dress for walking and the weather, and to bring insect repellant, water and sun screen. And remember to ask your friends and acquaintances to come along! Download Map to Karl’s place
Brazos Bend State Park’s 25th Anniversary
Under perfect April skies, staff, volunteers, Coastal Prairie Chapter members and the public celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the opening of Brazos Bend State Park. The Needville High School choir opened the ceremony by singing “Texas Our Texas”. Walt Dabney, State Park Director, and Carter Smith, TPWD’s Executive Director, were speakers. Among the visiting dignitaries were Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert and his wife, Pat; State Representative Dora Olivo; State Senator Joan Huffman; and Justin Rhodes, Regional Director, Region IV, TPWD. Smith presented park manager Steve Killian with a “Silver Alligator” plaque.
CPC members who were there included: Amy Bradford and Karen Showalter, who attended both a prairie grass presentation and the awards ceremonies; Margaret Geibelhaus, who helped with the pocket prairie planting; Carrie Sample, also president of the park’s volunteer organization, who accepted an award on behalf of that group; Pam Tatge , who was busy being Pam, helping and teaching; and Frank Seay, who along with his band sang a self-penned song, “Dances with Alligators”.
The foregoing report is courtesy of Karen Showalter. From Cheryl Sedivec – who couldn’t attend that event because she was busy at a chapter outreach activity in Katy – we learned of prairie restoration guru Tom Solomon’s appreciation for CPC everyone who pitched in at that inaugural project. He sent the update below:
… Steve Upperman. Dennis Jones and myself [sic] inspected the planting area (where) 285 one-gallon containers of tall prairie grasses were planted via ten-inch augered holes. Last Friday and Saturday, the Park received approximately six (6) inches of rain. However, the ground appeared to be visibly dry in the planting area. The grasses all showed excellent growth and vigor with two exceptions where the plants had been dug or pushed out by some type of animal. Pressing down around the plant with a foot resulted in NO settling. The plants were planted extremely well and should thrive in this field. We marked the corners of the plot for further reference. Also, the prairie was monitored for seed production of both nodding Baptisia as well as Spider Lilies. Both are doing well and should be ready about the middle of May. A seeding day is in the planning stages.
Tom, a member of the Galveston Bay Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist™, reports a 99% successful germination rate for at least one grass. Thanks to him, to Cheryl and to Karen for their contributions.
Spring Clean & Green in Missouri City.
Missouri City’s Spring Clean & Green event is coming up Saturday, April 25th, from 9:00am-1:30pm.
This year, they’re combining the clean-up and Arbor Day events into one program. That means more opportunity to get your hands dirty and show your support for Missouri City’s urban forestry program. Please select the flier or registration link below for additional information, or contact MC City Forester Paul Wierzbicki at 281 403 8645
