Dragonfly - Lawrence, Kansaskinds of bees and wasps native to North America. Together with...
Transcript of Dragonfly - Lawrence, Kansaskinds of bees and wasps native to North America. Together with...
Dragonfly April 2015
A new sletter of the Prairi e Park Nature Center, Lawrence Parks and Recreat ion
What is your water footprint? In elementary school we learn
that water is in a constant cycle of
evaporation and precipitation,
flowing from rivers into oceans,
and making our crops grow. While
the amount of water on Earth
remains fairly stable, its
distribution around the globe is
changing, and this change is being
accelerated by human activities.
People use lots of water, not just
for boiling pasta or taking showers,
but also for “unseen” uses, such as
growing food or making clothing.
This unseen water is called “virtual
water.”
The National Geographic
published a disturbing list of the
“The Hidden Water We Use,”
showing how many gallons of water are needed to produce
various products.
Beverages:
1 gallon of milk requires 880 gallons of water.
1 gallon of wine requires 1,008 gallons of water.
1 gallon of coffee requires 880 gallons of water.
1 gallon of tea requires 128 gallons of water.
1 cup of orange juice requires 53 gallons of water.
Grains:
1 pound of wheat requires 132 gallons of water.
1 pound of rice requires 449 gallons of water.
1 pound of corn requires 108 gallons of water
Meat:
1 pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water.
1 pound of goat requires 127 gallons of water.
1 pound of pork requires 576 gallons of water.
1 pound of chicken requires 468 gallons of water.
Other:
1 cotton T-shirt requires 713 gallons of water.
500 sheets of paper require 1,321 gallons of water.
1 lb of chocolate requires 3,170 gallons of water.
Why should you care about water use, virtual or
otherwise? As the demand for water increases, the more
threatened our access to fresh water
becomes. Water scarcity affects 2.7
billion people worldwide for at least a
month each year. In addition to this,
pollution makes vast amounts of water
unusable. While this idea of a global
“water scarcity” may seem intangible to
you in a “it-will-never-happen-to-me”
kind of way, this problem has already
reared its ugly head right here in Kansas.
Just last year, Dave Steward, Ph.D. and
his colleagues at Kansas State
University, informed the Kansas agricultural economy that it
was on a fast track to oblivion. Why? Because of the
catastrophically high withdrawal rates of the Ogallala Aquifer.
The Ogallala is the primary source of irrigation not just for all
of western Kansas, but the entire Great Plains. Created 10
million years ago, this ancient aquifer touches eight states,
stretching from Texas all the way up to South Dakota, across
111.8 million acres and 175,000 square miles. Steward’s study
predicted that nearly 70 percent of the portion of Ogallala
beneath western Kansas will be gone in 50 years.
What can you do about it?
Professor Arjen Hoekstra created the
concept of the water footprint. The
water footprint is an indicator of water
use that looks at both direct and
indirect water use of a consumer or
producer. You can calculate your
water footprint, then pledge to dry it
out, joining others who have already
committed to saving thousands of
gallons. While we can’t stop buying
food altogether, it is possible to make
consumer choices that limit the amount
of water used to maintain our lifestyle.
Go vegetarian, or at least opt for less wasteful meats, such as
goat. Order a soy burger instead of beef. Drink water straight
from the tap instead of coffee, tea, or orange juice. And don’t
buy that extra cotton T-shirt. To calculate your water
footprint and for more information, go to
http://www.waterfootprint.org.
New Book, “Your Water
Footprint,” by
environmental reporter
Stephen Leahy, takes a
close look at the “virtual
water” that surrounds us in
everyday life.
The Ogallala Aquifer
is a shallow water table
aquifer located beneath
the Great Plains.
Planting for
Pollinators
1
Kid’s Korner 2
Prairie Park
Animal News
2
Take Back the
Tap
3
Bee Colony
Collapse Disorder 4
Upcoming Events 5
Partner Up With
the Prairie Park
Back
Cover
Inside this issue:
Dr. David Steward,
a civil engineering
professor at K-State.
Kid’s Korner
Did you know… The turkey vulture is a
better predictor of the
coming of spring than the American Robin. Robins
spend much of the
winter in their breeding
grounds, congregating in
large flocks. Because they
spend less time in yards,
people assume they
migrate for the winter.
Turkey vultures do
migrate south for the
winter and only return
when the threat of cold
weather has receded.
PAGE 2 DRAGONFLY
Prairie Park Animal News: New Addition The Prairie Park Nature Center staff are very sad to say goodbye to one
of our education animals. After suffering several months from a rear
infection. David Dondero the Black-footed Ferret, passed away early this
year. David lived for two years as an education animal at the Prairie Park
Nature Center. We will miss his sweet
and active personality. However, we are
looking forward to welcoming a new
four-year-old male from the National
Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center
in April. Come visit the Nature Center
and welcome Gyrfalcon as the newest
member our educational animal family!
Get Outside for a
Frog Call Hike
Get out and enjoy the
cool, spring weather with
a hike through Prairie
Park Nature Preserve.
The Western Chorus
frogs began calling in
late February and have
not stopped! Males
are calling to attract
females.
The Gray Treefrog and
the Northern Cricket
frog have already joined
in the cacophony.
For a list of Kansas
frogs and their calls,
visit, http://
www.nwf.org/
frogwatchUSA/
frogs_state.cfm?
showstate=ks#frogs.
How many
species can
you identify?
Plantings for Pollinators
DRAGONFLY PAGE 3
While it may not be possible to get out to rescue
sea turtles, or save polar bears right at the moment,
concerned citizens can help support and conserve
another threatened group of animals right in our own
yards. Insect pollinators are vital to the health and
wellbeing, not only of the environment, but of our own
food supply as well.
There are over 4000 different
kinds of bees and wasps native to
North America. Together with
butterflies, moths, beetles, and flies,
these insects make up an army of
invaluable plant pollinators. Over
1300 different food crops in the
world depend directly on pollination.
It is said that one in every 3 bites of food we eat and
drink can be linked directly to pollinators. But
genetically modified seeds, insecticides and other
chemicals have drastically reduced the numbers of
pollinators in the wild. European honey bees were
imported to North America to help pollinate food crops
and fruit trees. Sadly, managed honey bee colonies
have decreased by almost 50% over the last 10 years
due to disease, parasites and pesticides.
Pollinators come in a wide variety of sizes, with
wings and mouthparts designed to
exploit the different shapes and
sizes of flowers. Native plants and
pollinators evolved together to
develop mutually beneficial
adaptations that allow for effective
reproduction. Native bees are best
adapted to pollinating native plants,
but will make use of horticulture varieties as well.
The conservation minded gardener can contribute a
great deal to pollinator survival by selecting plants that
enhance habitat for them. How can this done? Open a
pollinator restaurant right in your own yard. By
landscaping your yard with pollinator friendly plants,
the average person can become a pollinator
conservationist. In return, there will be rewards in
enjoying a lovely garden alive with busy insects all
through the growing season.
To create a five star pollinator restaurant,
gardeners need to follow a few simple guidelines:
Select plants for continuous blooming from spring
to fall.
Select a variety of flower shapes, sizes and heights
to accommodate the foraging habits of different
kinds of pollinators.
Select a variety of colors, as different pollinators
are attracted to different colors.
Plant in clumps. This allows insects to feed and
pollinate without long distance travel.
Eliminate the use of pesticides, replacing weed
control chemicals with less toxic options.
Provide a water source. Shape and Size
Butterflies prefer flatter flower surfaces for landing
and feeding like asters, sunflowers, and milkweeds.
Bees, on the other hand are capable extracting nectar
from a variety of flower shapes. Insect mouthparts will
determine which flowers have nectar available to them.
Some flowers, like beardtongues are adapted specifi-
cally to large bee pollination, while others, like
beebalm are magnets for a wide variety of pollinators.
Large butterflies can reach into long tubular flowers
like honeysuckles, and pentas. By planting a variety of
sizes and shapes of flowers, the gardener will attract a
greater diversity of hardworking pollinators.
Most insects see in a limited light spectrum which
may include ultraviolet light. Bees in particular like
blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow. The lines and
patterns on flowers are important to helping insects
navigate to the nectar source on the flowers. These
patterns appear quite different to an insect’s eye than
they do to ours. Planting a variety of colors will insure
more effective pollination.
Natives vs. Cultivated Plants
While native insects will usually
show a preference for native plants,
both can be used effectively in a
pollinator garden. Native perennials
will have a shorter flowering period
than most cultivated annuals. The
gardener can select from both kinds
best suited to the conditions of light and soil available.
Many plants will have the added bonus of being
good host plants to larval insects. Milkweeds, parsley,
dill, fennel and rue will attract butterfly larvae as well
as adults. Sources for native plants: Sharp seed: www.sharpseed.com Ion exchange: www. ionxchange.com Missouri Wildflower Nursery: www.mowildflowers.net
Butterfly Bush
Foxglove beardtongue
St. Jon’s Wort
8 Years Later: Bee Colony Collapse Disorder
DRAGONFLY Page 4
The importance of bees is hard to overstate.
They pollinate hundreds of crops globally: apples,
blueberries, avocados, soybeans, strawberries,
almonds, you name it. The United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that nearly one-third
of everything that Americans eat depends on bee
pollination. The significance of this hard-working
little insect is one that we Kansans have long
recognized. We did, after all, make the non-native
European Honeybee our state insect in 1976.
So when the first reports of Colony Collapse
Disorder (CCD) began flooding in about 8 years ago,
it was a big deal. This phenomenon led to the sharp
decline of bee populations around the world.
Beekeepers were losing 30-90 percent of their
colonies and scientists couldn't figure out why. Bees
made the headlines in a big way. Many different
theories immediately sprung up.
Here is a list of popular theories explaining
CCD from the last 8 years:
Cell phone towers disorient the bees.
Genetically modified crops expose bees to
new pathogens.
Pesticides such as neonicotinoids, which chemically
resemble nicotine, cloud the bees’ brains. They are
put in a haze, short-circuiting their sense of how to
return home.
Parasites such as the mite called the “Varroa
Destructor,” burrows into the bee and compromises
its immune system.
Overworked and stress bee colonies that are
routinely trucked around the country to pollinate
crops may just be tuckered out.
With so many theories buzzing around, several
federal agencies formed the
CCD Steering Committee in
2007. This committee
consisted of scientists from the
Department of Agriculture’s
Agricultural Research Service,
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, Animal Plant
Health Inspection Service,
Natural Resources Conservation Service, Office of
Pest Management Policy, the National Agricultural
Statistics Service, and also included scientists from
the Environmental Protection Agency. The Committee
also requested input and recommendations from a
broad range of experts in beekeeping. Their research
effectively checked the “all of
the above” box, concluding
that it was a combination of
various factors that led to the
colonies’ sudden devastation.
They eventually developed
the “CCD Action Plan,” which
outlined the main priorities for
research and outreach to be
conducted to characterize
CCD and to develop measures
to mitigate all the problems. This plan included an
allotted $20 million from the USDA for research.
Eight years after CCD, you may want to know
what's the buzz on bees today. Beekeepers have since
replaced their dead hives. However, colonies are still
dying, just not as dramatically. Where annual bee
losses were once in the range of 5 percent to 10
percent, they are now more like 30 percent. Although
this slow decline is not as sensational as a sudden
massive disappearing act, it is still very terrifying.
Honeybee populations have been gradually and
steadily shrinking over the years. Two decades ago,
the United States had more than three million
colonies. Today, the USDA reports an estimate of 2.4
million. Beekeepers and farmers are worried that this
gradual dying-off will be too great to face our
country’s ever-expanding agricultural needs. We
could be facing an impending food crisis in the
coming century as the world population grows to
more than 9 billion and climate change disrupts
agricultural systems. Believe it or not, CCD did lead to one
positive thing. Bees are now of great interest to
scientists, environmentalists, food policy workers,
celebrities, the media, and many people who never
thought much about bees in the past; unless they were
in danger of being stung. This is important, because
pollinators are going to need all the support they can
get in the years to come. If we all make a pledge to
garden pesticide free, donate money to non-profit
organizations such as the Xerces Society, support
ecological farming by buying regional and organic
food and plant pollinator friendly flowers in our
gardens, we might make a difference.
Varro destructor on a
honey bee host.
Moving spring bees from
South Carolina to Main for
blueberry pollination.
Upcoming Events
DRAGONFLY Page 5
Volunteer Opportunities
Prairie Park Nature Center is
looking for dedicated volunteers,
18 years-old and older. Call us at
(785) 832-7980 for more information. -
Join us on Saturday, August 8th, from
10-11am for a volunteer Open house.
Children/Teens
Wild Adventures for Preschoolers and Parents:
Ages 2-5. Meets Tuesday at 10-11am, 3/31-5/19, 6/2-7/28.
Nature Storytime: Ages 2-4. Meets Thursday at
10-10:30am, 4/2-5/21 , 6/4-8/6 .
Gardening for Kids: Ages 7-13. Meets Wednesdays at
3-4:30pm , 6/3-7/29.
Wildlife Explorers: Ages 6-12. Meets Thursdays at
1:30-3pm, 6/4-7/30.
Archery, Beginners: Ages 7-16. Meets at 9:30-11am
on 6/4, 6/18, 7/9, 7/16.
Archery Club: Ages 7-16. Meets at 11:15am-12:15pm
on 6/18, 7/16, 7/23.
Fishing for Fun: Ages 7-13. Meets at 9:30-11:30am
on 6/3, 6/17, 7/15, 7/29.
Canoeing for Fun: Ages 7-13. Meets at 9:30-11:30am
on 6/10, 6/24, 7/8, 7/22.
After School Programs
Homeschool-Exploring Nature: Ages 6-13. Meets at 10am-
12pm
on 4/22, 5/6, 5/20.
Nature Nuts: Ages 7-12. Meets at 3-4:30pm on 4/15,
4/29, and 5/13.
Beginners’ Archery: Ages 7-16. Meets at 3-4:30pm on 4/22.
Archery Club: Ages 7-16. Meets at 3-4pm on 4/15 and 4/29.
Weekend Programs
Saturday Morning Free Programs: 10-10:30pm.
Sunday Afternoon Free Programs: 1:30-2pm.
Natures Creations: Ages 6 and up. Meets
at 2pm on 4/26.
Venom Adventures: Ages 5 and up. Meets
at 1:30-2:30pm on 4/12. Free.
Come Fly a Kite: Ages 5 and up. Meets
at 2-4pm on 4/19.
Gardening for Butterflies: Ages 8 and up. Meets
at 2-3:30pm on 5/3.
Geocaching 101: Ages 8 and up. Meets at
2:30-3:30pm on 7/12.
Hikes and Trips The Call of Frogs and Toads Hike: Ages 10 and up.
Meets at 7-9pm on 4/17.
Let’s go to the Zoo: Ages 7-13. Meets at
9:30am-3:30pm on 6/26, 7/24.
Overnight Programs Adventures After Dark : Ages 7-12.
Meets from 6pm on 7/18 till 8am on 7/19.
Special Events
Festival of the Cicadas. Saturday May 16th for
1-4pm at the Prairie Park Nature Center.
*Enrollment may be limited and/or required.
Call 785-832-7980 or go to www.lprd.org/ppnc for more information.
Have Your Next Birthday
at The Nature Center!
$110 classroom rental for two
hours with a 40 minute live animal
program and a craft, game or hike.
Maximum of 15 children, 10 adults.
Call for more information.
Prairie Park Nature Center
Membership Benefits:
Opportunity to participate in
special “partners only” programs
Contribute help for special events
Receive our newsletter by mail
Volunteer
Receive a 15% discount at the
gift shop
Prairie Park Partners Membership Form (cut out and mail in with payment, cash or check)
Prairie Park Partners Membership Form Kind of Membership: $10/yr Individual $15/yr Family
Make check payable to Prairie Park Partners
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Email: f
I would/would not like to be notified of volunteer opportunities.
Mail payment and membership form to Prairie Park Partners, 2730 Harper St., Lawrence, KS 66046
Educate the public about
biodiversity in the state of Kansas.
Promote wildlife conservation
projects relating to woodlands,
prairies, and wetlands.
Promote the responsible use of
natural areas for recreation.
Encourage public participation in the
preservation of the environment.
Prairie Park Partners is a “Friends”
organization whose purpose is to support
the Prairie Park Nature Center with active
participation in its programs, events and
development.
Mission:
Increase the awareness and
appreciation for the natural world
through education.
Partner Up With the Prairie Park Partners
2730 Harper St.
Lawrence, KS 66046
(785) 832-7980
Staff:
Director: Marty Birrell
Naturalists: Andrea Woody,
Joan Phelan, Dara Wilson,
Pat Pisani, Martin Farrell
& Jenny Stern
Hours: Monday: Closed
Tues-Sat: 9am-5pm
Sunday: 1pm-4pm
Check us out on the Web! www.lawrenceks.org/lprd/ppnc