Great Natives of Midwestern Ecotype

February 2010 Edition

© 2010

Cover Photo: Frosty Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum) January 2010

Great Natives Of Mid-western Ecotype

GNOME News has included sev-eral articles over the past year about bees. While honeybee numbers fall, the importance of native bees as pollinators in-crease. A recent study indicates another important pollination factor affecting both native and non-native bees, and also a call to create more plant diversity in your landscape– especially with native plants.

In a study done two years ago in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, it was found that the diversity of bees and other insects was falling alongside the diversity of plants they fed on and pollinated.

Honeybee population declines have been blamed on many dif-ferent things including Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV), in-festation with varroa mite, pesti-cide use, loss of genetic diversity among commercial bee popula-tions, and the changing climate.

Cedric Alaux and colleagues from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in

Avignon have now traced a pos-sible link between the diversity of bee diets and the strength of their immune systems.

Alaux and his team found that the more varied a bee’s diet, the higher the levels of glucose oxidase (GOX). They compared bees fed a single flower species pollen to those that had pollen from five different flowers.

GOX is used by bees to preserve honey and food for larvae against infestation by microbes - which protects the hive against disease.

Those bees that fed on more di-verse food sources were better able to protect their colony.

This is only one piece of the com-plete picture, but it points to the importance that biodiversity plays in the big picture.

Volume 17 , Issue 1

THE BIG PICTURE: Bee Decline Linked to Reduced Biodiversity

February 1 , 2010

Did you know...

• It takes 556 worker bees to gather 1 lb. of honey from about 2 million flowers?

• The word mulch comes from the 1650s Middle Eng-lish word molsh– meaning soft, moist?

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Plant Profile 4

Native on the Net 4

Best Books 4

Organization Spotlight 5

Native News 5

Planting with a Purpose 5

Mulch Basics Invasives! Fantastic Fauna Focus on the Future

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GNOME NEWS

G N O M E ’ S M I S S I O N

Great Natives Of Mid-western Ecotype (GNOME) is an organization focused on the preservation and expansion of native flo-ral and faunal species. The mission is to provide a net-based forum where mem-

bers can share their pas-sion, plans, ideas, and ques-tions with other people hav-ing a common interest. You can participate in many different ways.

1. Join our facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45643568296

2. Submit articles, pictures, sto-ries, or plans for publication.

3. Visit or link to the website 4. Pass on the newsletter.

Areas of higher plant diversity create healthier bees

There was only one vote in Name That Native last month and it was incorrect. January’s selection was Allium cernuum– commonly called nodding onion due to the tendency of the blooms to look as if they are bowing or nodding their heads.

The original distribution of this plant was throughout most of the continental US and lower reaches of Canada.

This plant typically grows to be about one foot tall and is vase shaped. The leaves of this on-ion are flat, which helps it to be identified from other onions,

especially cultivated varieties.

It usually blooms in mid-summer for about a month or so. The umbel of blooms faces the ground. This is be-lieved to be an adaptation to discourage insects other than bees from visiting them. The blooms are unscented and range in color from purple/pink to sometimes white.

Faunal associations include short-tongued bees– which are the primary pollinators of this plant. Some types of flies will visit this plant as well to feed on the pol-len. Like other Allium species, it is not usually eaten by mammals.

This plant is one that is consid-ered conservative in prairie habi-tats. This means it is usually found in higher quality prairies, and not in disturbed areas.

It likes partial shade and mesic conditions. It is not very drought tolerant. I have mine mixed with little bluestem, wild petunia, lead plant, and other shorter grasses. It grows more readily from trans-planted bulbs or offshoots than from seed.

“real downer”. I did not get this impression or feeling at all while reading it.

This book presents find-ings and hypotheses from years of research from a wide variety of sources. Put together in a cohesive and eye-opening book, it is a must read for anyone caring about children, the environment, and/or our global future.

Last Child in the Woods is a national bestseller by Richard Louv and was published a few years ago. It is available in an updated and expanded version published in 2008.

The premise of this book is straightforward– children (and adults as well) need more contact with nature.

In discussions with others that have read this book, I have found that many consider it a

One of the things I found enjoyable were the multiple success stories of various people and projects across

the country and globe. Also valuable are the resources available to those wanting to take action.

The newly updated and expanded version has many useful sugges-tions and supporting ideas for those wanting

to make a difference.

Page 4

N A T I V E O N T H E N E T

Allium cernuum– Nodding Onion

B E S T B O O K S – L A S T C H I L D I N T H E W O O D S

Ok– I know this isn’t exactly a “native” resource, but is re-lated since the amount of resources you use (or don’t use) affects your footprint. Using natives and reducing lawn creates a smaller foot-print.

I really like this calculator because it is based not on a

general questionnaire, but on real data from your household.

I know it takes more time to sit down and enter your amounts accurately, but your results will then be more accurate.

It is surprising to find out the size of your footprint! Check it out and feel free to share!

Sometimes wading through sites looking for good resources on native organisms is just too time consum-ing. This section should help!

This month’s featured site is : Carbon Footprint Calculator http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

“I believe there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Volume 17 , Issue 1

Insight into the child/nature connection

GNOME News

Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilita-tion is a state and federally licensed facility dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned wildlife with the goal of returning fully rehabilitated wildlife to its natural habi-tat. Flint Creek promotes re-spect for wildlife and wildlife habitats through public educa-tion programs. Flint Creek also supports efforts to repopulate endangered and threatened wildlife species.

Taken from their “Our Mission” page on their website-

http://www.flintcreekwildlife.org/

I decided to highlight a local organization this month because these or-ganizations are so impor-tant to our communities as well as being essential to wildlife as a whole.

This organization began taking animals in 2004 and has quickly become one of northern Illinois’ largest wildlife rehab cen-ters. Last year they treated over 3,200 animals at their three centers in Barrington, Itasca, and Chicago.

This organization, like many other non-profit wildlife centers, receives no federal, state, or

local funding. They are al-most exclusively dependent on donations and grants for all expenses. You can make donations online at their site. Consider donating to a local center near you. It matters.

haven for all sorts of wildlife. Songbirds, rabbits, various ro-dents, and even hunting Coo-pers hawks have utilized this small habitat feature.

In nature, brush piles happen on their own. But most people either consider a pile of brush something to burn, haul away, or an unsightly mess that needs cleaning up. That is why these easily created features often are underutilized.

Maybe you have some downed branches from winter weather. Perhaps you are considering taking out some shrubs or trees this spring. You might even be clearing your property of buck-thorn or Asian honeysuckle. Here is an idea to create some-thing out of nothing, while re-ducing your labor– make a brush pile with the waste!

I noticed this winter how the woodpile near my fire pit was a

The best brush piles have tighter centers with larger diameter wood there and looser out-side edges. This creates great habitat for many ani-mals.

This also creates an oppor-tunity to plant things like native clematis, trumpet vine (not near a house!), wild grape, native bitter-sweet, Virginia creeper, and other native climbers de-pending on pile size.

Page 5

ORG A N I ZAT I O N SP O T L I G H T: F L I N T C R E E K W I L D L I F E R E H A B I L I T A T I O N

P L A N T I N G W I T H A P U R P O S E : B U I L D A B R U S H P I L E

deputies discovered that it was a hawk that must have been sleep-ing in a tree at the time the plane was engulfed in flames and crash-ing. The bird, that is believed to be a female red-tailed hawk, was taken to Flint Creek Wildlife Center in Barrington. It has lost all of its feathers all the way to the under-down layer. Her feet were also badly burned.

It is believed that this bird will make a full recovery. It will not be able to be released back into the wild however because its eyelids were burned too badly.

Still, it is an amazing survival story. People at the wildlife clinic describe the bird as “a fighter”. The bird was aptly named Phoenix.

Sometimes miracles happen. Nothing else can describe the recent story in the aftermath of a fatal plane crash near Sugar Grove, IL.

Kane County Sheriff Deputies were at the site of the crash the morning following this tragedy. One of them happened to see a bird walking around on the ground. Upon closer inspection,

“Its best to have failure happen early in life. It wakes up the Phoenix bird in you so you rise from the ashes.” ~Anne Baxter

N A T I V E N E W S : F R O M T H E A S H E S C O M E S A P H O E N I X

Recycle your branches and create habitat at the same time!

Mulch is a common component of many home land-scapes. During spring and summer months, it can be found for sale in the strangest places– including gas stations. But did you know that the purpose of mulch really isn’t supposed to be aesthetic? Using mulch has several positive affects on gardens and flowerbeds. But it can also have negative ones if chosen without proper knowledge of materials and procedures. Let’s get down to the ground level and take a closer look at mulch. The Benefits- There are three main benefits to using mulch. The first one is water retention and erosion control. Mulch will retain 15-20% more water than bare soil. This translates into less fresh water usage. It helps to reduce erosion as well because water droplets from rain or the sprinkler contact the mulch before the soil, slowing it down and increasing water absorp-tion while reducing run off. The second benefit comes in the form of weed con-trol. Mulch reduces the need to weed because it covers the soil. This works on both sides of the layer. From below, it slows or blocks plant growth by limiting light for plants and seeds. From above, it reduces seed contact with the soil, thus reducing germination rates. The third benefit is that it adds nutrients to the soil when it breaks down, assuming it is of organic na-ture (this means made from plants). This increases essential substances needed for good plant growth. It can also be mixed with the soil to increase organic matter, pH, and water retention properties. It is this third benefit that got me thinking about mulch. I recently read an article online in Nursery Management & Production Magazine. I found out that pine bark inventories, widely used east of the Rockies in the nursery trade as a potting substrate, are in decline. This product is mainly based in the southeast and is a waste material from lumber mills there. Recent storms and the increasing cost of transportation fuel have created a need for alterna-tives to be found to use as a potting substrate. Source locations are important. The source of mulch affects its cost, its effectiveness, and its impact on the environment and habitat around your property.

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M U C H A D O A B O U T M U L C H : B A S I C S O N B E N E F I T S A N D B U Y I N G

Volume 17 , Issue 1

“You know you are a real gardener when you think that composting is a fascinating subject.” ~Anonymous

There are basically two types of mulch: organic and inorganic. Organic mulches are primarily plant-based products. Chipped trees, bark, and leaves are major organic mulch sources. Other organic sources include shells, hulls, or other agricultural products like hay or straw. Inorganic mulches are sand, stone,

or recycled materials like rubber. These often do not absorb water. To some, organic mulch is all the same– carbon is carbon. But not all mulches are created equally. In fact, some have negative impacts.

Composted mulch– this you can create yourself with raked leaves, non-treated grass clippings, and food scraps. It has a low cost and is high in nutrient value. The downside is that it is labor intensive, takes up yard space, and if put down while actively decaying will create heat that could harm your plants. Chipped wood– the most common “bagged” mulch. The closer to your home it is made, the better. Many cities or towns collect downed limbs, yard debris, and recycled Christmas trees and create their own recycled mulch. This is often cheap or sometimes free. Be sure to inspect it before buying in bulk as it may contain unwanted weed seeds, roof asphalt rem-nants, or other material that you don’t want included. One chipped wood mulch to avoid is also often the cheapest– Cypress. These slow-growing wetland trees are often taken whole and chipped to create mulch while removing valuable habitat in the proc-ess. Agricultural Waste– these are things like peanut shells, soybean husks, and cocoa hulls. While the idea of using a recycled ag. waste product appeals to many as a green alternative, be aware of what you are getting. Using local products (peanuts in the South, soybeans in the Midwest, etc..) can be a good way to create a market for these waste items. As far as the cocoa, remember that the hulls contain theo-bromine, just like the chocolate products that are toxic to dogs. I would also recommend avoiding dyed mulches or those treated with herbicides and/or pesticides. These will leak unwanted chemicals into your ground and hurt the biodiversity in the soil. Remem-ber to follow recommended guidelines. Don’t create mounds of mulch (sometimes called mulch volca-noes). This can choke a plant, create spots for dis-ease to enter, or reduce water absorption ability. Remember to think about mulch sources and your overall goal of putting it down. More than aesthet-ics, mulch can be an important feature of your yard!

Peanut shells, Cocoa hulls, Pine bark and needles, and Rubber

Avoid “Mulch Volcanoes”

GNOME News

The Callery Pear– Pyrus calleryana- is commonly known by the cultivar Bradford Pear. An exotic from Eastern Asia, it is still commonly being sold in the nursery trade.

It was introduced in Maryland in the early 1900s as an ornamental and quickly grew in popularity. The original plants were sterile, but had a tendency to split or fall apart in wind and from the weight of snow on its branches.

This led to “improved” hybrids that would hold up better in those conditions. These were not sterile however. It is these newer hybrids and plants cross-pollinated with the original sterile Bradford Pear that are slowly making their way north and west from the conquered southeast.

The plant spreads through seed dispersal near the par-ent tree, or by birds (especially the invasive star-ling) which eat the fruit and carry the seeds to other loca-tions.

So what can you do?

Don’t plant it! There are several great choices that are just as showy, nicely shaped, and are native that will enhance rather than degrade the landscape. Good alter-natives to the Bradford Pear are redbud (Cercis canadensis), service-berry (Amelanchier canadensis), black haw (Viburnum prunifolium), southern arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum), and fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) to name only a few.

Usually the Midwest isn’t an area you would as-sociate with scorpions, but we have our share– at least of pseudoscorpions. Sometimes called false scorpions, these tiny arachnids usually are only seen if they have found their way into your house, usually by hitching a ride on a fly or other similar insect.

There are over 3,000 species of this animal worldwide. The US alone holds as many as 400 species and subspecies. They are usually found in moist areas like leaf litter, under things like stones or bark, near old paper, or in bathrooms near fixtures.

Unlike true scorpions, pseudoscorpions don’t have a stinger at the end of their abdomen. All other appearance characteristics are very scor-pion-like. They are very small arachnids. Adults range in size from 2 to 8 mm. Just like true scor-pions, they do have venom glands. They are located in the pedipalps (pinchers) and are used to subdue prey. This venom is injected with the pedipalps and the pseudoscorpion basically drinks the digested internal parts of that prey.

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F A N T A S T I C F A U N A : T H E P S E U D O S C O R P I O N

IN VA S I V E S- T H E C A L L E R Y P E A R

Due to their small size, pseudoscorpions cannot bite people or pets. In fact, they are very benefi-cial because of their normal food selections. The young and adults feed on clothes moth larvae, carpet beetle larvae, booklice, ants, mites, small flies, and small earthworms.

These little creatures have a nor-mal life span between 2 and 3 years. Females lay 12-24 eggs in each brood and can have several broods a year. Similar to a wolf spider, she carries her eggs in a silken pouch for about three weeks. The young then ride on her back until large enough to fend for themselves.

They overwinter inside a silken cocoon, emerging in spring when prey is more available.

“The mind can weave itself warmly in the cocoon of its own thoughts, and dwell a hermit anywhere.” ~James Russell Lowell

Green= Areas present

Primary Business Address 1753 Wick Way Montgomery, IL 60538

Great Nat ives Of Mid-western Ecotype

But my species inventory would tell me otherwise. This is espe-cially true when it comes to those animals with exoskeletons.

It made me wonder if everyone would do little things what kind of a difference it would make for our biodiversity as a whole. Things like plant a few native plants in-stead of daylilies or spirea, stop trying to kill everything that comes into their yards– be it weeds or bugs, leave a patch of grass unmowed– just for fun. It doesn’t take much and the little things matter.

I can think of many “high profile” animals that benefited not so much by humans doing extra

I am constantly astounded by the resiliency of nature. All too often our attention is drawn to species in decline, endangered, or on the verge of extinction. While I in no way mean to reduce the impor-tance of preservation of biodiver-sity, I think we sometimes tend to dwell on the negative instead of the positive.

I always become more pensive during the winter, largely because there isn’t as much work to do outside I suppose. Recently I was doing a sort of mental inventory of species that have visited my yard over the past few years. It sur-prised me.

While I have striven to add as many native plants to my yard as I could, I really haven’t done any-thing way above and beyond. I certainly could do much more in regards to that topic. I have many plans and ideas but time, cost, and consideration of resale value have limited what I have done to a more traditional form. I really haven’t gone wild…

things for them, but simply not doing things. Take for example the bald eagle– we didn’t exert extra effort, we just stopped using DDT and they slowly re-bounded enough to be de-listed. A similar example is the brown pelican. Even the cou-gar– highlighted in last month’s GNOME News- is returning to old haunts all on its own. Though high profile animals get attention, the small and often unnoticed are just as worthy.

If you couple the power of the instinct for survival with the little things that people can do to help, you get increased bio-diversity. Not only that, but you get a life enriched by living things going about their daily lives right in front of you. These intimate interactions with the things that share our world serve to remind us what is our obligation to this planet. Like it or not, we are the most power-ful and influential creatures on Earth. It is about time we started taking that seriously.

FO CU S O N T H E FU T U R E

E-mail: GNOME.Native@gmail.com

There’s no place like GNOME!

GNOME

Great Natives of Mid-western Ecotype (GNOME) is an organization focused on the preservation and expansion of native floral and faunal species. The mission is to provide a net-based forum where members can share their passion, plans, ideas, and questions with other people having a common interest in native species.

Check out our site!!!

Join our facebook group!

(http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45643568296)

This is our primary forum location. The newsletter as well as open discussions are there and also other links to people and groups that focus on natives.

Got an article? Now accepting member submitted news and photos! Once you have something to share, send it to the email listed at left. Monthly news articles will, of course, give credit to the contributor. Everyone welcome!

We’re on the Web! http://gnomenative.webs.com/

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