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Back when I was young and lacking enough sense to research facts before spouting Old Wives Tales, I used to tell everyone that plants grown around classical music would thrive while their twins, who had been exposed to heavy metal, would wither and die. It’s simply not true.
What is true is far more fascinating. The sound of silence We expect plants to be quiet. We’re not surprised when a seedling silently reaches for the sun. [Corn and bamboo can be exceptions to that quiet.] No matter how closely we listen, we cannot hear roots as they reach deep into the soil. You can track down videos and products that translate these biological processes of plants into sounds and music, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Today’s topic is about the perception and production of actual sounds. Responding to sounds Somehow, without brains, ears, eyes, noses, or nervous systems, plants can perceive, respond to, and communicate visual cues, aromas, gravity, and sounds to other plants. [Did you know that even bacteria communicate with one another through sound vibrations? I didn’t either.] Many plants respond to the sound of caterpillars and other herbivores feeding by producing protective chemicals. Sound waves have also been shown to increase growth rates within some plants. One study found that sound wave treatments of 125 and 250 Hz increased drought tolerance in rice (Jeong, et al 2008). Detecting certain frequencies can also cause plants to produce growth hormones and protect themselves against microbial pathogens. Plant bioacoustics The technical term for a plant’s ability to perceive and produce sounds is ‘plant bioacoustics’. They can produce sounds in the 10–240 Hz range, as well as ultrasonic acoustic emissions (UAE) within 20–300 kHz. [We hear sounds in the 20 to 20,000 Hz range.] The sound frequencies plants produce vary, depending on the cause behind the need to communicate. These sounds are produced in the xylem, where water and bubbles of air are moved around. Scientists believe that plants produce sounds by manipulating these bubbles, something my fellow barbershop chorus friends will appreciate. In the plant world, this bubbling is called cavitation. It ends up that plants really do “scream” when they are damaged. Did you know that tomato plants stressed by drought produce an average of 35 sounds each hour? The same plants produce 11 sounds an hour when stressed by stem damage. And those sounds are different, in both volume and frequency, depending on the cause and the species of the affected plant. Apparently, drought stress is grounds for louder communication. Social interactions We know that plants can detect neighboring plants by touch. We also know that they use chemical messaging to orchestrate exchanges with soil microorganisms, trading sugars produced through photosynthesis for specific nutrients. Trees and other plants recognize family members and create social networks. If you had the proper equipment, and many mammals and insects do, you’d be able to hear those tomato plants from up to 16 feet away. It’s much noisier in my garden than I ever realized. And it’s happening underground, too. Root signaling It ends up that it takes very little energy to send sound waves through the soil. When root cells are damaged, plants generate sounds that can be detected by neighboring plants, warning them that danger may be at hand. Plants also produce sounds in the 100–300 Hz range that tell their neighbors where good food and water can be found. Your pea plant roots are actively listening for the sound of water in the soil. Buzz pollination Some insects use sound vibrations to make plants release their pollen. This is called buzz pollination or sonication. You can test this with a tuning fork. Depending on the plant species, sound waves between 40 to 1000 Hz cause flowers to expel small doses of pollen into the air. Other flowers detect the frequencies of certain bee wingbeats and respond by producing nectar that contains more sugar. We still don’t know how plants perceive sound. But researchers are currently exploring ways of using sound waves to help plants be more productive while protecting them from insect feeding. One study used sound to increase tomato crops by 13%. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could keep aphids, stink bugs, and weeds away while encouraging bigger, sweeter tomatoes? It just might happen. They are also exploring ways of use sound to reduce ethylene production so that produce is less likely to rot on the way to market. Can plants hear? They sure can. Does talking to them make them grow better? It just might.
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Watching my 4-month-old grandson delight in standing in his new walker, I am reminded that there are no “overnight successes” or “quick fixes” in the real world. Babies take months to learn how to stand and walk. Gardens take years to fulfill their creators’ dreams. Every success we experience, be it in our professions, health and fitness, or in the garden, all happen because of baby steps taken over and over again.  Growing is a series of baby steps (OpenClipart-Vectors) Pixabay Little steps add up In 2016, my son and I walked across Spain. That was a one-month, 500-mile walk. It was a wonderful experience, and not just because I got to do it with him. Learning first-hand that taking one step after another, no matter how casually, will eventually add up to something significantly bigger. Your garden and landscape work the same way.  Our walk across Spain (Kate Russell) Plans, passions, and reality Most gardeners, especially those new to gardening, would love to have that picture-perfect, trouble-free, highly productive piece of earth seen in movies and magazines. The reality is, elegant botanical gardens have dozens of professional gardeners and countless volunteers who work every day to create those masterpieces. For us home gardeners, getting help like that is nearly impossible. It’s hard enough to find someone to help dispose of an old couch. [And many of those magazine garden, plant, and flower pictures are photoshopped.]  Butchart’s Sunken Garden took a team of professionals 12 years to create (w4nn3s) CC BY-SA 3.0 But you can take your passion for gardening and your ideals and get them moving in the right direction by identifying and performing short-term goals regularly and consistently. Baby steps. Say you want a lush, productive blueberry hedge? Start by identifying the best location. Clear away the weeds. Top-dress the area with aged manure and compost. Protect the space with mulch. Conduct research about the best varieties for your microclimate. Eventually, you will install your blueberry plants. And, after a few years and regular care, your blueberry hedge will become a reality. It won’t happen overnight, but those baby steps can and will get you there. Little doesn’t mean insignificant Unless we’re talking about diamonds (and babies), small things are often seen as less-than. The truth is, it’s the little things, done repeatedly, that create practically every success. None of us is perfectly fit two months after our New Year's’ resolutions are made. But try adding squats while your microwave is running, or 10 little jumping jacks each time you use the bathroom and see just how much these tiny acts of fitness add up over time. The trick is making these baby steps easy enough to do that there’s no desire to avoid them. Trying to rid your yard of every weed in a single day is a Herculean task that may make you throw up your hands in despair and quit gardening altogether. Weeding your garden on a regular rotation will never get rid of all your weeds (nothing can do that short of Agent Oranging the neighborhood). What it will do is ensure that you are checking on each area of your garden regularly and removing most of the weeds. Over time, the weeds will be less of a problem and you won’t experience burn-out.
“Natural is better.” “Natural is safer.” These words are easy to say and they sound good, but they can be very wrong. You can’t assume that just because something is natural means it is safe.  Apple seeds contain cyanide (pxfuel) Public Domain Natural pesticides can be just as deadly as chemical concoctions. Mushrooms may be natural and organic, but some of them can kill you. Even the seeds and skins of some of our common foods can cause illness or death when eaten to excess. Chemical warfare may be banned in the human world (and with good reason), but plants regularly employ chemicals to defend against insect and herbivore feeding and in response the injury and environmental stresses. Some of the chemicals they use can hurt us, too. Today we are looking at some of the natural toxins growing in our gardens and lurking in our crisper drawers. Apples, barley, and stone fruits The seeds of apples and the pits of stone fruits contain cyanogenic glycoside. When plants feel they are being attacked, they remove the sugar molecule from these compounds, converting them into hydrogen cyanide. Barley, flax, and sorghum do the same thing. Raw cassava (tapioca) and bamboo shoots also contain hydrogen cyanide. Hydrogen cyanide is a blood agent that halts cellular respiration. It will kill you if you eat too much. Cereals, dried fruits, nuts, and spices Have you ever nibbled raw cookie dough? I have. And I’ve heard that I shouldn’t. I always thought that was because of the raw eggs, but it ends up that bird poop residue is the real reason. Another problem with this food group is more serious than a short-term belly ache. Cereals, dried fruits, nuts, and spices can harbor certain molds, called mycotoxins, that can cause severe illness. Long-term exposure, while rare, can cause immune deficiency and some cancers. Herbs, honey, and sunflowers Herbs, honey, and members of the sunflower family all contain something called pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Milk, eggs, and cereal grains also contain these chemicals, which are known to cause liver damage. Borage leaf, coltsfoot, and comfrey contain particularly high levels of this natural toxin. Remember, the damage is in the dose.  Borage leaves contain toxins (Kate Russell) Kidney beans Raw kidney beans are dangerous. There, I’ve said it. I didn’t even know it until I wrote this post. It ends up that all raw beans contain chemicals called lectins. Lectins can cause severe digestive upset. Raw kidney beans contain more lectins than other beans. Low and slow cooking may be great for that pot roast, but those temperatures may not be high enough to destroy lectins, so be sure to crank up the heat for at least part of your bean cooking regime. Mushrooms Some people can forage safely for mushrooms and others cannot. I’m in the latter group. Because some mushroom species can kill you, I opt for the grocery store. Unlike some other toxins, those found in mushrooms are not destroyed by cooking. Parsnips Parsnips have a chemical arsenal of their own. When they feel threatened, they produce chemicals known as furocoumarins. These chemicals can cause stomachache and skin rashes. To avoid these problems, peel your parsnips and discard any damaged bits. And pour the cooking water down the drain, rather than adding it to your soup stock. By the way, carrots, parsley, celery root, and citrus contain furocoumarins, too. Potatoes We’ve all seen it. Just under the brown skin of a potato, you see green. These green areas occur when a potato is sprouting and when the plant feels stressed. Along with that green tinge are chemicals known as glycoalkaloids. All members of the nightshade family contain these chemicals. Mostly found in the leaves, glycoalkaloids can give you a bad belly ache. They can also kill you. Be sure to remove any green or damaged bits before cooking your potatoes. If they taste bitter, toss them in the trash. .jpg) Green-tinged potatoes (Rasbak) CC BY-SA 3.0 Rhubarb
I’m only including rhubarb because everyone seems to have heard how toxic their leaves are. They do contain oxalic acid. It’s also true that oxalic acid can cause cramps and interfere with breathing and heartbeats. It can also cause coma and death, but you’d have to eat a profound amount of rhubarb leaves to have a problem. Sweet potatoes Sweet potatoes can produce toxins used in defense against injury, insect feeding, and other stresses. One of these toxins, ipomeamarone, makes your sweet potatoes taste bitter. It can also kill you, so don’t eat bitter-tasting sweet potatoes and always cut out and discard damaged areas. Zucchini Bitter-tasting zucchinis may contain chemicals known as cucurbitacins. Cucurbitacins cause something called “toxic squash syndrome”. Symptoms of this condition include severe digestive upset followed by hair loss, weeks after the fact. How weird is that? With all these potential toxins in our food, what’s a gardener to do? First of all, recognize that you would have to eat an awful lot of most of these plants to cause any real harm. Second, keeping your plants healthy with proper fertilizing, irrigation, and pest and disease control reduces their need for self-defense. You can protect yourself and your family by discarding any produce that is badly damaged or moldy and cooking your food properly. The plants you see on TV and in magazines always look amazing and perfect and it’s not real. Real plants rarely have perfectly rounded shapes or masses of fruit and flowers wherever you look. In real life, plants often have one side that looks and performs better. Things are uneven. The movie star plants, like their human counterparts, are often airbrushed and staged by professionals. Imperfections are perfectly normal in the plant (and human) world. Failing to thrive is something else altogether.  Improper conditions can really mess with your harvest (Kate Russell) Failure to thrive is not a disease. It is a symptom. And most of us have seen it happen in our gardens or on our patios. Scraggly stems, too few leaves, little or no fruit or flowers, and overall weakness are all signs of failing to thrive. In many cases, you can correct the problem and help your plant return to good health. Failure to thrive can be caused by environmental conditions or biological characteristics. Biological causes of failure to thrive Some plants are born weak. This can be because the seed was old, or germination occurred too early in the season while temperatures were too cold. In both cases, the seedling had to put out more energy than it could afford early in its growth and may never recover fully. Other biologic causes of failure to thrive include bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases, girdling roots,  Being rootbound makes growing difficult (Kate Russell) You can prevent many problems with these tips:
Environmental causes behind failure to thrive Plants cannot leave their environment, so they have to deal with wherever they are. There are several environmental conditions that keep plants from thriving:
 Black aphids on bolting spinach (Kate Russell)  Pea plant infected with Fusarium wilt (Kate Russell) Drastic measures
In some cases, drastic measures are called for. After all your other treatments and corrections have failed, it is time to dig up or unpot your plants and get to the root of the problem. You will want to work over a tarp or very large container. Either dig up your problem plant or remove it from its container. Then, shake the soil from the roots and wash them. Root washing is an excellent way to see what, exactly, has been going on underground. Prune out any damaged, mushy, broken, or infected roots. Set the root ball in a bucket of water and examine the soil. Look for signs of insect pupae, grubs, root maggots, root weevils, wireworms, cutworms, and other soil-dwelling pests. Smell the soil. Does it smell rich and earthy? Or it smell funky, like old gym socks? Healthy soil contains earthworms and zillions of microorganisms and it smells like good earth. Less than ideal soil smells like something went bad. If that’s the case, toss it out and give your patient some fresh potting soil. Until your plant is thriving, if possible, it is best to keep it in a container during its recovery. Do you have a plant that’s failing to thrive? Tell us about it in the comment and let’s see if we can help it get better! We have all become more familiar with pandemics than any of us would like to be, thanks to Covid-19.
Global agriculture or local gardens Whether we are talking about pandemics in the global food supply or epidemics in neighborhood home gardens, the spread of disease affects everyone. Dealing with plant diseases takes time, costs money, and reduces crop size. Preventing these problems is a lot easier than dealing with the consequences. Plant pandemics are increasing in both frequency and effect because of rising temperatures, global trade, pathogen spillover, and evolution. Rising temperatures Cold weather slows viruses and kills off many vectors. As global temperatures continue to rise, viruses and other pathogens are finding life a lot easier in new regions. Along with changing temperatures, we are also seeing changes in storm patterns, drought occurrence, and other conditions that weaken plants and favor disease. Monitoring plants regularly for signs of trouble can help nip those problems in the bud. Global trade Travel along the Silk Road 2,000 years ago brought untold wealth and riches to the far reaches of the globe. It also furthered the development of science, literature, and medicine. And it increased the spread of diseases, such as intestinal parasites, the Black Death (bubonic plague), smallpox, and STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). Modern global trade has had similar effects on our gardens.  Silk Road routes (Wikiality) CC BY-SA 3.0 A single pest, virus, bacteria, or other plant problem can catch a ride on a shipment of produce, furniture, or dollar store doo-dad bound for your neighborhood. Before you know it, you’re up against something new. Some of those new problems can be devastating. And many countries are forced, through poverty, to ignore trade restrictions regarding pests, diseases, and chemical use. As a result, low price produce often comes at a higher long-term cost.
Pathogen spillover In some cases, the carriers of diseases develop a taste for something new. This is becoming more common as new varieties of plants are developed to tolerate non-traditional temperature ranges. As crops are grown in new areas, so, too, will the pests and diseases that favor those crops. Once established, those pests and diseases often develop a taste for the local flora, spilling over into these local crops. Also, where one disease may be tolerable, being put in combination with another disease can turn the tables for the worse. Disease evolution One thing I learned while studying for the Master Gardener’s exam was that pathogens push plants to develop better defenses. It’s one of Nietzsche’s “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” situations. Plants that die are removed from the gene pool, leaving more resistant specimens to reproduce. Of course, we don’t want anything to kill our herbs, tomatoes, or fruit trees. We want them to grow and thrive and produce. Like everything else, diseases evolve. A simple mutation can change everything. And microorganisms evolve a lot faster than plants (or us). In some cases, a disease can have a mild effect for several years and suddenly mutate and become devastating. Common plant epidemics Monoculture and the increasing demand for food have led to the rise of several plant pandemics. These are some of the most common:
These are only a few of the plant pandemics currently happening. Like Covid-19, many of the carriers of these diseases can be asymptomatic, which means they look perfectly healthy. But adding them to your landscape can cause years of headaches and work. Disease vectors You can reduce the risk of plant diseases causing problems in your garden by monitoring insect movements in your region. Many insects carry diseases. If you know the insects are headed your way, you can be prepared. The Big Bug Hunt is a good tool I’ve used to see what’s coming. I’m sure there are others, but the Big Bug Hunt has the added benefit of providing photos and identification tools. These other tips can help break the chain of plant epidemics and pandemics:
Finally, learn more about the relationships between the plants you are growing and the pests that threaten them. Did you know that green peach aphids hide out in winter on stone fruit trees and can then carry potato leafroll viruses to your potatoes in spring? Now you know. Remember, the more you know, the better equipped you are to halt the spread of these and other plant diseases. We may not be able to vaccinate plants to protect them, but there are other things we can do. There are many reasons to grow your own food: flavor and freshness usually top the list. Pesticides are another reason.  Apple in bone hand (ulleo) Pixabay Pros and cons of pesticides Pesticides can make quick work of pests that damage our plants or carry plant diseases. They can also spread to unintended locations, contaminate groundwater, and interfere with the delicate balance of countless, often beneficial, life forms. How much is too much? How can we know these chemicals were used responsibly by growers halfway around the world? It’s tricky. Healthy produce Fresh produce is supposed to be good for us. We are urged to eat at least five servings of fresh fruit and vegetables each day. But can all the pesticides and other chemicals used in commercial agriculture be washed off? The answer is no. In many cases, pesticides are systemic, which means they are absorbed by plants. How many otherwise healthy fruits and veggies contain high levels of pesticides? The list may surprise you.  Garden harvest (congerdesign) Pixabay Environmental Working Group Each year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes a list of the twelve U.S. crops most contaminated with pesticides. The ‘Dirty Dozen’ are often sprayed with chemicals banned in the European Union. Did you know that peppers are sprayed with 115 different pesticides? Or, that spinach often contains twice as much pesticide residue, by weight, than any other crop tested by the EWG? According to the EWG’s 2021 Dirty Dozen, these crops are the worst when it comes to pesticides:
Personally, I like using this annual list as a guide to what I will grow at home. Store-bought strawberries rarely taste as good as they look anyway, so homegrown or certified organic are the only ways to go for me. Spinach, kale, collards, and mustard greens are easy to grow and can be allowed to go seed, providing years of edible good health. While fruit trees take time to get started, they are a good investment in your landscape and many of them can be grown in large containers. Tomatoes and peppers are regulars on my list of plants to grow, though celery has given me some trouble. I’m not completely opposed to pesticide use. It certainly has its place. There are billions of mouths to feed, and pests feel no remorse about wiping out crops. Instead of applying broad-spectrum pesticides, we can use hand-picking, sticky barriers, and other cultural practices to manage many pests.  Black aphids on bolting spinach (Kate Russell) The good news On the flip side, the EWG also publishes a list of produce available in stores that score lowest on residual pesticides. This annual list is called the Green Fifteen, and here is the 2021 list:  Wax beans (Kate Russell) My three most pest-free plants have been almonds, apples, and bush beans. My three most pest-prone plants have been Swiss chard, tomatoes, and pole beans, always with aphids. Which three plants cause you the most trouble, pest-wise? Which three need the least amount of help battling pests? Let us know in the comments.
Moving from a house in San Jose, California, to an apartment in downtown Seattle, Washington brought many changes to this gardener’s life. Raised beds, fruit and nut trees, and many of my larger plants had to be left behind. Potted herbs came along, and they seem to be enjoying balcony life. But temperatures are dropping. It was time to learn more about my new USDA Hardiness Zone. What I learned surprised me.  Seattle tree badly sunburned (Kate Russell) Normal changes It’s not unusual to discover that a new location has a different set of conditions related to gardening. The weather is certainly different. I went from a scorching hot, drought-prone climate to cool, overcast skies and a lot more greenery. The soil situation is very different. My heavy clay made better with wood chips must now be replaced with bagged potting soil. Instead of a compost pile for plant food, I will be using store-bought fertilizers. I’m sure there will be new pests and diseases to contend with, but I haven’t run into them yet. The biggest surprise for me, and one that affects all gardeners, was the change in Hardiness Zone. USDA Hardiness Zones The USDA Hardiness Zone map divides the U.S. into zones based on average winter low temperatures. Understanding these zones helps gardeners select plants that will thrive. The 1990 map, which I have been using for years, told me that my San Jose garden was in zone 8. The more recent 2012 map says it’s in zone 9. The same shift is true of Seattle. The older map puts Seattle in zone 7, while the newer map says 8. More on that in a moment. Each zone is divided into 10°F increments. That means temperatures, as far as gardening goes, have risen profoundly in recent years. Before you panic, you need to know that some of those changes are due to better science and improved measurements. But temperatures are changing. Temperatures are critical in determining what will grow well and what will struggle in your garden. Global zone issues Back to Seattle. This past summer, there was a week with temperatures around 110°F. For anyone familiar with Seattle weather, you will know that this is unheard of. As we drove along I-5 to our new home, we could see the damage caused by those temperatures. Trees exposed to the afternoon sun were badly bronzed. Extensive sunburn damage can be seen everywhere. These plants were not able to protect themselves against the unusual heat. Many trees will die as a result.  Seattle trees shaded by buildings were protected from sunburn (Kate Russell) This type of damage is occurring in food production around the world, too. An article published by Science Daily tells us that fully one-third of the world’s food crops are at risk because of climate change. Master Gardeners, farmers, and researchers around the world are trying to find out what works and what doesn’t under these new conditions.
What changes, if any, have you seen in your garden over the past few years? Have temperature changes altered what and how you grow? How does one go from an expansive suburban yard with raised beds, bees, and hens in California to a 2-bedroom apartment in downtown Seattle?  My new garden space (Kate Russell) It was difficult to walk away from an imminent harvest of almonds, apples, figs, squash, and tomatoes, but family is more important, and it was time. I did manage to can some tomatoes before packing day, however!  Canned red and yellow tomatoes (Kate Russell) Sounds of nature I do miss the sounds of the hens and the sight of bees busily going to and fro, but Seattle isn’t without its’ sights and sounds of nature. Instead of egg songs, I hear the cry of seagulls and cawing crows. Pigeons are common, but not on my 7th-floor balcony. I have seen various bees and mayflies. And I am not without a garden.  Herbs and succulents were my first choice for an apartment garden (Kate Russell) Choosing apartment plants
Choosing which plants to bring and which to leave behind took some thought. Aside from physically moving the plants, I had to decide how much space to dedicate to them. Herbs were my first choice. The chives, oregano, peppermint, stevia, summer savory, and thyme came with me. I transplanted all my saffron crocus bulbs into various pots of succulents. And I brought my strawberry pot planted with groundcherries. Next year, I may make room for some tomatoes or squash. I have to finish unpacking first. Apartment gardening Apartment gardening poses some unique challenges and opportunities. As always, light and temperature are critical factors. Living in a corner unit in a southwest-facing building, we get plenty of light. Since we have a balcony, I can give my plants access to pollinators. Water conservation isn’t the same in Seattle as in California, but I still use the dregs from my dogs’ water bowl to water my plants. I figure the bits of dog food and who knows what else might help feed my apartment plants. Without a compost pile, I’ll have to rethink how I feed them. (The plants, not the dogs.) If you’ve gardened in an apartment, what advice do you have for me, the New Kid on the block? In the predawn light, through the glass of my 7th-floor apartment window, I saw the underside of a delicate mayfly. I tried to get a photograph, but the combination of glass, lighting, and reflection made my attempts unsuccessful. This was unfortunate because mayflies are quite lovely. And, while they do not have a direct impact on your garden, their presence says a lot about the health of an ecosystem.  Female subimago mayfly (Richard Bartz) CC BY-SA 2.5 Mayfly description Prehistoric mayflies had 18-inch wingspans. They are significantly smaller than that these days. My morning visitor was less than an inch long, tail included. Mayflies are members of the Ephemeroptera order, which includes dragonflies and damselflies. There are over 3,000 species of mayfly around the world and 630 in North America, though four North American species have become extinct. Mayflies are also known as fishflies and shadflies. Fly fishermen from around the world have used these long-tailed insects as models for lures. Those long tails are often split into two fine hairs, much like the first flying insects. When at rest, as was my morning visitor, they hold their wings upright, similar to butterflies. Their relatively long wings are often mottled. Life as a mayfly Mayflies are aquatic insects. They spend most of their lives as nymphs, or naiads, in unpolluted freshwater. These naiads look something like a cross between an immature ladybug alligator and a leafhopper. Sort of. They may spend several years in this stage, molting through 10 to 50 instars. In some cases, they breathe using gills. Most species of mayfly get enough oxygen by absorbing it through their outer covering, or integument. Most mayfly nymphs feed on algae and debris, though a few are predators. In turn, most mayflies are eaten by fish and carnivorous insects. Eventually, surviving nymphs leave the water, and sometimes in astounding numbers. Contrary to their name, adult mayflies can appear spring through autumn and not just in May. Mayfly lifecycle Unlike most other insects, most mayfly species have an aerial pre-adult stage, called the subimago or dun. The subimago looks similar to an adult but is sexually immature. These teenage mayflies don’t fly very well, are a duller color, have shorter appendages, and they lack the sexy wing coloration of mature adults. Some subimagos have forelegs that are accordion-folded, which don’t extend until they reach adulthood. How’s that for a growth stage?  Mayfly nymph (Ian Alexander) CC BY-SA 4.0 The subimago stage lasts only a few minutes to a few days, depending on the species before they molt into sexually mature adults or imagos. This is where the ephemeral nature of the species becomes apparent. After swimming around for several years, adult mayflies have only one purpose, to mate, and they may have only minutes, hours, or days in which to succeed.
They do not have mouths because they do not have time to eat. Some male mayflies have eyes on top of their heads, in addition to the front-facing variety, to help them find females during their short lives. Male mayflies dance in an up-and-down pattern to attract females. After copulation, many female mayflies fly upstream to lay between 400 and 3,000 eggs. Female mayflies find water by detecting reflected light. In some cases, this means they are fooled into laying their eggs on other shiny surfaces. When laid in water, these eggs sink to the bottom where they may take a few days or up to a year to hatch. After hatching, first-stage nymphs burrow into the sediment where they feed for a few years. Mayflies are very sensitive to pollutants, making them something of a canary in a coal mine. They are also intermediary hosts to horsehair worms, which infect grasshoppers, causing them to commit suicide by drowning. I cannot make this stuff up. Finally, mayflies contain the most raw protein of any edible insect, in case you get hungry. Have you seen mayflies in your garden? Are there any other insects you use as guides to your garden’s health? let us know in the comments! I started raising bees in 2018 with a swarm I bought from a local beekeeper. The bees seemed to love my yard filled with borage, rosemary, and salvia flowers. In season, there were also tomato, squash, melon, and fruit and nut tree blossoms, along with the occasional flowering beets, cabbage, lettuce, and Swiss chard. But then, in 2020, they all disappeared. One day they were there, flying busily in and out of the hive, and the next day they were simply gone. It wasn’t a sickness, because there would have been dead bees in the bottom of the hive. There were no bees in the hive. And there had been no swarm leaving the hive. They left behind 40 pounds of honey and no explanation of why they didn’t return. This is colony collapse disorder and no one understands why it happens. My mentor lost half his hives the same season. The only thing you can do in this case is to replace the bees. Since other beekeepers in my area had all lost bees, there were no swarms available. That meant buying bees from a breeder. It also means the bees get shipped to your house. In a box. They don’t like it and they are very verbal about their mood. The UPS guy was very happy to be rid of my box of angry bees. Before I tell you about the adventure and errors of releasing those bees, let me tell you that there are several varieties of honey bees. Many of us remember the warnings of the 1970s about dangerous Africanized bees. Most, but not all, of those reports were exaggerated. That situation actually occurred because some scientists were purposely breeding more aggressive bees in Brazil and some of those hybrid bees escaped. Being more aggressive, they take over colonies they find, murdering the queen and setting up shop. Here’s a brief summary of the major honey bee varieties:
My new bees are a relatively new variety. They are called Saskatraz bees and they are from Saskatchewan Canada. Saskatraz bees were bred to be tidy, gentle, and productive. Being tidy means their hive will be kept clean of varroa mites and tracheal mites. Being gentle makes them a lot easier to work with and being productive is kind of the whole point. Now back to my box of bees. I had looked online, watched some how-to videos, and figured I had a good bead on how to do this. I was wrong.
My sources said to remove the plastic plate that covered the feeder jar, which was filled with a sugary gel. [Sort of like the bagged peanuts you get on an airplane.] Supposedly, the queen would be in a cage (she was) that I should remove carefully while quickly putting the plastic plate back in position. But I couldn’t find the queen or her cage. For some bizarre reason, my brain told me it was probably attached to the feeder jar. (It wasn’t) So, I dumped the bees into the hive, banging the box several times against the hive wall to knock most of them out of the box. They didn’t seem terribly upset, which was surprising. There was one bee who gave a few angry ZZZZZZZZs around my head but didn’t pursue the attack.  Comb filled with honey {Kate Russell) I was feeling stressed because I knew I needed to find the queen. Her cage wasn’t with the feeder jar. Her cage would either have a candy plug, which the bees could eat through, or a cork, which meant she would be trapped. I had to find her. The reason queens are shipped in tiny cages is because they just met the other bees and they do not recognize her yet. If she was released into the colony right away, they would kill her. It takes a few days for her pheromones to work their way into the colony’s psyche. Once it has, they will sacrifice themselves without hesitation to protect her. For the time being, I needed to protect her from them. And I needed to find her. Part of my mind knew I had to stick my arm into the hive and fish around for the queen cage which, I assumed, had fallen to the bottom of the hive. I was hoping there was another solution, so I walked back to the garage, unzipped my bee suit hood, and called my mentor. He told me what I had to do, so I hung up and (mostly) zipped back up before returning to the hive. At this point, the hive is uncovered, filled with travel-weary bees, and topped with the inverted shipping box. This is not going nearly as smoothly as I had hoped, but I was grateful the bees weren’t trying to kill me. I picked up the shipping crate and started to reach down when I noticed the queen cage right where everyone said it would be, tucked up under the top of the shipping box. It was smaller than I had expected. I have no idea why I thought it would be larger or more obvious. Bees are pretty small. Even the queens. I brushed the bees off as well as I could, attached the queen cage to the hive, and replaced all but one of the frames. As I was putting the cover back on the hive, I felt something crawling around on the back of my neck. I hoped it was not a bee and walked back toward the garage. As I walked across my lawn, there was one bee flying alongside, scolding me. And there was another bee, inside my bee suit, crawling around on the back of my neck. I hadn’t zipped my suit up as carefully as I should have after talking on the phone. Oops. Meanwhile, my escort had turned back to the hive. When I was a little girl in Upstate New York, I had long hair. For some reason, bees always managed to get caught in my hair and sting the hell out of my neck. It was difficult to not tense up, knowing there was a bee inside my suit but she wasn’t being aggressive. In fact, it almost felt as though she was walking around, saying to herself that she must be in the wrong room, and wondering where she might fight a door, or someone to ask for directions. Now, getting tense or scared are two of the worst things you can do around bees, next to flailing at them. So, I followed her non-aggressive lead, unzipped the hood of my bee suit, and flipped it back. It took her a moment to realize she could see the sky, she walked a few more steps and then flew off, hopefully back to the hive. That was it. My bees were installed. Of course, I would have to return a few days later to release the queen. I hoped I did a better job of that when the time came. And come it did. Bees wait for no man (or beekeeper). When I opened the hive, suited up and smoker in hand, I was amazed at how much comb had already been put in place. There was so much comb that I had to squish some of it together to add the final frame. My mentor had warned me about not letting the queen fly away when she is released. It happens. I arranged the covers over most of the hive to close it quickly once she was free. I gave the hive a puff of smoke, pointed the opening of her cage downward, and pulled the plug.
 Freshly installed bees (Kate Russell) It is good to be a beekeeper. Long live the queen.
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AuthorKate Russell, writer, gardener, and so much more.  Archives
November 2021
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