Butterfly Bush

 

Bonus link photos from Penn.

tree of heaven

The invasive plant that the invasive lanter flies like is tree of heaven. (Pictures)

"The usual recommended removal protocol for it is cut and immediately apply Round up or similar to the cut so that it takes it in before the cut heals over. Like, paint it on within 15 minutes of cutting. Sometimes chemicals are helpful, and it’s not like you’ll be broadcast spraying them all over the place. You would be doing a pretty direct and targeted application."

"This exact method of "cut and paint" is what most of the US wildlife service uses to address natives in parks and sensitive places. its incredibly effective when done right."

"This is the right approach. We did this to about a dozen small saplings and had very good results, but the key is to paint them immediately after cutting. I also avoid the use of chemicals in our lawn, but in this case due to the potential of remnant roots and their aggressive rhizome spreading I opted for a permanent solution."

"Everything I've seen has recommended basal bark or cut and squirt application in late summer or early fall."

"Is this the only TOH in the area? If it's a baby sapling, you might be able to get it out this year by digging only. It's definitely worth a shot. TOH has an extremely large root mass, so if it's more established, you won't be able to dig it all up, especially since it's in a shared area. It suckers extremely aggressively and stores a lot of energy in the root mass, so if you just cut it down, it's going to send up shoots from all over the root mass, which can be the entire city block. The recommended method is to apply targeted herbicide in late-summer when the tree is starting to pull sugars down into the root mass-- this way you poison the roots, rather than just stimulating growth. You can try to starve it by repeatedly cutting it down, but if it's a large root mass, you'll need to get your neighbors on board as well."

Isoprene

"Oak trees, which already let out 800 times more isoprene than maples, emit in especially high volume when the city reaches boiling temperatures in the high 90s as well. They make up 37% of city trees while the sweetgums consist of 17%."

Isoprene mixes with other pollutants to perhaps create asthma and bronchitis. 

(NY Post)

So maybe more maples than oak trees in urban areas. 

Wikipedia Isoprene

Four Pests Campaign

I just read about in China how they tried to get rid of sparrows, and that lead to locust destroying the crops and led to a great famine. 

Kind of an odd choice. They replaced it later with bed bugs, which makes more sense. 

Frogs

 

Birding

Interesting article about using apps to identify birds

Female black-chinned hummingbird in central Texas, enjoying scarlet sage.

Brazilian tanager

Dying in wilderness collection

I'm tempted to send these articles to my friend, but I think it's better just to collect them in one place for a while. I have several collection blogs that I write, and collect over time, and I'm hoping here to collect articles where people die or suffer being lost in the wilderness. 

I'm not super into trying to get people to fear the wilderness, and at the same time I feel that there is real danger in being unprepared and unaware while in the wilderness. 

Collection:

Three Hikers Die in Grand Canyon National Park in Less Than a Month July 9th 2024 (Times)

Three hikers die in Utah parks in suspected heat-related cases (Guardian)

Survived 2 weeks in wilderness of Kentucky!

Utah again.

'Freak storm' in Yosemite causes 20yo to slip off Half Dome and die, dad demands change (source).

I almost died sailing on Lake Huron in Saginaw Bay. Coast Guard rescued us. These people were not as lucky on Lake Powell: Woman and 2 children dead, 2 others critically injured after pontoon boat capsizes on Lake Powell in Arizona.

Fell into Grand Canyon (source).

12/18/24. A collection of people lost in Adirondacks:

Thomas Messick- disappeared in the Lake George Wild Forest in 2015.

Wesley Wamsganz- disappeared in the High Peaks in 2010.

Irene Horne- remnants of her campsite were found in the West Canada Lakes in 2007, no other sign of her has ever been found.

Jack Coloney- disappeared in the Moose River Plains in 2006.

George LaForest- disappeared near the Cedar River in Indian Lake in 2006.

Thomas Carleton- disappeared in the High Peaks in 1993.

Steve Thomas- disappeared in a storm on Mt. Marcy in the High Peaks in 1976.

George Bombardier- disappeared near Paul Smiths in 1971.

Douglas Legg- disappeared near Camp Santanoni in 1971.