Insect Image Not To Scale - CAPITAL REGION PRISM

Insect image not to scale3

This isConservationistNEW YORK STATEIn this issue we'll take a look at some invasive species.Having lots of variety in an ecosystem helps to keep things in balance.Invasive plants and animals limit the variety and upset the balance.Join us as we explore the challenges of invasive species,and learn why and how to help stop them from spreading.tMee n!odnaBr himHeHe sentsent useus this photo ofhimselfmselflf andd the 42-pound carp(an introduced species) he caughtin Seneca Lake. You could be a pagenumber kid, too. Send us a photo ofyourself enjoying the outdoors. We’llsend you the details about what’srequired for us to print your photo oruse it on our website.Want to receive Conservationist for Kids at home?Subscribee totConservationist magazine!e!You’ll get six issues of the awardwinning Conservationistmagazine each year, plusConservationist for Kids inthe October, Februaryand April issues.Call 1-800-678-6399to subscribe.Contact us atConservationist for Kids625 Broadway, 2nd FloorAlbany, NY 12233-4500or e-mail us at2cforkids@gw.dec.state.ny.usVisit www.dec.ny.govfor links to lots of information about the outdoors. Check outDEC’s online newsletter for families, Outdoor Discovery. Every two weeks readers receive articlesabout nature with fun activities for kids, plus lists of upcoming events at nature centers near you.Go to www.dec.ny.gov/public/43355.html to sign up and have it e-mailed directly to you.

We call them alien, exotic and non-native.They are the plants and animals that have arrived here from somewhere else and established a newhome. Some cause no serious problems and live in harmony with our native species. Others createmajor challenges for native plants and animals, and for people.Plants and animals arrive herein many ways. Sometimes theyarrive by accident ,suchh as whenh an iinsect iis iin theh woodd ofa packing crate or aquatic animals arecarried in the ballast water of ocean-goingships and unintentionally released intowaters around the world.Alien,or Non Exotic-native:a livioriginng speciessome ating fromwhereelseSoSomeSSomomeme non-nativennonon-natnativiveespecies, like hhoneybees,bcan be very helpful.Some, like dandelions, areconsidered to be a nuisancebut do no real harm. Others arelike biological bullies. They arrive andtake over, out-competing local species forspace, or causing great damage. They don’tbring their natural predators with them, sotheir numbers can get out of control. Thesebullies are the ones we call “invasive.” Theyare very good at competing with our nativeorganisms and winning. They take overand offer little or nobenefit. They mayeven cause agreat deal ofharm.Europeanstarlingswere introduced(released on purpose)in New York City’sCentral Park in 1890by fans of WilliamShakespeare whowanted to bring in eachkind of bird mentionedin his writings. They’vespread across NorthAmerica, and cannow be found fromAlaska to Mexico.Starlings are sowell establishednow, it's asif they arenative. Wesay they arenaturalized.naturalizedve:Invasithatecies inpsnean ali s problems entescau w environmits nePurple loosestrife andNorway maple are nonnative plants that havebeen sold at gardencenters for use inlandscaping. Theirseeds traveled awayfrom the gardensand the plants“escapedescaped” andspread into wildareas. They crowdout native plants anddon't provide food fornative wildlife.3

Tim,PADalyDEPROCK SNOTDidymo,also knownas “rocksnot,”is an alganative tonorthernEurope andnorthernNorthAmerica.A handfulhof didymofeels likewet wool,not slimy.Its range is expanding, and as it expandsit is acting as an invasive. Rock snot isbecoming plentiful in areas where it wasknown before only in low amounts, andin new areas too. It forms long stalksattached to rocks on the river bottom. Asthe stalks grow longer, especially duringa growth spurt called a “bloom,” they canform into wavy mats that cover the streambottom. The mats smother the aquaticinsects living there. These insects are foodfor fish, so the effects are felt up the foodchain. To limit the spread, people shouldcompletely dry and disinfect their boatand all of their gear before moving fromone waterbody to another.Rock snot cells aremicroscopic and canbe spread in a singledrop of water carriedfrom one stream toanother.(Enlarged image:actual size is about thewidth of a human hair)Hairy claws makethese crabs looklike they’rewearing mittens.Chinese mitten crabs have been found in theHudson River. They may have arrived herein ballast water of ships, or been releasedon purpose by people hoping to establishtthem here as a food source. Chinese mittencrabs burrow into stream banks andcause erosion and habitat loss. Theyare aggressive and may out-compete ournative crabs and crayfish. They can travelover land to go around barriers and reach newareas upstream. If you find one, do not return itto the water. Instead, freeze it and contact DECimmediately to report your finding.The adult's body is aboutthree inches wide. Theeight sharp, pointed walkinglegs are twice as long asthe body is wide!NORTHERN SNAKEHEADThese fish, native to Asia, have been found in two ponds in New York City and in Orange County.If left unchecked, the population in Orange County could spread throughout the Hudson Riversystem. What sets these fish apart is their ability to breathe air. They are primitive lung fish andcan survive in waters with very low oxygen levels. Adults can grow to three feet long and femalescan produce many youngby spawning up to fivetimes per year. They arevoracious predators thatprey upon our native fishas well as compete withthem for food.With their sharp teeth, theyIfyou catch a snakeheadeat fish, frogs, crayfish andfish, do not return it to theaquatic insects.water. Freeze it and reportyour catch to your DECRegional Fisheries Office.EXCELLENTPREDATORS!!PREDATORS4California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG)CHINESE MITTEN CRAB

tha to anten t 2½ nnahe t eir b im areod esy! longerASIANLONGHORNEDBEETLE(ALB)TAsian longhornedbeetles have beenfound in NewYork City andon Long Island.Adults are up to1¼ inches long.Females lay eggson a variety of treespecies, but maplesare a favorite. Thelarvae hatch, burrow intothe tree, and feed on the inner bark and thesapwood. They can do enough damage thateventually the tree dies.1½heirThey're reallyantennae, nothorns!Adult ALB emerge through holes almost the size ofofa dime. They make a perfectly round hole by rotatingtinngtheir body as they chew their way out of the tree.DON’TMOVEPennsylvania Dept.of Conservation &Natural ResourcesForestry Archive,Bugwood.orgFIREWOOD!The larvaand infe e of EAB and ALBst newillegal tocanaremove u bring untre as when peo travel great dated fireistancentreateple movd firewwcut. Chood mo ood into Ne e firewood. It seck ouw’sret www.ddontm than 50 mile York State ans fromd toovefirewhwood.org to le ere it wasarn more.Didid youknow know Manyy baseball batsThereare made fromare moregNew York-groYork-grownthan 900 millionash trees.ash trees in NewYork, about sevenpercent of all the treesin the state.Debbie Miller, USDA Forest ServiceIt's reallyonly thisbig!Forestersset traps tocatch andstudy EAB.If you see atrap, leave italone!EMERALDASH BORER (EAB)EAB)AB))Leaf and seedsof an ash treeAfterthe larvaepupate,EABsemerge asadults.The name says it allall: it’s emerald green and it eatst asashh ttrees.Adult emerald ash borers are about ½ inch long. Femaleslay their eggs on ash trees. When the eggs hatch the larvaechew through the bark and live between the bark and thewood, eating the inner bark, disrupting the flow of waterand nutrients. Eventually they cause enough damage thatthe tree dies. In June 2009 EAB were found for the first timein New York State, in Cattaraugus County.5

The roots of this plant anchor it in themud at the bottom of waterbodieswhile a long stem stretches to aclump of leaves floating on thesurface of the water. Water chestnutcan become so plentiful that theirleaves limit sunlight from reachingunderwater plants that need it forphotosynthesis. To help limit waterchestnut from spreading, peopleshould completely clean their boatsand all of their gear before movingfrom one waterbody to another.Water chestnut seedsare hard nuts with four ½-inchbarbed spines.Thick floating mats makeit difficult for boaters andswimmers to enjoy the water.SPINY WATER FLEAThis tiny crustacean from northern EuropeThey can be bothersome to anglers whenand Asia arrived in the Greatthey attach to fishing lines inLakes in ballast water oflarge numbers. To limitocean-going ships.the spread,less thanIt has spread topeople shouldinland lakes,completely dryincluding Greatand disinfectlongSacandagatheirboats and(and mostly tail!)Lake. Spinyalloftheir gearJustwater fleasbeforemovingOnedisrupt thefromoneEye!natural foodwaterbodychains into another.The spiny tail can make eating thesethe areasinvaders difficult for our native fish,Spiny waterthey invade byso they have few predators here.fleas are similarcompeting withto fishhook waternative zooplanktonfleas, another invader(microscopic aquaticin the Great Lakes.animals) for food, as well aseating native zooplankton.½ inchTo reportreport anan invasiveinvasive species,species, contact:contact: NYSDEC,NYSDEC, OffiOfficece ofof InvasiveInvasive SpeciesSpecies state.ny.us625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4756; Phone 518-402-8924; e-mail fwhabtat@gw.dec.state.ny.us6John M. Randall, The Nature Conservancy, Bugwood.orgWATERCHESTNUT

GIANT HOGWEEDThis plant can grow up to 14 feet tall andhas huge leaves and large showy clusters ofwhite flowers. It spread from the gardens inwhich it was planted and it now also growsin the wild in Western and Central New York.!WOWIf you see this plant,DON’T TOUCH IT!IT!Tell an adult where it is and ask themto call the Giant Hogweed Hotline at1-845-256-3111. If you get the sapon your skin and yourskin is exposedto sunlightbefore youScientists lookingwash it off,for natural ways toit causescontrol invasive speciesesspainfulhave found that sheeppblisters. Ifwill eat giant hogweed,ed,it gets inoften with no harmm toyour eyes,themselves.it can causeblindness.GOT SHEEP?To limit itsspread,teams ofpeople cutgarlicmustarddown or pullit up beforethe seedsform eachyear.GARLICMUSTARDGarlic mustard was broughthere from Europe in the1860s to be used forfood and medicine.It escaped from gardenplantings into nearby woods.It comes out early in thespring, getting the jump onnative plants, and shadesthem, growing 2-3 1/2 feet tall.The native plants have troublegetting enough sunlight to grow.Garlic mustard produces manyseeds, so the plants can spread far injust a few years.JAPANESEKNOTWEEDIf it would stay in the garden, like thosewho brought this shrub here in the 1880sintended, we might love Japanese knotweedfor its green foliage and August-bloomingflowers. Instead, it spreads like crazy, growingquickly along forest edges, stream banks anddisturbed areas. Growing to 10 feet tall, itspreads over large areas with dense growthand crowds out native plants. To control itsspread, remove Japanese knotweed when youfind it in the wild and don’t use it in gardens.7