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Bug of the Week: Green June Beetle

October 22, 2008 / Roberta / 4 Comments

This week we were grubbing around in the compost heap when we found this. We were quite excited.

green june beetle grub

It’s about the size of my thumb. I can tell it is a beetle larva from the fact it has a hard head capsule (dark brown) and six distinct legs right behind its head. Those small brown circles on its sides are the opening of the airways it uses to breathe. Those are called trachea.

green june beetle grub

I knew what kind of beetle it was when it flipped onto its back and began crawling along upside down. My son said this was â€œFreaky!â€ (I think that is tween-speak for â€œReally cool!â€) You can see the legs better. It also has bristly brown hairs. It quickly crawled off, upside down.

green june beetle grub

This interesting critter is a green June beetle grub, Cotinus mutabilis. They are a type of scarab beetle. The larvae (grubs) feed on compost and help with decomposition. They are up to two inches long when mature. Next Spring it will pupate in the soil and emerge as an adult.

The adults have beautiful metallic green wings with brownish-gold at the margins. They congregate in large numbers to feed on various types of soft fruit, which gives them their other common name, figeater beetle. Their normal food in Arizona is prickly pear or saguaro cactus fruit. They also visit our desert willow flowers for nectar.

I only have a photo of a preserved specimen. Don’t worry, all of our preserved bugs died of natural causes.

green june beetle

The adults are even shinier when they are alive. Isn’t it interesting such a “freaky” larva can turn into such a spectacular adult? Talk about the ugly duckling…

By the way, if this grub hadn’t scooted away so quickly, it would probably have been bird food. Grackles love them.

Weekend Science Fun: Putting the Leaves Back on the Trees

October 18, 2008 / Roberta / 0 Comments

Have the leaves come off the trees in your area yet? If so, itâ€™s a great time to take your children out and try to put the leaves back on the trees.

Of course, not literally. Instead, find leaves on the ground and try to figure out which tree they came from.

All you need is a good tree identification guide that shows both leaf shape and bark patterns. First identify the leaf by it’s shape and then find the tree by it’s bark pattern and general shape.

You might start with some trees you know just to see how it works. Remember that leaves blow around. Look for nuts and seeds to match with the trees that produced them, as well. Children really enjoy this if you treat it like a game.

During a quiet moment, have your children take a good look at the trees. Once the trees have lost their leaves, other aspects of their structure are revealed. The texture of the bark, the shape of the branches, even the leaf scars on the twigs. Compare different trees. Close your eyes and feel the bark. Listen. Smell the wood. Do trees smell differently?

You can also take some paper and crayons along and let your child make a few bark rubbings. Place the paper on the trunk of a tree and rub the crayon over the surface. The bumps and grooves in the bark will be revealed. Hold the paper as firmly as possible for the best results. You can also trace the outline of dried leaves from the same tree.

If you donâ€™t have one, here are some examples of tree identification guides. Have fun!

Trees, Leaves & Bark (Take-Along Guide) (Paperback) by Diane Burns

Winter Tree Finder by May T. Watts and Tom Watts

Winter Botany by William Trelease. A cool book on a cool topic!

Trees of North America: A Guide to Field Identification, Revised and Updated by C. Frank Brockman. Rebecca Marrilees

Eastern Trees (Peterson Field Guides) by George A. Petrides, Roger Tory Peterson (Illustrator, Series Editor)

Bird Behavior Update: Glass Mystery Solved?

October 16, 2008 / Roberta / 0 Comments

Several weeks ago I wrote a post about a mystery in our back yard. You may recall that bits of glass were appearing on our patio and in our yard, particularly near where we had water available. I wasnâ€™t sure how the pieces were getting there.

After reading my post, my son â€œconfessedâ€ he was the source of the glass chip. It was from a broken bottle. He also pointed out, however, that he had found bits of glass mosaic near another part of our lawn where water collects periodically.

As you may have figured out from the title of the post and the feather clue, I think the culprit is a bird. We have many birds that regularly visit our yard, including house finches and a variety of doves. But the evidence points to other regular visitors:Â the great-tailed grackles, Quiscalus mexicanus.

great-tailed grackle

The great-tailed grackles look like regular grackles, except the males have a much longer tail. The female great-tailed grackles are brown, whereas female regular grackles are black. The males have iridescent colors on their necks and backs, similar to pigeons. Here is a female:

great-tailed grackle

One of the most striking aspects of great-tailed grackles is the maleâ€™s display to females. The male raises his beak to the sky, straight up. A bunch of males often perform this behavior together.

great-tailed grackle

Why do I think the grackles may be involved in the glass mystery?

Clue Number 1:

Many people have reported that crows and magpies are attracted to shiny objects, and often â€œstealâ€ things away to their nests.

In fact, one of their relatives, the starling, has been caught in the act stealing money from a car wash.

We do get an occasional starling, but the grackles are in the yard for long periods every day.

Clue Number 2:

Grackles are known to dunk hard pieces of food in water to soften them. For evidence, see this video. The video is rather long, but the section that shows the dunking behavior by the birds starts right after the written commentary.

Clue 3. Great-tailed grackles have been reported to drop chicken bones from trash into peopleâ€™s back yards.

Clue 4. Grackles have been reported to toss berries or small stones to one another.

Although the evidence implicates the grackles, I have yet to catch them in the act. They are obviously smart and playful birds and it may be hard to find out for sure what they are up to. If I do, I will let you know.

If you are interested in bird behavior, check these books for more information.

The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior by David Allen Sibley