Native Pollinators Part 2: The Pioneers of April

Huge grains of pine pollen cover everything for awhile in April.

The Lynnhaven watershed occupies a fortunate location where extremes of weather are rare and generally short, and flora and fauna of all varieties can count on the same conditions month in and month out, nearly every year. However, those species which emerge at the spring seasonal margin must be hardy in order to survive April’s weather fluctuations. The earliest-emerging native bees, for instance, have fur coats, reserves of stored energy and live in protective shelters. But generally speaking, by April, nature starts opening the grocery store and the wild rush of seasonal shopping gets under way.

Delicate shadbush (or Serviceberry) blossoms provide brief sustenance for pollinators such as hover flies.

Things move along quickly in April as the days lengthen and the earth warms. I kept a thumbnail list of what I saw as it appeared. So on April 1st I noticed the buds in the very tops of trees were beginning to color and quicken; on the 2nd a carpenter bee noisily inspected me; on the 3rd, a paper wasp prowled our garden; on the 5th a Prothonotary warbler, an Eastern bumblebee, and a very early, very tiny butterfly; on the 6th the first of the fleeting Shadbush blooms; on the 10th “our” Five-lined skink, a big female, came out to lounge and sun herself on the front porch; on the 15th the exotic Sweetleaf blossoms began to open and bumblebees showed up to notice; and on the 17th I saw the first dragonflies, dining on insects too small to see, as well as an early Swallowtail butterfly. 

Of course all this activity depends on the food web and that web has as its foundation the emerging stems, leaves and flowers of native plants. With rare exception, native pollinators are not attracted to non-native species. 

Though non-native, dandelions sustain a variety of insects during the chilly months, especially in suburban areas.  Here we see a pollen-laden Andrena mining-bee moving to another blossom.

By and large, April is the province of the furry bees, such as mason bees, mining bees and bumble and carpenter bees, but they have vast armies of help in the pollinating work they do. Jewel-like Syrphid flies, known collectively by names like “flower flies” and “hover flies,” begin their emergence. Paper wasps that survived the winter as adults try to find mates and begin to forage for nectar while beginning their work as master builders. There are also many types of beetles and bugs that contribute to the pollination. Almost all of these animals become active on any day the temperature reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but all have strategies to cope with the variability of the April weather.

The beautiful blossoms of the Eastern Redbud attract bumblebees and other pollinators.

Some of these individuals, notably the mining bees, will spend only 6 to 8 weeks as free-roaming, working adults. Others, like the large and durable carpenter, have relatively long lives lasting for months. Collectively, these are the animals that show up when the weather is often bad, the work is difficult and life is dangerous. You have to be tough and resourceful to be an April insect.

Among the many dangers pollinators face is the presence of predators, such as this assassin bug seen here on a Common Sweetleaf bud.

Guest writer: Robert Brown, LRNow Stewardship and Access Committee

Native Pollinators, Part 1

"Charismatic mini-fauna"

It’s likely that most people reading this are familiar with the conservation issues related to the European Honeybee and the Monarch Butterfly, animals I refer to as “charismatic mini-fauna.”  Of course the honeybee is economically important to the pollination of numerous food crops as well as its honey production, and the monarchs are the bright, lilting ballet stars of summer gardens that fly thousands of miles to winter in Mexico.  These characteristics endow them with popularity and publicity, but they are not alone in the pressures they face to survive the chemically dangerous, habitat-poor environment of 2015 and beyond. Invertebrates of all types, from wasps to snails, face enormous challenges which they have no power to control. Lynnhaven River NOW was created to help restore the habitat of a very charismatic and tasty invertebrate, the Lynnhaven Oyster.  From this single idea arose an amazing web of activities that benefit animals and plants of all types throughout the watershed.

Some plants, such as pine trees, are able to pollinate using only the wind, as your soon-to-be-yellow car will attest, but the majority of plants need an agent to fill this role.  Native pollinators of all types, principally bees, wasps, beetles, flies, moths and butterflies, carry out this work in a bewildering variety of ways.  Some are specific to a single plant, some are attracted to certain plant families, and some are generalists.  Many emerge in timing with their host plant’s blooming, and live brief adult lives, while some carry on for months, even overwintering in a torpid state to start the next generation the following spring.

Mining bees (Andrena sp.) are an interesting example of pollinators timing their emergence to coincide with the arrival of the blossoms they help pollinate. Some species of these bees,
beginning in the erratic weather of late February and early March, tunnel their way out of the sandy nesting burrows dug and provisioned by their mothers the previous year, and fly up into the trees to find mates, dine and do their pollinating work.  Like most of the “solitary” bees and wasps, the life cycle of the mining bee is interesting, but obscured by the fact that up to 11 months of it are spent in burrows of different sorts.  Most people hardly know of their existence, much less how important they are.  

Buzz About Bees

It is possible, however, for you to meet many of these charming and interesting characters face to face right in your own yard.  By planting native flowering plants and herbs such as oregano and thyme and paying just a little bit of attention, you will be surprised at the new neighbors who show up for dinner.  Laney and I live in a condo, but we have managed to
create a (mostly small container) garden that attracts and supports many species of beautiful little animals.  Because of the relative environmental stability of where we live, we know that the bumblebees that visit us this summer are the offspring of the ones that visited us last summer.  That we are sustaining generation after generation is a delightful thing to think about when they start to reappear.

So just say no to impatiens!  And pesticide.  By planting natives and herbs, you will be helping in the conservation of these wonderful, colorful, and vitally important creatures.

Here are some good resources to help get you started:

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation/

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Guest writer: Robert Brown, LRNow Stewardship and Access Committee

Catch that Spat!

This year's spat catcher program has supplied the Lynnhaven River with 1,876 new oysters to continue growing, filtering, and reproducing in the river! 

Every year, volunteers around the watershed hang small wire cages (10"x 10" x 6") from their docks. One cage is filled with oyster shells while the other cage is filled with crushed concrete. The cages remain hanging from the docks for about 6 months from June through January. Volunteers pull their cages out of the water every month or so, give them a few shakes to keep them from becoming too muddy, and then put them back in the water to continue growing.

From about mid-June through October or November, oysters reproduce in the river and spat (larvae) floating through the water during this time discover the cages and settle on this substrate.

In January, once oysters stop actively growing for the winter, volunteers pull their cages out of the water and bring them to us. We then sift through lots of marsh critters and mud to count the number of spat from each cage. The point of counting the spat is to help us better understand the distribution of spat throughout the river, based on the location of each volunteer's cage.

"Marsh critters"

During the very successful 2014 spat catching season we discovered all kinds of interesting creatures scattered among the cages, including feather blennies, oyster toadfish, striped killifish, a black-fingered mud crab, and much more. Thanks to all of the hard work put forth by our volunteers, we are thrilled to announce that the total number of oyster spat collected by all fifteen volunteers was 1,876 spat! 951 of those were found in the shell cages while the other 925 spat were in the cages with crushed concrete. After the spat was counted, they were then placed on a sanctuary reef near First Landing State Park. 

Using the data collected we have found an increase in the amount of oyster spat in the river. In 2013, the total number of spat collected by all 25 volunteers was 1,319, including 520 from the Elizabeth River. These numbers give us a good indication that spat settlement in the Lynnhaven River during the summer of 2014 was better than during the summer of the previous year, which is great news! This also means that our 2014 oyster restoration projects probably fared well with natural spat settlement!

This data also helped confirm that crushed concrete can perform very well as a substitute for shell in future oyster reef restoration projects. Crushed concrete is a great alternative to limited and expensive oyster shell. 

Number of Spat Collected in 2013 & 2014:

	2013	2014
# Spat Shell Cage	499	951
# Spat Concrete Cage	820	925
Total # Spat	1,319 (520 from Elizabeth River)	1,876

You can read more about the spat catcher program in the Virginian Pilot Beacon article written by Mary Reid Barrow here. 

We couldn't make this program happen without our volunteers! If you would like to become a volunteer for the Spat Catcher Program please contact our Restoration Project Coordinator, Meredith Malone.

Written by: Emily Bodsford
Edited by: Meredith Malone and Trista Imrich

Balloon Debris Isn't Litter? Wildlife Disagrees, and so Do We!

In Virginia, though a balloon would be considered litter if it were thrown from a car window, if up to 50 of them are purposely released, they are not considered litter. We began the discussion about balloons and the dangers they pose to the environment and wildlife last year when the issue of balloons as litter went before our local city legislature. Though this bill was passed at a local level, due to the Dillon Rule, it must now go to the state level for approval, and it needs continued support. Bill SB1107 has being introduced by Sen. Jeff McWaters and is currently awaiting a vote in the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee. Considering the danger that these balloons, their strings, and other accessories can pose to wildlife, Lynnhaven River NOW strongly supports the ban on balloon releases. Find out who your legislator is here, and let them know that you support banning intentional balloon releases.

http://balloonsblow.org/photo-gallery/guillemot

You can find more information about the bill here.

There is more information regarding each side of the issue available at these sites:

• Balloons Blow... Don't Let Them Go! 
• The Balloon Council 

http://balloonsblow.org/photo-gallery

Blog composed by Trista Imrich, Pearl Homes Coordinator, Lynnhaven RIver NOW

Resolve to be Pearly in 2015!

So much of the progress we have made in restoring our waterways is a result of the great work our residents are doing to change their practices and adopt more sustainable behaviors. These PEARL HOMES are all over Virginia Beach. PEARL HOMES are places where people care about our community and our environment and want to do what they can to live responsibly and help protect our resources

Since 2012, we have been working with homeowners to change their practices and adopt more sustainable behaviors. We have already reached just over 2,000 pearl homes in Virginia Beach, and are adding new folks all the time.

If you are already doing 15 of these practices, you qualify to become a Pearl Home!

Pledge to "Scoop the Poop" if you are a pet owner Installed a "Scoop the Poop" sticker on my black trash can  Reduced my lawn area and converted it to a planted bed  Chose native plants for my landscape and avoided invasive species  Did not feed ducks and geese  Planted a tree  Switched from bottled water to a reusable water bottle that I refill  Buy locally made products whenever possible  Consistently use reusable grocery bags  Helped with one of LRNow's River Cleanups during the past year  Installed Lynnhaven River storm drain markers in my neighborhood  Installed a rain barrel or cistern to reduce the runoff from my property  Installed a rain garden to reduce runoff, hold storm water and give it a chance to infiltrate  Grew oysters for our conservation reefs  Drove fewer miles, consciously eliminating unnecessary trips, used public transportation or a bicycle  Chose a more fuel efficient vehicle Consistently recycle or reuse  Reduced my fertilizer use to be more water friendly Pumped out the holding tank on my boat  Display a River Keeper sticker on my boat  Switched to marine approved cleaning products for my boat  Became a member of Lynnhaven River NOW and helped support our work  Serve on one of LRNow's Committees  Installed a Buffer Garden between my lawn and the waterway or between my lawn and the street  Installed a programmable thermostat or purchased energy efficient appliances  Installed low-flow faucets and/or toilets  Did an energy efficiency renovation on my home (new windows, increased insulation, new heating and air conditioning system, etc)  Dispose of hazardous waste properly (batteries, paint, etc)  Heard an LRNow presentation at my Civic League, Garden Club, Rotary or other civic organization (email trista@lrnow.org to set this up!)  Participated in a LRNow workshop or program  Communicated with one of my elected officials about an environmental issue  Composted leaves, grass clippings and kitchen waste  Raised the mower blades to 3 inches or higher to keep the lawn a little longer and healthier  Turned off the sprinklers and irrigated less frequently, only when really needed  Got a soil test before applying any fertilizer  Kept the gutter area in front of my home clear of dirt, leaves and debris to prevent these from going into the storm water drain  Redirected my downspout into a planted bed away from paved surfaces  Installed pervious pavers in place of concrete or blacktop  Created a backyard habitat for wildlife  Switched to an electric mower or a push mower  Keep a grease can in my kitchen and reduced or eliminated my use of the garbage disposal  Line dry my laundry whenever possible  Recruited a new Pearl Home  Installed a living shoreline  Grow some of my own fruits and vegetables  Turn off lights and appliances when not in use

You can apply here online, or fill out an application at our office (3663 Marlin Bay Dr, Brock Environmental Center) or at one of our events.