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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Page A-12
Crawlies with Cri:
Weather
Watch
by Christy Solo
Cave Junction
Thursday, July 22
Sunny
High -- 89 Low -- 55
Friday, July 23
Sunny
High -- 92 Low -- 58
Saturday, July 24
Sunny
High -- 94 Low -- 59
Sunday, July 25
Mostly Sunny
High -- 93 Low -- 58
Monday, July 26
Partly Cloudy
High -- 91 Low -- 59
Tuesday, July 27
Mostly Sunny
High -- 90 Low -- 60
Wednesday, July 28
Mostly Sunny
High -- 92 Low -- 60
Following are the high & low temperatures,
and rainfall recorded at The End of the Road
in O’Brien by Cheryl Johnson:
June
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
High
98.2
96.7
95.6
94.5
93.8
92.8
89.1
Low
52.1
64.2
60.0
64.7
65.4
55.1
53.5
(Photo by Christy Solo, Illinois Valley News)
European wool-carder bee (Anthidium manicatum)
This week’s crawly is
a big, bold bee. Meet the
European wool-carder bee
(Anthidium manicatum).
Accidentally brought to the
Eastern United States in the
early 1960s from England, it
was “Westward ho!” for this
bee until they reached the
West Coast in 2007.
Wool-carder bees are
one of the few bee species
where the males are larger
than the females. At just
over one-half inch in length
with bright yellow spots and
sometimes stripes on their
abdomens, males are easy to
spot.
Male wool-carder bees
fiercely protect a chosen
patch of nectary flowers
from all comers; including
other pollinators and even
hummingbirds. Only female
wool-carders are allowed
to dine from the protected
posies. Male wool-carders
July Rain: 0.00” YTD Rain: 50.15”
aren’t dumb; they know how
to woo the ladies.
While males cannot
sting, they do have spikes
around the lower portion of
their abdomens which they
will use to fight off intruders
if necessary. Generally,
their size alone is sufficient,
especially if other nectar
sources are readily available.
They’ll first fly at an
intruder. If that doesn’t
work, they’ll head butt them,
then they’ll go to wrestling
and as a last resort use their
spikes.
The “wool-carder”
moniker comes from the
way the females build their
nests. A female will use her
toothed mandibles (mouth
parts) to scrape soft hairs
off of plants like yarrow,
mullein and rose campion.
She forms the fibers
into a ball and carries them
back to her chosen nesting
site under her abdomen.
She’ll then use the fibers to
line brood cells in her nest.
Like other solitary bees and
wasps we’ve met, wool-
carders make a nest out of
several cells, laying one
egg in each, then packing in
pollen provisions.
Females use existing
cavities for their brood cells.
Possible nest sites include
cavities in wood such as
those excavated by beetles
or other insects, hollow plant
stems and reeds, crevices
and cracks in walls and
prefabricated “bee hotels.”
Usually made from
bamboo stems slotted into a
house-like form, bee hotels
can be purchased at a variety
of local stores like Grange
Co-op and Walmart.
Females are smaller
than males, less fuzzy and
don’t have abdominal spikes,
but do have stingers.
BY THE YARD:
While wool-carder
bees are generalist feeders
– they’ll drink nectar and
take pollen from a variety
of plants – they do favor the
previously mentioned plants
for nectar and “wool.” They
also like various plants in
the mint family and in the
pea family.
Because wool-carder
bees are non-native, they
tend to prefer non-native
plants both as a food source
and for nest building.
Because of this
preference, you have a good
chance to spot them in your
garden if you have some
non-native flora. Males
will definitely give you the
“once-over” as you pause by
the patch they protect, but
remember – no stingers.
Their bold nature will
give you the opportunity to
observe them closely as they
defend their turf.
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Compost Chicken & Pumice
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WSDA Composted Chicken Manure
Peat Moss
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