Pseudacteon and Solenopsis geminata There is a new genus of flies on bugguide.net now. It's not a newly discovered genus. The website just happened not to have any information on it yet. The genus is one I've had my eye on for years, pretty much since I moved to Austin. I recall that in the mid-90s, Dr. Gilbert was doing research on these flies. They're special because they keep Texas native fire ants in check. They do this by laying their eggs on fire ants. The grubs burrow their way into the heads of the fire ants, where they live until they emerge as adult flies. They're commonly called phorid flies, or Phoridae, but this is a large and diverse family. The members of this family this blog entry is about is just one of the genera in the family, Pseudacteon, the fire ant decapitating flies.

Fire ants -- those two words are enough to strike fear in many people. Listen to the radio or watch TV for a period of time and you will eventually see advertisements to get rid of these pesky creatures. The fire ants the ads are about, though, are the imported fire ants from South America, Solenopsis invicta.Hymenoptera - Formicidae - Solenopsis geminata Why are the commercials about the imported ants rather than the native ones? They're closely related. The ones native to Texas are Solenopsis geminata. But the imported ones don't have to worry about the parasites that haunt the natives. That includes species of fire ant decapitating flies. The thing is, though, that the flies that infest one species of ant don't infest the other. Interestingly, Texas fire ants have been introduced to South America just like their ants were introduced here. And the bigger pest to the South Americans are the Texas native fire ants, because the parasites that keep them at bay are not found there.

Most Texans know that fire ants are evil and that they wreak havoc on other wildlife, including other ants. When I first became aware of Dr. Gilbert's research, I heard him speaking on the radio how the imported fire ants had killed the native ones all over the countryside. Interestingly, in town, there were pockets of the natives. The explanation for how the natives survived in town but not in the country goes something like this.

Pseudacteon and Solenopsis geminata The imported fire ants, having effectively no predators to worry about, wreak havoc wherever they go because there is nothing to stop them. Mounds frequently have multiple queens, thus allowing them to multiply rapidly. If they expand into the territory of other ants, war ensues, and the imported ants typically win the battle, because they have allies -- the predators of the native ants. However, people generally hate fire ants, they buy poison, and kill the fire ants.

Because they don't have a fear of predators, they build large mounds, and boil out of them when the mounds are disturbed. This catches the attention of people, who dispatch them pretty quickly. However, not everyone poisons ants, so there are areas around town where they are safe. If they don't move, they don't get killed, and imported fire ants that try to settle next door are dispatched by the neighbors who hate fire ants. It's an interesting scenario, because it requires both people who kill fire ants and people who don't.

Anyway, in the mid-1990s, Dr. Gilbert was looking for areas around town where there were pockets of native fire ants. There are some miniscule details that can be used to tell them apart, but the easiest way is to look for the largest workers. The ones that are native to Texas have huge heads (see the picture on the right, above) compared to the size of the rest of their bodies. The imported fire ants also have large and small workers, but the large ones just look like bigger versions of the small ones.

So today I was out in the yard and noticed the ants were swarming in my black bamboo pot. Like bees, ants periodically swarm. New queens and drones emerge from the nest with wings. They fly off to start a new colony somewhere else. Pictured here is a drone. A drone has a large thorax and a relatively small, dark head. They exist only to procreate at the start of a new colony. After they've done their duty, they die, and the queen takes over running the colony. She instructs the workers what to do using pheromones, chemical signals that they pick up with their antennae.

An alate queen is about the same size as a drone, but her head is bigger, and it's a brown color rather than being nearly black. The queen also has a larger abdomen. The queens are also more fastidiously cared for by the workers. During a swarm, the queens typically will be surrounded by workers, while the drones wander around mostly solitary. Alate queens are new queens that have wings. Mature reproductive queens lose their wings when they settle in to their new home.

When phorid flies are around, the ants don this curious defensive posture, tucking their abdomens forward, under their heads. However, as the Borg say, resistance is futile. The flies have the advantage of the air, and they're quite nimble fliers. A gravid female swoops in on the ant, laying her egg on her. The egg hatches, and the larva eats its way into the head of the ant.

Consult any arborist worth his salt, and he'll generally tell you that when maintaining a tree, you should prune crossing limbs and dead branches, at the very least. These items don't require any artistic talent -- just some basic observation. Look at a branch, and if it's dead, cut it off.

The problem I see with such a scheme is that a very important part of the environment gets excluded that way. Death is part of life and has a value. I suggest this value is not just a concept, but can be important to us.

To illustrate, I note that this year we seem to have more woodpeckers than normal. Is this related to the drought? I don't know, but I love having the woodpeckers around.

Red-bellied Woodpecker Here is a picture of a red bellied woodpecker that has been hanging around the Buckley oak (often referred to locally as a Spanish oak) growing between my yard and my next door neighbor's yard.

I don't think I've ever seen a red bellied woodpecker prior to this year. Maybe I just haven't been observant enough. It's fun to have him around.

If you hear something that sounds like a squirrel barking, check to see if it really is a squirrel, or maybe it's a red bellied woodpecker. I find the calls to be similar, and more than once, I've thought a squirrel was scolding, when it was really this woodpecker.

Woodpeckers are creatures that depend upon death. Not just the death of the food they eat, but other death. They nest in the hollows of trees. These hollows are generally made in rotten wood. Why? Because it's easier to dig. If you had to make your home by bashing your head repeatedly into wood, you'd prefer it to be soft, wouldn't you?Red Bellied Woodpecker

Dead wood is not only for their housing, though. Many species of woodpecker rely on grubs under the bark for sustenance. The branch of the tree may die, but the reason for this death may well be a meal for a beautiful bird.

Here you see the woodpecker probing under the bark of one of the tree's limbs for food. I'd thought of trimming off the dead branches from this tree, but if that means no more woodpeckers, I'd rather not. Besides, the tree is technically in my neighbor's yard.

Woodpeckers peck wood not just for building their homes and for finding food, they also do it for communication.

I've noticed that in our neighborhood, the red bellied woodpeckers like to pound on the horizontal pieces of the utility poles. I guess they're using the telephone poles for their wireless telecommunication.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Partly as an aid to myself to learn musicians' names, I started organizing pictures of musicians on facebook.

John Mills Unfortunately, facebook has had issues recently with pictures disappearing, so I'm moving that project over to my own site. This will give me more control of the pictures, too. The advantage of facebook is that friends can help me identify people I've not been able to identify. I think facebook will remain the best way to do that. Meanwhile, I'll start working on using my site to show the best portraits. It's a work in progress, so bear with me as I work through all the pictures.

I've also added a folder of collections of instrument pictures. This way, I can look someone up by what instrument they play. I'm not quite sure at this point whether this should be a public or a private folder. So you may or may not be able to see it.

Actually, it's not so much pictures of instruments as it is pictures of the musicians sorted by what instrument they play. If they play multiple instruments, they will be listed in several categories.

I'm learning that I need to get better at recognizing instruments. I suspect, for example, that I have some alto and tenor saxophones confused. At a glance, I think most tenor saxes have an inflection point in the neck that is not present in altos, but that's not a universal generalization. And, of course, tenors are bigger than altos.

Also, I'm not sure I know the difference between bongos and congas. I guess congas are taller.

Sometimes there will be specific significance to an instrument, and I may pay special attention to it. An example would be Tony Campise's bass flute, which, last I heard is being kept by Kris Kimura.

I do miss hearing Tony play that flute. The sound he was able to produce with it was hauntingly beautiful, even able to quiet a rowdy crowd. I do have pictures, but they're not on the website yet.

It is still possible to hear bass flute at the Elephant Room by going there when Kris Kimura is playing. I was going to go last night, in fact, but it was too difficult for me to stay away. I ended up going to bed instead. Perhaps next month.

Every now and then, I'm fortunate enough to witness the first public playing of a new instrument. The most recent occurrence of this was Ephraim Owens' new flugelhorn. Ephraim explained during the New Year 2012 show, that he bought a flugelhorn that was too difficult to play in tune. It was not in tune with itself, and it was too much work to compensate. He returned it and got this one instead. It's a beautiful instrument. Time will tell whether this instrument passes his quality test. It sounded great to me, other than the issue with the condensation. There's a spit valve, but Ephraim used a baton twirling-like motion to clear the condensation that was apparently more effective than using the spit valve.

Another special instrument was the accordian played by George Oldziey. I had no idea until the song was announced, that there would be a debut performance. I decided to record the performance and ask permission afterward. Fortunately, Suzi Stern approved. You can watch this performance on my vimeo site or on youtube. The song was written by Suzi Stern in memory of her dear friend Tina Marsh.

Again, this is a work in progress. If you see anything filed incorrectly, please don't hesitate to let me know, so I can move things around appropriately.