Past Events
Winged and Crawling Creatures Entrance Kids at Bug Nite - 6/14/08
More than 45 kids, and kids in adult bodies, caught, studied and released a bunch of bugs during Saturday’s Bug Nite, sponsored by the Back Country Land Trust at Wright’s Field.
According to entomologist, aka ‘bug expert’, Michael Klein, the children captured more than 45 species of invertebrates. In case you were wondering, about 95% of living animals are invertebrates, which by definition include spiders, insects, worms, and even shellfish.
The turnout included 13 of the Waterworth family. Bill and Ann Waterworth arrived this year with 11 family members, with the youngest at 2 months. Grandpa Bill even turned 79 during the event.
During the night, white sheets set up next to ultraviolet lights duped insects into thinking the bright sheet was a huge flower. Insects land on the sheets searching for nectar, allowing their collection into small cubes with a magnifying lens on the top. With adults and children huddled around his table, Klein identified leafhoppers, treehoppers, owlet moths, geometrid moths, micro-leps of the leafminer groups, muscid flies, ichneumonid and brachonid wasps, ground, scarab, leaf and long-horned beetles.
One exciting find was a side-blotched lizard that one of the kids caught and stroked its belly and put it to sleep. Another find was a multicolored centipede (Scolopendra polymorpha), which reaches up to four inches in length. Klein explained to the crowd that it likes to remain under rocks or logs. “Its legs look intimidating but don’t cause any problem except the last pair, which is capable of pinching. The pinch is not poisonous but it does bite and can sometimes be pretty painful, though is believed to not be harmful to humans.”
Klein says that Bug Nite added another eight to the growing invertebrate list in Wright’s Field, which numbers 180 species to-date. During the school year, Joan McQueen Middle School students in 8th grade teacher Brendon Casey’s science class added 25 more to the list in their work with Klein to document species in Wright’s Field.
One of the little girls, about 5 to 6 years old, was especially proficient in bug catching and brought Klein a number of specimens. “After I identified it, she would usually say, ‘That’s what I thought it was.’ Maybe a future entomologist,” says Klein.
Nature Walk at Wright's Field - 11/10/07
Wildlife biologist Michael Klein, the enthusiastic host of the popular Bug Nite event held in June, hosted a relaxing nature walk at Wright’s Field. Traversing the oak woodlands, sage scrub, chaparral, and then through the riparian area up to the preserve's grasslands, Klein focused on the animals and insects found in the preserve, along with how plants and animals are surviving the drought years.
Annual BCLT Native Plant Sale - 11/03/07
The November 3rd annual BCLT Native Plant sale was a big success, with Don Hohimer's talk prior to the sale a popular addition. Don, whose native plant garden has been featured on several CHIRP (The Center to Help Instill Respect & Preservation for Garden Wildlife, Inc.) Garden Tours, provided particulars about each plant for sale, along with the water-saving and wildlife attributes of natives.
Read some of Don Hohimer's native plant tips on his favorite native plants for a good start on your own garden.
A big "Thanks" to Don Hohimer!