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On the fauna side, stray and dumped dogs are crossing up , more and more, with the coyotes, and these hybrids are fast moving toward becoming an entirely new and separate species. Larger, stronger, much more aggressive and prone to "thrill killing" than coyotes, and quite unafraid of people. The mixes that are showing up are VERY formidable animals. 20 some odd years ago, coy mixes were usually limited to single specimens, here and there, not seen in company with others of their kind, now, there ate packs of them, which is the biggest issue. Coyotes will pack, but usually don't stay that way on a permanent basis. These hybrids do. Their pack instinct is far stronger than coyotes.
That is a very, very big concern, and hopefully your division of fish and game is all over it.
These came in about 10 yrs ago from Chinia in a shipment to Allentown PA Have now spread 2 yrs ago my gf in SC was starting to see them in her area.
These are not what I know as a stink bug. Ours are big , black beetles, harmless, but they do spray an unpleasant enzyme, when frightened, pointing their big butts in the air. They are native, part of the desert. When I was in WV, I noticed what you call a "horsefly" is nothing like ours, as well. Yours are green, with wide wings and stubby bodies. Ours are black and grey,, bigger, and much more streamlined. And a much worse bite, quite painful.
The eastern coyote has been breeding with the northern wolves from Canada over the past few decades. Creates a big, bold critter, the size of a German Shepherd that packs year round like a wolf & is no where near as shy as a coyote.
A single one has been known to lure a big dog, like a Rottweiler, into the woods, where the pack awaits and where they'll tear it to pieces. While there is pretty much open hunting season on them, there is no attempt at control from local conservation officers as they are considered " native".
These came in about 10 yrs ago from Chinia in a shipment to Allentown PA Have now spread 2 yrs ago my gf in SC was starting to see them in her area.
Yes. The black marmorated stink bug is an invasive species, and came from China as you noted.
They finally got here 3 years ago and I hate them. They have no predators (except me), but there IS good news on the horizon: birds are developing a taste for them and have been seen attacking them on siding.
We have friends in PA, BTW, and they say it's like a plague there.
The eastern coyote has been breeding with the northern wolves from Canada over the past few decades. Creates a big, bold critter, the size of a German Shepherd that packs year round like a wolf & is no where near as shy as a coyote.
A single one has been known to lure a big dog, like a Rottweiler, into the woods, where the pack awaits and where they'll tear it to pieces. While there is pretty much open hunting season on them, there is no attempt at control from local conservation officers as they are considered " native".
I had to look this up. THIS is spooky? Talk about an impressive predator. I would NOT w:ant these things hanging around.
Another Bug ... But I know its been here before my Grandma spoke of them & once told me a None Toxic way to get rid of them!! BED BUGS! Gone from the US for Over 50 Years! BTW Roaches Love to Eat Bed Bugs
The US Fish and Wildlife Service was in the late 1990s vehemently opposed to the US Department of Agriculture's introduction of exotic biological controls to control salt cedar but I note that at least two Interior Department agencies (National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation) are now using the exotic defoliating beetle to control Tamarix.
Ah yes! Politics and biology. It's interesting to watch but from a distance.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service was in the late 1990s vehemently opposed to the US Department of Agriculture's introduction of exotic biological controls to control salt cedar but I note that at least two Interior Department agencies (National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation) are now using the exotic defoliating beetle to control Tamarix.
Ah yes! Politics and biology. It's interesting to watch but from a distance.
The military base I used to work on had control of a pristine section of the Wassuck range. The second highest peak in NV, actually. They control it as watershed, and its locked up, tight. No public access, period. The main run off area was getting choked up with salt cedar. The amount of water they were soaking up was staggering.
Anyway, the Army cut a project to get rid of them. A crew of a couple hundred, with chainsaws, marched through the canyon. Backhoes and dozers pushed the stumps up for hauling off to burn. The stumps that the equipment couldn't get to were painted with some kind of sealer, that , supposedly, would prevent them from branching out again, and would choke the roots out.
It was a big project. Last I was up there, in 2013, the damn things were still coming back. They are a noxious weed. Thing is, there are still wide swaths of this stuff at the mouth of the canyon, on private land, and people in the area still have them for ornamentation and windbreak. Same with Russian olive and Tree of Heaven.
... and people in the area still have them for ornamentation and windbreak. Same with Russian olive and Tree of Heaven.
Same thing in New Mexico.
Argh! You reminded me that my wife at our Albuquerque home has let one of those blasted "Trees of Hell" grow up behind one of our storage sheds. I last saw it this past summer and already it was more than I will be able to cut down myself because of the postage stamp-sized lot the house is on.
Out here in west Texas we also have salt cedar, Russian olive and Trees of Heaven. Several years ago we inherited a Texas South Plains home property in a small town from my wife's parents. They had allowed ToHs to grow up over their septic tank so those were the first things that went to the dumpster. I also had to clear out a small forest of Chinese elms they had also allowed to grow up behind the garages. I think Chinese elms were brought out here in the early part of the 20th century as wind breaks.
The one thing good about the rural Texas South Plains, which is where our farm is located, is that we have very few trees. The bad thing is that the few trees we do try to have are hard to keep alive. I have the water hose running on a half-dead desert willow as I write this.
Out here on the rural South Plains, our primary noxious curse is Russian thistle (tumbleweeds).
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