Snowy Tree Crickets by Caleigh Ryan-Melville

Snowy Tree Cricket (Oecanthus niveus) Photo: Caleigh Ryan-Melville

Green, semi-transparent, communicators: three words that describe Oecanthus niveus. I first discovered this cute little insect as I was pruning some suckers off a tree in my front yard back in September. After quickly taking a few pictures, I uploaded them to the app, Picture Insect, to help me identify the insect that is commonly known as a snowy tree cricket.

Part of a larger order called Orthoptera, Oecanthus niveus are omnivorous creatures, feeding on leaves, fungi, fruit, and smaller insects, such as aphids [5]. Their chewing mouthparts create damage on leaves that appears as though a bite has been taken out of them. 

While snowy tree crickets aid home gardeners by eating aphids, they are actually a household pest due to their habit of eating fabric. To prevent crickets from entering the home, maintain weeds in ornamental beds, keep piles of wood or rock away from the home, seal cracks around the foundation, and ensure there are no spaces at the bottom of exterior doors. If a cricket does enter the home, it can be vacuumed [1].

Snowy Tree Cricket (Oecanthus niveus) Photo: Caleigh Ryan-Melville

Female Oecanthus niveus have a narrower body, while males have a rounder abdomen. Males have a marking along their posterior abdomen that consists of three lines that look like a diagonal, upside-down F. Based on the abdomen shape and marking, the cricket in my yard appears to be a male [4].

Oecanthus niveus has one of the identifiable characteristics for insects in the class orthoptera: long, “hind legs modified for jumping” [2].  A common characteristic of the Gryllidae family that is shared by the snow tree cricket is the antennae that are as long as the body (if not longer.) This family consists of “true crickets,” and they are the only family capable of maintaining constant pitch to communicate with other cricket [3].

 

Male.

Drawing by B. B. Fulton (from Plate V, c, Fulton 1915).

During my deep dive into the snowy-tree cricket, I was interested to find that they are also known as the “thermometer cricket” since the frequency (or speed) of their chirps change with their temperature. The recordings on the Orthopterist Society’s website (linked here) demonstrate that the chirps become more frequent in warmer weather than cooler weather. You could actually do some math to use the number of chirps per minute as a measure of outdoor temperature [4].

 

References

1. Colorado State University. (2015). Colorado pest identification handbook (8th ed.). Retrieved September 29, 2024, from https://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/ipm/Colorado%20Pest%20ID%20Handbook%208-18-15.pdf
2. North Carolina State University. (n.d.). Order Orthoptera. Retrieved September 29, 2024, from https://genent.cals.ncsu.edu/insect-identification/order-orthoptera/
3. North Carolina State University (n.d.) Family Gryllidae. Retrieved September 29, 2024, from https://genent.cals.ncsu.edu/insect-identification/order-orthoptera/family-gryllidae/
4. Orthopterist Society. (n.d.) Snowy Tree Cricket. Orthopterist Society. https://orthsoc.org/sina/585a.htm
5. University of Wyoming. (n.d.). Oecanthus niveus (DeGeer). Retrieved September 29, 2024, from

https://www.uwyo.edu/entomology/grasshoppers/colorado/fact-sheets/oecanthus.html#:~:text=In%20Colorado%20Oecanthus%20niveus%20(DeGeer,to%20the%20 eastern%20 mountain%20 foothills.

More than a Warm Wool Sweater by Patty Coughlin

 

Capella Ranch, Lafayette All photos by Patty Caughlin

Last May, I had the opportunity to visit the Bee Huts at Capella Ranch in Lafayette, CO.  While touring the Ranch, I saw the sight above. It looked like snow, but after talking with Carolyn, one of the owners, she told me that this was “waste wool” from sheep that was covering the new plants and seeds! My curiosity was piqued - I had never heard of wool being used for gardening mulch, so I decided to investigate.

 

Most of the studies on wool mulch, I found, have been done using sheep wool.  While most of the wool obtained during shearing is used in textile production, 20% of it - the “waste wool” from the hind area and underbelly, is discarded.  During Covid, when interest in home gardening exploded, this waste wool, an organic, biodegradable substance, found its niche.

 What are the benefits of using ‘waste wool’ in the garden?

• Water savings
• Fertilization
• Increased porosity of hard clay soils
• Pest control

Wool acts like a sponge, holding up to 20 to 30 times its weight in water. Think of wearing a wool sweater in the rain. Wool “wicks away” water from the skin.  When mixed into the soil, wool holds the water closer to the plant roots, allowing a “slow release” action, helping to avoid overwatering.  In turn, this aids in water conservation.  Albert Wilde, a 6^th generation sheep rancher from Utah who has patented the development of wool pellets as a gardening supplement, worked with university research teams, conducting a “wilt study.”   This study involved planting identical plants in 4” pots, each with an equal amount of water to start, then observing how long it took the plants to die without the reintroduction of water.  Here is what they found: 

• Traditional soil had wilting plants on days 1 and 2 and dead plants on days 5 and 6
• Soil married with wool had wilting plants on days 7 and 8 and then dead plants on day 14

Wool is also an excellent fertilizer.  Wool is high in Nitrogen (9.3-14% compared to compost which contains 1-2%) and it biodegrades slowly, typically over 1 – 2 years.  Wilde, in conjunction with Utah State University Extension researchers, found that greenhouse-grown tomatoes could be market-ready in half the time if wool pellets were added to the soil (76 days (about 2 and a half months) to 38 days).  They liked the nitrogen pop!

Because of its ability to absorb so much water, wool can also aid in breaking apart impacted clay soils, thus increasing the passage of oxygen and nutrients to the plant roots.

Finally, observational studies have shown some benefits in pest control.  The shaft of the sheep wool fiber contains barbs.  Think about how wool is “scratchy” on the skin.  This is due to the barbs on the wool fibers.  Slugs and aphids may be deterred by the barbs, though I could not find any research studies to verify this.  There have been some reports of the deer being repelled by the smell of the wool. 

Waste wool can be purchased from local ranchers, and wool pellets can be purchased online from several sources.  I just googled “waste wool” and multiple sites popped up. 

"After" showing plants growing with wool mulch

So next time you put on your warm wool sweater, remember the agricultural benefits of wool mulch!

“4 Reasons to introduce wool into your garden”, American Wool, May 21, 2021. 
https://www.americanwool.org/4-reasons-to-introduce-wool-into-your-garden/ 

“Wool: A Natural Bio-Enhancement for Gardens”, Jaelyn Whaley, South Dakota State University Extension, June 6, 2024. 
https://extension.sdstate.edu/wool-natural-bio-enhancement-gardens#:~:text=Wool%20increases%20soil%20water%20holding%20capacity.&text=Mixing%20wool%20into%20the%20soil,sustainable%20way%20to%20conserve%20water 

“The Use of Wool in Compost and other Alternative Applications”, Ohio State University Sheep Team, Dr. Cate Williams, March 23, 2021. 
https://u.osu.edu/sheep/2021/03/23/the-use-of-wool-in-compost-and-other-alternative-applications/ 

Special thanks to Carolyn Peterson, owner of Capella Ranch for allowing me to visit the Ranch and take pictures!

 

 

 

Ants and Aphids Have Each Other's Back by Angelica Elliott

 

Photo: Pexels

Late last summer, something strange caught my attention while weeding around a Cosmo plant. I noticed a black blob on the plant's main stem. As I got closer to inspect, I realized it was a thick colony of black aphids (family Aphididae), and from my experience, where there are aphids, there will likely be ants.