Lessons from an Strange Critter

   Last week, I tried to salvage some "baby" azalea bushes from the huge ones flanking the lane.  Those have overgrown the area and need to be trimmed so any rooted limbs were pulled and promptly put in five gallon buckets of water with intentions of transplanting as soon as possible.  Well, a week came and went.  The young bushes are still sitting in water but, as standing water is prone to do, the buckets became a magnet for mosquitoes hunting for a place to lay eggs.  Periodically, it was necessary to empty the buckets and put fresh water around the roots. Yesterday when I did this, not only were lots of "wiggle-tails" (mosquito larvae) found, there was a huge larva of some sort.  I was taken aback at the sight of this thing!  For some reason, anything that has a body that is clear enough to see the inner organs becomes unsettling, plus, this thing had a long "stinger-like" thing on its tail!!  It was weird! Research time.

  This rather startling looking critter is not that threatening.  It is called a "rattail maggot" for obvious reasons. The critter is about 2 1/2 inches in length and is the larva of a dronefly or hoverfly (both names for the same fly).  That ominous looking "stinger" is how the critter breathes!  It is used as sort of a snorkel, of sorts.  (Told you it was weird!) The critter poses no threat to humans as it does not bite nor sting.  It merely goes about pollinating plants while being mistaken as a bee or biting fly of some sort.  Thankfully, the odd looking larva was saved and can live to adulthood.  

  There are two thing that I gathered from this encounter.  One...sometimes clarity or being overly clear can be unnerving.  It is not always pertinent to "lay everything on the table" (especially on social media).  Other people do not need to be filled in on every aspect of your life.  Some things are best left unsaid and unseen.  Two...it is easy to be mislead by appearances, not only with critters, but with people.  Sometimes, those with seemingly perfect lives are struggling.  Be kind to all.

Mosquito Munchers!

  Early this afternoon, I took a break from painting the arbor that Son just built.  It is a fine arbor that is to replace the termite-ridden one.  Painting anything around here always seems to be my job.  I do not mind but this afternoon, I needed a break from the ladder so the pier called.  While there, I noticed that the tide was really low.  In fact, what we call "The Cut" (a small inlet) was completely empty.  Only a few small puddles remained on the mudflats but those puddles were teaming with minnows.  The bull minnows (Gulf Killifish) had obviously hatched a few days back and were happily enjoying the warm weather until the north wind pushed the tide far out from shore.  Now they were stranded in tiny puddles.  There was no exit to larger bodies of water and this put them in extreme danger.  The little minnows were trapped and were literally "sitting ducks".  Any birds that wanted a quick and easy meal could catch its fill in a matter of minutes.  It is amazing that any survive these low tides.

  Gulf Killifish are resilient little critters.  They usually live in the brackish waters but can easily adapt to fresh or salty water.  As in their case today, they can also adapt to live in hardly no water!  In fact, those that get stranded on the mudflats will simply wiggle down beneath the sloppy mud and wait for the tide to come in again.  The fish can go for hours on end hovering just beneath the mud.  Another strange fact that shows their hardiness is that often after a female lays her eggs, they become stuck to marsh grass.  If the tide goes out (like the past few days), the eggs are suspended with no water.  They can last for up to two weeks and still be viable!  When the tide does fill the marsh again, the eggs are able to hatch and the baby fish show no ill effects from being high and dry.

  It was good to see so many baby bull minnows in the puddles today but I hope that they survive.  These little fish are good for our health.  One of the most important parts of their diet is the mosquito larva.  A single adult killifish can devour hundreds of mosquito larvae in a day.  Not only is this highly important in view of the disease that mosquitoes can carry but, for any of us living around here, it means a few less mosquitoes to aggravate us.  We owe a big thank you to this tiny fish!