A lot of folks look at critters as more a nuisance than a help especially when those critters are of the creepy-crawly sort. Let one insect invade the garden and toxic chemicals are dumped by the boatload onto the plants. Let one spider spin a web on the porch and flyswatters and bug sprays are used in force. Let a spider creep into the house and full out panic ensues. KILL! This is all that crosses the mind. It is a shame as a lot of these critters are more of a help than a hindrance and not all are as creepy as folks imagine.
We are in a war with termites and wood borers. While I can be found in the corner rooting for most critters, there are a few that have earned my disdain. Termites and wood borers are perfectly fine if they stay away from my abode but let them attack the Little Bayou House and something has to be done! We are doing. The entire place is being stripped of siding, inspected, sprayed and rebuilt. It is a time consuming, difficult task but worth the effort.
Yesterday, I found that we had an army coming to our aid. This army is made of critter soldiers. Spiders! Spiders of every sort are here to lend a helping hand and I appreciate their efforts. I watched as a spider devoured its prey under the railing on the back porch. A wood borer had become ensnared in the spider's web and the spider was making quick work of the beast! Good job, Lady Spider! She made haste in subduing the critter and then wrapped it in silk. The wrapped beetle was pulled way into the corner so she could dine at her leisure. I congratulated her upon her capture and thanked her profusely. What a big help this spider is! I ensured her that she would never be harmed and never shooed away from the porch. She was fully welcome to call the Little Bayou House her home.
It seems strange to me that folks will kill every critter without asking if they are friends or foes. Most spiders fall into the first category. They are friends. Without their help, our places would soon fill with unsavory characters that mean harm. A single spider can catch thousands of nuisance critters during their lifetime. Yep, Lady Spider can stay!
Lace is an openwork fabric. Silk or cotton (usually) thread, is looped or woven into intricate designs making a delicate cloth..(again..usually). Wooden Lace is an openwork design cut into wood and used in making fine furniture. It is called fretwork. Sometimes my definitions are a bit skewed. I can find the oddest things here on the Bayou. This time, Mark and Son were cutting down a dead hickory tree to be used as firewood. The tree stood right next to the lane making me a bit antsy that it might fall atop some visitor's vehicle so it just had to go. After the initial felling of the tree, I was able to examine the old stump. Where I occasionally find critters, I found lace...wooden lace! This "lace" was the remains of the inner core of the tree that had been riddled by some sort of bugs. The insects, themselves, were long gone much like the heart of the tree.
A lot of our trees are still showing damage brought on by hurricanes of the past..specifically Hurricane Katrina. The winds twisted and turned the trees until enough damage was done to allow wood borers to enter. Now, years and years later, a tree will suddenly die from no apparent reason. If the tree is cut, like this one, the evidence of the borers and their larvae becomes obvious. The entire heart of the tree is gnawed into a lacy pulp as the larvae create galleries or tunnels. Sad to say, this kills the tree. We are losing more trees each year.
Equally sad to say, there is not a lot we can do about the damage occurring to our trees. The borers go unnoticed until the damage is done and then it is too late. Spraying with a chemical insecticide could possibly kill the adults that live on the outside of the tree but the larvae are working on the inside. Plus, spraying an the entire acreage of woods is not feasible and could possibly do more damage than good. Not only would the chemicals kill the borers but any animal or insect that happens to be in the way of the spray. An occasional tree is the debt we pay to allow our critter friends to live. As much as I hate seeing dying trees, wiping out all the critters in the woods is not the answer. I do not know what is.....
