Halloween Spiders

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

I've been seeing lots of spiders in Halloween yard decorations this year. More than ever it seems like! If you live in Kentucky, you can see a bunch of them all at once along Louisville's famed Hillcrest Avenue, whose residents go all out for the holiday (you can see a YouTube video of Haunted Hillcrest Highlights from 2009 here).

The problem with some of the Halloween spiders that I see, though, is that they don't always look very scary, even when they are supposed to. I think the key to making your Halloween spider scarier is to make it a little more realistic. A simple way to do this is to apply one of the most basic facts about spider anatomy to your decoration project: a spider's legs are on its head (cephalothorax) and not its abdomen.

To illustrate this, let's compare two cartoon spiders:

Spider 1


Spider 2

As you can see, both spiders are nearly identical, except that Spider 1 has its legs incorrectly attached to it abdomen, rather than its head, as in Spider 2, which shows a more anatomically correct configuration.

Obviously, both of these spiders are very simple, but to me Spider 2 looks not only more realistic, but also creepier, all because of the position of its legs. I think that this is related to the reason why we find spiders scary in the first place: the fact that their legs are attached to their heads instead of their "bodies" makes them appear very alien and bizarre to us.

So the next time that you are buying a spider decoration, or making your own, pay attention to the position of its legs. By attaching the legs to the head instead of the abdomen, you'll be taking 8 simple steps toward a more realistic, and scarier, Halloween decoration!

Beer bottle beetles.

Very funny entomology news although it should be looked at seriously as well.

http://www.earthtimes.org/nature/beetles-keeping-it-bottled-up/1440/

UK At The Half

A "UK At The Half" segment--read by "Touchdown Kentucky" Carl Nathe, aka the voice of UK Football--featuring the Entomology Department's 120th Anniversary is scheduled for broadcast during Saturday's UK vs UL game! Listen for our segment, and go Cats!

After the game, we'll post the audio segment on our website.

Visit Carl Nathe's official media hub here:
http://uknow.uky.edu/users/carl-nathe

Sept 8: 120 Year Celebration

Join us this Thursday (Sept 8, 2011) from 6-9pm at the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts to celebrate the Department of Entomology's 120th Anniversary! The FREE event begins with a reception (refreshments included) from 6-7pm, where you can meet your entomologists and take a guided tour of our Art of Insect Illustration exhibit that is currently on display in the adjacent UK Art Museum. Also on hand will be historical artifacts and a live insect zoo.

Then at 7pm, Dr. Gary Miller (USDA) will present "Worms, Castles, & Boiled Shirts: Insects and the Civil War." Dr. Miller will be followed by UK's Urban Entomologist (and world termite authority) Dr. Mike Potter who will give "The History of Bed Bugs - with Lessons from the Past."

Read more about our 120th Anniversary here:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/dept/120years.asp

And here is the press release for the Sept 8th event from UKNOW:
http://uknow.uky.edu/content/uk-entomology-celebrates-120-years-sept-8

2011 Kentucky State Fair: 4-H Entomology Winners

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

The winners of the 2011 4-H St. Fair insect collection competition have been chosen, and they are currently on display at the Kentucky St. Fair in Cloverville. We had a lot of very nice collections this year, with 27 total entries. Congratulations to all of the winners, and to everyone who participated!

Here are the Class Champions for each project:
1st Year (Class 687): Cody Hart, Metcalfe County
2nd Year (Class 688): Gabe Stephenson, Grant County
3rd Year (Class 689): Leslie Pike, Larue County
4th Year (Class 690): Sandra Brock, Harrison County

And the overall Grand Champion for Entomology was also Leslie Pike from Larue County.

Learn more about making a 4-H Entomology Collection.

New Facebook Page: Kentucky Bugs

Like us! Become our friend!

We've just created a new Facebook page called Kentucky Bugs. It is maintained by extension Professor Dr. Lee Townsend, and it is regularly updated with pictures of insects and other arthropods that are seasonally active. It's an easy way to learn about Kentucky insects, and it can keep you updated on those creatures that are out-and-about during different times of the year.

Visit Kentucky Bugs here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kentucky-Bugs/262237810453730

Kentucky Pollinator Park!

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

I love it when a plan comes together! Last year, several agencies/entities/organizations (including the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, the Kentucky Horse Park, and my group, UK Extension) got together to improve a portion of the Cane Run watershed at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The Cane Run creek runs from Lexington to Georgetown, Ky, and supplies some of Georgetown's drinking water. In recent years, the Cane Run has become impaired. Pollution (everything from erosion to heat to livestock waste) has become common in the Cane Run, which runs through a variety of rural, urban, and industrial areas in Fayette and Scott counties.

One of the ways to mitigate negative impacts to a watershed is to encourage riparian buffer zones. The riparian zone is the area next to a river or stream. In natural Kentucky landscapes, a riparian zone is typically thick with trees and other plants. In heavily managed urban and agricultural areas, though, riparian zones are often mowed right up to the banks. This can create several problems. The loss of shade heats the water, which can kill aquatic insects. Who cares about aquatic insects? You do, because fish can't live without aquatic insects to eat. Also, when streamside vegetation isn't allowed to grow, there isn't an extensive root system in the riparian zone. Without a root system, you get erosion, which destroys property and adds sediment to streams.

In Spring 2011, the Friends of Cane Run installed a riparian buffer at a section of the Cane Run Creek at the Kentucky Horse Park. The buffer consists of a variety of native plants, and it solves lots of problems at once. For one thing, the new plantings are a beautiful addition to the Horse Park landscape; the native flowers truly thrive in the Kentucky sunshine. More importantly, by installing native plants, invasive weeds (like honeysuckle and winter creeper) are discouraged. The new installation also works to truly "buffer" negative impacts: its roots soak up pollutants (like excess nitrogen) and its foliage helps to block the heat of the sun. This helps to protect the delicate aquatic insects (a.k.a. fish food!) that live in the water.

But the buffer doesn't just benefit the aquatic insects! It's also a terrific habitat for pollinators. Native plants like coneflowers and bee balm provide lots of food for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Pictured below are some of the plants.







So now, the horse park is kind of like a pollinator park! Read more about the project (which was a part of last year's World Equestrain Games) here, and see a video of the project on YouTube.

You Can Create a Buffer Too!

Many of us live along streams and creeks, and installing a riparian buffer zone is a great way to help improve a local watershed. And there are several ways to do it. Gardeners might enjoy taking the native-plant approach, similar to what was accomplished at the horse park. But it doesn't have to be that much work. In fact, sometimes it doesn't have to be ANY WORK AT ALL! In some areas, you can create a riparian buffer simply by leaving the stream's edge unmowed, and by allowing native trees and shrubs to establish themselves in the riparian zone. You can read more about creating a riparian buffer here.

Read more about the Cane Run Watershed, and become a friend on Facebook!