[Texascavers] shields
Lehman Caves, a show cave in Great Basin National Park, Nevada, brags about its rare shield formations. Shields essentially consist of two parallel plates of calcite deposit. Water flows between the plates and deposits stalactites on the lower plate when it drips from the edge. The mystery is what keeps the passage between the plates open. -- Mixon A bore is a person who talks when you wish him to listen. You may reply to the address this message came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] leaf cutter ants
I saw some leaf cutter ants in Rockport. Sam A few months ago there was a thread about leaf-cutter ants. Here's something new about them from the Yucatan. Such ants can usually be seen busily at work in Bustamante Canyon. I don't recall seeing them in Texas, but I wouldn't be surprised if some were found in the valley. -- Mixon
Re: [Texascavers] leaf cutter ants
I have always associated these ants with tropical regions, but when house hunting two months ago, spotted a leaf cutter train in someones front yard about 30 miles West of Houston (Fullshear area). On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 10:58 AM, Sam Young youn...@centurytel.net wrote: I saw some leaf cutter ants in Rockport. Sam A few months ago there was a thread about leaf-cutter ants. Here's something new about them from the Yucatan. Such ants can usually be seen busily at work in Bustamante Canyon. I don't recall seeing them in Texas, but I wouldn't be surprised if some were found in the valley. -- Mixon - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] helmets
Has anybody noticed the assortment of helmets the international rescue teams are using? http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/17/07.k9team.afp.gi.jpg http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/17/02.rescueteam.afp.gi.jpg The U.S. and French seem to prefer Petzl, but I don't recognize the fluorescent orange one the Irish are using and the yellow ones the Israelis are using. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com
Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com mailing list. I'm working for my owner, who can be reached at texascavers-digest-ow...@texascavers.com. I respectfully request your permission to add biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn to the subscribers of the texascavers-digest mailing list. This request either came from you, or it has already been verified by the potential subscriber. To confirm, please send an empty reply to this address: texascavers-digest-tc.1263861564.kkacdbhmnohaofdbnnpp-biozhang2001=yahoo.com...@texascavers.com Usually, this happens when you just hit the reply button. If this does not work, simply copy the address and paste it into the To: field of a new message. If you don't approve, simply ignore this message. Thank you for your help! --- Administrative commands for the texascavers-digest list --- I can handle administrative requests automatically. Please do not send them to the list address! Instead, send your message to the correct command address: For help and a description of available commands, send a message to: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com To subscribe to the list, send a message to: texascavers-subscr...@texascavers.com To remove your address from the list, just send a message to the address in the ``List-Unsubscribe'' header of any list message. If you haven't changed addresses since subscribing, you can also send a message to: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For addition or removal of addresses, I'll send a confirmation message to that address. When you receive it, simply reply to it to complete the transaction. If you need to get in touch with the human owner of this list, please send a message to: texascavers-ow...@texascavers.com Please include a FORWARDED list message with ALL HEADERS intact to make it easier to help you. --- Enclosed is a copy of the request I received. Return-Path: biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn Received: (qmail 46485 invoked by uid 89); 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - Received: from unknown (HELO n21.bullet.mail.mud.yahoo.com) (68.142.206.160) by 192.168.254.10 with SMTP; 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - Received: from [209.191.108.96] by n21.bullet.mail.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - Received: from [68.142.201.252] by t3.bullet.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - Received: from [127.0.0.1] by omp413.mail.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - X-Yahoo-Newman-Id: 504581.43893...@omp413.mail.mud.yahoo.com Received: (qmail 45389 invoked from network); 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=s1024; d=yahoo.com.cn; h=Received:X-Yahoo-SMTP:X-YMail-OSG:X-Yahoo-Newman-Property:Mime-Version:In-Reply-To:References:Content-Type:Message-Id:Content-Transfer-Encoding:From:Subject:Date:To:X-Mailer; b=hXsvxkpQRLPdtawBAi8sj1YjfigIXJmrP1gAdRiYgiOEpWxHm4sQorHFgtzuhx5WL3rkto7H/FhGu8Q3vsMAeLo3WHlcEW82MAvyqDWKxVWa63Cp0HWEv6VbLKoHtNt7PBiXgH+aYDJAwAscjmmLAmZ4sWdMvaYIe+hDacZEHic= ; Received: from rrcs-97-77-52-55.sw.biz.rr.com (biozhang2001@97.77.52.55 with plain) by smtp115.plus.mail.mud.yahoo.com with SMTP; 18 Jan 2010 16:39:23 -0800 PST X-Yahoo-SMTP: 6SXqMvuswBAMf8yJtX5w8ba5MFbBsd_I5g-- X-YMail-OSG: b0UazO0VM1lCfNz5Dm.NeDPNgawGUMrOAE4w9a..2KjCEZua7fz7G1ljFlsrYmsJ3USRy9s5P5Vwh.2S62djwXqbqGMa.005w6ViZHeGhst5sW04.F2owGPo9kFXxPn67V1G7iwmGUBQqD7MYRO.34LTN.8b32AGG8GvINVvO3y7UrGzXv7q9wAKTlwen5QnFwiv87ip_R6IpQoR57a..0lGLBKQWUN1L1Xr3Z8.XRoYHc9rZTuYR3LWHxsgGVxZg_u2Y7IKmnjJEinwXJ.SrPA9dnHLPwLP.0RXmdpZjlWCeWbAeMocyrDIxVKE1WZL8uaFuCptg_N7wOgJ4Hh7LUibeqTDwh.OsmRuczmHmZl4FpJ9MEUDc2Jmc14qDeVzLBjcYIVOMNmRVLkP_md4JPMoYpBenK8WnHzFGVWgeGMPa0JQPylTNMN0mtegj1iXRfZYxQ15AbNs7OFSHB_Lrj_KLJGmG_eaATWSPfXww_kF2lgtMhOe_6bBe8Mu5ari1V4mIeAN_R_K7Jr1SykVAJ3sc6iKHvKUPEkm4tfiOPAElA9IXZg7zn5j17hDDsaEQY3Zz9t1kA-- X-Yahoo-Newman-Property: ymail-3 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v753.1) In-Reply-To: 1263861484.46457.ez...@texascavers.com References: 1263861484.46457.ez...@texascavers.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Message-Id: fee63252-df8a-4e34-87e6-7ef7f1e09...@yahoo.com.cn Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit From: Zhihua Zhang biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn Subject: Re: confirm subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:39:20 -0600 To: texascavers-digest-sc.1263861484.inmpnamjmklchfnplblj-biozhang2001=yahoo.com...@texascavers.com X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.753.1) On Jan 18, 2553 BE, at 6:38 PM, texascavers-digest- h...@texascavers.com wrote: Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com mailing list. I'm working for my owner, who can be reached at texascavers-digest-ow...@texascavers.com. To confirm that you would like biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn added to the texascavers-digest mailing list, please send an empty reply to this address:
Fwd: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com
Just confirming that this is a real person and not a bot. Are you living in Texas or caving in the area? Thanks Charles -- Forwarded message -- From: texascavers-digest-h...@texascavers.com List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 6:39 PM Subject: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com To: biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com mailing list. I'm working for my owner, who can be reached at texascavers-digest-ow...@texascavers.com. I respectfully request your permission to add biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn to the subscribers of the texascavers-digest mailing list. This request either came from you, or it has already been verified by the potential subscriber.
Re: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com
hi, I just arrived Dallas and trying to get into caving. Thanks Bill. On Jan 18, 2553 BE, at 6:41 PM, Charles Goldsmith wrote: Just confirming that this is a real person and not a bot. Are you living in Texas or caving in the area? Thanks Charles -- Forwarded message -- From: texascavers-digest-h...@texascavers.com Date: Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 6:39 PM Subject: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com To: biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com mailing list. I'm working for my owner, who can be reached at texascavers-digest-ow...@texascavers.com. I respectfully request your permission to add biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn to the subscribers of the texascavers-digest mailing list. This request either came from you, or it has already been verified by the potential subscriber.
Re: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com
On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 6:39 PM, texascavers-digest-h...@texascavers.com wrote: Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com mailing list. I'm working for my owner, who can be reached at texascavers-digest-ow...@texascavers.com. I respectfully request your permission to add biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn to the subscribers of the texascavers-digest mailing list. This request either came from you, or it has already been verified by the potential subscriber. To confirm, please send an empty reply to this address: texascavers-digest-tc.1263861564.kkacdbhmnohaofdbnnpp-biozhang2001=yahoo.com...@texascavers.com Usually, this happens when you just hit the reply button. If this does not work, simply copy the address and paste it into the To: field of a new message. If you don't approve, simply ignore this message. Thank you for your help! --- Administrative commands for the texascavers-digest list --- I can handle administrative requests automatically. Please do not send them to the list address! Instead, send your message to the correct command address: For help and a description of available commands, send a message to: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com To subscribe to the list, send a message to: texascavers-subscr...@texascavers.com To remove your address from the list, just send a message to the address in the ``List-Unsubscribe'' header of any list message. If you haven't changed addresses since subscribing, you can also send a message to: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For addition or removal of addresses, I'll send a confirmation message to that address. When you receive it, simply reply to it to complete the transaction. If you need to get in touch with the human owner of this list, please send a message to: texascavers-ow...@texascavers.com Please include a FORWARDED list message with ALL HEADERS intact to make it easier to help you. --- Enclosed is a copy of the request I received. Return-Path: biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn Received: (qmail 46485 invoked by uid 89); 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - Received: from unknown (HELO n21.bullet.mail.mud.yahoo.com) (68.142.206.160) by 192.168.254.10 with SMTP; 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - Received: from [209.191.108.96] by n21.bullet.mail.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - Received: from [68.142.201.252] by t3.bullet.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - Received: from [127.0.0.1] by omp413.mail.mud.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - X-Yahoo-Newman-Id: 504581.43893...@omp413.mail.mud.yahoo.com Received: (qmail 45389 invoked from network); 19 Jan 2010 00:39:24 - DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=s1024; d=yahoo.com.cn; h=Received:X-Yahoo-SMTP:X-YMail-OSG:X-Yahoo-Newman-Property:Mime-Version:In-Reply-To:References:Content-Type:Message-Id:Content-Transfer-Encoding:From:Subject:Date:To:X-Mailer; b=hXsvxkpQRLPdtawBAi8sj1YjfigIXJmrP1gAdRiYgiOEpWxHm4sQorHFgtzuhx5WL3rkto7H/FhGu8Q3vsMAeLo3WHlcEW82MAvyqDWKxVWa63Cp0HWEv6VbLKoHtNt7PBiXgH+aYDJAwAscjmmLAmZ4sWdMvaYIe+hDacZEHic= ; Received: from rrcs-97-77-52-55.sw.biz.rr.com (biozhang2001@97.77.52.55 with plain) by smtp115.plus.mail.mud.yahoo.com with SMTP; 18 Jan 2010 16:39:23 -0800 PST X-Yahoo-SMTP: 6SXqMvuswBAMf8yJtX5w8ba5MFbBsd_I5g-- X-YMail-OSG: b0UazO0VM1lCfNz5Dm.NeDPNgawGUMrOAE4w9a..2KjCEZua7fz7G1ljFlsrYmsJ3USRy9s5P5Vwh.2S62djwXqbqGMa.005w6ViZHeGhst5sW04.F2owGPo9kFXxPn67V1G7iwmGUBQqD7MYRO.34LTN.8b32AGG8GvINVvO3y7UrGzXv7q9wAKTlwen5QnFwiv87ip_R6IpQoR57a..0lGLBKQWUN1L1Xr3Z8.XRoYHc9rZTuYR3LWHxsgGVxZg_u2Y7IKmnjJEinwXJ.SrPA9dnHLPwLP.0RXmdpZjlWCeWbAeMocyrDIxVKE1WZL8uaFuCptg_N7wOgJ4Hh7LUibeqTDwh.OsmRuczmHmZl4FpJ9MEUDc2Jmc14qDeVzLBjcYIVOMNmRVLkP_md4JPMoYpBenK8WnHzFGVWgeGMPa0JQPylTNMN0mtegj1iXRfZYxQ15AbNs7OFSHB_Lrj_KLJGmG_eaATWSPfXww_kF2lgtMhOe_6bBe8Mu5ari1V4mIeAN_R_K7Jr1SykVAJ3sc6iKHvKUPEkm4tfiOPAElA9IXZg7zn5j17hDDsaEQY3Zz9t1kA-- X-Yahoo-Newman-Property: ymail-3 Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v753.1) In-Reply-To: 1263861484.46457.ez...@texascavers.com References: 1263861484.46457.ez...@texascavers.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Message-Id: fee63252-df8a-4e34-87e6-7ef7f1e09...@yahoo.com.cn Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit From: Zhihua Zhang biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn Subject: Re: confirm subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:39:20 -0600 To: texascavers-digest-sc.1263861484.inmpnamjmklchfnplblj-biozhang2001=yahoo.com...@texascavers.com X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.753.1) On Jan 18, 2553 BE, at 6:38 PM, texascavers-digest- h...@texascavers.com wrote: Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com mailing list. I'm working for my owner, who can be reached at texascavers-digest-ow...@texascavers.com. To confirm that you would like biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn added to the
Re: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com
Good deal Bill, I recommend http://dfwgrotto.org/ as well. Charles On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 6:46 PM, Zhihua Zhang biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn wrote: hi, I just arrived Dallas and trying to get into caving. Thanks Bill. On Jan 18, 2553 BE, at 6:41 PM, Charles Goldsmith wrote: Just confirming that this is a real person and not a bot. Are you living in Texas or caving in the area? Thanks Charles -- Forwarded message -- From: texascavers-digest-h...@texascavers.com Date: Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 6:39 PM Subject: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com To: biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com mailing list. I'm working for my owner, who can be reached at texascavers-digest-ow...@texascavers.com. I respectfully request your permission to add biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn to the subscribers of the texascavers-digest mailing list. This request either came from you, or it has already been verified by the potential subscriber.
Re: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com
Thanks alot! Bill On Jan 18, 2553 BE, at 6:54 PM, Charles Goldsmith wrote: Good deal Bill, I recommend http://dfwgrotto.org/ as well. Charles On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 6:46 PM, Zhihua Zhang biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn wrote: hi, I just arrived Dallas and trying to get into caving. Thanks Bill. On Jan 18, 2553 BE, at 6:41 PM, Charles Goldsmith wrote: Just confirming that this is a real person and not a bot. Are you living in Texas or caving in the area? Thanks Charles -- Forwarded message -- From: texascavers-digest-h...@texascavers.com Date: Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 6:39 PM Subject: CONFIRM subscribe to texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com To: biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn Hi! This is the ezmlm program. I'm managing the texascavers-dig...@texascavers.com mailing list. I'm working for my owner, who can be reached at texascavers-digest-ow...@texascavers.com. I respectfully request your permission to add biozhang2...@yahoo.com.cn to the subscribers of the texascavers-digest mailing list. This request either came from you, or it has already been verified by the potential subscriber.
[Texascavers] caver obituary
Did anybody know this caver? Bradley John Smith, 57, of Austin, died Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, at his home. He was born June 1, 1952, in Austin and graduated from Austin High School and attended college in Southern Minnesota. He was self-employed as a jeweler and owned Smith Custom Jewelry. Brad was an avid outdoorsman and was a spelunker, spending a lot of time in the caves of Southern Minnesota. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Re: caver obituary
I just realized there was an Austin, Minnesota. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] Re: Leaf Cutter Ants
Caution: This message has nothing to do with caves, unless there is a category for "Adventures in Caver Houses". Yes, leaf cutter ants are in south central and east Texas. See the excerpt below from http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/ants/leaf_cutting When I lived in Belmopan, Belize, there was a medium-sized nest (ca. 1.5 meters diam) under the hibiscus hedge in front of my house. The ants would target a specific tree in my yard and harvest it for several days or weeks, depending on the size of the tree. So their trails kept shifting, and at certain times of the year they would cross my front door step. They often worked at night, and I didn't have a front porch light. So friends, neighbors, and foreign visitors (including several hundred cavers over 10 years) would show up at my house, stand on the front step in the dark, and knock on the door. I would open the door, they would walk into the light, look down, and see hordes of large ants climbing up their pants to the knee or above, depending on how long it took me to open the door. This was usually followed by shrieks of horror (maybe this is why they're called "WEE WEE" ants in Belize) and frantic slapping of legs while performing acrobatic leaps. Sweeping piles of non-biting, hard-working, semi-dead ants out of my living room was a nightly routine. I would console my somewhat hysterical guests with rum cokes, which consumed a significant portion of my meager budget. But with no TV stations, no telephone, and only one radio station, it provided much-needed entertainment. One year, the ants completely stripped a 10 meter tall tree near their nest - twice -, so the tree died. I had to cut it down with a machete before it fell on my house. This effort, combined with years of sweeping piles of dead ants out of my living room and spending lots of money on rum and cokes, finally convinced me to get rid of the nest. I love wildlife and really didn't want to do it, but sometimes you just have to. Fortunately, leaf cutters aren't exactly an endangered species. LowGun P.S. I also lived in several houses that were built in the historic paths of army ants, who had probably been using them for millenia and sure as hell weren't going to stop or go around. But that's another story. Atta texana (Buckley) is a fungus ant commonly called the Texas leaf-cutter ant because it is found mainly in south central and eastern regions of the state. It also occurs in scattered locations in northwestern Louisiana. Primarily considered an agricultural pest, it has also been found in homes on occasions foraging on cereals. It is not a persistent invader of structures. It is estimated that this ant causes "agricultural" losses of $5 million annually in the United States. The Texas leaf-cutter colonies have a very complex social organization. Colonies typically have a single queen and a worker caste (sterile females) of many thousands of individuals, highly polymorphic, varying in size from 1/6" to " in length. The queen is huge, more than 1" long and can produce enormous egg masses that give rise to several million individuals. There is a high degree of task specialization among the workers. All colony members are rust-brown in color. Nests of the leaf-cutter ant are established in open and brushy areas in deep, well-drained sandy or loamy soils. They may cover more than half an acre, marked by many crater-shaped mounds of loose soil, sloping inward to a center entry hole. Chambers containing fungus may be found at a depth of more than 8 feet. The nest is a complex structure designed to protect the colony and to provide a healthy, stable environment for the fungus gardens. Fresh air is drawn in through the peripheral tunnels to maintain proper ventilation throughout the nest. Stale air and heat produced by metabolic processes going on in the gardens is vented through central passageways above the gardens. Chambers within the nest are prevented from flooding by a system of lower passages. In hot, dry periods, nest openings are plugged and the workers retreat to more favorable moist areas below. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] UT Grotto meeting Wed 01-20-2010
Underground Texas Grotto meeting January 20, 2010 The meeting is on Wednesday from 7:45 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. in Austin Texas on the University of Texas Campus in 2.48 Painter Hall http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/pai.html Beverley Shade will present - Blowing Sink: A UTG/City of Austin conservation project, 2004-2009. Starting in 2004, efforts by many cavers have made it possible to gain safe access to the Edwards Aquifer in south Austin for biological and hydrological monitoring of our important karst system. While the work involved cavers from near and far, the project was organized by UTG cavers, who provided the bulk of the work. Volunteers are still welcome to help out with the science and get to enjoy the cave! Come out for a great time in Austin Texas and check out the footage of the local cavers having fun while hauling concrete, rebar, and other items down deep drops of this local iconic cave. For information on UT Grotto www.utgrotto.org activates, please see the website. All of our information is available through our link including officer contact info, trips reports, new caver training, event calendar, and posting links to beginner trips or vertical rope training. These meetings are a major event where sometimes, cavers meet before the meeting about 6:30 at Sao Paulo's www.saopaulos.net for happy hour margaritas. And after every meeting, we adjourn to the Posse www.posseeast.com for beer and burgers. The UT Grotto Program needs you, the caver with photos and a story to share about your adventures, scientific research, or something else really cool. Contact Gary for your place in the spotlight. v...@utgrotto.org - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
[Texascavers] leaf-cutter ants in Mexico
A few months ago there was a thread about leaf-cutter ants. Here's something new about them from the Yucatan. Such ants can usually be seen busily at work in Bustamante Canyon. I don't recall seeing them in Texas, but I wouldn't be surprised if some were found in the valley. -- Mixon JIM CONRADS NATURALIST NEWSLETTER Issued from Hacienda Chichén beside the Maya ruin of Chichén Itzá in the central Yucatán, MÉXICO January 17, 2010 ** RETURN OF THE LEAFCUTTER ANTS The owners of Hacienda Chichen are justly proud of their pro- environment policies, which includes using as few chemicals as possible. The other day a worker not yet clear about the policy poisoned a large leafcutter nest because the ants had begun defoliating a Tropical Almond tree in the parking lot. As soon as we saw what had been done we made every effort to scoop all the poison and contaminated soil into plastic bags and dispose of the bags properly. Before the poisoning attempt, every day I'd seen the ants carrying bits of herbage back to their nest. However, after the poisoning for two weeks not a single ant was seen at the nest. I felt sure that the whole colony had been wiped out. It had been a colony as large as the one we saw last year at Yokdzenot. You still can read about that big nest and see it at http://www.backyardnature.net/yucatan/ant-lfcu.htm Wednesday morning, there were ants again. Moreover, not only had the colony resumed its earlier foraging habits, but also they seemed to have redoubled their efforts, for now many more ants than before were carrying cut-out leaf sections and they were moving faster. Anthropomorphically, they looked exactly as if they were trying to make up for lost time! You can see several on the trunk of a Gumbo-Limbo -- which after two days they'd defoliated nearly completely -- at http://www.backyardnature.net/n/10/100117lc.jpg That picture was made about 30 yards or meters from their nest and every inch of the trail between there and the nest was just as cluttered and bustling with leaf-carrying ants as in the picture. Of course I'm relieved that the nest seems to have survived. Sometimes visitors say that for them watching the ants is as fascinating as visiting the ruins! Also the experience has reminded me how like a single living organism an ant colony is. The colony became sick, stopped functioning, but then one day finally burst from home looking as healthy as ever, trying to make up for lost time. In fact, they're out there as I type this, a long, long line of them, gradually defoliating a hibiscus. *** Best wishes to all Newsletter Readers. Jim Subscribe AND unsubscribe to this Newsletter at http://www.backyardnature.net/news/natnat.php A bore is a person who talks when you wish him to listen. You may reply to the address this message came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
RE: [Texascavers] leaf-cutter ants in Mexico
I have heard a number of gardeners in the central Texas area complaining about them decimating their crops. I hear they are very hard to control. -d From: bmixon...@austin.rr.com To: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:23:50 -0600 Subject: [Texascavers] leaf-cutter ants in Mexico A few months ago there was a thread about leaf-cutter ants. Here's something new about them from the Yucatan. Such ants can usually be seen busily at work in Bustamante Canyon. I don't recall seeing them in Texas, but I wouldn't be surprised if some were found in the valley. -- Mixon JIM CONRAD’S NATURALIST NEWSLETTER Issued from Hacienda Chichén beside the Maya ruin of Chichén Itzá in the central Yucatán, MÉXICO January 17, 2010 ** RETURN OF THE LEAFCUTTER ANTS The owners of Hacienda Chichen are justly proud of their pro- environment policies, which includes using as few chemicals as possible. The other day a worker not yet clear about the policy poisoned a large leafcutter nest because the ants had begun defoliating a Tropical Almond tree in the parking lot. As soon as we saw what had been done we made every effort to scoop all the poison and contaminated soil into plastic bags and dispose of the bags properly. Before the poisoning attempt, every day I'd seen the ants carrying bits of herbage back to their nest. However, after the poisoning for two weeks not a single ant was seen at the nest. I felt sure that the whole colony had been wiped out. It had been a colony as large as the one we saw last year at Yokdzenot. You still can read about that big nest and see it at http://www.backyardnature.net/yucatan/ant-lfcu.htm Wednesday morning, there were ants again. Moreover, not only had the colony resumed its earlier foraging habits, but also they seemed to have redoubled their efforts, for now many more ants than before were carrying cut-out leaf sections and they were moving faster. Anthropomorphically, they looked exactly as if they were trying to make up for lost time! You can see several on the trunk of a Gumbo-Limbo -- which after two days they'd defoliated nearly completely -- at http://www.backyardnature.net/n/10/100117lc.jpg That picture was made about 30 yards or meters from their nest and every inch of the trail between there and the nest was just as cluttered and bustling with leaf-carrying ants as in the picture. Of course I'm relieved that the nest seems to have survived. Sometimes visitors say that for them watching the ants is as fascinating as visiting the ruins! Also the experience has reminded me how like a single living organism an ant colony is. The colony became sick, stopped functioning, but then one day finally burst from home looking as healthy as ever, trying to make up for lost time. In fact, they're out there as I type this, a long, long line of them, gradually defoliating a hibiscus. *** Best wishes to all Newsletter Readers. Jim Subscribe AND unsubscribe to this Newsletter at http://www.backyardnature.net/news/natnat.php A bore is a person who talks when you wish him to listen. You may reply to the address this message came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com _ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390706/direct/01/
Re: [Texascavers] leaf-cutter ants in Mexico
I am pretty sure--like 99%--that we had them in South Texas when I was a kid. I remember well watching them but don't recall a specific location--meaning, probably, that they were a common enough occurrence that they didn't invoke any great interest worthy of remembering. There were some ants in South Texas that made underground nests which humped up above ground (sorta like fireant mounds except 10x bigger) and which created large subsurface voids. On more than one occasion we were unlucky enough to drive over these mounds hidden by tall pasture grass and the front tire of the pick-up fell into them and the truck got stuck and we had to get towed out. It is my recollection that these were a type of leaf-cutter ant which, by the way, don't (or didn't) sting. Those events DID create specific memories. --Ediger On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 9:29 AM, Denise P pepabe...@hotmail.com wrote: I have heard a number of gardeners in the central Texas area complaining about them decimating their crops. I hear they are very hard to control. -d From: bmixon...@austin.rr.com To: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:23:50 -0600 Subject: [Texascavers] leaf-cutter ants in Mexico A few months ago there was a thread about leaf-cutter ants. Here's something new about them from the Yucatan. Such ants can usually be seen busily at work in Bustamante Canyon. I don't recall seeing them in Texas, but I wouldn't be surprised if some were found in the valley. -- Mixon JIM CONRAD’S NATURALIST NEWSLETTER Issued from Hacienda Chichén beside the Maya ruin of Chichén Itzá in the central Yucatán, MÉXICO January 17, 2010 ** RETURN OF THE LEAFCUTTER ANTS The owners of Hacienda Chichen are justly proud of their pro- environment policies, which includes using as few chemicals as possible. The other day a worker not yet clear about the policy poisoned a large leafcutter nest because the ants had begun defoliating a Tropical Almond tree in the parking lot. As soon as we saw what had been done we made every effort to scoop all the poison and contaminated soil into plastic bags and dispose of the bags properly. Before the poisoning attempt, every day I'd seen the ants carrying bits of herbage back to their nest. However, after the poisoning for two weeks not a single ant was seen at the nest. I felt sure that the whole colony had been wiped out. It had been a colony as large as the one we saw last year at Yokdzenot. You still can read about that big nest and see it at http://www.backyardnature.net/yucatan/ant-lfcu.htm Wednesday morning, there were ants again. Moreover, not only had the colony resumed its earlier foraging habits, but also they seemed to have redoubled their efforts, for now many more ants than before were carrying cut-out leaf sections and they were moving faster. Anthropomorphically, they looked exactly as if they were trying to make up for lost time! You can see several on the trunk of a Gumbo-Limbo -- which after two days they'd defoliated nearly completely -- at http://www.backyardnature.net/n/10/100117lc.jpg That picture was made about 30 yards or meters from their nest and every inch of the trail between there and the nest was just as cluttered and bustling with leaf-carrying ants as in the picture. Of course I'm relieved that the nest seems to have survived. Sometimes visitors say that for them watching the ants is as fascinating as visiting the ruins! Also the experience has reminded me how like a single living organism an ant colony is. The colony became sick, stopped functioning, but then one day finally burst from home looking as healthy as ever, trying to make up for lost time. In fact, they're out there as I type this, a long, long line of them, gradually defoliating a hibiscus. *** Best wishes to all Newsletter Readers. Jim Subscribe AND unsubscribe to this Newsletter at http://www.backyardnature.net/news/natnat.php A bore is a person who talks when you wish him to listen. You may reply to the address this message came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: bmi...@alumni.uchicago.edu AMCS: edi...@amcs-pubs.org or sa...@amcs-pubs.org - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com -- Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390706/direct/01/
Re: [Texascavers] leaf-cutter ants in Mexico
There were some ants in South Texas that made underground nests which humped up above ground (sorta like fireant mounds except 10x bigger) and which created large subsurface voids. On more than one occasion we were unlucky enough to drive over these mounds hidden by tall pasture grass and the front tire of the pick-up fell into them and the truck got stuck and we had to get towed out. It is my recollection that these were a type of leaf-cutter ant which, by the way, don't (or didn't) sting. Those events DID create specific memories. --Ediger sounds a lot like the termite mounds of madagascar. - Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
