GMP 38: TAHOE-PYRAMID TRAIL EXPLORATION

GMP 38:
Season 3
Episode 11

Tahoe-Pyramid Trail Exploration

Re-discovering milkweed and wildlife along the Truckee river.

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Follow along below.

Podcast location:
Mayberry Park,
Reno,
Nevada

00:00

Introduction. Explore the Truckee river at Mayberry Park. Look at milkweed and look for monarch butterflies.

01:00

Today we are walking thru a section of county park located on the west side of the McCarran Blvd loop outside of Reno Nevada. The green area on west side of the map is the Tahoe National Forest. The blue line on the map is the Truckee river that flows from west to east.

McCarran loop around Reno Nevada

Mayberry Park!

3:15

First stop is a near the parking lot. Between the path and the river is a stand of dogbane plants. The selfie here is of me in 2014. I thought I had found milkweed. I was wrong. I still laugh about this today. On todays visit the skipper butterfly were all over. They weren't flying very much. Seemed to be sunning themselves although the sun was muted by the smoke in the air.

Dogbane similarities to milkweed:

white sap
long slender seed pod
seed attached to white fiber

Dogbane differences to milkweed:

seed shape is round on one plane
bloom lacks the complex structure of a milkweed
stem's center is solid vs. hollow

not milkweed, that is dogbane behind me

skipper butterfly

5:50

Vocabulary word of the episode: ECOLOGY

River ecology verses Road ecology. Rivers are natural and contribute to the total ecosystem. Roads nearly universally dissect the natural earth formations and disrupt the biology of the ecosystem. Roads have their uses. Mainly transportation is simplified and I use roads nearly every day. Later in this episode we will see how roads can cause stress in monarchs.

8:40

Rivers change the land. The changes can be subtle. More common is drastic changes caused by a river. Many of the paths and trails around the Truckee river change from one year to the next. Often times an area with milkweed disappears or appears as a result of the changes caused by seasonal flooding.

Image source: https://www.feelguide.com/2016/04/05/watch-these-fascinating-satellite-timelapse-clips-showing-rivers-changing-course-over-time/

9:55

Showy milkweed grows along the banks of the river. Some plants are a few feet from the rivers edge. Other plants are well above the high water mark. There was clear evidence that a caterpillar was here. Look at the photos below and guess which one had a caterpillar eat it. The captions give away the answer.

damage type 1 caterpillar

damage type 2 object

damage type 3 non monarch caterpillar creature

13:50

This little showy milkweed plant has a small seed pod with one small milkweed bug. Look closely at the bugs head. The bug has the proboscis inserted deep into the seed pod to feed on the seed inside. During this feeding session the bug does cause the seed to be come non viable. I'm careful not to say the seed is useless because the seed has proved very useful for the small milkweed bug. It was dinner!

small milkweed bug on showy milkweed

15:20

These granite boulders are basically protecting a neat stand of showy milkweed. This area, in years past, frequently attracts monarch eggs to be laid. Survival rare seems to be low on these plants. The leaning fence post is home to a wasp nest. Lizards circle their wagons around the boulders. Transient insects fly by here all day long. Bug activity was low today. The smoke in the air reminded me of how insects became very quiet during the total solar eclipse that occurred on August 21st, 2017. To be completely honest, at my location it was a partial eclipse. The effect on the animals was similar.

A post shared by Jon Carmichael (@carmichaelphotography) on Aug 21, 2018 at 8:20am PDT

showy milkweed protected by boulders

19:10

The red milkweed beetle has a very unique look. It's long antenna and bulbous eyes along with the bold red color are distinct in the anima kingdom. This insect is hard to miss and fun to watch. They don't seem to be very social. They spread out on a plant and rarely share a leaf. They fly well and can travel to wherever the milkweed is located. With so much milkweed growing near the Truckee river it's no surprise to see a red milkweed beetle.

red milkweed beetle

23:00

These bright purple blooms draw me in every summer! When I shared the photo and learned the plant ID is rocky mountain bee plant Cleome serrulata I had to have them. I bough nearly a half pound of the seeds from a native seed farm. The plant's seed is available for both the purple and yellow color form. Cleome serrulata is the botanic nomenclature. I have some additional information about my plants on the PlantsMap page for Rocky Mountain Bee Plant. It's one of my favorite non milkweed plants for the west.

wild rocky mountain bee plants

rocky mountain bee plants in my own garden

24:00

This giant meadow of sunflowers didn't have any monarchs but it sure did cheer me up after not seeing any monarchs on all the milkweed along the Truckee river. If you ever get the chance to plant a milkweed next to a sunflower you won't be disappointed. Milkweed and Sunflowers are a great flower combination in the garden!

Brad G. in a wild sunflower patch

24:25

Lets review!
ECOLOGY: the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

26:30

Caterpillar ‘road rage’ could affect migration This research states that monarch caterpillars have a stress reaction to road noise that causes the caterpillars heart rate to increase 16-17% Imagine what happens when truckers use their engine brake!

If you are looking for a quiet place away from all the road noise try walking or riding on the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail!

Shout out to Brandon Ray in Georgia!

I was afraid the monarchs were going to pass me by this year! Couldn’t even find any females to relocate. Yesterday this lady showed up and has been laying for two days. @growmilkweed better late than never right? #savethemonarch pic.twitter.com/CAnzVhx4gR
— Brandon Ray (@brandonXray) August 28, 2018

Support this podcast by clicking thru the Amazon affiliate links below before making your next purchase. In mid August I purchased this exact straw and began using it to mulch the milkweed growing in containers. Straw helps reduce the heat of the hot sun and retain moisture in the soil around the roots. Although this straw is a great deal at under $20 I have one word of caution. With so much straw in this small bale you may want to consider a smaller quantity product like the EZ Straw Just Straw Clean Processed Straw, Small Bale (1 cubic foot bale). The one foot bale may be more than enough for most people but it does lack the tack that helps hold the straw in place in the product below. Either way you can't go wrong.

EZ Straw Seedling Mulch With Tack