Bald-faced Hornet

Winter-degraded bald-faced hornet nest, showing cells,
some empty, some capped, with dead pupae inside the 
latter, that had failed to mature before freezing temperatures
brought the nest to an abrupt end. Click to enlarge. 

Those greyish, roughly football-shaped nests one spies in trees after leaf-fall has left them bare are the products of bald-faced hornets. (The nests of various ‘paper wasp’ species are smaller and do not have an outside wall.) Bald-faced hornets are easily distinguished from their yellowjacket relatives by being colored in black and white rather than shades of yellow. Each now remnant nest is the end-result of one fertilized queen emerging from hibernation in spring. Over the course of spring to fall she churned out eggs, first for workers, then as fall approached, for a mix of workers, new queens and males.   

Fertilized queens over-winter in a weather-sheltered place to avoid being wet, but are still subjected to temperatures below freezing . Extracellular fluids freeze, whereas glycerol (anti-freeze) is produced to protect against intracellular ice crystal formation. The queens emerge in the spring and immediately creating the beginnings of a plum-sized nest in order to raise the first cadre of workers. Once those reach maturity – in about 25 days after eggs are laid – the queen will remain inside the nest while the workers forage for food, enlarge the nest and tend to the next generation of workers.

Early nest, built by a 
queen for the first workers

At maximum size, each nest will contain 300 to 600 workers. The nest wall consists of multiple layers of ‘paper’ made from wood pulp and saliva. Close observation (NOT of an active nest) shows strips of brown to grey depending on the type of dead wood the workers scraped with their jaws, chewed, swallowed, then regurgitated back at the nest. Inside, there are horizontal disks of six-sided cells, each cell open-end downward, in which one egg is laid. These eggs hatch to become wingless larvae, which when full-sized, pupate into winged adults.

Bald-faced hornets are omnivorous and are considered to be beneficial due to their predation of flies and caterpillars; they also consume nectar from flowers, sip tree sap and nibble over-ripe fruit. Toward the end of summer the nest is enlarged downward and a new layer of cells created for eggs that will become new queens and males. All this, mind you, from the sperm the queen had accepted and stored from the previous fall’s mating. Meanwhile, she also continues to produce eggs that will mature into workers. The mix is crucial to next generation success, as too many new queens and males, and/or too early, will mean not enough workers to feed the nest, whereas too few queens and males, and/or too late, will increase risk than fewer new queens will survive winter.

An odd fact: unlike honeybees, female bald-faced hornet workers are able to lay eggs that will become males. This is competition with the queen, who is laying worker, queen and male eggs. A sampling of seven nests showed that one-fifth of the males were from worker eggs. Another study reported that in some nests in the reproductive stage there were no queens. The researchers theorized that egg-laying workers had killed the queen – committed matricide! – so that a larger percentage of the males would be an exact match to their worker DNA rather than the partial match for queen-laid male eggs.

Bald-faced hornet
(internet download)

The aggressive defensive nature of bald-faced hornets makes them a threat to humans who wander too close to a nest or when a nest is constructed too close to human habitation. Their stingers deliver a nest-defensive, pain-inflicting venom rather than the prey-subduing venoms of wasps that sting insects or spiders into living immobility to lay their eggs upon. The act of stinging releases volatile pheromones that serve to alarm and recruit other hornets in the colony and identify the target to be stung. Unlike honeybees, the stinger is smooth rather than barbed, allowing each hornet to sting repeatedly. Venom can also be sprayed at eyes, causing temporarily blindness. Pain lasts five to ten minutes, swelling longer.

Venom components include histamine, dopamine and noradrenaline, and the proteins phospholipase A, phospholipase B, antigen 5 and hyaluronidase. For people who have had an anaphylactic reaction to being stung, immunotherapy greatly reduces the risk of a subsequent severe reaction, although people with this medical history are still advised to have access to an EpiPen (a prescription epinephrine injector).

On the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, bald-face hornets are rated a 2.0, putting them in same class as yellowjackets and honeybees. Luckily for us, no insects in New England cause pain scores of 3.0 or 4.0.

The American Adoption Era, and Louise Wise Agency

Lakeview Home for Unwed Jewish Mothers, Staten Island, NY

For thirty years, from 1945 to 1975, there was an increased rate of pregnancies outside of marriage that did not immediately result in either speedy ‘shotgun’ marriages or adoptions into the mothers’ extended families, and hence an increase of babies channeled into the adoption business. And business it was. In the United States, well-to-do parents of pregnant daughters would pay to send their daughters “away” to places such as, Florence Critterton Homes, or in New York City, the Lakeview Home for Unwed Jewish Mothers. Girls from poorer families often ended up at homes operated by religious organizations. At the other end of the process, thousands of families were clamoring to adopt children. The numbers were staggering; for a time, for every child that was placed, there were ten families still waiting for a baby. Whether by fee or ‘donation,’ money flowed in from that end, too.  

Estimates of the total number of adoptions during the ‘adoption era’ range from 1.5 to 4.0 million. Most of the women giving up children were young and unmarried, trapped by conservative postwar mores that forbade premarital sex and restricted birth control, even as the sexual revolution simmered.

The hardship on these birth mothers was intense and long lasting. Once ensconced in a ‘home’ they were not given any option toward choosing to leave with their child. They were counseled to never tell anyone, even their husbands if they later married. One woman recounted pretending she was a ‘virgin’ after her wedding and how ironic that felt given that she had already been in a sexual relationship and given birth.

The end of the adoption era – meaning, specifically, the decline of a supply of white babies from birth mothers living in the United States – was the consequence of several changes. Major among these were the growing availability of effective birth control, legalization of abortion and acceptance of single parenthood. It was in 1965 that the Supreme Court ruled for a constitutional right of married couples to use birth control, and then in 1972 that the same right applied to unmarried people. January 1973 saw Supreme Court legalization of abortion.   

And what has all this to do with Maynard? Nothing. It’s about me. I was one of the products of Lakeview Home, which channeled its babies to the Louise Wise Adoption Agency. Louise Wise closed its doors in 2004, after 90-plus years of infant brokering. All records were turned over to another agency. According to what I received from Spence-Chapin in 2007, I was born in 1951, with a document showing a birth name given by my biological mother. The records go on to state that my birth mother was Jewish, single, 20.5 years old, born in the U.S., 5'6", blond hair, blue eyes, high school graduate, working in textile design, interested in arts and music. My birth father was described as Jewish, single, either 20 or 23 years old, born in U.S., 6' tall, black hair, brown eyes. Each had a brother, so out there, somewhere, two uncles, and possible first cousins.  

All of this possibly false. The Louise Wise Agency became notorious for having given out bogus information about birth parents. For example, children surrendered by women who were institutionalized for mental illnesses were given similarly detailed ‘glowing’ backgrounds. The thinking at the time was that schizophrenia, depression, autism and bipolar disorders were the results of how children had been raised, so giving an adopted child a ‘clean’ family medical history would allow the nurture of the adopting parents to outweigh any presumed influences of nature, i.e., genetics of the birth parents. Louise Wise also did some secret twins splitting, and in one infamous instance triplets splitting, to see what the outcomes were when the infants were placed with families of different socioeconomic states.  

There was a five-month gap between my birth and adoption. This was not unusual. Babies were often kept in foster care for months to a year, some times more, so that placement social workers could observe their health and responses to rudimentary intelligence tests, so that they might be matched with appropriate families. During the holding period, some were made available to home economics classes, so that unmarried women could practice being mothers. (Eeeek!)

Louise Wise fostered infants with families. There is not enough information to determine if families had more than one infant at a time, or how closely infant health was monitored. In my records and others, it appears that a 'psychological examination' was conducted at age three months. I was described to be "...an alert and responsive child functioning in the superior range of intelligence." There are no authenticated tests for infants that measure intelligence, so no idea what this is about.

A few years back I went through DNA analysis, not it the hope of finding biological relatives (and relieved I did not), but rather to get information on genetics of my biological father. The answer confirmed Ashkenazi Jewish on that side, too.   

 

50 Shades of Brown

Yes, yes, that title is a reference to the 2011 erotic romance novel “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which went on to spawn four more books, three movies, two song albums, a parody movie (“Fifty Shades of Black”), and a guest appearance as a book club selection in the movie “Book Club.” But enough for a belabored frame of reference – this column will have no sex scenes, no sadism, no masochism, no bondage, no dominance, no submission. Instead, it has leaves. Lot of leaves. In winter.

As to why leaves turn brown, that is more of colors departing than brown being added. Spring to summer to fall, each leaf is in a dynamic state. Leaves are an energy factory, continually synthesizing more chlorophyll so as to convert sunlight to sugar. Toward the end of our temperate zone growing season, as days shorten, chlorophyll synthesis stops. Green fades. In school, we might have been taught that the yellows and oranges and reds and purples of fall leaf color were always present, only becoming visible with the loss of green. Current thinking is more complex. Plants need time to withdraw sugars and carbohydrates from leaves, to be stored in roots over winter. More of the color compounds – anthocyanins – are made in leaves to protect against ultraviolet damage, i.e., sunburn, while nutrients are being salvaged.      

Another part of the leaf life cycle is “abscission,” the means by which leaves fall from trees. At the time of each leaf’s creation there is a specialized layer of cells where the leaf stalk joins the stem – the abscission layer. As days shorten, a tree hormone, auxin, decreases. This triggers a structural weakening on the abscission layer. Leaves are blown off by wind, or even on a quiet morning, can detach by their own weight. A branch broken in summer will have leaves that go straight to brown without intervening color, and the leaves will stay attached into winter.

Oak leaves on a fallen tree that turned brown 
but did not fall off. Click to enlarge photo.

There are a few species of trees that hang onto their brown leaves all winter: American beech and some of the oaks. Preternaturally retaining leaves in winter is called marcescence. As to why it happens, one theory is that beech trees do this, especially on young trees and lower branches of older trees, to discourage deer from feeding on the tree’s twigs and buds, which are a high-protein food source. Another theory is that not dropping winter leaves until spring serves to self-mulch the trees against competing plants trying to get started close to the tree trunk.

Back to brown. The major constituents of winter’s brown leaves are cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, tannins and mineral content. The percentages of each dictate leaf shade from the pale brown of beech to the rich, dark brown of oak. Falling in between are ash, poplar, maple, birch, pine, hemlock and the various understory plants. Looking downward when out for a woods walk will reward you with myriad shades of brown.   

Winterberry berries, on ice

There are also accents of winter red. When berries go from green to ripe colors, the term is “veraison.” Same for grapes and many types of fruit. Two competing theories here – either these fruits are synthesizing polyphenolic compounds, which just happen to be colorful, to combat fungus growth, or the plants are signaling to animals that the fruits are ripe, and therefore OK to eat. Thinking for the latter concept is that by enclosing seeds in edible fruits, the plants are borrowing the animals’ digestive tract and wandering lifestyle to disperse seeds far farther than just falling to the ground. There is a name for this: “endozoochory.” Mammals and birds are the majority of seed-spreading participants, although plant-eating reptiles such as turtles can be involved.

The red we spy on winter walks included rosehips on Multiflora rose and berries on Burning bush, Japanese barberry, Oriental bittersweet and Winterberry. That is four invasive species and a native, respectively. Several bird species and small mammals will eat the rosehips, burning bush, and barberry, but the bittersweet and winterberry stay around until found by robins, either those who decided to not migrate or the north-migrating birds of spring. With the exception of barberry, none are considered people-edible, but rather mildly poisonous.        

European barberry is used to make jam. In Persian cuisine, barberry is “zereshk”, and “zereshk polow” is a traditional barberry and rice dish. While Japanese barberries are considered edible, strong reasons to why not bother to collect any include a need to separate fruit from seeds, nasty thorns, and the plants being a preferred habitat for deer ticks.  

 

The First Robin of Spring Isn't

Robins, winterberry, snow

Robins don’t leave anymore. American robins are omnivores, consuming fruit, berries, earthworms, and insects. They used to leave – their Latinate name Turdus migratorius says exactly that – and then come back in the spring. The “Turdus” part refers to being of the thrush family.  Emily Dickinson’s poem “I dreaded that first robin so” started with robins and went on to list other Spring-signs she dreaded such as daffodils and bees. And actually, they still do leave, mostly, but enough stay to make robin sightings year-round not particularly newsworthy. The reasons for seeing robins year-round is probably a combination of in part global warming and part a better winter food supply. A good resource for shifting bird territories is The Great Backyard Bird Count (www.birdsource.org). The next scheduled count is February 12-15, 2021.

Robins that leave New England spend the winter months in the southern states along the Gulf of Mexico or in central Mexico. Coming back, the male show up first. They travel 50 to 200 miles a day, staying behind the northward advancing line of temperatures above 37° degrees. That temperature is when earthworms will start appearing on the surface and also when the ground softens enough for female robins to collect mud with their beaks for nest building.

Spring sightings here in New England will be a combination of flocks stopping off temporarily but heading further north, and those that have stopped here, declared territories (the males) and started nest building (the females). If you hear a robin singing it is a local male declaring his territory.

In passing, “robin egg blue” as a color is defined as a shade of cyan (greenish-blue color) approximating the shade of the eggs laid by the American robin. Tiffany Blue is a trademarked name and trademark-protected version of robin egg blue uniquely associated with Tiffany & Co., a New York City based jewelry company. The company began using the color in 1845, not many years after its founding in 1837.

Robin, winterberry, snow

The robins that don’t leave, more males than females, gather in flocks of 20-50, sometimes co-mingling with wintering flocks of starlings. These are not the plump and gentle birds of summer with the hop-hop-hop-stop method of working a lawn for worms and grubs. In winter, robins are noisy and combative, working their way though berry bushes with the remembered aggressiveness of Bostonians at a Filene’s bargain basement sale.

Robins like winterberry berries (as do Cedar waxwings), but will eat just about any type of berry or fruit. One reason they may find New England more winter-friendly now compared to years ago is the prevalence of two invasive plant species: Oriental bittersweet and multiflora rose. Both the tree-topping vines and the arching ground brambles are lush with red berries by late-November. Many bird species will eat the multiflora rose berries, but the bittersweet crop is left for robins an waxwings

And why the name “robin?” When the English colonists started arriving in the 1630’s they named the local bird “robin” because its appearance reminded them of the European Robin. The species are not related. The European bird is smaller and has a red/orange face and bib, but a whitish belly. It is the national bird of the United Kingdom. When the English got to Australia the local red-breasted birds also became named robins. These “Flame robins” look a bit like our birds, only brighter. Unlike our species, the females lack the red breast color.

“Little Robin Redbreast” is an English language nursery rhyme. It goes, “Little Robin Redbreast, Sat upon a rail; Niddle noble went his head, Widdle waggle went his tail.” Earlier versions, dating to the 1700s, revealed a more coarse humor, to wit: “Little Robin Red breast, Sitting on a pole, Nidde, Noddle, went his head, And poop went his hole.”

There was an Atlantic Ocean crossing important to American robins. The common earthworms we see robins tugging from the earth and feeding to their chicks came over with the colonists. Although there were many species of worms native to the Americas, these immigrants are more adept at managing the colder climate of the northeast. Back across the ocean, earthworms are being threatened by another invasive species: the New Zealand flatworm. In parts of Scotland and Ireland native earthworms are now scarce – and the fertility of the soil is declining.

This is an expanded repeat of a column first published in December 2009.   

No Soup for You

Ingredients - 1

In this pandemic time of no gathering, hope can be sustained by thinking of celebrations that will be restored once enough people have either survived infection with COVID-19 or been vaccinated. Think birthdays, graduations, holidays. Even funerals (there will still be funerals) will become, once again, time when people can congregate, reminisce, remember.  

New Year’s Eve celebrations will be missed this year. While there may be celebratory fireworks, First Night Boston and New York City’s famous illuminated ball drop, these events will be broadcast for viewing in the safety of home rather than being seen in person by tens of thousands of people. Think “Next year, next year, next year!”

New Year’s Day has its own celebratory traditions – things to do so as to bring good luck for the coming year. In Spain, one is supposed to eat twelve grapes at midnight of New Year’s Eve – one at each toll of the clock’s bell. In Japanese households, families eat long noodles at midnight, specifically “Toshikoshi Soba,” or “year-crossing noodle,” being careful to suck in the noodles intact versus biting them into pieces.  Elsewhere in Asia, ‘forward-moving’ foods such as fish are good luck on New Year’s Day, whereas backward moving (lobster, crayfish) and backward foot scratching (chicken, turkey) are to be avoided. Sauerkraut brings good luck in central Europe, lentils in Italy, herring in Scandinavia.

Ingredients-2

In the southeastern United States, people dine on black-eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread on New Year’s Day. Symbolically, there are ‘money’ foods, representing respectively coins, folding money and gold. Another southern New Year’s Day classic is red beans and rice with sausage. The thinking here is these are “poor people’s foods,” so by doing so you are destined to eat better the rest of the year.

From fall 1978 to fall 1980, we lived in Mobile, Alabama. Besides all-the-time hot and humid weather, and living through Hurricane Frederic, we were introduced to some deep south customs. One we brought north with us (New York City, then Oak Park, a Chicago suburb, now Maynard) was to start the New Year with friends, dining on beans and rice. In time, this evolved into a lot of friends, a lot of beans, and a lot of rice. And collard greens with black-eyed peas and salt pork. And ham. The beans became black bean soup, either with ham or vegetarian. The rice became New Orleans-style ‘dirty’ rice, with sausage or vegetarian. The ham became hams. “With friends” became inviting everyone we knew. Our event evolved into a New Year’s Day afternoon open house that sees 100+ people stopping by.

Daniel Mark, helping with New Year's Day cooking, Dec. 2005.

Three simple rules help make the event work: 1) Keep your shoes on; 2) Wear a name tag (helps us know who you are); and 3) Talk to people you don’t know. When we moved to Maynard, September 2000, there was some question as to whether the tradition was portable. The answer? Yes. Confirmed when mid-afternoon of our first Maynard open house, I asked Jeanne “How do we already know 50 people?” The tradition continued, so that January 1, 2020, was our 33^rd annual New Year’s Day open house.

Sadly, New Year’s Day, 2021, we will do without. “No Soup for You.” [For those who lack the frame of reference, that was the catchphrase of a character who appeared in a 1995 episode of Seinfeld (a TV comedy).] There was some consideration toward making the soup, dividing it into quart containers, and inviting everyone to stop by to take some home, perhaps from a no-social-contact table by the front steps, but this grew logistically complex. Instead, Next year, next year, next year!!!

Mark thinks that any soup recipe that starts with a quart of olive oil, five pounds of onions, two heads of garlic, four large cans of diced tomatoes, eight pounds of dried black beans and a nine-pound ham cannot go wrong. Or the vegetarian version, with parsnips, celery, mushrooms, etc.