#tree of heaven

[rebeccathenaturalist]

I try to be really polite on my social media, but today's post has me wanting to unleash a creative string of profanity.

Thanks to a citizen scientist using iNaturalist (and, by the way, all iNat users are by default citizen scientists), a spotted lanternfly (Lycorma deliculata) nymph was spotted in Portland, less than a mile from my apartment. It's the third verified sighting of this highly invasive species in Oregon, the first being in The Dalles in 2023, and one in Eugene last year. There's no telling how many there are across the region now, but given that these have primarily been a problem east of the Mississippi it's disheartening to see their spread here.

Spotted lanternflies are native to China and Japan, but have since become destructive invasive species in South Korea and North America. I wrote up a more detailed description of them here on my website. They attack a wide variety of plants, to include native species and agricultural crops.

Their preferred host tree is the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), which is itself also a pernicious invasive species here in North America. It can be very difficult to control, and is most effectively killed with herbicides applied to cuts in the bark--simply cutting it down won't help, because it just grows back, and it can be very difficult to dig up entirely once established. While lanternfly nymphs can survive on other plants, they are not as healthy as those on tree of heaven, and so taking away their host is a big step in slowing them down.

Speaking of big steps, if you see a lanternfly or its egg casings, stomp on it! It's an immediate death, and it removes it from the breeding pool. This is especially important in spring and summer when lanternflies are still in their nymph stages, because they aren't able to breed until they're adults in the fall.

Finally, this is a great example of how vital citizen science is in getting more observers out in the field, and also how we need professional scientists (like those at the Oregon Department of Agriculture) to get the word out to the general public with information about invasive species. The USDA also has valuable articles about lanternflies on their website and has been working on the spotted lanternfly problem since the insects first arrived here in 2014. The United States has been a leader in the sciences for decades, and it's important we keep it that way for so many reasons, to include protecting our food and our natural areas.

[hellsitegenetics]

Either no one has asked yet or there are no results, but could you do the "Mark Zuckerberg" game grumps rant?

String identified:

a t g a: a a c t g, , t t t ?

: a.. A: tcg g Ct c tc ac t ca cg t t

a: a a at ' tag at gt .

: a.. A: G a cat ac t cg a a t gt cg t g a g t at c t ca't cg t t a t t c t atc t t c g a

a: A, ' cag .

: a.. A: tcg -a -a t t t c t t t tcg t t t t a a cg t t g ' t

a: , a. '…' t t tag at t G ta.

"at, , . ' ta' c at." A: a ' t ta at t ac a a t a a t tt t t a t a at t ac c t atc t a a a a a ag c g a c -a ca t g Tt t tac c t g t ac 't g ca't t t c t ac A ca t a t g t ac t c t ac

: .. A: A CG.

Closest match: Ailanthus altissima genome assembly, chromosome: 12 Common name: Tree of Heaven

[thestarlightprincess]

Might be a crazy thing to post but look at this example of root suckering!! Its super cool how the saplings sprout out of the preestablished root system. Id really appreciate it more if it wasnt of a plant i hated with a passion

[rabbitcruiser]

James (Byron) Dean was born on February 8, 1931.

[crudlynaturephotos]

[headacheflowers]

i need more close friends that I can share stuff like this with and they won't be like "huh?". I have an acquaintance who's a big plant & ecology nerd but we're not really *friends* and it makes me sad when I send her memes because she's also not chronically online so she won't see them for like 2 weeks.

[cryptic-underground]

He Used To Be so Bright, Then Life Stole It.

If you squint, you'll see something that alludes to the fic I'm writing. (Which finally has a name, it's: "Ring Around the Pine Tree." Might change it when I ended up posting it, but this is the name I like for now).

I thought of this idea late yesterday night whilst procrastinating writing said fic(still writing Chapter 2, smh(it's like 5k words so far compared to other chapters mere 1k combined)). And I kept thinking about a certain sentence I wrote, then I spiraled. Drew all the sketches the same night, did all the line art upon waking up, and then spent like 4-5 hours colouring and shading them all in ONE SITTING. Without moving from where I was sitting the whole time. I almost postponed the last one for tomorrow because I really wasn't feeling colouring Ford, but then the dark part of my brain was like "what it's just one more and then you're done the whole thing! Then you can do other stuff tomorrow without having one more unfinished drawing sitting around."

So I blacked out, and he was done. The frustrating part was saving all the pngs because I'm insane and did this all on one canva, meaning I kept forgetting to both turn on certain layers as well as turn others off. (I had to resave certain ones multiple times, it was a NIGHTMARE).

The full images because I worked too hard on them for them to be seen for just a second:

[tempo-takoyaki]

Merry Christmas!! I hope you all have a wonderful day <3

EDIT: I accidentally posted this too early but know this illustration is referring to a previous comic if you'd like to read it ! [Christmas 2023]

[g63heavenonearth]

Allegheny Cemetery 123013-5

[w-i-m-m]

[vikikollerova]

Ailanthus altissima ~ Trees of Heaven, V/24

[artndetails]

appreciate the little things

[crudlynaturephotos]

[jiang-yanli-s-soup]

Each of the maple leaf is a proof of our love, darling..

🤍❤

[marsmaladeee]

live laugh love @bearsintreesofficial makeup looks!!!

individual ones under the cut:

[cowardlykrow]

Haunted by the horrors