Announcements

• Are you passionate about the Sonoran Desert?

• Eager to learn more about local conservation initiates?

• Interested in learning about how you can be a leader in your community?

Then you might be interested in becoming an Arizona Master Naturalist! The application for Cohort 4 for the MCPMN Chapter is NOW OPEN! The course will begin in January 2022.

Lifelong Learning Opportunities

Highlights provided by Rick Sampson Advanced Training Chair advanced-training-mcpmn@azmasternaturalist.org

Join the Maricopa County Parks Master Naturalists on October 13th at 5:30 pm to learn about Lichen with Frank Bungartz. Register Here

There are 12 new online lectures for October! Everything from birds and bats to butterflies and books. Learn about soil research and climate change.

Cornell Academy has online courses about raptors and gardening for birds which are available any time.

AAEE has monthly fireside chats every third Wednesday of the month and don't forget the in person bird walks put on by the Desert Audubon Society.

If your schedule is packed check out the 185 on-demand webinars.

Check out the Advanced Training Summary List in Google Sheets to view all of these opportunities and more.

Volunteer Opportunities & Highlights for Master Naturalists

Master Naturalists check out the amazing volunteer opportunities in October. If you are an organization that needs assistance from our volunteers please reach out to the volunteering committee: volunteer-mcpmn@azmasternaturalist.org.

Volunteer Highlight

On September 18th 12 volunteers participated in the Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz head over to our blog to read more about our final results.

Butterfly Survey Oct 1st-2nd

Butterfly Monitoring Training will be virtual this year and required to monitor butterflies. Register here: https://signup.com/go/JdzPECA.

Training Oct 1 from 6:00 pm-7:30 pm. The monitoring is on Oct 2 (Saturday morning arrival times vary but~ 8:00 am start time. Training attendees will sign up for their preferred monitoring locations (options Estrella Mountain RP, White Tank RP, Hassayampa River Preserve, and Spur Cross Ranch) at the training.

(Contact Juanita if you have questions, Juanita.Armstrong@maricopa.gov)

Cave Creek Desert Foothills YMCA Oct. 25th or Oct. 27th 4-5:30 pm - seeking 2 volunteers

Help them kick off a new program at Desert Foothills! They are bringing outdoor education and nature adventures into their curriculum and would love help building their experiential learning community!

Look at the partner job description form for further details to see if this opportunity is a good fit for you https://docs.google.com/document/d/1stfLPNgsmaP2hU3OtWxtv4QkrzAEoCf2-ptGJstAb2E/edit?usp=drivesdk

(Contact Kathy if you wish to help with one of the dates, ecoexplorersatl@gmail.com)

No More Deaths Water Drops and Trail Cleanup Ongoing - Seeking Several Volunteers

Maintenance of migrant trails including water supply and trash pick-up.

Look at the partner job description form for further details to see if this opportunity is a good fit for you

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YL2njB7wtljZJODfQu4blob5alna7A65qqEeAG0uAdY/edit?usp=drivesdk

(Contact Emily if you wish to volunteer with this program emilymariannewilliams@gmail.com)

Community Science:

Report your Monarch sightings https://journeynorth.org/sightings/

*MCPMN may access the private portal to view more details about these volunteer opportunities and more.

Sponsors Column (MCPRD) - Desert Broom: Not suitable for flying!

Article by Juanita Armstrong - Natural Resource Specialist for Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department.

Maricopa County Parks Eco-Blitz Challenge for October is Desert Broom. Are you familiar with Desert Broom? This plant knows how to attract pollinators. Next time you are out in nature look to see how many different pollinator species you can you find on the native desert broom.

Desert Broom (Baccharis sarothroides) is native to the Sonoran Desert and other southwestern states. This perennial shrub is often found in washes and upland desert habitat showing its spindly, twiggy appearance for much of the year. In season, desert broom produces tiny, green flowers abundantly in the fall-winter. The seeds turn into cottony blobs and become airborne easily. You can become a community scientist and join the Eco-Blitz by searching for the project in iNaturalist. For more information about Desert Broom click learn more.

Ken’s Corner - Coyote melon: The noxious cousin of the pumpkin

Article by Ken Sweat

As the days get shorter, the nights get longer, and the temperature starts to decline our thoughts turn to the harvest, holidays, and Halloween. Although the pumpkin is the gourd that most relates to Halloween, native gourds and their wild relatives can give you a scare. Our native coyote melon, Cucurbita digitata, is very scary indeed.

Like many species of cucurbits found throughout the southwest, coyote melon is a perennial vine that grows flat on the ground, hording its resources in a large subterranean tuber. The leaves have five thin long lobes radiating from a central point like the fingers of your hand (hence the name digitata). Like all the members of the gourd family, coyote melons produce large flask shaped yellow flowers. Some of the flowers are male, the others female, and both are found on the same plant. When pollinated, the female flowers each produce a baseball sized gourd that look innocent enough, even edible.

They are neither innocent nor edible.

The fruit contains a combination of coumarins, flavonoids, glycosides, quinones and phytosteroids1. At least one of these compounds is adapted to discourage mammals from eating the fruit. Although most of the literature states the fruit is toxic, it is almost certain that no one has ever eaten enough to be poisoned. The flavor of the coyote melon is dreadful, a combination of metallic and bitter. The noxious flavor binds to the tongue and does not lessen in intensity. Water, milk, and beer are of no use to remove the taste (and not that great mixed together in the stomach); only time heals this offense. Once tasted, it is highly unlikely any animal would try that again.

So, what does the plant gain from this? Although most fruit is adapted to be eaten and the seeds passed along, this plant seems to be doing exactly the opposite. The fruit discourages consumption. Given the large number of seed eating rodents found in the southwest, such a strategy for a ground dwelling plant makes sense. It is also a subtle reminder of the complexity of evolution. Fruits are not sweet and edible to support animals-they are this way because the plant uses this as a successful reproductive strategy. And if a different environment selects for a noxious, toxic fruit, it will evolve.

Read more about local cucurbits click learn more:

Side notes from the Editor: I found a coyote melon, barely tasted it, but did not swallow. The“flavor” lasted on my lips for two days. Yuck!

The Common Raven: A Very Impressive Passerine

Article by Kathleen McCoy

Out of the corner of your eye you catch the sight of a very big dark bird flying overhead… a hawk, a vulture, or a raven? Not a hawk’s square tail but gliding high with a long wedged shaped tail. The bird soars with wings outstretched so not a vulture’s typical V shaped flight form. Then you hear a low raspy call, a bit like a loud croak, answered by another equally massive obsidian twin perched on a pole. Without a doubt, you have found a pair of common ravens (Corvus corax). Common ravens are totally black from the top of their shiny head to the tips of their samurai-like claws. With an impressive black titanium-looking slightly curved beak, shaggy throat feathers, and a thick neck, the common raven is a formidable foe. Both males and females weigh about 24.3 – 57.3 ounces with a length of 22.1 – 27.2 and are supported by a wingspan of 45.7 – 46.5 inches. Widespread in the west and northern north America, this omnivore is equally at home in deciduous and evergreen forests, high desert, seacoast, and grasslands. Undaunted by the presence of humans, the common raven is often spotted squawking from the highest trees in cities and nesting on cliffs in county parks like Papago Preserve or South Mountain Park.

A pair of common ravens, which mate for life, return annually to their territory and will make concerted attempts to exclude all other ravens from their area. These birds are intelligent and crafty even among themselves. When young ravens intrude into an established territory, for example, and find a carcass they will alert other ravens. This invitation is not out of fellowship.The young birds are attempting to overwhelm the territory owners by sheer force of numbers inorder to gain access to available food. One final note: To the untrained eye, ravens and crows are often confused. Although both belong to the genus Corvus, they are two different species. To learn more about the difference between Ravens and Crows click learn more.

Devil’s Call

Article by Jeff Babson - Jeff is a naturalist who conducts private field trips re: birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and general natural history. He also is Wildlife Viewing Program Specialist for Pima County Department of Natural Resources, Parks, and Recreation. Contact him (jeff@skyislandtours.com) for additional information.

Thanks to the abundant summer rains provided by monsoon storms, the Sonoran Desert is lushly green and in beautiful color. One of the plants that has become quite apparent over the past few weeks is Devil’s Claw (Proboscidea parviflora), one of two members of the unicorn-plant family in Arizona.

Devil’s Claw is a spreading plant that can reach three feet or more in width. The triangular leaves are simple and up to seven inches long. The leaves are covered with glandular hairs that produce a clear liquid that makes them quite sticky to the touch. The plant’s stickiness is an anti- herbivore strategy. However, this does not stop sphinx moth caterpillars from consuming the leaves.

The flowers are tubular with a base color of white, pink, or purplish with a yellow throat and can appear from April to October, but mostly during the monsoon. The blooms are about 1.5 inches long.

Following pollination, the fruit is initially dark green, fleshy, and covered with the same glandular hairs as the leaves that render them sticky. The mature fruit are dry, woody capsules, black in color, and bear two long prongs at the tip, which can measure up to one foot along the curve. The structure of the fruit has evolved to become entangled on the lower leg of large mammals. As the mammal shakes its leg to shed the fruit, the seeds are dispersed. Native Americans utilized the drier fruit in basketry.

Devil’s Claw is well-adapted to the arid conditions found in the Sonoran Desert. This annual sprouts from a large taproot in years with sufficient rainfall. In dry years, like 2020, very few, if any, Devil’s Claw germinate and do not appear above ground. This strategy is known as drought avoidance, like that employed by spring annual wildflowers. For in-depth information including additional photos and uses by Native Americans see:

To learn more about devils claw click learn more.

Beautiful and deadly: The Black Widow Spider

Article by Mo Williams

Beautiful and deadly if you are small enough to be caught in the web of a Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus). The very graceful female is 1.5 inches and the brown male about half that size. Female Black widows are identified by the red hourglass on their abdomen which sends a clear message: Danger! Black widows have earned their name because the females often eat their mates after copulation.

The Black Widow spider is one of two venomous spiders found in Arizona. Black Widows are very common in Arizona and can be found in the Phoenix’s urban and desert areas. The densest populations can be found where delicious prey like ants, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, cockroaches, and scorpions, are available. Despite their fearsome reputation, Black Widow spiders are shy. They'll never seek you out to bite you preferring to hide. They only bite in self-defense. They prefer to hide when threatened but will bite if given no other option. Their bite is rarely fatal to humans, but their potent neurotoxin can cause nausea, muscle cramps,hypertension, sweating, and breathing issues.

Black Widows start showing up as early as February and stay until October or even late November. The females spin large webs in which can be found a white cocoon housing hundreds of eggs. They like to build their webs close to the ground, in and around man-made structures like patio furniture and sheds, and around the base of most homes.

To deter the Black Widow, reduce clutter and seal openings and cracks around your house. Most effective is the elimination of food such as flies and other small insects. Carefully remove all webs and egg sacs you might find.

To learn more about Black Widow spiders click learn more.

Aphids and Zombies and Wasps, Oh My!

Article by Jess White

Anyone who has gardened knows: that large enough numbers of aphids can find themselves at the top of the list as Enemy # 1, but have your ever heard of an Aphid Zombie?! Aphids are turned into Zoombies by Aphidius wasps!

One of the most interesting (and assuredly spookiest) is their relationship with Aphidius wasps.These parasitoid wasps lay their eggs within the aphid host where the larvae begin to develop.Some species such as Aphidius nigripes take this a step further. The larvae creates a biochemical mechanism by which it controls the behavior of the aphid, forcing it to the upper surfaces of plant leaves where aphids would not normally reside. Scientists believe that this forced behavior decreases the likelihood of predation and, conversely, increases the survival rate of the larvae. Not satisfied to leave the aphids simply as Zombies, the larvae then eat their way out of the host and turn them into brown, hollowed husks of their former selves.

Next time you’re out in a garden I encourage you to look for these artifacts of nature’s complexity (or horror!) and find an aphid mummy yourself! To learn more, click below.

Host behavior modification by the endoparasitoid Aphidius nigripes: a strategy to reduce hyperparasitism | Request PDF (researchgate.net)

Bats in the Bellfry? Actually in the Cluff Ranch Shed!

Article by Cheyenne Dubiach - Cheyenne is the Wildlife Viewing Program Coordinator and Jeff Meyers is the Wildlife Viewing Program Manager for Arizona Game and Fish Department.

“Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember? Ba-dee-ya, dancing in September.” Well, the start of September has brought more than just Earth, Wind, and Fire! ;-) But it has most definitely sent us dancing! For the first time ever, my partner Jeff Meyers and I found a Lesser Long-Nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae), multiple for that matter, on our Cluff Ranch Bat Cam! Pictured below you will find a decently sized Lepto hanging onto the rafters (circled in red). This undoubtedly made our day! This sighting will be the first time we have ever caught a glimpse of this species using the old adobe barn at Cluff for a stopover sight among this species; migration back down South.

As some of you may know, we have two nectar feeding bats that reside in Arizona, one being the one shown here the Lesser Long-Nosed (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae), and the other being the Mexican Long-Tongue (Choeronycteris mexicana). If any of you have hummingbird feeders,you may have noticed that your feeders are draining more quickly than usual. This is simply due,in part, to these species utilizing the feeders at night to help fuel them throughout their migration south into Mexico and the Northernmost parts of Central America for the winter.

Species that we normally see inhabiting this roost are: pallid bats (Antrozus pallidus), cave myotis (Myotis velifer), Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis), and sometimes canyon bats (Parastrellus hesperus). All these species are smaller than the lesser long-nosed bats, and especially in this black and white picture, very similar looking to one another.

Besides having these incredible nectar feeders grace us with their presence, the bat cam has been phenomenal this year, and Jeff and I encourage all of you to check the cam out, especially at around 8 or 9 pm through mid-morning. While the cam is winding down for the season, it is still worth a glance!

Check out bat cam by clicking on learn more.

Any port in the storm?

Photo by Pam McMillie

That expression really applies in the case of this little bat that hid behind the downspout in my courtyard the evening of the big storm on August 1. The bat left he north valley, the same evening to continue on its way. Wtay hydrated while exploring the Sonoran Desert.