Wonderminute by Pastor Matt Hickman (November 2009)

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Psalm 104:24

Would you believe that the common nightcrawler and 40+ other worm species, so abundant in the soils of the northern U.S., are non-native transplants? The last ice age, which occurred many tens-of-thousands of years ago, pressed native earthworm populations southward. The backyard worms we know today came with immigrants across the ocean to America in the root balls of favorite garden plants, in ship ballast, and hitchhiking in animal hooves.

The introduction of these worms continues to be both a blessing and a curse. Gardeners know well the benefits of worm-worked soils. Worms improve the physical structure of garden soil with tunnels that channel air and water. Worms also improve the chemical makeup of garden soil by converting decomposing organic matter into nutrient-rich fertilizer. Redworms (Eisenia spp.) have even proven effective in removing carcinogenic PCBs from contaminated soils.

The curse has been the effect of non-native earthworms on the composition of northern forest floors. When a leaf falls to the ground it normally takes a long time to decompose, and layer upon layer of decomposing leaves provides a fertile seed bed for new tree saplings and wildflowers. Worm populations however, can rapidly deteriorate this ‘duff' layer with their voracious appetites, threatening plants which grow there. Fishing enthusiasts can be of great help in preventing the introduction of exotic earthworms into forest ecosystems by disposing of unused baitworms rather than releasing them on the ground.

Wonderminute by Pastor Matt Hickman (October 2009)

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Psalm 104:24

Flower Flies are one of North America's most maligned native pollinators; out-competing native bees in orchard pollination. Landing on sweaty forearms for a mineral-rich drink of human sweat, they are often mistaken as "sweat bees" because of their bold, black-and-yellow bee-like striping. Death by swatting is a common end, but the irony is that the Flower Fly is unarmed; no stinger to be found.

Actual Sweat Bees exhibit similar sweat-drinking behavior, and do sting, but often go unnoticed because of their small size and dark coloration. Coloration on a harmless insect which mimicks another toxic or dangerous insect is called Batesian Mimicry; after Henry Walter Bates, a British entomologist who studied mimicry in Amazonian butterflies. Hummingbird-like hovering-as opposed to the bobbing flight of actual bees-is a giveaway for identifying Flower Flies. In the United Kingdom they are, in fact,  called Hover Flies.

The larvae of many Flower Flies are important predators of damaging insects like aphids, scales, thrips, and caterpillars. Most species overwinter in the post-larval stage, as pupae, in soil and under decaying leaves. It is no small contribution to your backyard ecosystem to allow fallen leaves to remain in out-of-the-way places in your yard over the winter-like under shrubs and in flowerbeds-many creatures depend on it!