Trivia Hoedown #3 May 18, 2007

1. Insects that congregate together to feed or sleep or just hang out are termed ‘gregarious.’

2. Domesticated honey bees cannot pollinate alfalfa because the keel of the alfalfa flower pops up and hits the bee in the subesophageal ganglion, rendering it either trapped in the flower or very cranky or both.

3. Volumes of EtOH and water are not additive – 50 mL of EtOH and 50 mL of H2O do not equal 100 mL, but a little less: around 97-98 mL.

4. It’s never a good idea to give a landscape design client the original, solitary copy of their new landscape plan. This isn’t trivia so much as it is common sense. You would think.

5. The dreaded female Ginkgo tree: those stank bombs are not fruit, they are the seedcoat and seed. Ginkgo do not bear fruit.

6. Forensic entomology As Seen on TV is a truism. The ability to determine approximate time of death based on the date of insect oviposition relies on a biofix: a first date when the adult insect is present. The remainder of the sleuthing is done with degree days by adding up the cumulative degrees above a threshold over a period of days. With a biofix and temperature data, you can easily determine when insect eggs were laid and when they should hatch.
7. An orchard without apples represents an absence of Malus. I love pome humor.

8. If you’re looking for a good container mix that will drain well, act as a pH buffer, hold nutrients efficiently, and let plants’ roots breath, you can’t do a whole lot better than plain old Doug fir bark.

9. The difference between a bee and a wasp? Hairy eyes. Bees have fuzzy ommatidia.

10. Word of the week: equilibrate (v). Which sentence best represents:

a.) Let the solution spin down and equilibrate before you pour the plates; or
b.) I got a D on the midterm but have a solid B in lab, so I’m hoping it will all equilibrate.