Essays

Wild On The Prairie: Habitats

Trash has its own ecosystem
October 24, 1999

“People who litter poop in their underwear, too!” It is a shame everyone does not feel the same scorn and disgust as the seven year old child that blurted the above. The Sibley Nature Center prefers to extol the wonders and glories of the natural world, not to preach an environmentalist message. At times, however, righteous wrath is brought forth by the despicable actions of others.

Having said that, did you know that there is an ecosystem that utilizes litter? When you help pick up trash for the Adopt-a-Highway program, or while participating in a student community service program, keep your eyes open. A plethora of critters are lurking in and under the trash.

The most dangerous creepie-crawlers can be found under the bigger hunks of boards, sofas, refrigerators, carpet, filing cabinets, washing machines, and other things that people do not feel like paying $12.50 at the dump for disposal). Every “herper” (snakecatcher) knows to turn over every object on the ground, be it natural or man-made. Snakes love to hide in crevices, and on the rockless Llano Estacado the gaps between ground and trash serve well. When picking up trash – ALWAYS LIFT THE EDGE AWAY FROM YOU! (Give an escape route to the critters!)

The preferred residence of a brown recluse spider in the out-of-doors is also always UNDER. Brown recluses are more commonly found indoors, but under large objects, several recluses will clean out the other species of spiders. Silvery-gray abdomen and pale legs, three pairs of eyes at the base of the fiddle – a daddy long-legs with two body parts – a Brown Recluse is easy to identify.

Black-widow spiders will be found inside the larger rubbish. An old set of bedsprings is perfect. Everyone knows how to identify the mature female – but what about the immature female? It may not have the hour-glass on the ventral plane, and will likely have parallel lines of white, gray, and red on its dorsal side. Both species of dangerous spiders prefer to run away. Most bites occur when the creature is trapped between object and human.

Do not forget scorpions and centipedes. Centipedes will usually be found under trash only during the first few days after a rain, for they need more moisture than spiders and scorpions. A centipede bites with modified fangs on its front legs! A burning sensation for an half hour followed by swelling are the average symptoms. This sting is about the same as a scorpion’s.

Two species of scorpions lurk under southern Llano Estacado trash. One is two to three inches long and reasonably noticeable since it moves as soon as its shelter does. The other is only an inch long and remains motionless when first exposed to light and air making it difficult to see. None of our scorpions are truly dangerous, unlike the bark scorpion of Arizona.

You may also find bumblebee nests in ground holes near objects, and wasp nests in the larger hunks of junk. (And we have not even discussed the dangers from the trash itself: cuts from broken glass, gashes from sharp-edges of dross, hepatitis, lockjaw, and more). Trash-picking can be a scary activity.

Any cretin caught littering should be made to perform a hundred hours of trash-picking. The fine for littering should be quintupled. Such bozos are disgusting – spoiled brats that expect others to pick up after them. For good measure, require the convicted litterer display a magnetic sign on his or her car for a full year that says I AM A CONVICTED SLOB.

Please forgive the self-righteous diatribe. We were discussing various opportunistic creatures that are able to utilize trash for protection and homes. Everybody likes lizards. Lizards like trash. Trash not only provides cover (a place to hide), but also encourages termites and beetles to linger.

Lizards think termites are a delicacy and beetle larvae a main course. Nice, big, juicy grubworms - all glistening as if slimy – oh, what a lizard’s delight. (Or a turtle’s, for that matter.) Beetle larvae appreciate trash because it blankets the natural plant cover, which weakens it and causes soft growth both above and below ground. Beetle larvae love to eat the weakened plant growth and the corresponding associated fungi.

Trash provides wonderful homes for mice and rats. Rodents gather grass and shred it - if softer materials are not present –constructing nice fuzzy, warm nests. There is an amazing number of rodent species on the Southern Llano Estacado. In town, house mice and Norway Rats take over the trashheaps, but out on the prairie, a half-dozen species of mice and three species of pocket mice go nosing across the “gifts from the gods.” We must seem like gods to rodents, considering all the gifts we give!

Although no cases of hantavirus have been found in Midland County, one should remember that mouse urine is the carrier. Plague, however, was once found once in Ector County. Plague lives on fleas, and fleas live on rodents. Packrats love trash. If you find a packrat’s nest, it is always adorned with trash. If there is no man-made trash available, the packrat will make do with animal droppings, which are not nearly as shiny and ornamental.

Coyotes may dig around for a crust of bread from a burger, but more often they leave a token of their esteem, plunked down square on the trash – a big pile of their own scat. Being canids, a full and rotten-smelling diaper is ambrosia to coyotes, a packet to be torn apart and rolled in. Oh, yummy! Isn’t it wonderful how all the “nice” people throw trash out the window, and dump their household garbage on other people’s property?

While we are at it, let us applaud the drunken young fools who place an empty bottle at an intersection for the next car to shatter, causing a flat tire. They help the local economy, giving work to the flat-fixing services. Yes sirree, litterers give work to jail trustees and provide an opportunity for all of us to serve the community by cleaning up after them. It is too bad, though, that litterers will never read this column – reading is too boring and does not satisfy the immediate gratification needs of the utterly selfish.