August 18, 1925

P.'-.T 1.4

Volume IV August 18, 1925 Number 13

A' PERSONAL INVITATION :YOSEMITE NA ' IONAL -PARK.IS''YOURS! WE OF;THE'NATIONAL PARK

SERVICE WANT TO HELP YOU-.TO'`M.AKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR PARK AND' TO''UNIMOTTAND IT IN TS.EV'ERY: 400D. ALL OF THEFOLLOW ING S

iGEXS FFERE-D TO YOU Fee BY YOUR GOVERNMENT -'V isi,t the-Yosemite-Museum! fibs enytaiiWill learn the. full Stpry of the Park f---. what tools were used by tltt,iyr t Sculptor iri.earring this. mighty granite-walled gorge;.who lived here-before the white. mazy cams;.how. the: Days of;Gold led to Yosemite's discoiiery;•how the pioneers pre cared th;.way for you; and how the birds arid:immmalsand trees and glowers-live--together_in congenial communities wilting to make your acquaintance. Plan your trail trips on the large scale models in the Geography Room. The. Yosemite Library_an the Museumrprovides references,.on all phases of Yosemite history and natural history. Popular :lectures on Yosemite geology and. other-.branches.of natural history are given, by naturvguides-at, scheduled times each;day. The nature guide.oil-dutywill'bemore than.willing.to answer your-Ties t itte on any subject. G.o Afield wita Nature Guide! Take. aduaatage-,of, this free -service that will help you to know your Park.. A c&tipetenrt scientist will conduct you over Yosemite trails, and from him you may,l•earn'first hand of the-Iiative.flowers; trees, birds, mammals; and geolol.features.. SeeSchedule of Nature Guides Field Tfips. i.;' Visit Glacier Point Lookout !

Frointhere you will obtainan unexcelled view of Yosemite's 'High Sierra. The binocular telescopewill bring-Mt. Lyell to within one, third of-i mile from where you stand; you can;recognize.friends':--climbing, trails several -miles awarThe Nature Guide in attendance will'.lielp you to operate; it and. will. explain what you see. A small library is at your:command. You will enjoy the informal b' htly campfire talks. given here-.

Attend the., Nat. Guide -Campfire Talksl-...

`' id addition. to the museuth.-le Ores members of. the - ed.dcatioi al.1 staff givetalks as a tart. of-the even ` g program at Camp.C.I..irry and:,Yosemite-Lbdge.-:Non-technical explanations of how Yosemite came tm be, what you. may expect of. Yosemite;hears;- how the local Indians lived;'whit birds-. yigtt seeaboutyour can what.tr1out-you will' catch,An.Yosemite..waters; how you may beet visit the wonderland.of: the summit region;; at scgres of: similar subjects are given by the, N tional:Park. Service.Nature; its. ALL OF -THESE' OPPORTUNIT,IE i ARE.PROVIDED FREE OF CHtA-R,GE:BY YOUR GOVERNMEN'T', '

—TAKE;ADV—A -TAGEDFTHEM

Volume IV Aui ust 18, 1925 Number I?,

A NEW CHARGE AGAINST THE GOPHER

By C.P.Russell Park Naturalist, Yosemite National Park Recently Chief Electrician.1. AV. electrical department smiled with Emmert brought to me a unique satisfaction. hit of evidence that his very essenThen the unexpected happened. Oaf department is not entirely at Short-circuity occurred and conpeace with all members of Yosumers cried for help. Fortunately semite's wild life. One would not confident electricians are not overexpect electricians to meet real confident. Along with their scheme animal obsta el e s in anything for burying live wires they also smaller than obstreperous hears, developed a way of locating posbut this time,I. W E. had indeed Bible trouble in the under-ground met grief in unalloyed form and conduits. Mr. Emmert employed a It was due to no four-footed monWheatstone Bridge and uncovered ster either. the broken spot without excessive Modern service methods have deshovel work. 7t was sections of veloped a means of removing electhe destroyed lead insulations tric lines from the tops of strings found that he showed to me. I am of unsightly poles and. relocating including with this a photograph them in subterranean conduits, the of the damaged cables so that you presence of which sensitive, naturemay view them too. loving park visitors never divine. They bear the unmistakable teeth Copper wires are encased throughmarks of a rodent. Mr. Emmert out their length with a continuous found tell-tale gopher workings at sheath of lead. Protected thus they the spot and he established a case are buried beneath the surface of against the Yosemite pocket gopher the ground and confident elecwhen he located burrows of that tricians regard the interment as animal leading up to and away good for a life-time. Nothing short from the gnawed conduits. Now he of a. trench digger was to disturb wonders whether Thomomys is dethe lines laid in Yosemite; the lead veloping an appetite for this new resisted the decomposing tendenlead-encased root system or ties of soil water, the enclosed live whether the wires in question wires conveyed their burden to the merely happened to be in the way designated consumers, and the cf the subterranean worker.

90111 oppirinerrumc nu MERELY MYRMELION

By R. D. Harwood Along sandy banks, unprotected from the tun's „tare, tine oftsn finds tiny, perfectly symntecrieai pits. These pits are always in loose ma terial, although not neeelearily u

rand. There are :tome un the medial moraine near Clark's bridge whir ale made in well-pulverized decayed wood. Caretal observation will reveal the fact that these pits are situated in a region frequented by ants. In fast, one was found in the excavation or an ant home. A thorough investigatidu will chow how theme pits are formed. Sometimes a pair of strong paws may be seen projecting from the base, but the quickest way to see these jaws is to drou a small ant or a particle of sand down into the funnel-shaped trap;for trap it truly is), when the pair of jaws will suddenly appear in the attempt to seize the victim. Often the jaws will again disappear along with the ill-fated wanderer. Cut let things remain as in a slate of nature and see what happens. If you watch tong enu'~.gn you will Pee some ant Iry to cro..s this spot in the most direct line. As soon as he star t; ever.rte the loose soil particles ilame,elituiy ht gin to foil and unless the ant is very. big, fee lumhlee to tie oottotn and into the very active jaws, la the eagerness to reach the victim the ant lion, ter so lie appropriately named, will toss, away the nisloilga d particles with c•onsideraple force. A Hard Fellow to Capture New let us try lo diaeovel t eat sort of terrible monster this ant lien is There are t'rveral aUpeeved methods of cei.ttni, all of which require cousi.icrable skill to bring 100 per cent results, One method is to drop tiny 4and gains into the pit and then grab the tier: a.- he tosses them out, However, the one which is more pentrally suceessfu' is to suddenly;,coop under the vertex and then carefully sift the send from otie hand to tin ether. Sharp eyes are het't', in- %all;able, for the color and habitg rf the tint lion work in its favor. Success reveals a soft, pointed abdomen. dark gray in color and ),Otsessing a mottled and wrinItlee appearance. This roughness is clue both to the segmentation. and to the possession of tiny tubercles sparseIv clothed with hair. Iu front of this is a tiny thorax to which are altacl'ed six rath er inconspicuous legs. Ah, there is a clue to the Identity. It must be all insect. At the extreme anterior end is the head which to the casual observer. is a pair of powerful. sharp jaws. The jaws are so much out of all proportion to the Pest of the instal body that all else seems dwarfed. The jaws air the claws na well a :. the masticators,.gel therefor, erase i have an extreme development. Watching the Alit Lion vrork h If you will place line am lion on some sand and wntc o, you salt see just now the pit is nerd, Lei lees he "plays 'possum " he will immediately begin wol'kutat his a! men backward and dewnwmal. P very short time !le IF eutOpleli iy hidden. Then, if undisturbed. h will soon start throwing the sand t tiny from him. Tine s ccuniV lted by sudden vielent jerks 'd s nead and thorax;vine graspin g the rand in his jaws. 1Yhi1 doing this he is also working down Wald, so that in time a perfect inContd. on Page 76

'PNId ANT LION OIt

DOODLEBUG

(A)—Larvae of ant lion. In this form the insect passes a period of its life at the bottom of a pit. (Fig. B.) The great mandibles enable it to overcame the ants which slide to the bttom of the little crater, (B1—A pit vensLructed by the ant lion. Into this perfect trap many ants are precipitated when they crawl over the edge. (C:)—The adult ant lions does not in the tea'tt suggest that it has experienced a youthful life of mur der.—(Drawings from life and from

Kellog's "American Insects")

r.. Yosemite NATURE NbTES-

AFIELD WITH THE NATURE GUIDES

titAAbearw Rl1 AT ith thr GLACIERcubs Slat tight, but one large cinnamon One of the bucks being fed daily r appears nearly every night at at Glacier Point Hotel recently reg-. Glacier Point garbage dump ietered disapproval In a very post th three very small cubs. She artive manner One of the guests usually 'considerably after offered him some choice bit for, but during the recent full which he did not care. Instead of she was observed several sniffing and walking away as an

The cubs were chased up a ordinary deer would have done, he e yellow pine some one hundred raised one hoof and gently struck from the piled garbage, and the lady 's hand. Even then he • re on the lowest limb, thirty feet did not walk way, but Stood waitvs the ground, they clambered ing for a bite more to his liking. tend restlessly expressing their In the fall a. buck tame enough glinge by means of short whines can provide. Now Is the time when lie the mother watched from beto feed from one's hand may be W, but became quiet when the old dangerous. Caution should be r went down to feed. used in ap proaching them, for durAfter some t'me two large bears ing the madness of the rutting seas Up from the dump, singly, but sort it is impossible to predict what not attract the young^ters e Then their m.)vements may be.—R. D. mother appeared and walked Harwood. the brush, where she waited * E • the cubs descended, making a.t CLEVER BGGAR ( noise with their scratching as Those who have lunched at Glabacked down. When within tier Point have. been attracted by feet.of the ground they the grand old patriarch of the ped out of the tree and landed ground squirrels. He Is fat and 1lning.-Da•-'a ', Keck. grizzled, apparently by many bat- * * ties, which ought so Indicate age CHARIii"q HI APLI'S tend prowess. He has learned to The h ir er. mak 'ng his way up the trust man, for he will feed from Re trail, in the morning, gets the hand on the dining porch of 0 full benefit of the Sierra sun. the hotel. Recently he exhibited 'ter It time, however. he turns Into an extrsme of trust or of greed trin"rrn'i ehimnev and sweet stream umphing over fear. A man coaxed lore soothe him as he is cooled him onto his lap to lake food from the shadow of wells Free from his hand. The squirrel sat there • metnal lethargy induced by heat while ha ate all the marmalade off d exertion, the tramper may look the bun proffered him. Then, aP Ut

him, for there is much of parently having had enough, he ran Uty here. with a large piece remaining to the ater-loving Creek Dogwood protection of a nearby chinquapin rnus pubescens) forms coot bush. Here, after two futile at- 'Celts : fresh mosses and tenter_ tempts, he finally got it carefully p er plants make gardens along placed in the ground. The hole was stream. As spring travels np considerably deeper than the food slopes the flowers along this deposited therein and after bury1 change from day to day and ing it he carefully stamped down week to week. The two most the ground over it. Then he dug wy flowers on the 12th of.Tuly one more false cache before scurryre members of the F igwort f"ming back for more food. What a qua of the geniis Mimulus. The civilized beggar t—R. D. Harwood. k Mirnnlus (Mimulns T,ew psiil 'A At Wds her graceful. leafy stems A eiiCPICTo+'S SflIJIRREL h cln'-ters of large Pink Mass When eomin' along the trail beq. Del icate and lovely. these low Vernal F ells a group of hikers era inn.esae in size from day became mneh interested in a ground dqv "nd invouely receive all who spulrrel because of his peculiar lee to adm ire hot if plucked, inantics. At the approach of the lit •esentmont is shown and soon small party. the squirrel ran sudai t he li feless stems droop withdenle from the lower side of the flower,: trail te a point about four feet olden-heads (Vfimlilus implexus) from the trail on the bank above he other showy F i gwort. These and st"rted to dig as though his rite them cnngenl..I colonies tied very life depended upon the excavam their massed stems and leaves Lion of some deenly burled treasure. the °'Orden heads. rooks of However he soon reached the 1nsmiSeh ief alinep from the golden cioue base of the rein orchis and. era to the peps that behold dropping the upper less tender Part. tn. A darit s pirit is this lolly he ran a few feet to a rock where tiliis thet follows the mountain he sat nllite undisturbed by the ams into the high mounta ins. presence of four humans while he the clones of Dana, in the drip n ibbled pnntentedly on the rent. Laden anr ings. this plant haves When someone reached up onto the lden harmer. This mounta in hank and nicked un the rein orchis has sheet stem and heads twice stem, he watched the offender most lee of those on the Ledge trail attentively. His attitude during the are about an inch across. whale proceedin g was that of sustth a corolla that in shape remelon, as though he thou ght that tiles the garden Snap Dragon, the people had designs on that very mimulus is an easy flower to particular root and stem.—R. D. 0gnize.—Enid Michael. Harwood.

1J1df l 1'K 11LS When the first snows of winter. thins where deer had been in the fall in the high country the Mee, habit of coming to drink. These which have made this country their trails were deep and dusty, showhome, start their trek to the lower ing frequent use by presumably country. many deer. Going in single file, they start Deer trails are often made down the ridges toward the snow through places a person on foot can line. If the storm is bad they move scarcely traverse, going through th e rapidly, paying litt l e attention to thickets, under low-hanging limbs, ebstructimea In fact, even a hao v er rocks, and straight, or nevr1'' an being sterns t, : con cern them straight, up and down slop's; upon but little. Their instinct is set, oil which a man can scarcely stand. one thing, and they never swerve How a large buck mule doer therm from their downward course. maneuver his big;antlers lhrongh • The 'rails lead down the ridges some of the underbrush theee trade on one side of it, canyon, with no traverse is a marvel. but still he is ides, of grade—the straightest way able to dash through at full ep'cd down, then straight un the othte without any apparent difficult.v.— side along the top of a ridgeTI. D. McLean. Sometimes great numbers of Mier ~C at aC must pass over these trails, espeTWO-WrVGEO G1AA'l ', Malty these which are directly beLike giant mosquitoes are the tween the summer and winker feed_ slender crane flies which are often ing ranges. Often these trails are attracted lo the lights these sumwe-en down to a feat m depth, as is rarer nights. Fortunate indeed that evidenced on Pilot Peak ridge, just they do net possess the beaks and west of the park boundary, appetites of their cousins in proIf the storm 's mild or intermitPortion to size. Tlmy would then tent they do not travel so rapidly, rant. 'i iCh the vcllnpire bats of South Lut linger along the t"aile to America, whose blood-sucking bahbrowse here and there on some its have 1 rought them fame of a choice plant. sort. After once arriving at the snow,Strout :. slender wings carry these line numerous trails are made giants of the insect world as they through the thickets and across flop from light to tent wall. The gulches in their,wanderings from :oniz spider-like legs are usuallyone browse patch to another. These held pendent fr.m the both, when sometimes show more lare in grade in flight. showing a resemblance to than the main :Le-t ortes of internthe bird far whom they were named don, being often of :midi easy grade it is no uncommon sight to see that a horse can easily traverse these fli'u with legs reduced in them. In these trails one often number. es they are very easily sees the track of the mountain lion broken aff. where he has wandered through in The eggs of this species are black r,earch of deer that are not exand are dropped by the female as perienced in his deredations she flies low over the wager. Soon In their summer home deer are these eggs 'hatch into almost transnot given to following trails to any parent legless larvae which live on such extent as they are in winter, the vegetation in not too swift being content to wander about streams, As one observes these through the forests nnhindered and twic'ting "worms" he can watch the fully fed. They do, however, often werkin,g+: of the digestive System make well-defined trails to some and see them as they protrude and favorite watering place, as at Tarnretract their sharp jaws.;track creek, just twelve miles west Of the many crane flies found in of Yosemite. Yosemite, this giant is the most inHere T found several trails cut tcresting as w^ll es the most coninto the steep slopes of the moone,plcnous.--R. D. Harwood.

MERELY MYRMELION.

Contd. from Page 74 veiled cone is formed. Ah esamigauzy winged adult with a long nation will show that there is a and slender abdomen. They are very close correlation between the cllen to be found about lights at size of the ant lion and that of the this season of the year and they hit formed by it. will become more numerous as This ant lion or doodle bug. as summer advances, They resemble it is often called, is a curious demise] flies in;t general way, but suet in the marked difference bethey can easily be identified by tween the larva and the adult. tittle ccnsistmlt gray color, their When the greedy art lion has very long slender abdomens, and grown to full site, he stops eating' their conspicuous antennae. The and elm nges to the pupa. Here, scientific name of the genus is after a brief period of transformaD7yr•rrtelicn, of which ant lion is Lion, he emerges as a graceful the English equivalen3

OSEMITE NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION ITS PURPOSES

o gather and disseminate information on the wild-life of Sierras. develop and enlarge the Yosemite Museum (in con with the National Park Service) and to establish subunits, such as the Glacier Point lookout and branches of nature. promote the educational work of the Yosemite Nature ide Service. r;;;" publish (in cooperation with. the U. S. National Park ice) "Yosemite N.. '.; Nf,14t '' study livin cab,.,:, 's and present of the Indians the Yosemite reg} } ` K maintain in To ~* lley'd?lt?rary of historical, entific, and pope further scientift -e' :rO' i.»ni along lines of greatest polar interest'aucLO%pti i,,from time tQ time, bulletins Of non-technical nature. •. strictly limit the; tetivf ties of the association to purposes hich shall be scien' fyc and edtiieational order that the organization shat? t1Tie =operated f

rofit. _ -~

Y WE SEND YOU EACH.'1ISSI!15 OIFJSEMITE NATURE" NOTES?

ur check for $2.0o sent to the..Park Naturalist, Yosemite nal Park, will help to pay thOost cif its publication for ear and make you a member oT the. Yosemite Natural ry Association for the same period.

THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE - UT-DOOR RECREATION

Called by PRESIDENT COOLIDGE

T THE CONFERENCE ENDORSE NATURE STUDY IN SCHOOLS THE EXTENSION OF THE NATURE STUDY IDEA TO EVERY RICAN SCHOOL AND FAMILY; THAT THE ESTABLISH-, OF MUSEUMS OF NATURAL HISTORY IN NATIONAL PARKS INCREASE THE EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL VALUE OF THE

ks".—Resolution of the Conference.