Got to get up into those pines, it’s where I can breathe.
– Fourkiller Flats, “National Vacation”
Our skin and souls relish the comfortably cool 65 degrees, and I close my eyes to feel it fully. A worried brow unfurls and a grin pulls at my lips as I catch the woody vanilla scent of conifers floating on a languid breeze.
We both take deep breaths, exhaling a contented sigh. Everything is so dreamy.
I marvel at the miracle of our olfactory system, biochemistry, and the how the molecules comprising the trees’ terpenes smell so sweet. I look it all up the next weekend and learn that these volatile hydrocarbons in the sap are a powerful biodefense. Turns out that terpenes have antimicrobials that protect it from fungi. It also attract ants, which in turn brings in the birds. These exchanges are vital for tree health.
We hear a Steller jay and look up to see one right in front of us! It appears to be investigating the bark, and nabbing something. I take a closer look, and see that ants are wending through the bark.
Later, I search online for “ants, ponderosa pines, Mt. Lemmon,” which led me to a Nature Conservancy post by Tana Kappel. She wrote, based on a research article published in Ecology, that: “The birds act as tree protectors, helping to keep insects in check. By altering the terpenes, they increase the tree’s resistance to parasites and plant-eating insects, according to the study’s lead author Kailen Mooney. That in turn enhances the tree’s vigor and growth.” 1
Trees are so cool.
I also found out that “more species of ants occur in Arizona than in any other U.S. State.” 2
Additionally: “The most well-known Sky Island ant fauna is that of the Chiricahua Mountains where 187 species have been documented, representing 59% of the total known ant fauna of Arizona (Stephan Cover, personal communication). To date, in the Santa Catalinas, 88 species have been identified through pitfall traps and the University of Arizona Insect Collection.” 2
Life is a glorious, mysterious, gorgeous miracle.
- Czech, B. (2022, February 9). The mysteries of the ponderosa pine. The Nature Conservancy. https://blog.nature.org/2022/02/09/the-mysteries-of-the-ponderosa-pine/
- Moore, W., Meyer, W. M., III, Eble, J. A., Franklin, K., Wiens, J. F., & Brusca, R. C. (2013). Introduction to the Arizona Sky Island Arthropod Project (ASAP): Systematics, biogeography, ecology, and population genetics of arthropods of the Madrean Sky Islands. Proceedings of the RMRS, 2013, 144–168.
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