Sericea lespedeza [Lespedeza cuneata (Dumont) G. Don] is a non-native invasive plant that threatens the health of prairie and rangeland. A survey of rangeland in Cowley County, Kansas, was conducted to determine the spatial distribution, level of infestation, and estimated treatment cost. In addition, patterns of water distribution, soil type and forest cover were examined to determine if some areas were at a higher risk of invasion by sericea lespedeza. Sixty-six randomly determined quarter-sections were surveyed in the county by running two 800-meter transects at each location. Each transect was 2 m wide and consisted of 8 subsections. From these samples, it was determined that approximately 26,000 hectares (17%) of rangeland in the survey area contained sericea lespedeza. The levels of infestation ranged from sparse to severe. Sparse and scattered were the most frequent levels, and when combined, were found in 50% of the infested survey sites. The estimated cost for a one-year treatment is $186,486. Aerial photographs and Cowley County soil maps were used to identify the locations of bodies of water, forest cover, and soil type. Sericea lespedeza was found more often than expected at sites that contained ponds and streams, or which contained >1% forest cover. An association between the different soil types and sericea lespedeza was not found in this study. Based on these findings, sites where water is present or, which have forest cover are at a higher risk for infestation by sericea lespedeza.

The apparent metabolizable energy (AME) of ten different seeds, and three commercial feeds was determined for greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) under simulated winter conditions. Seeds rated extremely poor potential energy sources for wintering greater prairie-chickens included buckbrush and Blackwell switchgrass (AME < 2055 kcal/kg DM), whereas Korean lespedeza, soybean, pearlmillet, corn, sorghum, and sunflower were rated excellent, in that order (AME > 3002 kcal/kg DM). The birds exhibited excellent AME's on several commercial diets (AME >2800 kcal/kg DM), but did not eat wheat grass-cuttings (Triticum sp.).

Members of the spider genus Loxosceles (Araneae: Sicariidae) are found throughout the world. Their venom can cause severe open necrotic lesions in humans that can take several months to heal. Bite victims may also develop systemic reactions that can be life-threatening if medical attention is delayed or unavailable. Many Loxosceles species establish large populations in human habitats, creating a threat to human health and safety. Loxosceles reclusa, the brown recluse spider, is by far the most abundant spider species in many homes throughout the south-central United States. There has been an increase in awareness of brown recluse spiders, primarily due to negative media coverage of disfiguring bites and immense, slow-healing wounds. Although the bite of L. reclusa has been identified as a cause of necrotic lesions for nearly five decades, surprisingly few studies examine the biology of these spiders, and none have examined their association with humans. Few data have been published on the killing efficacy of pesticides on L. reclusa. Although millions of dollars are spent each year to control populations of L. reclusa in homes, no studies have been conducted to test newly developed chemicals or examine the benefits of integrated pest management practices. Here, we review historical accounts of pest management for L. reclusa populations and previous laboratory studies of biology and behavior. We then discuss how current studies of urban ecology, biological control, and urban pest management contribute to the management of L. reclusa populations in human habitats.

Rounded and polished igneous or metamorphic pebbles that occur in sedimentary deposits generally are considered to be true gastroliths only when associated with the remains of vertebrate animals. In the Kansas Cretaceous, with the exception of two unusual specimens, a shark and a mosasaur, gastroliths are known to be associated only with the remains of extinct marine reptiles called plesiosaurs (Sauropterygia; Plesiosauroidea). Examples of non-associated, gastrolith-like stones are rare in the fossil record of Kansas. The recent discovery of rounded and polished stones from two localities in the basal Kiowa Shale (Albian, Early Cretaceous) coincides with the documented presence of plesiosaur remains in that formation, including one specimen associated with over 200 gastroliths. Similar sized stones collected from the underlying Cheyenne Sandstone were composed predominately of quartz and are lithologically distinct from the probable gastroliths. The rounded, polished appearance of these stones, including chert pebbles with distinctive conchoidal fractures, strongly suggests that the stones from the basal Kiowa Shale are gastroliths.

In February 2004, we collected 104 long-eared owl (Asio otus) pellets from beneath a large pine tree in northern Wichita, Kansas that served as a winter roost for approximately four individuals. A detailed analysis of this collection provided basic information on pellet morphology (length, width, total weight, and weight of skeletal remains), as well as gross (% mammal, % bird) and fine (mammalian species composition) determinations of the long-eared owl's winter diet in this urban location. Long-eared owl urban roosts are somewhat uncommon, and this information might be valuable to owl researchers and other ecologists interested in urban wildlife.

Topographic features, under certain circumstances, may reveal information about what is hidden beneath. By studying the configuration of the surface, information can be gained as to what might be below, and visa versa the configuration of subsurface features can give insight as to what may be expected on the surface. Thus, surficial topographic features may be indicators of buried folds, faults, igneous intrusives, and other subsurface geologic features. The Big Springs (Shawnee/Douglas counties) and Beagle (Miami County) anomalies in eastern Kansas are given as examples.

‘Jonathan’ apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) trees at three commercial orchards were sprayed one to eight times with calcium chloride (CaCl₂) solution containing 3.2 g/L, starting when apple sizes were between 0.9 and 1.6 cm average diameters. Apples were stored for two and four months in regular atmosphere storage at 2°C (36°F). Fruit firmness, ratio of soluble solid concentrations to titratable acidity (SSC/TA), and fruit red skin color during the two storage periods and fruit weight after four-month storage were determined. Apples stored for two months had better quality than those stored for four months. Depending on the location, five to eight CaCl₂ applications and two to seven applications were necessary to retain an average of 26% of fruit firmness and an average of 35% of the SSC/TA, respectively, in the two-month storage. At least seven applications were required to retain an average of 29% of fruit firmness of apples stored for four months. Six to seven applications of CaCl₂ retained fruit weight by 22 to 33% more than the non-treated control apple. Fewer CaCl₂ applications were required to sustain fruit skin color during storage than to maintain fruit firmness or fruit weight after two months of storage. Two-month stored apples from Topeka, Conway Springs, and Emporia that were treated with two applications of CaCl₂ were 33, 27, and 17% redder than the control, respectively. In general, CaCl₂ was beneficial for storage quality of ‘Jonathan’ apples in Kansas. Between six to seven preharvest applications of CaCl₂ were necessary to retain quality of ‘Jonathan’ for a short-term regular storage, whereas, more than eight applications should be considered for long-term storage.

Casts of Waterhouse Hawkins' Crystal Palace fossil restorations were offered for sale by Henry Ward in his 1866 catalogue. Herein Ward's casts of Hawkins' restorations are discussed and comparisons made between these and additional casts of fossil marine reptiles in the Ward catalogue. Ward and Hawkins had similar motives and methods in presenting fossil replicas and restorations to the public.

Fossil vertebrates are extremely rare in the Fort Hays Limestone member of the Niobrara Chalk in comparison to the rich variety of well-preserved fish, turtles, mosasaurs, pteranodons, and toothed birds collected from the overlying Smoky Hill Chalk, and to a lesser extent, the underlying Carlile Shale. Although mosasaurs are well documented from the Smoky Hill Chalk (Upper Coniacian – Lower Campanian), and occur rarely in the Carlile Shale (Middle Turonian), they had not been previously reported from the intervening Fort Hays Limestone (Lower Coniacian). Here we report the remains of a mosasaur (FHSM VP-2297) preserving 14 articulated vertebrae, the left coracoid, ribs, and fragments of sternal cartilage collected by M.V. Walker in 1967 from Ellis County, Kansas. Serrated bite marks on several of the ribs are attributable to the anacoracid shark, Squalicorax falcatus, and suggest postmortem scavenging of the remains. The specimen is identified as Tylosaurus sp. on the basis of the characteristic shape of the coracoid and represents the earliest documented occurrence of that genus. It is also the first record of a mosasaur in the Fort Hays Limestone and preserves the earliest evidence of scavenging on mosasaur remains by Squalicorax.

Reliability and cost of different types of planting stock under various climatic and site conditions are important. We tested three types of planting stock for survival and growth: bare-root seedlings, nuts, and container stock of black walnut. In this study, in which we had good soil fertility, weed control, and moisture, we found no difference in the success between the three types of plantings. If seed predation problems may exist, using bare-root, dormant seedlings in the spring for establishing typical forestry plantings is encouraged; otherwise seeds may be used if in an open field site.