Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

The dove season opener is September 1, and if you plan to hunt this season, your firearm needs to work properly.

08—Before you ever start the season or bring it out to use it for the first time make sure that firearm is in good operable condition.

You want to listen to this man. He’s Terry Erwin, TPW Hunter Education Coordinator, and he knows a few things about firearm safety.

06—Make sure it’s clean and well oiled, and always keep that muzzle pointed in a safe direction while you’re handling that firearm.

Terry says to thoroughly clean your firearm using the manufacturer’s recommendations. Now, if you’re new to firearms and unsure of how to care for one, there’s no embarrassment in getting some help…

07—Take it to a qualified gunsmith to have those things looked after and make sure it’s in good operational condition.

Terry reminds us a properly maintained and sighted-in firearm will provide years of reliable service and enjoyment.

15—Once you go out to sight in your rifle and things like that, make sure all your scope rings and that mounts and bases are tightened so when you do sight the rifle in, everything is going to line up and be as it should when you actually go hunting.

Find hunter safety information on the Texas parks and Wildlife Website.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series and works to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

The closer we get to fall hunting season, the faster hunter education courses fill up.

08—Take it well before the busy season starts, because as the season progresses, courses get more difficult to obtain.

Hunter Education Coordinator, Terry Erwin says you’ll find the hunter education schedule on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

13—And then look under Outdoor Learning. Courses are listed under two-day courses, or even the online courses are available. And pick one that’s closest to your location and convenient to your scheduling.

Those born on or after September 2, 1971, who are at least nine years old, must take the course. Not having completed hunter education training could result in a fine if caught.

10—The fine could be a Class C misdemeanor up to $500 for not having a hunter safety course. That happens to be the number one citation written this year.

Young hunters between 9 and 17 years old may go into the field with someone who is licensed.

16—Once you turn 17 you have at least one-year option of buying the deferral, which gives you an extra year’s time to take the course. But, you still must hunt with a licensed hunter while in the field.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series and works to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

Texas has nine native bumblebee species. Loss of habitat to agriculture, use of pesticides, as well as European honeybees competing for food, threatens these important pollinators.

05— And so if we have a reduction in bumblebees, that spells trouble for our ecosystems.

Michael Warriner, invertebrate biologist says, because Texas bumblebees have evolved with native flora as pollinators, fewer native bees would eventually translate to fewer native plants, which would impact other living things…

10—The birds and the mammals and other insects that depend on plants for fruit, or seeds, or just the functioning ecosystem.

While we give non-native European honeybees credit for pollinating our food crops, in some instances, bumblebees outperform them.

14—Bumblebees, although they aren’t talked about a lot as important pollinators, they’re much better and more efficient than honeybees. They’re the best pollinators for things like tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, melons, and those sorts of crops.

You can find more bumblebee information at Warriner’s website, texasbumblebees.com.

11—And if you’re interested in being a bumblebee watcher, check out the website, and if you see any bumblebees in your garden, just send in photos. We’re really trying to learn how bumblebees are doing.

That’s our show for today…For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti

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This is Passport to Texas

We all know about colony collapse disorder whereby colonies of European honeybees seem to vanish.

05—Less well known are the threats facing a lot of our native bumblebees.

Michael Warriner is an invertebrate biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. Like other native wildlife species in Texas, habitat loss is taking its toll on native bumblebees.

09—Bumblebees need open, flower-rich habitat—like grasslands. And, a lot of that habitat’s been converted to agriculture.

Warriner says pesticide use is another concern, but the threats to these big black and yellow insects doesn’t stop there.

12—And also, there’s been the importation of bumblebees from Europe into this country which has brought in parasites and diseases that may be impacting them. So, there’s a lot of concern how they’re faring in North America.

One of the threats to Texas bumblebees might actually be honeybees, which have colonies in the tens of thousands compared to the hundreds of insects in a bumblebee colony.

19—Honeybees have these tens of thousands of workers, and so they can go out and monopolize a flower resource—like nectar or pollen—and that reduces what’s available for our native bees. And there’s some research that suggests that the presence of honeybees in natural sites can reduce native bees.

We’ll have the potential impact from bumblebee decline tomorrow.

That’s our show for today…For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti

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This is Passport to Texas

[SFX—buzzing]

06—Most people when you say the word ‘bee’ their mind automatically goes to the European honeybee.

Michael Warriner, an invertebrate biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, says Texas has plenty of native bee species…they’re just not as attention grabbing as honeybees.

08—Most of our bees are called solitary bees. They live on their own; they don’t live in big colonies. They don’t make honey, per se.

While solitary bees are easy to miss and dismiss, our native bumblebees are not.

05—Bumblebees are basically big flying balls of fur.

These large furry slow moving insects with their distinctive black and yellow markings deserve our attention and appreciation.

17—Because they’re so tied into the plant life here. They’ve adapted through hundreds of thousands of years to pollinate these plants, and these plants are dependent on native bees, less so honeybees. Honeybees aren’t necessarily geared toward pollinating our native plants.

But times are getting tough for our native bees.

08—A lot of people know about honeybee decline. Less well-known are the threats facing a lot of our native bees like bumblebees.

We’ll hear about that on tomorrow’s show.

That’s our show for today…we record our series at The Block House…and Joel Block engineers our program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti

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