Horse preference for alfalfa-grass hay harvested in the afternoon or morning

Cattle, sheep, and goats, prefer forage cut in the afternoon to that cut in the morning. This preference has been attributed to the presence of more sugar in the afternoon than morning forage. However, no quantitative studies have been reported for horse responses. We chose to test horses' preference for afternoon (PM) vs. morning (AM) cut alfalfa-grass hay grown in southeastern Montana. Mixed alfalfa-grass (alfalfa = 15 % bloom) was cut on 5 July 2002 at 1900 hr and again the next morning at 0700 hr using a swather with conditioner. Hay was air dried for 24 h and baled into 300 kg round bales. Bales were placed on palettes, tarped, and stored in a metal hay shed. Hay consisted of 70% Grimm alfalfa and 30% Fairway crested wheatgrass. Five kg of both hays (AM- and PM - cut) were offered ad libitum to each of five American Quarter horses for 10 minutes during the morning and afternoon. Both feeding order and position of feed buckets were randomized at each feeding. Dry matter intake was determined by weighing before and after feeding. Four samples of each bale were dried in a convection oven (60° C) and ground into a fine powder. One gram of powdered hay was combined with nine milliliters of distilled water, boiled for five minutes, and vacuum filtered through Whatman #1 qualitative paper. Sugars in the filtrate were determined using a hand held Bausch and Lomb 400SD refractometer having range of 0 - 60% . Data were tested with analysis of variance. Horses preferred the PM-cut hay by eating twice as much of the PM - as of the AM -cut hay (P = 0.001). The sugar concentration was 170 mg/g greater in the extract from the PM -cut than from AM-cut hay (P = 0.04). Horses are able to identify forage having greater sugar concentrations and will eat larger quantities of this hay

The Origin, Early Evolution and Predictability of Solar Eruptions

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were discovered in the early 1970s when space-borne coronagraphs revealed that eruptions of plasma are ejected from the Sun. Today, it is known that the Sun produces eruptive flares, filament eruptions, coronal mass ejections and failed eruptions; all thought to be due to a release of energy stored in the coronal magnetic field during its drastic reconfiguration. This review discusses the observations and physical mechanisms behind this eruptive activity, with a view to making an assessment of the current capability of forecasting these events for space weather risk and impact mitigation. Whilst a wealth of observations exist, and detailed models have been developed, there still exists a need to draw these approaches together. In particular more realistic models are encouraged in order to asses the full range of complexity of the solar atmosphere and the criteria for which an eruption is formed. From the observational side, a more detailed understanding of the role of photospheric flows and reconnection is needed in order to identify the evolutionary path that ultimately means a magnetic structure will erupt

Horse preference for alfalfa-grass hay harvested in the afternoon or morning

Cattle, sheep, and goats, prefer forage cut in the afternoon to that cut in the morning. This preference has been attributed to the presence of more sugar in the afternoon than morning forage. However, no quantitative studies have been reported for horse responses. We chose to test horses' preference for afternoon (PM) vs. morning (AM) cut alfalfa-grass hay grown in southeastern Montana. Mixed alfalfa-grass (alfalfa = 15 % bloom) was cut on 5 July 2002 at 1900 hr and again the next morning at 0700 hr using a swather with conditioner. Hay was air dried for 24 h and baled into 300 kg round bales. Bales were placed on palettes, tarped, and stored in a metal hay shed. Hay consisted of 70% Grimm alfalfa and 30% Fairway crested wheatgrass. Five kg of both hays (AM- and PM - cut) were offered ad libitum to each of five American Quarter horses for 10 minutes during the morning and afternoon. Both feeding order and position of feed buckets were randomized at each feeding. Dry matter intake was determined by weighing before and after feeding. Four samples of each bale were dried in a convection oven (60° C) and ground into a fine powder. One gram of powdered hay was combined with nine milliliters of distilled water, boiled for five minutes, and vacuum filtered through Whatman #1 qualitative paper. Sugars in the filtrate were determined using a hand held Bausch and Lomb 400SD refractometer having range of 0 - 60% . Data were tested with analysis of variance. Horses preferred the PM-cut hay by eating twice as much of the PM - as of the AM -cut hay (P = 0.001). The sugar concentration was 170 mg/g greater in the extract from the PM -cut than from AM-cut hay (P = 0.04). Horses are able to identify forage having greater sugar concentrations and will eat larger quantities of this hay

A new species of harvester ant of the genus Pogonomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from México [Una especie nueva de la hormiga cosechadora del género Pogonomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de México]

We describe a new species of harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex humerotumidus from the state of Michoacán, México. The worker of this species is easily recognized, as the psammophore is poorly developed, the mandibles have only 5 teeth, the pronotal shoulders are swollen into protuberances, and the propodeum lacks teeth. The worker is ferrugineous red. The female and male are unknown. It also differs from similar North American species such as P. huachucanus Wheeler, 1914, P. imberbiculus Wheeler, 1902 and P. pima Wheeler, 1909 in lacking propodeal spines. It can be distinguished from P. laevinodis Snelling, 1982, which also lacks spines on the propodeum, as the side of the petiolar node is sculptured, not smooth as in the latter species. It is similar to P. guatemaltecus Wheeler, 1914, which also lacks propodeal spines, but differs in being larger (total length ∼ 8 mm, vs. ∼ 6 mm in P. guatemaltecus). The pronotal angles of P. guatemaltecus are slightly swollen, but do not form protuberances as they do in P. humerotumidus. In morphology this species is closely related to the Argentinean P. inermis Forel, 1914, which can be distinguished as it has 6 mandibular teeth, and lacks the angulate subpeduncular process

Strategies of the beetle Oochrotus unicolor (Tenebrionidae) thriving in the waste dumps of seed‐harvesting Messor ants (Formicidae)

1. A diverse group of arthropods have adapted to the niches found inside the nests of social insects. Studies mostly focused on very specialised parasites residing in the brood chambers. However, the biology and strategies of symbionts occupying other niches, such as waste dumps, are underexplored. 2. Using a series of complementary experiments, this study demonstrated that the Mediterranean beetle Oochrotus unicolor has adapted to the waste dump niche found in the nests of Messor harvester ants. 3. Laboratory experiments confirmed field observations that the beetle preferentially resided in the refuse pits. Next, it was shown that the beetles readily consumed seeds and flour, whereas other food sources were poorly accepted and ant brood was never even eaten. The beetles did not elicit a strong aggression response in Messor ants, and they could tolerate very high densities of workers without clear costs. The beetles modestly mimicked the nest recognition cues of their Messor host. This imperfect mimicry could promote the adoption of the beetle in the ant colony, in concert with mechanical defence generated by its tank-like body. Isolation of the beetle from its host did not significantly affect the beetle's chemical cuticular profile nor did it provoke elevated ant aggression, indicating that the beetle does not acquire the chemicals passively from its host. 4. This paper discusses the fact that waste dumps in social insect nests are hotspots for arthropod symbionts. It shows that symbionts in this niche may employ behavioural, trophic and chemical strategies that are different from those found in other niches of social insect nests