Beetles, Bats, Weeds and the spy in our pockets

I saw the year's first Japanese Beetle yesterday. I saw damage on the leaves of some grape vines middle of last week that looked like JB damage but wasn't ready to believe they were here.

For those who aren't into garden-pests, Japanese Beetles have strong preferences in terms of adult food-plants. They like Sassafrass, Basswood (aka Linden, Lime), and Grapes. The beetles that are feeding emit sex pheromones which attract more beetles which creates a positive feedback loop. Consequently, it is common to see one tree or vine absolutely hammered while a seemingly identical one nearby is barely touched.

A Big Brown Bat in flight.

The Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) specializes in feeding on beetles. One Japanese Beetle weighs as much as 15 mosquitoes and they are stationary targets. Often, they are mating and a BBB can catch two of them in one pass. The economics of the cost:benefits to the bat are inescapable.

Knowing that, I erected my bat-house in one of the corners where my fenced-in vegetable garden borders my orchard/vineyard. I don't know if the house is inhabited, but I am trying.

I harvested our first eggplant fruit yesterday. It was from one of three plants I picked up at the local nursery and was labeled "Japanese Eggplant". I will dig one of our early 2026 potatoes to get baby-boilers and Mrs ERJ will do something magical to make it all taste good. It will likely be served over rice.

The heat-wave last week killed many of the grafts that I made late in the season. I thought they had "taken". The buds were green and extending. Now everything is dark brown. A few of the grafts were in the shade and survived. Live and learn. In the future, grafts I make after June 10 will get wrapped with (unused) toilet paper to provide a sunscreen.

It was raining when I took these pictures

Two rows of rutabagas and weeds. I am not sharing these pictures because I am proud of my garden but because this is reality. Weather happens. Weeds grow.

The potato canopy continues to expand. I have (mostly) been able to keep up with keeping them weeded.

The weeds are growing very, very well. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday should be dry enough to mow, pull weeds and till, respectively. 

Walking data

I found a large sample-size source of data regarding how much people walk.

This sample is data pulled from a fitness-tracking app on smartphones of 717k US citizens who live in urban areas. 

The average participant walked approximately 5600 steps-per-day. The standard deviation of the data was approximately 55% of the mean.

That means that the distribution is not a "normal" curve but more of a Chi-Squared distribution where the majority of the samples are below the average. That is, the average is pulled up by a relatively small number of over-achievers.

Another thing to consider is that there is some degree of self-selection in the sample. People who own fitness trackers or download fitness tracker apps are more likely to take an active role in their own health. One source suggests that owners of those kinds of devices average 1800 more steps-per-day than those who do not.

A defensible, first order approximation for the number of steps the average urban US citizen (without fitness-tracking technology) makes every day is 3800 steps or approximately 1.7 miles (2.7km). Frankly, I am surprised it is that high.