Earth and Space News: November 2017

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Goat Kids Asterism Triangulates Near Golden Capella in Auriga

Summary: The three star Goat Kids asterism triangulates near golden Capella, brightest star in Auriga the Charioteer constellation.

Auriga the Charioteer safely cradles Goat Kids (Eta Aurigae, Zeta Aurigae) with his left arm in 1822 depiction by Scottish rhetorician Alexander Jamieson in A Celestial Atlas, Plate IV: Alexander Jamieson, Public Domain, via U.S. Naval Observatory Library

As winter approaches for mid-northern latitudes, the three star Goat Kids asterism triangulates in the northeastern sky near golden Capella, brightest star in Auriga the Charioteer constellation.

The Goat Kids asterism triangulates prominently as three stars lying below Capella (Alpha Aurigae; α Aurigae; Alpha Aur; α Aur). Capella shines as the constellation’s brightest star and as nighttime’s sixth brightest star.

A she-goat snuggles against the charioteer’s left shoulder. Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (ca. 100-ca. 170 CE) identified Capella as representing the she-goat’s body in his second century treatise, originally entitled Mathematical Treatise (Ancient Greek: Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις, Mathēmatikē Syntaxis) and now known as Almagest (al-majisṭī, “almagest”: Arabic transliteration of Ancient Greek: μεγίστη, megístē, “greatest”).

The narrow triangle representing the Kids angles noticeably outward from the constellation’s five-sided, or pentagonal, basic outline. The Goat Kids asterism comprises three stars. Epsilon Aurigae, Zeta Aurigae and Eta Aurigae participate in the triangular asterism. Eta Aurigae and Zeta Aurigae represent the asterism’s two goat kids.

Epsilon Aurigae (ε Aurigae; Epsilon Aur; ε Aur) lies southwest of Capella. The mid-third magnitude star shines as the brightest of the Goat Kids asterism’s stellar trio and as Auriga the Charioteer constellation’s fifth brightest star. Epsilon Aurigae rates as nighttime’s 181st brightest star, according to British astrophysicist Richard Powell’s Hipparcos (High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite) Catalogue-based list of 300 brightest stars.

Ptolemy’s Almagest identifies Epsilon Aurigae as representing the charioteer’s left elbow. Epsilon Aurigae marks the apex of the asterism’s triangle from a distance of around 2,000 light years.

University of Illinois Emeritus Professor of Astronomy James B. “Jim” Kaler describes Epsilon Aurigae as “One of the weirdest and least understood stars in the sky.” Epsilon Aurigae is actually an eclipsing binary star system with an orbital period of 27.1 years. Eclipses by its mysterious companion last for about two years (640 to 730 days).

The star system’s last dimming in the 20th century happened during the 1982 to 1984 eclipse. The first dimming in the 21st century occurred from 2009 to 2011. The star system’s next eclipse in the 21st century is slated to take place from 2036 to 2038.

Epsilon Aurigae is known popularly as Almaaz. Its traditional name derives from al-mācz, the Arabic word for “billy goat.”

Zeta Aurigae (ζ Aurigae; Zeta Aur; ζ Aur) anchors one of the bases of the triangular asterism. The orange supergiant is the dimmest of the Goat Kids asterism’s three stars. Zeta Aurigae participates in the Goat Kids asterism from a distance of around 790 light years.

As with Epsilon Aurigae, the fourth magnitude star is actually an eclipsing binary star system. Every 2.66 years (972.183 days), the orange supergiant eclipses, or hides, its smaller, hot blue class B companion.

Zeta Aurigae is known popularly as Haedus I. Its traditional name derives from the Latin word, haedus, meaning “young goat, kid.”

Zeta Aurigae is also known as Sadatoni. This traditional name derives from an Arabic phrase, as-sācid aθ-θānī, which means “the second arm (of the charioteer).”

Eta Aurigae (η Aur; η Aurigae) anchors the other base of the Goat Kids asterism’s triangle. The blue-white main sequence dwarf is the asterism’s second brightest star. Eta Aurigae holds place number 205 in British astrophysicist Richard Powell’s list of nighttime’s 300 brightest stars.

Eta Aurigae triangulates from a distance of about 220 light years.

Third magnitude star is the Goat Kids asterism’s only single star. Unlike Epsilon Aurigae and Zeta Aurigae, Eta Aurigae offers no evidence of a companion star.

The takeaway for the Goat Kids asterism that triangulates near golden Capella in Auriga the Charioteer is that the trio angles colorfully and noticeably outward in its fortuitous westward location in the northern celestial hemisphere.

Epsilon Aurigae, one of the kids in the Goat Kids asterism, is mysterious, eclipsing binary star system; depicted as a main bright star (right) with a B star companion encircled by a dusty disk (left): NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public Domain, via NASA

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Epsilon Aurigae, one of the kids in the Goat Kids asterism, is mysterious, eclipsing binary star system; depicted as a main bright star with a B star companion encircled by a dusty disk: NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public Domain, via NASA @ https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1580.html

For further information:

“Auriga.” Encyclopedia Britannica Kids.
Available @ http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9309993/Auriga

Christoforou, Peter. “Star Facts: Capella.” Astronomy Trek. Jan. 26, 2016.
Available @ http://www.astronomytrek.com/star-facts-capella/

Curwen, Thomas. “Probing a Centuries-Old Mystery in the Stars.” Los Angeles Times > Collections > News. Jan. 20, 2011.
Available @ http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/20/local/la-me-aurigae-star-20110120

EarthSky. “Close-up on Auriga the Charioteer.” EarthSky > Constellations. Nov. 2, 2016.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/constellations/closeup-on-auriga

Kaler, James B. (Jim). “Almaaz (Epsilon Aurigae).” University of Illinois Astronomy Department > Star of the Week.
Available @ http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/almaaz.html

Kaler, James B. (Jim). “Auriga.” University of Illinois Astronomy Department > Star of the Week.
Available @ http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/auriga-p.html

Kaler, James B. (Jim). “Haedus I (Zeta Aurigae).” University of Illinois Astronomy Department > Star of the Week.
Available @ http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/haedus1.html

Kaler, James B. (Jim). “Haedus II (Eta Aurigae).” University of Illinois Astronomy Department > Star of the Week.
Available @ http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/haedus2.html

Keese, Karen. “Kids, More Kids, and Something Fishy.” Whassup in the Milky Way? > Blog Archive > January 2009. Jan. 29, 2009.
Available @ http://whassupinthemilkyway.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html

Kloppenborg, Brian; Robert Stencel; John D. Monnier; Gail Schaefer; Ming Zhao; Fabien Baron; Hal McAlister; Theo ten Brummelaar; Xiao Che; Chris Farrington; Ettore Pedretti; P.J. Sallave-Goldfinger; Judith Sturmann; Laszlo Sturmann; Nathalie Thureau; Nils Turner; Sean M. Carroll. “Infrared Images of the Transiting Disk in the ε Aurigae System.” Nature, vol. 464 (April 8, 2010): 870-872. DOI: 10.1038/nature08968
Available @ http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v464/n7290/full/nature08968.html

Kronberg, Christine. “Asterisms.” MAPS (The Munich Archive Astromaps) SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) > Constellations.
Available @ http://maps.seds.org/Const/asterism.html

Magruder, Kerry. “Auriga.” Kerry V. Maruder.net > Basic Celestial Phenomena (BCP) > Aster (Stars and Constellations).
Available @ http://kvmagruder.net/bcp/aster/constellations/Aur.htm

Marriner, Derdriu. “Auriga the Charioteer Claims Capella as Night’s Sixth Brightest Star.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/10/auriga-charioteer-claims-capella-as.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Big Dipper Bowl Pointer Stars Lead to Auriga Constellation and Capella.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/10/big-dipper-bowl-pointer-stars-lead-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Winter Hexagon Asterism Gathers Six Stars From Six Constellations.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/winter-hexagon-asterism-gathers-six.html

McArdle, James. “Every 27 Years, a Two-Year Eclipse of Epsilon Aurigae Occurs. Do Scientists Know What Causes It?” Astronomy.com > Astronomy Magazine > Ask Astro. March 24, 2014.
Available @ http://www.astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2014/03/stellar-eclipse

McClure, Bruce. “A Puzzling Star Called Epsilon Aurigae.” EarthSky > Tonight. March 24, 2017.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=4326

Moore, Nicole Casal. “Astronomers Take Close-Up Pictures of Mysterious Dark Object.” EurekAlert! > Public Releases > University of Michigan. April 7, 2010.
Available @ https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-04/uom-atc040510.php

NASA Administrator. “Mystery of the Fading Star.” NASA > Multimedia > Image Gallery > Spitzer Telescope. Feb. 3, 2010.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1580.html

Parker, Greg. “Contrasting Star Pair in Auriga.” USRA (Universities Space Research Association) EPOD (Earth Science Picture of the Day) > Blog. Jan. 6, 2017.
Available @ http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2017/01/contrasting-star-pair-in-auriga.html

Plotner, Tammy. “The Constellation Auriga.” University Today. Dec. 2, 2016.
Available @ http://www.universetoday.com/19527/auriga/

Powell, Richard. “The Brightest Stars.” An Atlas of the Universe > Stars.
Available @ http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/stars.html

Ridpath, Ian. “Auriga the Charioteer.” Ian Ridpath > Star Tales.
Available @ http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/auriga.htm

Trusock, Tom. “Small Wonders: Auriga.” Cloudy Nights > Articles > Columns > Tom T’s Small Wonders. March 21, 2005.
Available @ http://www.cloudynights.com/page/articles/cat/column/small-wonders/small-wonders-auriga-r424

Monday, November 27, 2017

Verdi Requiem Is First 2017-2018 Saturday Matinee Broadcast Dec. 2

Summary: The Verdi Requiem is the first 2017-2018 Saturday matinee broadcast Dec. 2 and the last of four concert performances of Verdi’s famous requiem.

Maestro James Levine around the time of his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1971: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Facebook June 5, 2015

The Verdi Requiem is the first 2017-2018 Saturday matinee broadcast Dec. 2 and Metropolitan Opera’s first performance of the requiem since 2008’s concert in memory of Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Music Director Emeritus James Levine reprises his role as conductor for the season’s performances.

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season presents Messa da Requiem by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) as a special series of four concerts in November and December 2017.

November’s three performances begin the Nov. 24, the Friday after Thanksgiving, at 8 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time). Two additional performances are offered Monday, Nov. 27, at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert on Saturday, Dec. 2, opens the 2017-2018 Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast season. The concert begins at 1 p.m. and has an estimated run time of 84 minutes (1 hour 24 minutes).

Music Director Emeritus James Levine is scheduled to conduct all four performances. Metropolitan Opera’s last performance of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem took place Sept. 18, 2008, as a concert in memory of Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti (Oct. 12, 1935-Sept. 6, 2007). James Levine conducted the memorial concert.

Maestro Levine’s birthplace is Cincinnati, Hamilton County, southwestern Ohio. His Metropolitan Opera debut took place June 5, 1971, as conductor of Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Including the Verdi Requiem, Maestro Levine is conducting five productions during the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. He conducts all five performances of Die Zauberflöte, presented in September and October, by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). He reprises his debut role as conductor of December and January performances of the season’s new production of Tosca. Maestro Levine conducts all performances of two Verdi operas: Il Trovatore in January and February; Luisa Miller in March and April.

Four soloists appear with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus for the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s performances of the Verdi Requiem. Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova, Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk, Latvian tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko and Italian bass Ferruccio Ferlanetto perform as the series’ soloists.

Krassimira Stoyanova’s birthplace is Veliko Tarnovo, north central Bulgaria. The Bulgarian soprano debuted Nov. 28, 2001, as Violetta Valéry in Met Opera’s 2001-2002 production of Verdi’s La Traviata.

Ekaterina Semenchuk was born in Minsk, central Belarus. The Russian mezzo-soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Feb. 14, 2002, as Sonya in War and Peace by Ukrainian composer Sergei Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953). For the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, she also appears as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana by Italian composer Pietro Mascagni (Dec. 7, 1863-Aug. 2, 1945).

Aleksandrs Antonenko’s birthplace is Riga, Latvia. The Latvian tenor debuted March 9, 2009, as the Prince in Met Opera’s 2008-2009 production of Rusalka by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák (Sept. 8, 1841-May 1, 1904).

Ferruccio Furlanetto was born in Sacile, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, northeastern Italy. The Italian bass made his Metropolitan Opera debut Feb. 26, 1980, as the Grand Inquisitor in Verdi’s Don Carlo.

Verdi’s Messa da Requiem is also known as the Manzoni Requiem. The Italian composer, who primarily devoted his musicianship to operas, created Messa da Requiem as a funeral mass in memory of his friend, Italian dramatist, novelist and poet Alessandro Manzoni (March 7, 1785-May 22, 1873).

The takeaways for the Verdi Requiem as the first 2017-2018 Saturday matinee broadcast Dec. 2 are that the Metropolitan Opera last presented Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in 2008 and that Music Director Emeritus reprises his role as conductor for the season’s series of four concert performances of Verdi’s Requiem.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Maestro James Levine around the time of his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1971: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Facebook June 5, 2015, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10155719123955533/

For the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Music Director Emeritus James Levine reprises his 2008-2009 Met Opera season role as conductor of the Verdi Requiem; the 2008-2009 concert was offered in memory of Luciano Pavarotti: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera via Facebook July 27, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10159204993345533/

For further information:

“Debuts: Peter Glossop, James Levine.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 225710 > Tosca {539} Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 06/05/1971.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=225710

Marriner, Derdriu. “Met Opera Premieres Verdi Requiem and The Magic Flute Nov. 24 and 25.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 13, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/11/met-opera-premieres-verdi-requiem-and.html

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Happy Anniversary, Maestro! On this day in 1971 Maestro James Levine made his Met debut, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. In his over 40 years at the podium Maestro Levine has conducted nearly 2500 performances of 85 different operas! http://bit.ly/1EZSyWs Photo by Hastings Willinger Associates courtesy of Met Opera Archives." Facebook. June 5, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10155719123955533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "#TBT The legendary Luciano Pavarotti sang the role of Calàf in a 1997 production of Turandot. Puccini's grand spectacle returns Oct 12. bit.ly/2sIQjfz Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera Archives." Facebook. July 27, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10159204993345533/

“Verdi Requiem Mass {49}.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives. Sept. 18, 2008.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352562

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Americanized Spreading Dayflower Gardens Away From Moist Croplands

Summary: Americanized spreading dayflower gardens resolve ground reflection and surface runoff problems but run rampant in damp, shady croplands and nurseries.

spreading dayflower (Commelina diffusa) with katydid (upper right); Bird Rookery Swamp Trail, Collier County, southwestern Florida; Dec. 8, 2016: Judy Gallegher, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Americanized spreading dayflower gardens absorb surface runoff, add ground cover to barren, polluted, waterlogged soils, adjust structure and texture on compacted sites and ameliorate ground reflection loss but quickly assume lasting dominance.

The annual or short-lived perennial in the Commelinaceae family of herbaceous spiderworts becomes particularly troublesome in banana, bean, citrus, coffee, corn, cotton, rice and sugarcane fields. The flowering herb native to Mediterranean Africa, Asia and Europe and related, Asian common dayflower (Commelina communis) challenge damp, shady croplands, landscapes, nurseries and soybean fields. No North American government designates nonnative common and spreading dayflowers, white-flowered Wandering Jew and oyster plant weeds for decreasing crop yields, environmental balance or species diversity.

Asian wart-removing herb and Benghali dayflower respectively endure sanctions in Washington and in Alabama, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Mexico.

Spreading dayflower, commonly named climbing dayflower, wandering Jew and water grass, furnishes seedlings with oval to lance-shaped cotyledons whose embryonic foliar bases form sheaths with stems.

First leaf stages get lance-shaped foliage, as do mature alternate-arranged, parallel-veined, 0.39- to 5.51-inch- (1- to 14-centimeter-) long, 0.19- to 1.29-inch- (0.5- to 3.3-centimeter-) wide leaves. Alternate-arranged, lance-shaped Benghali dayflower, common dayflower and white-flowered wandering Jew have oval-leafed variants while alternate-arranged, linear-leafed oyster plant and wart-removing herb have strap- and lance-shaped options. Leaves incline from creeping, smooth, sparse-haired stems, each of whose swollen leaf-to-stem attachments called nodes induces rooting new plants when it is in contact with soil.

Americanized spreading dayflower gardens juggle annual seeding and stem-rooting as reproduction means for Benghali, common and spreading dayflower, oyster plant, wart-removing herb and white-flowered wandering Jew.

Spreading dayflower, scientifically named Commelina diffusa ([Caspar and Jan] Commelin's spreading [plant]), keeps paired inflorescences called cymes, with oldest flowers tiptop, blooming from May to November.

Sickle-shaped, 0.32- to 1.58-inch- (8- to 40-millimeter-) long, 0.16- to 0.55-inch- (4- to 14-millimeter-) wide spathes lounge atop 0.19- to 0.79-inch- (5- to 20-millimeter-) long stalks. The leaflike, protective structures opposite spreading dayflower leaves each maintain one cyme with two to four perfect flowers and one with one male flower or more. Carolina dayflower-like, perfect, regular flowers each need one pistil, one small and two big blue petals, three green sepals, three fertile and three sterile bright-haired stamens.

Americanized spreading dayflower gardens overlap blue-blooming Benghal, Carolina (Commelina caroliniana) and common dayflowers, pink-, purple-, white-blossoming wart-removing herb and white-flowering oyster plant and white-flowered wandering Jew.

Broadly rounded to shallowly heart-shaped, leaflike, 0.79- to 1.18-inch- (2- to 3-centimeter-) long, 0.59- to 0.79-inch- (1.5- to 2-centimeter-) wide bracts protect each spreading dayflower bloom.

Stages of dry, explosive, fruiting, one- to four-seeded, 0.16- to 0.25-inch- (4- to 6.3-millimeter-) long capsules and of brown, ridged seeds queue up after flowering stages. The 0.08- to 0.12-inch- (2- to 2.8-millimeter-) long seeds require the top 0.39 inch (1 centimeter) of soil for germination and possibly three- to four-year viabilities. Benghal dayflower, common dayflower, oyster plant, white-flowered wandering Jew and wart-removing herb capsules respectively sprout five, four, two to three, six to 18 and six seeds.

Americanized spreading dayflower gardens, described by Dutch botanist Nicolaas Laurens Burman (Dec. 27, 1734-Sept. 11, 1793), thwart ground reflection and surface runoff away from irrigated crops.

spreading dayflower's flower, foliage and stem; Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Kauai; March 20, 2013: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

spreading dayflower (Commelina diffusa) with katydid (upper right); Bird Rookery Swamp Trail, Collier County, southwestern Florida; Dec. 8, 2016: Judy Gallegher, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Climbing_Dayflower_-_Commelina_diffusa_and_Katydid,_Bird_Rookery_Swamp,_Collier_County,_Florida_-_31363178090.jpg?uselang=fr

spreading dayflower's flower, foliage and stem; Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Kauai; March 20, 2013: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/starr-environmental/24578398634/

For further information:

"Commelina diffusa Burm. f." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/8300012

Dickinson, Richard; and Royer, France. 2014. Weeds of North America. Chicago IL; London, England: The University of Chicago Press.

Burman, Nicolaas Laurens. 1768. "Commelina (diffusa)." Flora Indica: Cui Accedit Series Zoophytorum Indicorum, nec non Prodromus Florae Capensia: 18. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Cornelium Haek.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39900407

Weakley, Alan S.; Ludwig, J. Christopher; and Townsend, John F. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Edited by Bland Crowder. Fort Worth TX: BRIT Press, Botanical Research Institute of Texas.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Chlorantraniliprole Reduced-Risk Insecticides Get Leaf-Eaters Not Bees

Summary: University of Kentucky research puts turfgrass pest-curbing chlorantraniliprole reduced-risk insecticides in woody landscape ornamental pest management.

Chlorantraniliprole emerges as a bee-friendly insecticide in 2010 to 2016 trials that treated popular woody landscape ornamentals such as black cherry (Prunus serotina); old-growth black cherry, Allegheny National Forest's Tionesta Research Natural Area, McKean County, northwestern Pennsylvania; June 10, 2012: Nicholas A. Tonelli, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Exotic parasites and pathogens, intensified land and pesticide use and lost floral resources and nesting habitats afflict bees, according to an article on reduced-risk insecticides in Arboriculture & Urban Forestry November 2017.

Landscape professionals who balk at best management practices, such as target-selective insecticides, that boost bee populations, beckon adverse publicity, fines and license suspensions over bee kills. Chlorantraniliprole, first anthranilic diamide registered for landscape ornamental and turfgrass use, competes promisingly against bee-unfriendly pyrethroids and against nectar- and pollen-toxic clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. Pests die paralyzed and starved from ingesting chlorantraniliprole since anthranilic diamides deplete calcium ion flow by damaging ryanodine receptors and disrupt feeding by disabling muscle contraction.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classification among reduced-risk insecticides entails no signal word when labeling chlorantraniliprole, widely evaluated for turfgrass pest management, since 2008.

The article Chlorantraniliprole: Reduced-Risk Insecticide for Controlling Insect Pests of Woody Ornamentals with Low Hazard to Bees focuses upon chlorantraniliprole in woody landscape ornamental pest management.

Daniel Potter and Carl Redmond of the University of Kentucky give results from trials between 2010 and 2016 on Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera insect orders. Trials handle boxwood psyllids, boxwood leafminers, bristly roseslug sawflies, eastern tent caterpillars, evergreen bagworms, hawthorn lace bugs, Japanese beetles, oak lecanium scale crawlers and oleander aphids. They involve foliar-spraying arborvitae, boxwood, chokecherry, hawthorn, linden, little-leaf linden, wild black cherry and willow oak abaxial and adaxial surfaces and basal soil-drenching with systemic insecticides.

Ten-minute-long Japanese beetle fly-off assays from plastic trays uncovered outdoors in direct sunlight in summer 2011 and 2012 juggle exposure to chlorantraniliprole versus bifenthrin and carbaryl.

Trials keep chlorantraniliprole- and bifenthrin-exposed oak lecanium scale nymphs, carbaryl-exposed bristly roseslug sawfly larvae and spinosad-exposed eastern tent caterpillar larvae, scored as alive, dead or moribund.

The study's trials look at reduced-risk chlorantraniliprole and bee-toxic spinosad against boxwood psyllids and at bee-friendly chlorantraniliprole and bee-unfriendly dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam against boxwood leafminers. The two co-researchers and co-writers mention reduced-risk insecticides in woody landscape ornamental pest management since chlorantraniliprole masters nearly completely suppressing adult Japanese beetles for 28 days. They note that bristly roseslug sawfly, evergreen bagworm and Japanese beetles need foliar sprays on abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces, not systemic insecticides in soil drenches.

Reduced-risk insecticides optimally operate against targets, under different conditions and with low mammalian toxicity even though clorantraniliprole offers low usefulness, from low plant systemicity, against sap-feeders.

The anthranilic diamide cyantraniliprole provides foliar and systemic ornamental plant insect control and greater water solubility than chlorantraniliprole even though it proves highly toxic to bees.

Neonicotinoids queue up with cyantraniliprole as suppressors of woody landscape ornamental pests and among increased-risk insecticides for prompting spider mite outbreaks and for provoking bee kills. The co-authors render insecticide use minor roles behind exotic parasites and pathogens, intensified land use and reduced floral diversity and nesting habitats in urban bee declines. Bee-friendly chlorantraniliprole and bee-unfriendly, root-damaging and sap-sipping pest-unfriendly cyantraniliprole reduced-risk insecticides sustain bee-attractive, pest-prone woody landscape ornamental Crataegus (hawthorn), hydrangea, Prunus (cherry) and Pyracantha against leaf-eaters.

Urban landscapes tend toward diverse flowering, pest-free, pollinator-scarce, wind-pollinated species successively blooming throughout growing seasons and, optimally, chlorantraniliprole-treatable for caterpillars, leaf-feeding beetles and sawfly larvae pests.

chemical structure of chlorantraniliprole, a bee-friendly insecticide used in woody landscape ornamental pest management; Br=bromine, C=carbon, Cl=chlorine, H=hydrogen, N=nitrogen, O=oxygen: PubChem via National Center for Biotechnology Information

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet;
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for superior on-campus and on-line resources.

Image credits:

chemical structure of bee-friendly chlorantraniliprole, a bee-friendly insecticide used in woody ornamental pest management; Br=bromine, C=carbon, Cl=chlorine, H=hydrogen, N=nitrogen, O=oxygen: PubChem via National Center for Biotechnology Information @ https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/11271640#section=Top

For further information:

"Compound Summary for CID 11271640: Chlorantraniliprole." National Institutes of Health > U.S. National Library of Medicine > National Center for Biotechnology Information > PubChem.
Available @ https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/11271640#section=Information-Sources

Gilman, Ed. 2011. An Illustrated Guide to Pruning. Third Edition. Boston MA: Cengage.

Hayes, Ed. 2001. Evaluating Tree Defects. Revised, Special Edition. Rochester MN: Safe Trees.

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 October 2017. “Palm Plant Health Care: Abiotic, Biotic Stress Culture and Management.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/10/palm-plant-health-care-abiotic-biotic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 September 2017. “Predawn Leaf Water Potentials Indicate Crown Dieback and Water Status.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/09/predawn-leaf-water-potentials-indicate.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 August 2017. “Palm Tree Identification and Pruning of Native and Naturalizable Palms.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/08/palm-tree-identification-and-pruning-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 July 2017. “Commonly Planted, Potentially Phytoremediating Street Tree Species.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/07/commonly-planted-potentially.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 June 2017. “Root Loss From Root Pruning and Root Shaving of Stem-Girdling Roots.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/06/root-loss-from-root-pruning-and-root.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 27 May 2017. “Age and Canopy Area Cost Less and Tell More in Urban Tree Inventories.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/05/age-and-canopy-area-cost-less-and-tell.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 April 2017. “Urban Root Management: Big Infrastructure, Small Space, Stressed Roots.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/04/urban-root-management-big.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 March 2017. “Flexural Elasticity Modulus: Trees and Watersprouts Bend or Break.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/03/flexural-elasticity-modulus-trees-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 February 2017. “Plant Health Care Diagnostics When Plants and Places Wrong One Another.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/02/plant-health-care-diagnostics-when.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 January 2017. “Tree Fertilization for Fine Root Growth and Whole Root System Effects.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/01/tree-fertilization-for-fine-root-growth.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 December 2016. “Abiotic and Biotic Stress in Low Maintenance Tree Health Care Programs.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/12/abiotic-and-biotic-stress-in-low.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 November 2016. “Organic Amendments to Compacted Degraded Urban Highway Roadsides.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/11/organic-amendments-to-compacted.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 October 2016. “Tree Protection Zones by Arborists for All Construction Project Phases.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/10/tree-protection-zones-by-arborists-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 September 2016. “Stormwater Runoff Landscaping With Urban Canopy Cover and Groundcover.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/09/stormwater-runoff-landscaping-with.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 August 2016. “Changing Places: Tree Nutrient Movement Down, Tree Water Movement Up.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/08/changing-places-tree-nutrient-movement.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 July 2016. “Treated or Untreated Oriental Bittersweet Vine Management Cut-Stumping.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/07/treated-or-untreated-oriental.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 June 2016. “Tree Injection Site Procedures: Manufacturer's Instructions and Labels.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/06/tree-injection-site-procedures.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 May 2016. “Electrical Utility Area Temperate Urban Street Trees: Pruned Regrowth.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/05/electrical-utility-area-temperate-urban.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 April 2016. “Tree Injection Methods: Treatment Option in Integrated Pest Management.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/04/tree-injection-methods-treatment-option.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 March 2016. “Bare-Rooted Ornamental Urban Transplants: Amendments Against Mortality.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/03/bare-rooted-ornamental-urban.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 28 February 2016. “Bark Protective Survival Mechanisms Foil Deprivation, Injury, Invasion.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/02/bark-protective-survival-mechanisms.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 January 2016. "LITA Model: Linear Index of Tree Appraisal of Large Urban Swedish Trees." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/01/lita-model-linear-index-of-tree.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 December 2015. “Tree Lightning Protection Systems: Site, Soil, Species True Designs.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/12/tree-lightning-protection-systems-site.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 October 2015. “Tree Lightning Protection Systems Tailored to Sites, Soils, Species.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/10/tree-lightning-protection-systems.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 August 2015. “Tree Friendly Urban Soil Management: Amend, Fertilize, Mulch, Till!” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/08/tree-friendly-urban-soil-management.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 June 2015. “Tree Friendly Urban Soil Management: Assemble, Assess, Assist, Astound.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/06/tree-friendly-urban-soil-management.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 April 2015. “Tree Wound Responses: Healthy Wound Closures by Callus and Woundwood.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/04/tree-wound-responses-healthy-wound.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2015. “Urban Forest Maintenance and Non-Maintenance Costs and Benefits.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/02/urban-forest-maintenance-and-non.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 December 2014. “Tree Dwelling Symbionts: Dodder, Lichen, Mistletoe, Moss and Woe-Vine.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/tree-dwelling-symbionts-dodder-lichen.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 October 2014. “Tree Cable Installation Systems Lessen Target Impact From Tree Failure.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/10/tree-cable-installation-systems-lessen.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 August 2014. “Flood Tolerant Trees in Worst-Case Floodplain and Urbanized Scenarios.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/08/flood-tolerant-trees-in-worst-case.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 June 2014. “Integrated Vegetation Management of Plants in Utility Rights-of-Way.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/06/integrated-vegetation-management-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 April 2014. “Tree Twig Identification: Buds, Bundle Scars, Leaf Drops, Leaf Scars.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/04/tree-twig-identification-buds-bundle.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 February 2014. “Tree Twig Anatomy: Ecosystem Stress, Growth Rates, Winter Identification.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/02/tree-twig-anatomy-ecosystem-stress.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 December 2013. “Community and Tree Safety Awareness During Line- and Road-Clearances.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/community-and-tree-safety-awareness.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 October 2013. “Chain-Saw Gear and Tree Work Related Personal Protective Equipment.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/chain-saw-gear-and-tree-work-related.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 October 2013. “Storm Damaged Tree Clearances: Matched Teamwork of People to Equipment.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/10/storm-damaged-tree-clearances-matched.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 August 2013. “Storm Induced Tree Damage Assessments: Pre-Storm Planned Preparedness.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/08/storm-induced-tree-damage-assessments.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 June 2013. “Storm Induced Tree Failures From Heavy Tree Weights and Weather Loads.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/06/storm-induced-tree-failures-from-heavy.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 April 2013. “Urban Tree Root Management Concerns: Defects, Digs, Dirt, Disturbance.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/04/urban-tree-root-management-concerns.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 February 2013. “Tree Friendly Beneficial Soil Microbes: Inoculations and Occurrences.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/tree-friendly-beneficial-soil-microbes.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 December 2012. “Healthy Urban Tree Root Crown Balances: Soil Properties, Soil Volumes.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/healthy-urban-tree-root-crown-balances.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 October 2012. “Tree Adaptive Growth: Tree Risk Assessment of Tree Failure, Tree Strength.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/10/tree-adaptive-growth-tree-risk.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 August 2012. “Tree Risk Assessment Mitigation Reports: Tree Removal, Tree Retention?” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/tree-risk-assessment-mitigation-reports.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 June 2012. “Internally Stressed, Response Growing, Wind Loaded Tree Strength.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/06/internally-stressed-response-growing.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 April 2012. “Three Tree Risk Assessment Levels: Limited Visual, Basic and Advanced.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/04/three-tree-risk-assessment-levels.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 February 2012. “Qualitative Tree Risk Assessment: Risk Ratings for Targets and Trees.” Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/qualitative-tree-risk-assessment-risk.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 February 2012. “Qualitative Tree Risk Assessment: Falling Trees Impacting Targets.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/02/qualitative-tree-risk-assessment.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 December 2011. “Tree Risk Assessment: Tree Failures From Defects and From Wind Loads.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/tree-risk-assessment-tree-failures-from.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 October 2011. “Five Tree Felling Plan Steps for Successful Removals and Worker Safety.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/10/five-tree-felling-plan-steps-for.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 August 2011. “Natives and Non-Natives as Successfully Urbanized Plant Species.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/08/natives-and-non-natives-as-successfully.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 June 2011. “Tree Ring Patterns for Ecosystem Ages, Dates, Health and Stress.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/06/tree-ring-patterns-for-ecosystem-ages.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 April 2011. “Benignly Ugly Tree Disorders: Oak Galls, Powdery Mildew, Sooty Mold, Tar Spot.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/benignly-ugly-tree-disorders-oak-galls.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 February 2011. “Tree Load Can Turn Tree Health Into Tree Failure or Tree Fatigue.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/02/tree-load-can-turn-tree-health-into.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 December 2010. “Tree Electrical Safety Knowledge, Precautions, Risks and Standards.” Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2010/12/tree-electrical-safety-knowledge.html

Redmond, Carl T.; and Daniel A. Potter. November 2017. "Chlorantraniliprole: Reduced-Risk Insecticide for Controlling Insect Pests of Woody Ornamentals with Low Hazard to Bees." Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 43(6): 242-256.

Friday, November 24, 2017

Caravaggio Nativity Art Theft and Caravaggio Nativity Copy Art Theft

Summary: The well-known Caravaggio Nativity art theft Oct. 18, 1969, has a little known successor in the Caravaggio Nativity copy art theft after Christmas 1986.

Noel Baron with her carefully created life-size copy of Caravaggio's Nativity; the ballerina and Caravaggio enthusiast's 1986 Christmas gift to the Archdiocese of Palermo, intended to heal the "people of Palermo" through placement in "the spot of the original" that had been stolen Oct. 18, 1969: Barry Baron, Press Release, via Wave Our Flag

A photograph from a slide of 1968 by Enzo Brai and a facsimile from Factum Arte since 2016 attest to the absence of a masterpiece, the Caravaggio Nativity, from its empty frame.

Installation ceremonies Dec. 12, 2016, of the digitized reproduction brought to the forefront a second misplacement or a second theft near or around the same premises. A life-size copy completed by Christmas 1986 for the Archdiocese of Palermo came after the Brai photograph and before the Madrid- and Rome-based Factum Arte facsimile. It derived from the love of ballerina Noel Baron (Jan. 6, 1952-July 6, 2006) for artworks by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Sept. 29, 1571-July 18, 1610).

The Baron copy emerges as its artist's self-described "greatest achievement" and expresses the "sacred promise" of exhibition by the Archdiocese, overseer of the Caravaggio Nativity's home.

Barry and Lynn Baron furnish space in their Mission Bay Park residence and neighboring, separate gallery for their sister's artworks and the Nativity copy's paper trail.

Paper trails generate 20 years of correspondence and documents gathered in the midst of almost 50 reproductions by the Joffrey Ballet Prima Ballerina turned self-taught painter. They hold correspondence with Gerlando Butti, Italian consulate director in Los Angeles, California, and Senior Special Agent Charles Koczka of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They include correspondence of the La Jolla-based artist with Archbishop Salvatore Pappalardo (Sept. 23, 1918-Dec. 10, 2006) and with Peter Watson, author of The Caravaggio Conspiracy.

The shipping bill for $172.50 and written acknowledgment of receipt joins the written agreement for display in the mystery of the Caravaggio Nativity copy art theft.

Paper trails for Noel Baron's missing masterpiece, a careful reproduction of Caravaggio's stolen Nativity, include correspondence with intellectual historian Peter Watson, author of The Caravaggio Conspiracy; Peter Watson at iFest (International Festival and Conference), Barcelona, Catalonia, northwestern Spain, on July 11, 2008: David Alcubierre (Kedume), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

Paper trails keep testament to Baron's motives in painting masterpieces in general and in reproducing the Caravaggio Nativity in particular and witness to the Archdiocese's reactions.

Her father Carl Baron's career as illustrator and print shop operator and encouragement of his children's touring Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art launched Baron's artistry. Lynn mentioned her sister's promise as an eleven-year-old, "These paintings aren't going anywhere. No one else will ever own them. I'm going to paint my own." She noted the 34-year-old's "hope that this gift will bring you and the people of Palermo much happiness, faith, and peace for many years to come."

Baron archives offer the cardinal's assistant's observation on Baron's "exact copy, which will be placed, in the spot of the original in the next few days."

Transportation strikes put Baron just under 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) from the Oratory, whose staff's 14-year, inexplicable silence put her on the flight home in 2001.

Danielle Carrabino, associate research curator at Harvard Art Museums, and Pierfrancesco Palazzotto, Archdiocese museum assistant director, question Baron's copy ever queuing along Archdiocese and Oratory walls. Informants and photographs recall the Caravaggio Nativity art theft casualty whereas nobody in Palermo remembers either the Baron copy or the Caravaggio Nativity copy art theft. Family archives show Baron's, an agent's, a cardinal's assistant's, a consul's and Palermo carabinieri's (military police's) written interactions whereas the Archdiocese and Oratory suddenly show nothing.

Who took Noel Baron's 9- by 7-foot (2.74- by 2.13-meter) copy of the Caravaggio Nativity for the Oratory of San Lorenzo's altar wall in Palermo, Sicily?

A portrait of Archbishop Salvatore Pappalardo, with whom Noel Baron corresponded, marks his burial vault in the Cathedral of Palermo's Chapel of Santa Cristina; yet Noel Baron's 1986 Christmas gift is nowhere on display, not in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo's cathedral church, not in the Oratorio of San Lorenzo: Giacomo Augusto, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Ancestry.com. 2011. "Noel Baron in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014." U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc.
Available @ http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=xfu27&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=noel&gsfn_x=1&gsln=baron&gsln_x=1&msddy=2006&gskw=ballerina&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=1&MSV=0&uidh=ft7&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=88717056&recoff=5%206&dbid=3693&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1

Baron, Barry. 23 February 2016. "Another 'Caravaggio' Has Gone Missing." WaveOurFlag.com > Media > Noel.
Available @ http://www.waveourflag.com/page13.html

Dibono, Misha. 17 March 2016. "La Jolla Artist's Painting at Heart of International Art Theft Mystery." Fox 5 San Diego > News.
Available @ http://fox5sandiego.com/2016/03/17/missing-art-mystery/

Marriner, Derderiu. 17 November 2017. "Caravaggio Nativity Art Theft: A Facsimile Until the Original's Return." Earth and Space News Blog. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/11/caravaggio-nativity-art-theft-facsimile.html

Schütze, Sebastian. 2017. Caravaggio: Complete Works. Cologne, Germany: Taschen.

Watson, Peter. 1984. The Caravaggio Conspiracy: A True Story of Deception, Theft, and Smuggling in the Art World. New York NY: Penguin/Doubleday.

Wave Our Flag. "Caravaggio Artist Noel Baron." YouTube. Feb. 4, 2014.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gc_LgPlwyg

Wilkens, John. 12 March 2016. "Copy of Stolen Masterpiece Also Vanished." The San Diego Union-Tribune > Entertainment > Visual Arts.
Available @ http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/visual-arts/sdut-caravaggio-nativity-reproduction-2016mar12-story.html