I've been taking my dad to the Health Campus of Lancaster outside Lancaster City, Pennsylvania for treatments and noticed the beautiful landscaping done in several strips of soil between parking lot deserts southeast of the Health Campus building. That landscaping is not only lovely to see, but is also beneficial to adaptable and common wildlife. I studied those strips of vegetation in two, one-hour times toward the end of July of this year from the black top to experience the plants and animals in them. The vegetation planted in them is native to North America, including a few kinds of warm season grasses that grew tall and a couple patches of cattails. Flowering plants there include goldenrod and evening primrose with yellow blooms, purple coneflowers, wild bermagot that have pale violet blossoms, blue vervains, common and swamp milkweed that have pink flowers, and asters that haven't bloomed yet. And summersweet bushes and young river birch, red maple, American elm and tamarack trees were also planted in those parallel lines of soil.
But, of course, several kinds of alien plants are growing among the natives, including small patches of ten-foot-tall phragmites, which is a kind of emergent wetland plant, foxtail grass, pokeweeds, Queen-Anne's-lace with white flowers, chicory that has lovely blue ones, and Canada thistles, red clovers and burdock that have pink flowers.
Pokeweed was introduced to those overgrown islands of vegetation by seeds in bird droppings. The other aliens blew in as seeds on the wind. But all these plants, both planted natives and free-roaming aliens provide shelter and food for a variety of wildlife adaptable enough to take advantage of it.
Those islands of tall vegetation, including grasses, flowering plants, bushes and young trees are beauty to our souls amid blacktop wastelands. And all those parking lots together are surrounded by short-grass lawns, dotted with trees and shrubbery, let-go clumps of trees, overgrown meadows and a few cultivated fields, all of which are green in summer.
I saw several insects among the flowers, including bumble bees, the usual common butterflies, such as cabbage whites, yellow sulphurs, red admirals, tiger swallowtails and silver-spotted skippers. A few kinds of dragonflies zipped back and forth over the parking lots and rows of flowering plants in search of insect prey to eat.
I saw a couple of gray catbirds in one of the vegetated strips as they search for insects and berries. They probably hatched in the lawn shrubbery, as their kind does.
But mostly I saw small birds that are adapted to eating seeds, though most species of them also consume insects during the warmer months. Beautiful American goldfinches were the dominate species of the small birds in those islands of vegetation between parking lots. Males are particularly striking and handsome in their yellow feathering, set off by black wings, tails and jaunty caps set forward on their heads. Little groups of these birds flew cheerfully from one patch of seeds to another in their typical up and down, roller-coaster flight.
Strips of flowering plants and their seeds amid young trees are perfect nesting places for goldfinches. Females build lovely cups of grass and thistle down in small trees, and both genders, and their young, eat the seeds of nearby plants in summer and through the year.
Other kinds of small, seed-eating birds that I saw in those vegetated islands between parking lots included a few chipping sparrows, a song sparrow, and several each of house finches and house sparrows. Chippers and song sparrows nest in shrubbery, house finches hatch young in coniferous trees, such as the blue spruces on a nearby lawn and house sparrows rear offspring in crevices in buildings. During the two hours I spent on the health campus parking lot, I saw these small birds and goldfinches eating seeds from Canada thistles, wild bergamots and other types of plants, as well as insects. And I know that house finches and song sparrows, in particular, sing beautiful songs.
Although this is a modest start to the fauna that will live in these overgrown islands of plants between parking lots, it already is lovely and interesting, considering where it is. Hooray to the health campus, and other organizations that plant wildlife habitats like this one. Other groups can do the same. Those islands of beauty are certainly more uplifting than plain mowed grass. And they provide cover and food for the wildlife that is also interesting to experience. I intend to return to those health campus plantings about every couple of months to see what's happening. I know I won't be disappointed.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Mid-Atlantic States' True Frogs
During a heavy or prolonged rain every March here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, wood frogs emerge from dormancy under carpets of fallen dead leaves on woods floors, crawl out from under those leaves and hop, day or night, short distances to the nearest woodland pools to spawn. Males enter the cold water of snow melt and spring rain and croak hoarsely, mostly at night, to attract females of their kind into those same puddles to spawn. After a few days of spawning, those same frogs retreat under rugs of fallen leaves before cold weather returns and catches these cold-blooded critters in the open. Their tadpoles are left to fend for themselves in those pools that might dry out by mid-summer. The fast-developing tads are pitted in a race against retreating water.
Able to withstand colder temperatures than most amphibians can, wood frogs are fairly common in the northeastern United States and through much of Canada and Alaska. And they are the earliest spawning of true frogs, the genus Rana. Only three inches long, wood frogs are mostly brown, which allows them to blend into the dead leaves they hop over in search of invertebrate food. And they have a black mask over each eye that helps break up their form, camouflaging them.
Today's frogs, toads and salamanders are small, adaptable remnants of the long ago age of amphibians. Amphibians have soft, smooth skins that must be at least moist for them to survive. If their skins dry, they will die. And true to being amphibians from the distant geologic past, most species live two lives, the first in water, and the other on land, to an extent, depending on the kind.
All amphibians today, including Rana frogs, are predatory, consuming a variety of invertebrates and other small critters. Frogs' and toads' tongues are anchored to the front of their mouths so that sticky organ can be flipped out to snare an invertebrate with the stickiness then flip that victim into the broad mouth. Many years went into the trial and error of developing that type of tongue for catching food. It is unique.
Pickerel, green and bull frogs are other common and widespread species of Rana in the Middle Atlantic States, as elsewhere. But southern leopard and carpenter frogs are Rana species that are limited in range and numbers in this same geographic area.
Pickerel frogs spawn in the shallows of permanent ponds and wetlands in April in this area. Males emit deep, rolling snores while under water to entice females into the ponds to spawn. Three and a half inches long and slim in build, pickerels are basically beige in color, with darker rectangles scattered randomly across their upper parts, all of which camouflages them. Pickerels' skins emit a bad-tasting secretion that helps protect them from predators.
Green frogs and bull frogs must be closely related because they appear pretty much alike and have similar lifestyles. Males of both species liven most ponds, wetlands, slower creeks and backyard goldfish ponds in the Middle Atlantic States, as elsewhere in the United States, with their vocalizations to attract females of their respective kinds for spawning in those bodies of water. From the middle of May to mid-July one can hear the gulping and twanging of male green frogs and the low moaning of male bull frogs. Tadpoles of both species take two years to develop into small frogs. Herons, mink, larger fish, turtles and other kinds of predators eat many of those tads before they leave the water as froglets.
Green frogs and bull frogs are mostly a dark, brownish-green, which allows them to blend into vegetation surrounding the water they dive into when threatened. Fully grown greens are about four inches long while mature bull frogs are up to eight inches long, the biggest frog species we have here in the Mid-Atlantic States. Both species are abundant in this area, and the best known by most people, due to these amphibians' loud vocalizing, often from the same bodies of water at the same time.
Green frogs and bull frogs vocalize mostly at night, but one can hear them at times during the day. One male will start calling and others chime in until there is a chorus of one species or the other, or both at once for a few minutes until they get quiet again. I can stimulate green frogs and bull frogs to gulp or moan by imitating their calls near where they are sitting on the edges of permanent water. I start when the frogs are quiet, a few join in, and more, until their is a full-blown chorus for a couple of minutes.
Southern leopard frogs are dull-greenish-brown with darker circles on their upper parts, which camouflages them. They range from New Jersey south along the coastal plain to the Deep South. Males utter short croaks to initiate spawning. Like all their genus, southern leopards spawn in shallow water.
Carpenter frogs are so-called because their choruses sound like the rhythmic hammering of several carpenters working at once. This species ranges from the New Jersey pine barrens along the coastal plain to southern Georgia. They are three inches long and brown, with two beige stripes along each flank.
Rana frogs have some characteristics in common, but, of course, differences that set them apart as distinct species. The adaptable green frogs and bull frogs are the most common and widespread of their clan, even colonizing some backyard goldfish ponds where they vocalize and spawn, adding another dimension of wildness to those human-made habitats. Listen and watch for Rana frogs. They are an adaptable relic of the far-distant past that has taken a seat in the present and, probably, into the future.
Able to withstand colder temperatures than most amphibians can, wood frogs are fairly common in the northeastern United States and through much of Canada and Alaska. And they are the earliest spawning of true frogs, the genus Rana. Only three inches long, wood frogs are mostly brown, which allows them to blend into the dead leaves they hop over in search of invertebrate food. And they have a black mask over each eye that helps break up their form, camouflaging them.
Today's frogs, toads and salamanders are small, adaptable remnants of the long ago age of amphibians. Amphibians have soft, smooth skins that must be at least moist for them to survive. If their skins dry, they will die. And true to being amphibians from the distant geologic past, most species live two lives, the first in water, and the other on land, to an extent, depending on the kind.
All amphibians today, including Rana frogs, are predatory, consuming a variety of invertebrates and other small critters. Frogs' and toads' tongues are anchored to the front of their mouths so that sticky organ can be flipped out to snare an invertebrate with the stickiness then flip that victim into the broad mouth. Many years went into the trial and error of developing that type of tongue for catching food. It is unique.
Pickerel, green and bull frogs are other common and widespread species of Rana in the Middle Atlantic States, as elsewhere. But southern leopard and carpenter frogs are Rana species that are limited in range and numbers in this same geographic area.
Pickerel frogs spawn in the shallows of permanent ponds and wetlands in April in this area. Males emit deep, rolling snores while under water to entice females into the ponds to spawn. Three and a half inches long and slim in build, pickerels are basically beige in color, with darker rectangles scattered randomly across their upper parts, all of which camouflages them. Pickerels' skins emit a bad-tasting secretion that helps protect them from predators.
Green frogs and bull frogs must be closely related because they appear pretty much alike and have similar lifestyles. Males of both species liven most ponds, wetlands, slower creeks and backyard goldfish ponds in the Middle Atlantic States, as elsewhere in the United States, with their vocalizations to attract females of their respective kinds for spawning in those bodies of water. From the middle of May to mid-July one can hear the gulping and twanging of male green frogs and the low moaning of male bull frogs. Tadpoles of both species take two years to develop into small frogs. Herons, mink, larger fish, turtles and other kinds of predators eat many of those tads before they leave the water as froglets.
Green frogs and bull frogs are mostly a dark, brownish-green, which allows them to blend into vegetation surrounding the water they dive into when threatened. Fully grown greens are about four inches long while mature bull frogs are up to eight inches long, the biggest frog species we have here in the Mid-Atlantic States. Both species are abundant in this area, and the best known by most people, due to these amphibians' loud vocalizing, often from the same bodies of water at the same time.
Green frogs and bull frogs vocalize mostly at night, but one can hear them at times during the day. One male will start calling and others chime in until there is a chorus of one species or the other, or both at once for a few minutes until they get quiet again. I can stimulate green frogs and bull frogs to gulp or moan by imitating their calls near where they are sitting on the edges of permanent water. I start when the frogs are quiet, a few join in, and more, until their is a full-blown chorus for a couple of minutes.
Southern leopard frogs are dull-greenish-brown with darker circles on their upper parts, which camouflages them. They range from New Jersey south along the coastal plain to the Deep South. Males utter short croaks to initiate spawning. Like all their genus, southern leopards spawn in shallow water.
Carpenter frogs are so-called because their choruses sound like the rhythmic hammering of several carpenters working at once. This species ranges from the New Jersey pine barrens along the coastal plain to southern Georgia. They are three inches long and brown, with two beige stripes along each flank.
Rana frogs have some characteristics in common, but, of course, differences that set them apart as distinct species. The adaptable green frogs and bull frogs are the most common and widespread of their clan, even colonizing some backyard goldfish ponds where they vocalize and spawn, adding another dimension of wildness to those human-made habitats. Listen and watch for Rana frogs. They are an adaptable relic of the far-distant past that has taken a seat in the present and, probably, into the future.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Life at Waste-Water
On Saturday, July 23, 2016, I stopped by a pipe about a foot and a half in diameter that releases waste-water into a small tributary brook of Mill Creek in cropland about a mile south of New Holland, Pennsylvania to experience what adaptable wildlife was visible around that waste water. Right away I saw an eastern kingbird perched on a plant along the edge of the brook close to where I sat as it waited for flying insects to go by. And within a minute I saw a foot-long snapping turtle in the clear, slowly flowing water that is about two feet deep at most. The turtle, which was about ten feet from me, appeared to be stalking little, mixed schools of black-nosed dace and banded killifish that swam away from it. As I watched the turtle with my binoculars, I saw that its eyes appeared innocent, not sinister as we might expect from a predator. As I continued to view the snapper, I saw a blur flash through my field glasses. I looked away from the glasses and noticed a spotted sandpiper walking and bobbing on a rock right by the turtle! But the sandpiper and turtle seemed to have no regard for each other. Spotted sandpipers are inland sandpipers that raise young and eat invertebrates along streams and ponds away from the coast. Their bobbing as they walk is a form of blending in that makes them resemble debris bouncing in wavelets along tiny shores. As I marveled at seeing these critters so close to each other, and me, I began to think about other species of wildlife I noticed during the last few summers along this bit of brook that waste water flushes into, and then into Mill Creek itself.
The waste water is treated before it is discharged into the brook because dace and killifish have lived in it for several years. And dace are particularly susceptible to pollution. Their presence, alone, tells the water is neutralized before being released into the brook. Both these species of small, stream-lined fish are brown on top to blend into the muddy bottom of the brook for the fishes' protection. I actually see the shadows of these fish on the bottom better than the fish themselves.
Dace and killifish are links in several food chains, including the snapping turtle. A few northern water snakes lurk here and prey on minnows. Occasionally a belted kingfisher drops from the air to snare minnows while, sometimes, a great blue heron or a great egret wades this little waterway to catch the small fish.
Every spring and summer, I see a mallard duck hen with her ducklings, a muskrat or two, a pair of song sparrows and a little group of American goldfinches in the close vicinity of the waste water, but not all at the same time. The ducks are there to shovel up aquatic invertebrates and vegetation while the muskrats eat grass along the banks of the brook. The song sparrows are like shorebirds in that they consume invertebrates from the thin mud flats and shallows along the edges of the brook. And the goldfinches are there to eat alga.
I have heard green frogs croaking along the edges of the waste-water brook. They probably spawn in the slower parts of that little waterway. Frogs are potential food for herons, mink and raccoons that frequent waterways in this county, and elsewhere.
A couple kinds of dragonflies in limited numbers and bluet damselflies in abundance buzz over this brook after mates and flying insects, and land on plants on its shores to rest. These dragonflies and damselflies were carnivorous nymphs in the water of this waterway, including the part exposed to the waste water. There they hunted critters small enough for them to be able to handle.
I've seen at least a few pairs of red-winged blackbirds in the area of the waste water as they hunt invertebrates along the shores of the brook and the tall grasses that border it. The handsome male red-wings are black with red shoulder patches. They sing from the tops of plants along nearby Mill Creek, as they do all over North America, to establish nesting territories and attract females to them for mating.
A few kinds of shorebirds patrol the slender mud flats and shallows of this brook to seize and eat aquatic invertebrates, including where the waste water enters it. Those shorebirds are the locally nesting spotted sandpipers and killdeer plovers, and migrant least sandpipers, solitary sandpipers and lesser yellowlegs, which is also a type of sandpiper. Individual migrant sandpipers, and little groups of a half-dozen or less, are only along this brook early in May when they are going north and in August mostly when they are heading south. But they make our farmland a little more interesting.
Interestingly, too, arrowhead is an abundant emergent plant on the edges of the brook. This plant is about two feet tall, has large, arrow-shaped leaves and lovely, white flowers with three petals by the latter part of July.
And by early September, the edges of this waterway are dominated by the golden, cheering blooms of bur-marigold plants, most of which grow right on the shores of brooks and streams. These blossoms brighten the shores of the little waterways they dominate.
It is amazing the number of species of beautiful and intriguing life that live in a small, human-made habitat, especially one influenced by the daily presence of treated waste water. And there are innumerable other built habitats on Earth that house pockets of nature on this overly-developed planet.
The waste water is treated before it is discharged into the brook because dace and killifish have lived in it for several years. And dace are particularly susceptible to pollution. Their presence, alone, tells the water is neutralized before being released into the brook. Both these species of small, stream-lined fish are brown on top to blend into the muddy bottom of the brook for the fishes' protection. I actually see the shadows of these fish on the bottom better than the fish themselves.
Dace and killifish are links in several food chains, including the snapping turtle. A few northern water snakes lurk here and prey on minnows. Occasionally a belted kingfisher drops from the air to snare minnows while, sometimes, a great blue heron or a great egret wades this little waterway to catch the small fish.
Every spring and summer, I see a mallard duck hen with her ducklings, a muskrat or two, a pair of song sparrows and a little group of American goldfinches in the close vicinity of the waste water, but not all at the same time. The ducks are there to shovel up aquatic invertebrates and vegetation while the muskrats eat grass along the banks of the brook. The song sparrows are like shorebirds in that they consume invertebrates from the thin mud flats and shallows along the edges of the brook. And the goldfinches are there to eat alga.
I have heard green frogs croaking along the edges of the waste-water brook. They probably spawn in the slower parts of that little waterway. Frogs are potential food for herons, mink and raccoons that frequent waterways in this county, and elsewhere.
A couple kinds of dragonflies in limited numbers and bluet damselflies in abundance buzz over this brook after mates and flying insects, and land on plants on its shores to rest. These dragonflies and damselflies were carnivorous nymphs in the water of this waterway, including the part exposed to the waste water. There they hunted critters small enough for them to be able to handle.
I've seen at least a few pairs of red-winged blackbirds in the area of the waste water as they hunt invertebrates along the shores of the brook and the tall grasses that border it. The handsome male red-wings are black with red shoulder patches. They sing from the tops of plants along nearby Mill Creek, as they do all over North America, to establish nesting territories and attract females to them for mating.
A few kinds of shorebirds patrol the slender mud flats and shallows of this brook to seize and eat aquatic invertebrates, including where the waste water enters it. Those shorebirds are the locally nesting spotted sandpipers and killdeer plovers, and migrant least sandpipers, solitary sandpipers and lesser yellowlegs, which is also a type of sandpiper. Individual migrant sandpipers, and little groups of a half-dozen or less, are only along this brook early in May when they are going north and in August mostly when they are heading south. But they make our farmland a little more interesting.
Interestingly, too, arrowhead is an abundant emergent plant on the edges of the brook. This plant is about two feet tall, has large, arrow-shaped leaves and lovely, white flowers with three petals by the latter part of July.
And by early September, the edges of this waterway are dominated by the golden, cheering blooms of bur-marigold plants, most of which grow right on the shores of brooks and streams. These blossoms brighten the shores of the little waterways they dominate.
It is amazing the number of species of beautiful and intriguing life that live in a small, human-made habitat, especially one influenced by the daily presence of treated waste water. And there are innumerable other built habitats on Earth that house pockets of nature on this overly-developed planet.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Intrigues of Fly-catching Animals
One beautiful, sunny evening this mid-July, I was driving through lovely Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farmland to take in its beauties. By chance, I saw several each of barn swallows and green darner dragonflies skimming low among their fellows and each other in pursuit of some kind of flying insects over a pretty, tree and shrub-studded meadow, cleaved by a clear, musical brook. Speeding and weaving without collision with each other, these airborne creatures produced such a show of aerial acrobatics that I stopped to watch them. Both species must have split-second timing and quick reflexes to maneuver that way. They are built for what they do to make a living
The swallows raised young in nearby barns while the darners lived as larvae on pond bottoms, changed to adults with wings and emerged from the ponds to search for flying insects food and mates. They happened to come together in fairly large numbers because of the abundance of food in one spot; thousands of insects shimmering before the setting sun.
While watching the intriguing swallows and dragonflies catching and eating flying insects, I saw a few other kinds of fly-catching birds, including a family each of eastern kingbirds, willow flycatchers and eastern phoebes, all of which are in the flycatcher family of birds, and a family of eastern bluebirds in the thrush family of birds. These birds don't snare airborne victims one after the other in rapid succession as swallows and dragonflies do on the wing. Rather the flycatchers and bluebirds perch on tree and shrub twigs, fences and roadside wires to watch for prey, then flit out and snap up one insect at a time and flutter back to a perch to eat their victims, one at a time. But no less intriguing than the swallows and dragonflies, these birds create another type of summer entertainment, for those who know to watch for it.
Each flycatcher species and the bluebirds had reason to be in that beautiful, tree and shrub-dotted pasture to raise young. Kingbirds hatch offspring in grass cradles on twigs in lone trees in open country, including in cropland. Willow flycatchers rear young in grassy cups in dense, protective shrubbery such as, and especially in, multifora rose bushes in meadows. Phoebes originally nested on rock ledges, under overhanging boulders, near waterways in woodlands. But phoebes have also adapted to raising young on support beams under small bridges over streams in tree-dotted pastures. There is a little bridge over a small waterway in the meadow I visited that lovely, summer evening. Bluebirds prefer open habitat with scattered trees and bushes. This species hatches babies in unused tree cavities, and nesting boxes erected for them in pastures and fields.
All these critters, however, except some of the bluebirds, will migrate south to escape the northern winter. They are not avoiding the cold, but rather are moving to places where they will have unending flying insects to eat during the northern winter. Some bluebirds, however, stay north, where they eat berries, and huddle together at night in tree cavities and bird boxes.
It was interesting and inspiring to watch those fly-catching birds and dragonflies hawking insects over a meadow that pretty, summer evening. Readers can have similar experiences by getting out and keeping an eye open for possibilities in the natural world, almost anytime and almost anywhere.
The swallows raised young in nearby barns while the darners lived as larvae on pond bottoms, changed to adults with wings and emerged from the ponds to search for flying insects food and mates. They happened to come together in fairly large numbers because of the abundance of food in one spot; thousands of insects shimmering before the setting sun.
While watching the intriguing swallows and dragonflies catching and eating flying insects, I saw a few other kinds of fly-catching birds, including a family each of eastern kingbirds, willow flycatchers and eastern phoebes, all of which are in the flycatcher family of birds, and a family of eastern bluebirds in the thrush family of birds. These birds don't snare airborne victims one after the other in rapid succession as swallows and dragonflies do on the wing. Rather the flycatchers and bluebirds perch on tree and shrub twigs, fences and roadside wires to watch for prey, then flit out and snap up one insect at a time and flutter back to a perch to eat their victims, one at a time. But no less intriguing than the swallows and dragonflies, these birds create another type of summer entertainment, for those who know to watch for it.
Each flycatcher species and the bluebirds had reason to be in that beautiful, tree and shrub-dotted pasture to raise young. Kingbirds hatch offspring in grass cradles on twigs in lone trees in open country, including in cropland. Willow flycatchers rear young in grassy cups in dense, protective shrubbery such as, and especially in, multifora rose bushes in meadows. Phoebes originally nested on rock ledges, under overhanging boulders, near waterways in woodlands. But phoebes have also adapted to raising young on support beams under small bridges over streams in tree-dotted pastures. There is a little bridge over a small waterway in the meadow I visited that lovely, summer evening. Bluebirds prefer open habitat with scattered trees and bushes. This species hatches babies in unused tree cavities, and nesting boxes erected for them in pastures and fields.
All these critters, however, except some of the bluebirds, will migrate south to escape the northern winter. They are not avoiding the cold, but rather are moving to places where they will have unending flying insects to eat during the northern winter. Some bluebirds, however, stay north, where they eat berries, and huddle together at night in tree cavities and bird boxes.
It was interesting and inspiring to watch those fly-catching birds and dragonflies hawking insects over a meadow that pretty, summer evening. Readers can have similar experiences by getting out and keeping an eye open for possibilities in the natural world, almost anytime and almost anywhere.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Butterfly Protections
The different kinds of butterflies and their larvae in southeastern Pennsylvania alone have a variety of ways of protecting themselves. Some of those protections include camouflage, bristles on caterpillars, bright colors, fake eyes and mimicry. A field guide to butterflies and their larvae and the internet will offer more details, and identification, of each butterfly species.
Many kinds of caterpillars, including those of cabbage whites and the swallowtail clan, are mostly green, allowing them to blend into their leafy backgrounds. There they are not easily seen by birds and other predators that would catch and eat them if they saw them.
Several kinds of butterfly larvae, such as mourning cloaks, buckeyes and red admirals, have sharp bristles on their bodies. And those spines sting when touched, which further protects the caterpillars.
Monarch caterpillars and a few other kinds have bright colors and patterns on their bodies to warn would-be predators that they are not good to eat. Monarch larvae have white, black and yellow bands over their upper parts along the lengths of their bodies. If a creature grabs a monarch caterpillar with its mouth, it will not seize another one.
The caterpillars of spicebush and tiger swallowtail butterflies have fake eyes on the upper thoraxes of their green bodies that intimidate and frighten away predators that respond to those "eyes" as they would to those on snakes or some other fearsome creature. So wonderfully developed is the mimicry of the "eyes" of a spicebush swallowtail larvae, that when I peer deeply into them I have the eerie feeling that those eyes are looking back at me. Each one has a black "pupil", a yellow "lid" and a white spot in the black that resembles light reflected in the eye. Those black spots are evolutionary miracles, perfected after eons of trial and error.
Adult buckeye, painted lady and wood nymph butterflies have fake eyes on their wings that help protect them. Buckeyes have two "eyes" on each of four wings for a total of eight, like a giant spider?
But viceroy butterflies and their caterpillars are the masters of mimicry among local butterfly species. The larvae are brown and white, and slightly twisted, looking like bird droppings on leaves. They probably are often overlooked by birds and other critters that would ingest them if they saw them as food.
Adult viceroys have orange wings with black striping, almost exactly as monarch butterflies do. Any animal that had the misfortune of tasting a monarch butterfly will leave a viceroy alone, too. After many, many years of development in different ways, viceroys, by luck, happened on a look, that mimics the poisonous monarchs, which saved the lives of individual viceroys that had it and passed that characteristic along to their descendants to the present day. Supposedly, only the viceroys that, by luck, looked like monarchs, survived predators long enough to reproduce. What a wonderful piece of development for survival.
Several kinds of butterflies and their larvae, after long periods of time, developed various ways to protect themselves from being eaten. Those strategies for survival allowed some butterflies life long enough to reproduce, keeping their populations going, however changed they may become through time.
Many kinds of caterpillars, including those of cabbage whites and the swallowtail clan, are mostly green, allowing them to blend into their leafy backgrounds. There they are not easily seen by birds and other predators that would catch and eat them if they saw them.
Several kinds of butterfly larvae, such as mourning cloaks, buckeyes and red admirals, have sharp bristles on their bodies. And those spines sting when touched, which further protects the caterpillars.
Monarch caterpillars and a few other kinds have bright colors and patterns on their bodies to warn would-be predators that they are not good to eat. Monarch larvae have white, black and yellow bands over their upper parts along the lengths of their bodies. If a creature grabs a monarch caterpillar with its mouth, it will not seize another one.
The caterpillars of spicebush and tiger swallowtail butterflies have fake eyes on the upper thoraxes of their green bodies that intimidate and frighten away predators that respond to those "eyes" as they would to those on snakes or some other fearsome creature. So wonderfully developed is the mimicry of the "eyes" of a spicebush swallowtail larvae, that when I peer deeply into them I have the eerie feeling that those eyes are looking back at me. Each one has a black "pupil", a yellow "lid" and a white spot in the black that resembles light reflected in the eye. Those black spots are evolutionary miracles, perfected after eons of trial and error.
Adult buckeye, painted lady and wood nymph butterflies have fake eyes on their wings that help protect them. Buckeyes have two "eyes" on each of four wings for a total of eight, like a giant spider?
But viceroy butterflies and their caterpillars are the masters of mimicry among local butterfly species. The larvae are brown and white, and slightly twisted, looking like bird droppings on leaves. They probably are often overlooked by birds and other critters that would ingest them if they saw them as food.
Adult viceroys have orange wings with black striping, almost exactly as monarch butterflies do. Any animal that had the misfortune of tasting a monarch butterfly will leave a viceroy alone, too. After many, many years of development in different ways, viceroys, by luck, happened on a look, that mimics the poisonous monarchs, which saved the lives of individual viceroys that had it and passed that characteristic along to their descendants to the present day. Supposedly, only the viceroys that, by luck, looked like monarchs, survived predators long enough to reproduce. What a wonderful piece of development for survival.
Several kinds of butterflies and their larvae, after long periods of time, developed various ways to protect themselves from being eaten. Those strategies for survival allowed some butterflies life long enough to reproduce, keeping their populations going, however changed they may become through time.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Birds on the Move in July
March, April and early May in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania see many kinds of birds pushing north to nesting territories. Mid-May to early July is the time of nesting birds of many species here. And the middle of July, through August, in this area, witnesses a variety of post-breeding bird species already on the move in preparation of the coming fall and winter.
Five types of sandpipers, least, pectoral and solitary, and lesser and greater yellowlegs, which are other species of sandpipers, wing south from farther north in July, many of them settling on mud flats and shallow water along waterways, impoundments and puddles in flooded fields and pastures in Lancaster County. For several days here they eat invertebrates they pull from the mud before continuing their migrations farther south. The short-legged least and pectoral sandpipers get food from the flats and inch-deep water while the solitaries and yellowlegs catch invertebrates in mud under deeper water. That dispersion reduces competition for food among these related bird species.
Least and pectoral sandpipers are brown, which camouflages them on mud. Solitaries and both kinds of yellowlegs are grayish, allowing them to blend into the color of water.
Least and pectoral sandpipers nest on the ground of the Arctic tundra. But solitaries and yellowlegs hatch young along the shores of lakes in forests in Canada. Interestingly, solitaries use abandoned birds' nests in trees to hatch offspring. They are the only kind of shorebird that does that. And solitaries are the only shorebirds that flutter delicately on the wing like butterflies.
Those sandpipers come south in search of feeding grounds before the north freezes shut, locking away their invertebrate food supply. In fact, most birds migrate south, not to avoid the cold, but to find food supplies during the northern winter.
Many post-breeding great egrets, snowy egrets and little blue herons, in that order of abundance, wander north in July to find fairly unused fishing places where they can fatten up and recuperate before the rigors of winter. The egrets and immature little blues are white, making them noticeable along the waterways and impoundments they frequent to catch fish, frogs, tadpoles and other kinds of aquatic creatures. But as the average temperatures become colder in autumn, these egrets and herons drift south again in search of open water and reliable food supplies to get them through the northern winter.
And while the sandpipers are coming south and the egrets and herons are wandering north, local, post-breeding barn swallows and tree swallows gather into flocks in local farmland in preparation for their flights south in search of reliable supplies of flying insects to eat through the northern winter. These swallows congregate in mixed groups or in their own gatherings and fly over fields and larger impoundments in masses to feed on flying insects. Their swift, interweaving flights among their fellows, without collision, after food is entertaining to watch. When full, the swallows rest and digest on tree twigs and roadside wires in large numbers. They are more noticeable on roadside wires and one can see how large their flocks can get as they continue to gather before meandering south for the winter.
Lancaster County in July is full of flocks of birds on the move. They make this area more interesting and inspiring to anyone who takes the time to watch for their annual migrations south.
Five types of sandpipers, least, pectoral and solitary, and lesser and greater yellowlegs, which are other species of sandpipers, wing south from farther north in July, many of them settling on mud flats and shallow water along waterways, impoundments and puddles in flooded fields and pastures in Lancaster County. For several days here they eat invertebrates they pull from the mud before continuing their migrations farther south. The short-legged least and pectoral sandpipers get food from the flats and inch-deep water while the solitaries and yellowlegs catch invertebrates in mud under deeper water. That dispersion reduces competition for food among these related bird species.
Least and pectoral sandpipers are brown, which camouflages them on mud. Solitaries and both kinds of yellowlegs are grayish, allowing them to blend into the color of water.
Least and pectoral sandpipers nest on the ground of the Arctic tundra. But solitaries and yellowlegs hatch young along the shores of lakes in forests in Canada. Interestingly, solitaries use abandoned birds' nests in trees to hatch offspring. They are the only kind of shorebird that does that. And solitaries are the only shorebirds that flutter delicately on the wing like butterflies.
Those sandpipers come south in search of feeding grounds before the north freezes shut, locking away their invertebrate food supply. In fact, most birds migrate south, not to avoid the cold, but to find food supplies during the northern winter.
Many post-breeding great egrets, snowy egrets and little blue herons, in that order of abundance, wander north in July to find fairly unused fishing places where they can fatten up and recuperate before the rigors of winter. The egrets and immature little blues are white, making them noticeable along the waterways and impoundments they frequent to catch fish, frogs, tadpoles and other kinds of aquatic creatures. But as the average temperatures become colder in autumn, these egrets and herons drift south again in search of open water and reliable food supplies to get them through the northern winter.
And while the sandpipers are coming south and the egrets and herons are wandering north, local, post-breeding barn swallows and tree swallows gather into flocks in local farmland in preparation for their flights south in search of reliable supplies of flying insects to eat through the northern winter. These swallows congregate in mixed groups or in their own gatherings and fly over fields and larger impoundments in masses to feed on flying insects. Their swift, interweaving flights among their fellows, without collision, after food is entertaining to watch. When full, the swallows rest and digest on tree twigs and roadside wires in large numbers. They are more noticeable on roadside wires and one can see how large their flocks can get as they continue to gather before meandering south for the winter.
Lancaster County in July is full of flocks of birds on the move. They make this area more interesting and inspiring to anyone who takes the time to watch for their annual migrations south.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Migrant Butterflies in Eastern North America
Like a large variety of birds moving north in spring to nesting territories and south in autumn to avoid northern winters, about seventeen species of butterflies engage in some sort of migration in North America. And at least five common, fairly obvious kinds of butterflies, including red admirals, common buckeyes, painted ladies, question marks and monarchs, do so in eastern North America, including passing through and residing in Pennsylvania. All these species, as adults, feed on flower nectar, except the question marks that consume rotting fruit, dung and carrion. Field guides or the internet will give readers views of adult and larval forms of these interesting and remarkable butterfly species to see their beauties and aid in identification. And those same sources of information will offer more facts about each species.
Red admirals are beautiful butterflies that engage in massive movements north in spring. A couple of years, for a few days early in May each time, here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I have seen thousands of single red admirals everywhere fluttering low to the ground and steadily pushing north, creating remarkable sights. Eventually females of the species rest on stinging nettle plants here and throughout the northeastern United States to lay eggs. The resulting larvae consume nettle leaves and pupate by early June, coming out a few weeks later as another generation of red admiral butterflies, but in the north. Some individuals of a later generation wing south for the winter.
Buckeyes are striking butterflies with two dark "eye" spots on each of four wings for a total of eight spots. Those large spots startle and intimidate would-be predators that might want to eat buckeye butterflies.
During each autumn, large numbers of buckeyes migrate south to peninsular Florida where they spend the winter. The next spring, survivors push north again to recolonize the north, just as migrating birds do.
A lovely kind of butterfly called painted ladies live all over the world. This species also annually migrates north and south, including populations that build up in Mexico and, eventually, pour north into the western United States in spring. Adult painted ladies feed mostly on thistle nectar.
Question mark butterfly caterpillars mostly eat the leaves of hackberry trees, nettles and Japanese hops, which is a kind of vine on partly shaded floodplains. After pupating and emerging as adult butterflies, many of them migrate south to avoid the northern winter.
But monarch butterflies are, by far, the most famous butterfly migrant in North America. Each March, many thousands of surviving monarchs start north on migration. Somewhere in the western United States, however, those butterflies that overwintered in Mexico stop, mate, lay eggs on milkweeds, the caterpillars' only food plants, and die. The second generation of that year, which should have many more individuals than the first, also pushes farther north and east and does the same. And that third generation continues the expansion of range and reproduction. But the offspring of the third generation, which is the fourth generation for that year, does not mate. That last generation of the year migrates south, starting early in September, and settles by early November into the same forested slopes in Mexico that their great-grandparents came from the spring before. That fourth group had never been to those woods, but they go, unerringly, to them. What a mystery!! How do they know where to go? Nobody knows. But it is a miracle of nature, as is everything in nature on Earth, and in the universe.
We humans can't even begin to comprehend how wonderful this universe is. There must be a higher power far greater than ourselves! Meanwhile, all we can do is enjoy and appreciate nature, and thank that higher power for its presence.
Red admirals are beautiful butterflies that engage in massive movements north in spring. A couple of years, for a few days early in May each time, here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I have seen thousands of single red admirals everywhere fluttering low to the ground and steadily pushing north, creating remarkable sights. Eventually females of the species rest on stinging nettle plants here and throughout the northeastern United States to lay eggs. The resulting larvae consume nettle leaves and pupate by early June, coming out a few weeks later as another generation of red admiral butterflies, but in the north. Some individuals of a later generation wing south for the winter.
Buckeyes are striking butterflies with two dark "eye" spots on each of four wings for a total of eight spots. Those large spots startle and intimidate would-be predators that might want to eat buckeye butterflies.
During each autumn, large numbers of buckeyes migrate south to peninsular Florida where they spend the winter. The next spring, survivors push north again to recolonize the north, just as migrating birds do.
A lovely kind of butterfly called painted ladies live all over the world. This species also annually migrates north and south, including populations that build up in Mexico and, eventually, pour north into the western United States in spring. Adult painted ladies feed mostly on thistle nectar.
Question mark butterfly caterpillars mostly eat the leaves of hackberry trees, nettles and Japanese hops, which is a kind of vine on partly shaded floodplains. After pupating and emerging as adult butterflies, many of them migrate south to avoid the northern winter.
But monarch butterflies are, by far, the most famous butterfly migrant in North America. Each March, many thousands of surviving monarchs start north on migration. Somewhere in the western United States, however, those butterflies that overwintered in Mexico stop, mate, lay eggs on milkweeds, the caterpillars' only food plants, and die. The second generation of that year, which should have many more individuals than the first, also pushes farther north and east and does the same. And that third generation continues the expansion of range and reproduction. But the offspring of the third generation, which is the fourth generation for that year, does not mate. That last generation of the year migrates south, starting early in September, and settles by early November into the same forested slopes in Mexico that their great-grandparents came from the spring before. That fourth group had never been to those woods, but they go, unerringly, to them. What a mystery!! How do they know where to go? Nobody knows. But it is a miracle of nature, as is everything in nature on Earth, and in the universe.
We humans can't even begin to comprehend how wonderful this universe is. There must be a higher power far greater than ourselves! Meanwhile, all we can do is enjoy and appreciate nature, and thank that higher power for its presence.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Red-Crowned Sparrows
Four kinds of red-crowned sparrows live in the Mid-Atlantic States at some time of the year, including tree, chipping, field and swamp sparrows. The first three species are closely related in the Spizella genus while swamp sparrows are related to song sparrows in the Melospiza genus. But all of them are beautifully brown and streaked on top, which camouflages them in their different habitats, and all have plain gray underparts. All mostly feed invertebrates to their young, but consume seeds through winters. And all hatch young in different habitats from each other, eliminating competition for nesting space and food.
Tree sparrows nest across the Arctic tundra of Canada and Alaska and only winter in this area, and across much of the United States. In winter they inhabit weedy fields and hedgerows between those fields where they eat weed and grass seeds and continually utter cheery notes- "teel-wit- teel-wit" that are delightful to hear. Tree sparrows have a dark spot on their chests and their upper mandible is dark while the lower one is yellow.
Chipping sparrows nest across most of North America, including in the Middle Atlantic States. This species of small sparrow has a distinctive face with a red crown, a black streak from the beak, through each eye, to the back of the head on each side of the face. And they have an obvious white stripe over each black line.
Chippers commonly raise young on lawns, especially those planted with arborvitae trees because of their dense boughs of flattened needles that provide excellent protection for chippers and their young. And chipping sparrows also rear offspring in other kinds of coniferous trees in a variety of habitats, natural and human-made. Males sing a dry trill on one pitch and females add hair to their dainty, cup nurseries of fine grasses, wherever hair is available.
Field sparrows are often heard, but seldom seen in the weedy, bushy fields they nest in across most of the eastern half of the United States. Males sing a lovely trill that accelerates. I remember when I was much younger hearing that beautiful trill coming from abandoned fields and hedgerows and thinking they were uttered by eastern bluebirds. Only years later did I learn they were sung by male field sparrows. This species has a pink beak that helps identify it.
Swamp sparrows nest in wetlands across Canada and the northeastern states of the United States. This species has rusty-red shoulder patches on its wings and males sing slow, musical trills.
These are all pretty birds, in camouflaged ways, with characteristics in common. Though none of them are obvious to us, their beauties make them worth looking for.
Tree sparrows nest across the Arctic tundra of Canada and Alaska and only winter in this area, and across much of the United States. In winter they inhabit weedy fields and hedgerows between those fields where they eat weed and grass seeds and continually utter cheery notes- "teel-wit- teel-wit" that are delightful to hear. Tree sparrows have a dark spot on their chests and their upper mandible is dark while the lower one is yellow.
Chipping sparrows nest across most of North America, including in the Middle Atlantic States. This species of small sparrow has a distinctive face with a red crown, a black streak from the beak, through each eye, to the back of the head on each side of the face. And they have an obvious white stripe over each black line.
Chippers commonly raise young on lawns, especially those planted with arborvitae trees because of their dense boughs of flattened needles that provide excellent protection for chippers and their young. And chipping sparrows also rear offspring in other kinds of coniferous trees in a variety of habitats, natural and human-made. Males sing a dry trill on one pitch and females add hair to their dainty, cup nurseries of fine grasses, wherever hair is available.
Field sparrows are often heard, but seldom seen in the weedy, bushy fields they nest in across most of the eastern half of the United States. Males sing a lovely trill that accelerates. I remember when I was much younger hearing that beautiful trill coming from abandoned fields and hedgerows and thinking they were uttered by eastern bluebirds. Only years later did I learn they were sung by male field sparrows. This species has a pink beak that helps identify it.
Swamp sparrows nest in wetlands across Canada and the northeastern states of the United States. This species has rusty-red shoulder patches on its wings and males sing slow, musical trills.
These are all pretty birds, in camouflaged ways, with characteristics in common. Though none of them are obvious to us, their beauties make them worth looking for.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Salamanders in Southeastern Pennsylvania
Salamanders are pretty little creatures that live in ponds, stony-bottomed brooks or on moist forest floors, depending on the species. Though at least ten kinds are common in southeastern Pennsylvania, none of them are commonly seen because they are small and constantly hide, making them mysterious. All salamanders are predators, catching and eating tiny invertebrates wherever they live. All have smooth, moist skins, and big eyes to help locate their prey. Salamanders would die if their skins became dry. As amphibians, many kinds of salamanders have two lives, one in water and the other in damp soil.
Eastern newts start life in water as larvae with gills. But after a few months, the larvae move onto damp forest floors where they have lungs and moist, reddish-orange skins, and are called red efts. Their red skins are toxic and warn would-be predators not to eat them. After about a year, the efts return to water to live the rest of their lives as aquatic salamanders. These newts are pale-green on top that camouflages them, with two rows of red dots. They have yellow underparts and there whole body has tiny, black dots.
Eastern newts start life in water and wind up on land as many other kinds of amphibians do, but newts take a third, permanent step back into the water as adults. My theory is that, perhaps, ancestral newts couldn't tolerate competition for food and space with their relatives on land, so they re-entered the water.
The related spotted salamanders, Jefferson's salamanders and marbled salamanders are called mole salamanders because they live in damp soil under carpets of dead, fallen leaves on forest floors. They leave that protective niche once a year to spawn in puddles of rain water and melted snow, the spotted and Jefferson's in early spring and the marbled in autumn. During the first few rainy days in March when snow melts, spotties and Jefferson's come out of hibernation under the wet leaves and march to woodland puddles to spawn. Then they quickly return to their protective retreats. Marbled salamanders spawn in depressions in the forest floor in fall. Females protect their eggs until rain fills the pools, then they move off to hibernate in the ground through winter. These salamanders live in water and later on land as many amphibians do.
Spotties are, by far, the most common of mole salamanders in this area. They are about six inches long, and black, with two lovely rows of yellow or orange spots down their backs. Marbled are about the same size and black, with striking silver markings on top.
There are several kinds of lungless salamanders in southeastern Pennsylvania, as elsewhere. Some of them, including northern two-lined, long-tailed, northern dusky and northern red salamanders live in stony brooks and their edges. None of these salamander species have lungs, but take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide through their moist, thin skins. These species spawn in water and live in it for the most part, though some individuals crawl out on land during rains or on damp nights.
Red salamanders are the biggest of these aquatic lungless salamanders, being up to six inches long and robust. They are bright red with many tiny, black dots all over. Long-tails are orange with long tails and many black dots all over.
Two kinds of lungless land salamanders never enter water at all. Their lifestyles are like a link between amphibians and reptiles, except these salamanders must be forever moist to live.
Red-backed and slimy salamanders live in dark dampness under carpets of dead and fallen leaves and logs on forest floors. And there the females of each type lay and protect their eggs until their young hatch as miniatures of their parents, ready to feed on tiny invertebrates under those protective places. What is most interesting about these two land salamanders is they could be forming new species in isolated woodlots surrounded by fields, roads and other dry, sunny habitats that would kill salamanders. The salamanders in each woodlot would have no news genes coming into its gene pool. And any little difference in the gene pool of the salamanders in a woodlot would eventually make the whole population different than its relatives in other woodlots. New species of salamanders could be forming in this way at this moment.
Salamanders are beautiful and interesting little creatures. They are well worth the time to look for, though they should be left in the habitats where found.
Eastern newts start life in water as larvae with gills. But after a few months, the larvae move onto damp forest floors where they have lungs and moist, reddish-orange skins, and are called red efts. Their red skins are toxic and warn would-be predators not to eat them. After about a year, the efts return to water to live the rest of their lives as aquatic salamanders. These newts are pale-green on top that camouflages them, with two rows of red dots. They have yellow underparts and there whole body has tiny, black dots.
Eastern newts start life in water and wind up on land as many other kinds of amphibians do, but newts take a third, permanent step back into the water as adults. My theory is that, perhaps, ancestral newts couldn't tolerate competition for food and space with their relatives on land, so they re-entered the water.
The related spotted salamanders, Jefferson's salamanders and marbled salamanders are called mole salamanders because they live in damp soil under carpets of dead, fallen leaves on forest floors. They leave that protective niche once a year to spawn in puddles of rain water and melted snow, the spotted and Jefferson's in early spring and the marbled in autumn. During the first few rainy days in March when snow melts, spotties and Jefferson's come out of hibernation under the wet leaves and march to woodland puddles to spawn. Then they quickly return to their protective retreats. Marbled salamanders spawn in depressions in the forest floor in fall. Females protect their eggs until rain fills the pools, then they move off to hibernate in the ground through winter. These salamanders live in water and later on land as many amphibians do.
Spotties are, by far, the most common of mole salamanders in this area. They are about six inches long, and black, with two lovely rows of yellow or orange spots down their backs. Marbled are about the same size and black, with striking silver markings on top.
There are several kinds of lungless salamanders in southeastern Pennsylvania, as elsewhere. Some of them, including northern two-lined, long-tailed, northern dusky and northern red salamanders live in stony brooks and their edges. None of these salamander species have lungs, but take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide through their moist, thin skins. These species spawn in water and live in it for the most part, though some individuals crawl out on land during rains or on damp nights.
Red salamanders are the biggest of these aquatic lungless salamanders, being up to six inches long and robust. They are bright red with many tiny, black dots all over. Long-tails are orange with long tails and many black dots all over.
Two kinds of lungless land salamanders never enter water at all. Their lifestyles are like a link between amphibians and reptiles, except these salamanders must be forever moist to live.
Red-backed and slimy salamanders live in dark dampness under carpets of dead and fallen leaves and logs on forest floors. And there the females of each type lay and protect their eggs until their young hatch as miniatures of their parents, ready to feed on tiny invertebrates under those protective places. What is most interesting about these two land salamanders is they could be forming new species in isolated woodlots surrounded by fields, roads and other dry, sunny habitats that would kill salamanders. The salamanders in each woodlot would have no news genes coming into its gene pool. And any little difference in the gene pool of the salamanders in a woodlot would eventually make the whole population different than its relatives in other woodlots. New species of salamanders could be forming in this way at this moment.
Salamanders are beautiful and interesting little creatures. They are well worth the time to look for, though they should be left in the habitats where found.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Summer Cold Fronts
When we humans in the Mid-Atlantic States, as elsewhere, feel lazy and worn after days of heat and humidity in summer, nothing is more welcome than weather called a cold front. Summer cold fronts are the most wonderful weather of any time of the year. Breezes are cool and refreshing when we need them, a joy to experience and a welcome relief from several days of stifling heat and mugginess. In a cold front one feels vigorous and alive, instead of lethargic.
Summer is the prettiest season of the year in the Middle Atlantic States, but also the most uncomfortable for us humans because of the heat and humidity that saps our ambitions. But the landscape in this area in summer is lush-green as a result of warm, sunny days and rainfall. And the beautiful scenery here is unsurpassed during a cold front, including clear views of distant wooded hills because of low moisture in the air. The sky during cold fronts is deep blue because of low humidity and is punctuated with puffy-white, cumulus clouds of unending shapes and sizes. With imagination, many of those clouds become aerial pictures of animals, ships and so on.
Summer cold fronts can happen anytime from mid-May into much of September, but are most welcome during the serene, sluggish days of July and August when life activities seem to slow in the overwhelming heat. Cold fronts are caused by cold air from the Arctic tundra around the north pole that sweeps south across Canada and the United States.
By mid-summer, the feverish activities of spring reproduction are done and many parent creatures relax and recuperate from the strain of raising young and before they prepare for the coming winter. They probably have innate feelings of peace and contentment, "the joys of the good life", felt at no other time of year. Meanwhile, through the sunlight, heat, rain and abundant food in July, August and into September, wild plants and young animals grow, mature and gain strength for the rigors of the coming winter.
I, personally, would like to experience the comfort of a cold front that lasted all summer. But, unfortunately, each summer cold front lasts only a few days, then it's back to heat and mugginess coming north from the Gulf of Mexico. But if we didn't have the uncomfortable conditions, we wouldn't appreciate as well the occasional cold fronts when they do arrive here. Enjoy summer cold fronts while they last.
Summer is the prettiest season of the year in the Middle Atlantic States, but also the most uncomfortable for us humans because of the heat and humidity that saps our ambitions. But the landscape in this area in summer is lush-green as a result of warm, sunny days and rainfall. And the beautiful scenery here is unsurpassed during a cold front, including clear views of distant wooded hills because of low moisture in the air. The sky during cold fronts is deep blue because of low humidity and is punctuated with puffy-white, cumulus clouds of unending shapes and sizes. With imagination, many of those clouds become aerial pictures of animals, ships and so on.
Summer cold fronts can happen anytime from mid-May into much of September, but are most welcome during the serene, sluggish days of July and August when life activities seem to slow in the overwhelming heat. Cold fronts are caused by cold air from the Arctic tundra around the north pole that sweeps south across Canada and the United States.
By mid-summer, the feverish activities of spring reproduction are done and many parent creatures relax and recuperate from the strain of raising young and before they prepare for the coming winter. They probably have innate feelings of peace and contentment, "the joys of the good life", felt at no other time of year. Meanwhile, through the sunlight, heat, rain and abundant food in July, August and into September, wild plants and young animals grow, mature and gain strength for the rigors of the coming winter.
I, personally, would like to experience the comfort of a cold front that lasted all summer. But, unfortunately, each summer cold front lasts only a few days, then it's back to heat and mugginess coming north from the Gulf of Mexico. But if we didn't have the uncomfortable conditions, we wouldn't appreciate as well the occasional cold fronts when they do arrive here. Enjoy summer cold fronts while they last.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Mid-Summer Roadside Blooms
In mid-summer over the years, I've seen many kinds of blooming roadside plants in southeastern Pennsylvania farmland. Together the beautiful flowers of those plants create the prettiest bouquets anyone could hope to see, free. Most roadside vegetation is originally from Europe where it long ago adapted to cultivated ground. Of all those plants on the shoulders of country byways, and I've counted at least 24 kinds early in July in Lancaster County alone, only common milkweeds and dogbanes are native to North America. All other species were brought to America by European colonists, either accidentally or purposefully. Today those plants, alien and natives alike, brighten rural roadsides with their lovely blooms, where they aren't mowed off, making a walk or ride in croplands more interesting and enjoyable.
Delightfully, chicory with its sky-blue blooms and red clover that has hot-pink blossoms dominate many roadside bouquets. And these two species, along with Queen-Anne's-lace and evening lynchis with white flowers are patriotic- red white and blue.
Some of the alien plants have a bit of European history. Chicory roots can be roasted, crushed and used for coffee supplement or substitute. Queen-Anne's-lace is the ancestor of domestic carrots. The two plants look similar, smell the same and have almost identical flowers. The dead, dried stalks of common mullein, that produces yellow blooms, but later are amply dotted with empty seed pockets, were dipped in animal fat and lit to be used as torches at night in Europe. The stiff spines of teasel seed heads that protected tiny, lavender blossoms, were used in Europe to tease out wool. And the leaves of bouncing bet, that has pale-pink flowers, were used to make soap lather.
None of these species grow everywhere along country lanes. Each community of roadside plants is unique and all vegetation in each patch competes with its vegetative fellows for space, water and sunlight.
Some roadside plant communities are thin because some farmers cultivate right to the roads. These roadsides have few kinds of plants which usually get mowed anyway.
Unfortunately for these plants, insects and other creatures, and us, many roadsides get mowed close to the ground, eliminating their beautiful flowers we could have enjoyed. And that mowing deprives invertebrates, field mice and certain birds of food. But, fortunately, mowing only cuts off the plants, but doesn't kill them. The plants grow back and many produce blossoms on short stems close to the ground, benefiting themselves, wildlife and people who enjoy the flowers.
Some mowing of roadside vegetation is interrupted by poles, signs, rocks, the steepness of the banks, ditches and other things. There the plants can grow, mature and produce flowers and seeds.
Canada thistles, nodding thistles, common milkweeds and red clover, all of which have pink blossoms, yellow sweet clover with yellow flowers and white sweet clover with white blooms are particularly noted for attracting pollinating insects to their blossoms. Their flowers are often swarming with a variety of bees, small butterflies and other types of insects that sip sugary nectar, pollinating those blooms in the process. Cabbage white, sulphur, skipper and other kinds of butterflies visit the blooms to get nectar. Monarch butterfly females lay eggs on milkweed plants, the only food of their caterpillars. And dogbane beetles live on and eat dogbane plants.
Japanese honeysuckle with white and beige flowers and bind weeds with white blooms are vines that attach to plants, poles and other objects, or sprawl across the ground. The blossoms of those plants add beauty to the edges of many rural roads.
Some other plant species along country byways are daisy fleabanes and moth mulleins with white flowers, viper's bugloss with blue ones and buttercups, corydalis and butter and eggs that have yellow blooms. Buttercups were everywhere abundant in May, but now only some persist. Butter and eggs are wild snap dragons and have flowers like those on domestic snap dragons in gardens.
When walking or riding along rural roadsides in the heart of summer in the Mid-Atlantic States, and elsewhere, look for these lovely flowers, most of which came from Europe. And watch for the many kinds of invertebrates that get food from that road edge vegetation. Though only a few feet deep, roadside shoulders are miles and miles long, harboring plants and animals in abundance.
Delightfully, chicory with its sky-blue blooms and red clover that has hot-pink blossoms dominate many roadside bouquets. And these two species, along with Queen-Anne's-lace and evening lynchis with white flowers are patriotic- red white and blue.
Some of the alien plants have a bit of European history. Chicory roots can be roasted, crushed and used for coffee supplement or substitute. Queen-Anne's-lace is the ancestor of domestic carrots. The two plants look similar, smell the same and have almost identical flowers. The dead, dried stalks of common mullein, that produces yellow blooms, but later are amply dotted with empty seed pockets, were dipped in animal fat and lit to be used as torches at night in Europe. The stiff spines of teasel seed heads that protected tiny, lavender blossoms, were used in Europe to tease out wool. And the leaves of bouncing bet, that has pale-pink flowers, were used to make soap lather.
None of these species grow everywhere along country lanes. Each community of roadside plants is unique and all vegetation in each patch competes with its vegetative fellows for space, water and sunlight.
Some roadside plant communities are thin because some farmers cultivate right to the roads. These roadsides have few kinds of plants which usually get mowed anyway.
Unfortunately for these plants, insects and other creatures, and us, many roadsides get mowed close to the ground, eliminating their beautiful flowers we could have enjoyed. And that mowing deprives invertebrates, field mice and certain birds of food. But, fortunately, mowing only cuts off the plants, but doesn't kill them. The plants grow back and many produce blossoms on short stems close to the ground, benefiting themselves, wildlife and people who enjoy the flowers.
Some mowing of roadside vegetation is interrupted by poles, signs, rocks, the steepness of the banks, ditches and other things. There the plants can grow, mature and produce flowers and seeds.
Canada thistles, nodding thistles, common milkweeds and red clover, all of which have pink blossoms, yellow sweet clover with yellow flowers and white sweet clover with white blooms are particularly noted for attracting pollinating insects to their blossoms. Their flowers are often swarming with a variety of bees, small butterflies and other types of insects that sip sugary nectar, pollinating those blooms in the process. Cabbage white, sulphur, skipper and other kinds of butterflies visit the blooms to get nectar. Monarch butterfly females lay eggs on milkweed plants, the only food of their caterpillars. And dogbane beetles live on and eat dogbane plants.
Japanese honeysuckle with white and beige flowers and bind weeds with white blooms are vines that attach to plants, poles and other objects, or sprawl across the ground. The blossoms of those plants add beauty to the edges of many rural roads.
Some other plant species along country byways are daisy fleabanes and moth mulleins with white flowers, viper's bugloss with blue ones and buttercups, corydalis and butter and eggs that have yellow blooms. Buttercups were everywhere abundant in May, but now only some persist. Butter and eggs are wild snap dragons and have flowers like those on domestic snap dragons in gardens.
When walking or riding along rural roadsides in the heart of summer in the Mid-Atlantic States, and elsewhere, look for these lovely flowers, most of which came from Europe. And watch for the many kinds of invertebrates that get food from that road edge vegetation. Though only a few feet deep, roadside shoulders are miles and miles long, harboring plants and animals in abundance.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Some Favorite Moths
A couple of times over the years in the eastern United States, while pumping gas into my car, I noticed a dead luna moth on the blacktop by the pump. Those moths were attracted to and fluttered around large night lights until they ran out of energy and died. And a few times here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, over the years, I saw a luna moth fluttering in the gathering darkness of deciduous woods, looking like a tiny, floating ghost.
Some of my favorite moths are I O moths, so-named for markings on their hind wings, lunas and rosy maples. They all have traits in common, including being attracted to outdoor lights, having furry bodies, being brightly colored, not feeding as adult moths, dying soon after egg-laying and being active only at night. Males of each species have large, feathery antennae to readily sense pheromones released by females to bring the genders together for mating. And all these pretty and interesting moths live in the eastern half of the United States and survive the winter as pupae.
I think moths, like butterflies and many other species of insects, go through a four-stage metamorphosis, from egg to larvae, pupa and adult, so they can travel distances to find mates. Caterpillars do fine feeding and growing, but when it comes time to reproduce, they can't travel far at all. But with wings they develop in the pupa stage, they can fly long distances to find mates to reproduce themselves.
I O moths are my very favorite moth species. Each moth has a three inch wing span. Males have yellow bodies and fore wings while females have reddish-brown bodies and front wings. Both genders of this species are plain when their wings are closed. But when they suddenly open their wings in alarm, a would-be predator is startled by what looks like the face of an owl. Each hind wing has a large, dark spot that resembles an eye. In fact, the I O name came from a black, curved line halfway around each "eye", the I, and the round dark spot, the O. There also is a white spot in each black circle that resembles light reflected in the "eye".
There is one brood of I O larvae a year in the north. Each female protrudes a scent gland from her rear to emit pheromones into the air. Males use their antennae to find the females and mate with them. Each female lays a couple hundred eggs on the caterpillars' plant foods, around 20 in each cluster. I O larvae eat the leaves of cherry, red maple, sweet gum, red bud and other kinds of trees, and the foliage of sweet clovers, white clover, roses and other types of vegetation.
I O caterpillars are gregarious and feed in clusters for their protection. They are light orange when small, but become green with two lateral stripes on each side, a red one above a white one. These larvae also grow many clusters of green spines that release painful venom when touched.
I O larvae spin flimsy cocoons of dark silk in leaf litter or wrapped in living leaves in trees. Those leaves eventually die and fall to the leaf litter below, still containing the leaf-brown cocoons. Their the pupae overwinter.
Luna moths have four to five inch wing spans and are lime-green. This species has long, tapering back wings that are graceful. And each moth has a small eye spot on each of its four wings. Each female lays 400 to 600 eggs, four to seven at a time, under the leaves of host trees in woodlands, including birches, alders, hickories, walnuts, sumacs and other kinds of trees. The green larvae, that also have bristles, are gregarious at first, but later live and feed alone. Each caterpillar spins a thin cocoon in leaf litter and is a red-brown pupa in it over winter.
Rosy maple moths have two inch wing spans, pale-yellow bodies, pink legs and pink and yellow wings with no eye spots. Their green larvae have lengthwise, white stripes and short, black spines. These caterpillars eat the leaves of red and silver maples, hence their name. Again, these larvae are gregarious at first, but later feed alone.
These moths, and other species, are beautiful and interesting here in the United States. But they are not seen much because of their nocturnal habits and not living more than a week or a little more. Look for them at night around night lights, or by day resting on a tree trunk or some other object.
Some of my favorite moths are I O moths, so-named for markings on their hind wings, lunas and rosy maples. They all have traits in common, including being attracted to outdoor lights, having furry bodies, being brightly colored, not feeding as adult moths, dying soon after egg-laying and being active only at night. Males of each species have large, feathery antennae to readily sense pheromones released by females to bring the genders together for mating. And all these pretty and interesting moths live in the eastern half of the United States and survive the winter as pupae.
I think moths, like butterflies and many other species of insects, go through a four-stage metamorphosis, from egg to larvae, pupa and adult, so they can travel distances to find mates. Caterpillars do fine feeding and growing, but when it comes time to reproduce, they can't travel far at all. But with wings they develop in the pupa stage, they can fly long distances to find mates to reproduce themselves.
I O moths are my very favorite moth species. Each moth has a three inch wing span. Males have yellow bodies and fore wings while females have reddish-brown bodies and front wings. Both genders of this species are plain when their wings are closed. But when they suddenly open their wings in alarm, a would-be predator is startled by what looks like the face of an owl. Each hind wing has a large, dark spot that resembles an eye. In fact, the I O name came from a black, curved line halfway around each "eye", the I, and the round dark spot, the O. There also is a white spot in each black circle that resembles light reflected in the "eye".
There is one brood of I O larvae a year in the north. Each female protrudes a scent gland from her rear to emit pheromones into the air. Males use their antennae to find the females and mate with them. Each female lays a couple hundred eggs on the caterpillars' plant foods, around 20 in each cluster. I O larvae eat the leaves of cherry, red maple, sweet gum, red bud and other kinds of trees, and the foliage of sweet clovers, white clover, roses and other types of vegetation.
I O caterpillars are gregarious and feed in clusters for their protection. They are light orange when small, but become green with two lateral stripes on each side, a red one above a white one. These larvae also grow many clusters of green spines that release painful venom when touched.
I O larvae spin flimsy cocoons of dark silk in leaf litter or wrapped in living leaves in trees. Those leaves eventually die and fall to the leaf litter below, still containing the leaf-brown cocoons. Their the pupae overwinter.
Luna moths have four to five inch wing spans and are lime-green. This species has long, tapering back wings that are graceful. And each moth has a small eye spot on each of its four wings. Each female lays 400 to 600 eggs, four to seven at a time, under the leaves of host trees in woodlands, including birches, alders, hickories, walnuts, sumacs and other kinds of trees. The green larvae, that also have bristles, are gregarious at first, but later live and feed alone. Each caterpillar spins a thin cocoon in leaf litter and is a red-brown pupa in it over winter.
Rosy maple moths have two inch wing spans, pale-yellow bodies, pink legs and pink and yellow wings with no eye spots. Their green larvae have lengthwise, white stripes and short, black spines. These caterpillars eat the leaves of red and silver maples, hence their name. Again, these larvae are gregarious at first, but later feed alone.
These moths, and other species, are beautiful and interesting here in the United States. But they are not seen much because of their nocturnal habits and not living more than a week or a little more. Look for them at night around night lights, or by day resting on a tree trunk or some other object.
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