Author: Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

Northern Pearly Eye

Rather than open meadows, which butterflies often prefer, the Northern Pearly Eye, Enodia anthedon, choses to flutter about in the woods, whether shady or with sun filtering through.

Fluttering by, feeling the need to rest, he’ll land upside-down to view his world.

His caterpillar hosts are various species of grasses, grasses which are happy living on the forest floor.

As an adult he dines on dung, mud, fungi, rotting fruit, carrion, and sap from willows, poplars, and birch.

A clever little guy, with an average wingspan of a bit more than 2 inches, this butterfly knows just where to land as I stalk him with my camera. He checks out the available landing spots and if it’s available he’ll chose a patch of poison ivy, just out of reach, as a safe haven.

GOOD Mosquito?

Legs covered in blue and purple sparkles with a gilded body, much larger than mosquitoes that we usually notice, the Elephant Mosquito, Toxorhynchites rutilus, is one mosquito that we should encourage.

The largest mosquito in North America, from tip to tip (of its legs) this mosquito measures one inch, and the adult female has a wing span of half an inch. That large size, and a proboscis that resembles an elephant’s trunk, gives this mosquito its common name. That proboscis is used for the gathering nectar from flowers.

Here is the REALLY good part (1), the Elephant Mosquito does not hunt humans down to get a blood meal. They won’t bite us as they cruise the gardens looking for sources of nectar. They won’t bite as they roam the neighborhood hunting for plant sap, honeydew, or juices from rotting fruit, which they also eat.

And REALLY good part (2), the larvae of Elephant Mosquitoes eat other mosquito larvae!

Wow! Include this insect on my list of best friends!

Robin

American Robin, Turdus migratorius. Two in one of my Eastern Red Cedar trees chowing down. They love those berries.

Robins have no concept of the legends we humans have, such as Robins being a sign of spring. This photograph was taken in December. They’re around my cabin from time to time throughout the winter. Silly Robins.

Wishing you the best in the coming spring!

Cooper’s Hawk

A very fine (as in, “this is good”)(and as in, “the flakes are very small, but plentiful”) snow is falling out of the heavens, has been since lunch time when a Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooper, not an unusual sight in the vicinity of my feeders, came by to see what was on the menu. Luckily for the potential lunch, they sensed his presence and took off. He left, continuing on his search for lunch.

By feeding song birds, I am attracting the Cooper’s Hawk, who eat medium-sized birds, rabbits, mice, squirrels, bats, chipmunks and even chickens. I don’t play favorites, this beauty is allowed here at my cabin along with all the other birds, particularly since he doesn’t come by daily. All welcome.

Red-breasted Nuthatch and Chickadee Compared

This season two little Red-breasted Nuthatches, Sitta canadensis, have decided to spend some of their time close to my cabin. I’m delighted in part because this species doesn’t often show up here. The last time I saw one was the wonderful winter of 2009 – 2010. This is the one I saw back then, in the picture above, with the snow and pinecones.

Since then I have learned that many people have trouble telling the difference between this fun, tiny bird and the similar looking Chickadee.

In the photo above, at the birdbath that is close to my kitchen window, you’ll see one of the Red-breasted Nuthatches showing off his long pointed bill, his striking eye stripe, and his buff colored breast. About that buff colored breast, I wonder who comes up with the names of birds? Red-breasted?

In this picture of a Chickadee, compare his tiny round shape, a shape that I like to compare to a ping-pong ball, his very tiny bill, his black throat and lack of an eye stripe, with the photograph of the Red-breasted Nuthatch. Similar, but note those differences.

Now, in your next encounter with a tiny black and white Red-breasted Nuthatch, or Chickadee, if the encounter is not fleeting, perhaps you’ll be able to tell which you are seeing. The little one, above, trying to speed away with no identification is a Chickadee.

Tulip Poplar

Here in the central Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, the Tulip Poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera, is among the first of the trees to begin to change colors in autumn. The apple green leaves take turns, one by one, turning to bright yellow with brown spots. Giving the trees a dotted appearance. Not an impressive start, not a hillside of color – yet.

In early October the Tulip Poplar takes on a golden yellow glow.

A golden yellow to celebrate. A lovely color worthy of a tiny parade! But start that parade without fail.

That smashing color, the color we cherish autumn for, is quick to come and go.

And – POOF! The trees are bare.

And before we know it not only are nearly all the trees are bare, but snow will be falling.

Silvery Checkerspots

About a week ago I noticed a favorite patch of Woodland Sunflower, Helianthus divaricatus, being quickly gobbled up by gregarious, tiny caterpillars. I took pictures of the less than one half inch critters, and started pouring over my many books on butterflies, moths, and caterpillars.

I always love a mystery – caterpillars eating beloved plants – good or bad? I was relieved to find that the sunflowers were being eaten by the larval stage of a lovely, native butterfly. The culprit? The butterfly, Silvery Checkerspot, Chlosyne nycteis. This is good! My woods, up here on the Blue Ridge are a butterfly garden!

Silvery Checkerspots have a wingspan of between 1.5 and 2 inches. Their host plants, or plants that their caterpillars eat, are Black-eyed Susans and Sunflowers. Adults chow down on the nectar of Red Clover, Common Milkweed, and Dogbane.

Almost grown caterpillars of the Silvery Checkerspot overwinter at the base of their host plants. I’m so pleased that the woods up here provide a good environment for Silvery Checkerspots!

AND I have no problem sharing the gardens around my cabin with native butterflies, even if sometimes things end up looking a bit battered. It is all for good.

Chicory

It has a color that pulls me in, bright medium blue, with a smidgeon of purple thrown in. It tugs at my heartstrings. Chicory, Cichorium intybus, is native to Europe but has become naturalized in many parts of North America, and is part of the roadside landscape here in central Virginia.

Chicory is a tough plant, sending its deep taproot into hard packed soil where other plants might have a difficult time. It blooms from June into October, producing just a few buds at a time on each plant. Each bud blooms for just one day.

The leaves are edible and are most tasty in early summer and in the autumn. The leaves in mid-summer tend to be bitter. The roots, roasted and ground, are used for an addition to coffee, or as a coffee substitute. Also, in beer brewing, the ground and roasted roots are occasionally added in the making of stouts and Belgian-style ales.

Its pollen and nectar entices insects, including bees, flies and butterflies. Chicory seeds, leaves and stems invite small mammals to come by for a meal or snack. And for those who love a bouquet of wildflowers, keep in mind that these flowers only last a day, and those stems are mighty rugged, requiring more than just a quick snap of the shoot.

Rather than taking some home, I will depend on my photographs and thoughts of that gorgeous purply-blue.

New Place

My blog has moved from brendaclementsjones.com to brendaclem.com. If you’re reading this post on my blog, you should’ve been redirected to my new domain, brendaclem.com, automatically.

Thanks bunches for reading my posts. I’m looking forward to doing many more as the summer heats the mountains.

Red Admiral

A beauty, though small, stirs my curiosity as he flutters by, giving me very little time to capture his image with my camera. A Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta. A butterfly that you just might see if you put overripe fruit out on your back porch, since this is a favorite food. Also at the top of the culinary treats they enjoy, are sap flows in trees such as these, pictured below, created by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.

The Red Admiral has a wing span of about 2 inches or just a smidgeon more, and appears to have bunches of nervous energy, much like a fidgety little kid.

Here in central Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, there is an abundance of the native plant, Wood Nettle. As larvae, Red Admirals dine on plants of the nettle family, including Wood Nettle, Laportea canadensis. The image below is Wood Nettle, a perennial herbaceous plant with upper leaves that are alternate. The flowers you see in this photo are male flowers.

Female flowers form on the same plant, and bloom at the top of the plant, as shown in the next image.

This is not a plant that you want to brush against, since it causes an instant, unpleasant, burning and itching feeling. Fortunately this irritating sensation lasts for just a short time, but it’s best just to avoid it.

Given the wealth of Wood Nettle along the trails here in the mountains, I do not wonder at all why these beautiful butterflies accompany me as I hike these mountain trails.

Butterflies mostly black, with brilliant red, bright blue, and striking white dots. I welcome their company.