Author Archives: Brenda Clements Jones

About 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.

Common Evening Primrose

August 7, 2025

I’m seeing this biennial, herbaceous plant, now in many places along my dirt road coming up the mountain. It’s Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), which grows quite tall, sometimes to 6 feet.

The Evening Primrose flowers look nearly identical to Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa) but that plant blooms in the spring, while Common Evening Primrose blooms later in the summer. And the height is different in Sundrops as well, that plant might grow to a height of just 3 feet.

Common Evening Primrose opens its flowers in the evening and they stay open through the night, closing by noon. While Sundrops bloom only during the day. Both plants have yellow flowers with four petals, each petal being heart shaped.

These two plants used to confuse me, but now I’ve got it straight.

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Northeastern Hammertail

August 6, 2025

Northeastern Hammertail (Efferia aestuans), in the Robber Fly, Asilidae family, modeling for me on the hood of my truck. They measure in at between 11/16 and 7/8 of an inch.

These are predatory insects, even going after insects larger than themselves. They will perch on vegetation to fly out and catch their meals in mid-air. They’re not picky and will eat things such as flies, bees, butterflies, moths, and dragonflies.

They’re said to be one of the most common Robber Flies to land on humans, but don’t worry, treat them gently and they won’t harm you!

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Butterfly Pea

August 5, 2025

Butterfly Pea (Clitoria mariana), a herbaceous, perennial vine up to three or four feet long. Though it is a vine, it generally stays close to the ground. Usually the plant has only one flower but on occasion it will have two or three blooms. Leaves are alternate, and trifoliate (divided into three leaflets). A member of the Pea (Fabaceae) family.

It’s native to the eastern (New York to Florida), southern (clear to Texas), and central United States (including Missouri and Iowa) west to New Mexico and Arizona, stretching into northern Mexico.

I had no idea this plant existed until I stumbled upon it while hiking. What a beautiful surprise.

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Snakeroot

August 4, 2025

White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima).

Like many plants that grow around us, this is a plant that is poisonous, containing tremetol. If you don’t know the plants in your gardens and in the woods around you, really really well, don’t eat them.

This Snakeroot can grow to 5 feet tall with single or many stemmed clumps, from the middle to the end of summer. The leaves are serrated, some grow to 6 inches long. They’re opposite, growing a distance apart up or down the stem, at a 90-degree angle from the pair before or after.

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At The Post Office

August 3, 2025

Just no telling when Mother Nature will allow her children to make an appearance. Even at a walkway leading to the Post Office. A seed made its way to a crack between the sidewalk and curb. The seed germinated and managed to live to produce a bloom of a rose-colored Zinnia (Zinnia).

Just can’t hold Mother Nature back.

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Usually Tall, Joe Pye Weed

August 2, 2025

Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium).

In the genus Eutrochium there are five species of Joe Pye Weed native to North America and Canada; including Spotted Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum), Appalachian Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium steelei), Coastal Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium dubium), Hollow-stem Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium fistulosum), and Sweet-scented Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum). All five of these species are native to Virginia.

Joe Pye Weed plants can grow to be quite tall, up to 10 feet tall. They have domed or flat-topped flower heads containing only disk flowers with a pinkish-purple color. Their toothed leaves are mostly arranged in whorls around the stem with the exception of some which are arranged in opposite pairs near the flower heads. These plants tend to live in meadows, wetlands, and along streams.

And last but not least they attract scores of pollinators.

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Little Glassywing

August 1, 2025

A Little Glassywing (Pompeius verna) sipping nectar from the many flowers of Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum).

The Little Glassywing is a skipper belonging to the order Lepidoptera, an order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. True butterflies (not Skippers) belong to the superfamily Papillonoidea. Skippers belong to the superfamily Hesperioidea. Which leaves us with moths that are included not in a superfamily but in many, many families.

The differences among these three; butterflies, skippers, and moths are sometimes easy, other times not. Butterflies have clubbed antennae, ending in a simple, rounded knob. Skippers have antennae that are clubbed but that club has a sharp, often hooked tip. Moths antennae are generally spindle-shaped, feathery, or thread-like but they never end with a knob.

Their bodies are generally different. Butterflies have a slim body. Skippers have a plump body. Moths also have a plump body, and they also often have a furry body. And while true butterflies are generally brightly colored, skippers are most often wearing drab colors. And lastly skippers rest with their wings at varied angles while true butterflies often will rest with their wings either open and flat, or neatly folded up in the ventral position.

 I’m thoroughly enjoying seeing these winged insects. I’m hoping you are too.

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Hatching In An Ant Nest

July 31, 2025

A Northern Walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata), an enchanting insect that makes me think of dinosaurs. They are Stick Insects in the order Phasmatodea, and Stick Insects have been around for at least 162 million years. These insects that like to pretend they are sticks have an average length of 3 inches for males and 3.7 inches for females.

The Northern Walkingstick has a way of getting its eggs and larvae taken care of in much the same way some plants get Ants to take care of their seeds. These plants have seeds with an attachment, called an elaiosome, that is extremely nutritious and tasty. Ants gather these seeds and bring them to their nests, feeding their larvae the elaiosomes and discarding the remaining seeds to their trash room which is a perfect place for seeds to start growing.

These plants are myrmecophiles (organisms that count on ants for help in some part of their life). And Walking Sticks become myrmecophiles as the female drops her eggs from high up in trees into the leaf litter on the forest floor. Her eggs have an outside attachment (remember the elaiosome?) called a capitulum, which like the elaiosome is extremely nutritious and tasty. Ants eagerly gather these eggs and bring them to their nests, feeding their larvae the capitulum and discarding the remaining eggs to their trash room which is a perfect place for the eggs to hatch and the resulting larvae to start growing.

Isn’t nature remarkable?

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Tiny Mushroom

July 30, 2025

Several minuscule mushrooms have greeted me the past couple mornings as I’ve arrived for yoga. Tiny little things that won’t be noticed by most. Just peeking through the tops of the freshly cut grass. One step would totally destroy its existence. But time and sunshine are a challenge for them too.

White Dunce Caps (Conocybe apala) are extremely fragile and don’t last long. Appearing early in the day, shriveling and disappearing within a few hours. They are found throughout Europe and North America.

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Question Mark

July 29, 2025

A butterfly with an odd name, this is a Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis). There is also a butterfly called Comma. These two butterflies look quite similar. The easiest way for me to tell the difference is to look at the butterfly in the ventral position (wings up and closed). The Question Mark has a small white crescent with a white dot next to it on the two hindwings. This is the question mark. The Comma has a similar white crescent, again in the center of the two hindwings. This is the comma.

Host plants of these Question Mark larvae are a variety of plants including American Elm (Ulmus americanus), Red Elm (Ulmus rubra), and Hackberry (Celtis), plus others.

The adult Question Mark has a wingspan of 2 to 3 inches. They get their nutrition from rotting fruit, tree sap, dung or carrion. If none of these are available they will resort to finding flowers and eating their nectar.

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