Caterpillars – Page 8

Fire Pink

Fire Pink (Silene virginica), is native to eastern North America with the exception of the farthest northeastern states of, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The flower of the Fire Pink isn’t large. It is from 1 to 1.5 inches in size. It’s brilliant crimson color though, makes its blooms quite eye catching.

It’s a short lived perennial that shows off its blooms from April into August.

The Fire Pink is a member of the Carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). Members of that family are called pinks because of their look, giving the impression that the ends of the petals are cut with pinking shears.

I’ve found Fire Pink on many occasions, as I hike in parks close by, and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. That’s the location of these photographs, as well as in a garden just out my cabin’s back door. That’s where I found some of these beauties blooming just yesterday. What a joy native plants are!

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GrandKitty Camp

We’re all having a grand time at GrandKitty Camp. Betelgeuse is being the perfect guest, politely asking for shower water, or bathroom water. That bowl of water next to her food just isn’t nearly as good as those two other choices. And she is ever so polite to ask for more food.

Though I don’t understand her language, she and I have great conversations. She certainly seems to know exactly what I’m saying as I imitate her, “Meow!”

Definitely not a lap sitter, but I managed to capture this moment, as she sat on a lap for perhaps five minutes before she jumped down, saying, “Enough!” in her kitty way.

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Spring Molt

Like many small songbirds, the Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) goes through two molts per year. One in the autumn, a complete molt. A total replacement of all their feathers, body feathers as well as wing and tail feathers. Male and female, they go from yellow to a dull gray with just the slightest suggestion of yellow. In the autumn molt the male loses his distinctive black forehead.

In the spring, right about now, the spring molt is taking place. Leaving behind the dull color and taking on a yellow. In the case of the male the yellow is the brilliant yellow that we think of with Goldfinches. The female is a softer yellow and those females don’t have the black forehead which is a distinctive characteristic of the male. This spring molt is partial. The wing and tail feathers which came in, new, in the autumn molt are not replaced.

These photographs were taken yesterday, April 3rd. This male Goldfinch is looking a bit disheveled because of the spring molt, but given just a bit of time he will be looking quite handsome.

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Surprise Photo Op

Yesterday I was pleased when I got photos of a Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) at one of the feeders, as it was passing through on the way to its summer breeding grounds. I figured as the day ended I wouldn’t see any more of these Finches. But I was wrong. I don’t know if this is one from yesterday’s encounter, or a different one coming through. The breeding season for the Purple Finch is spent in southern Canada, New England and the Pacific Coast.

This fellow is in an apple tree that will be in bloom in just a few days. The perfect setting for a photograph.

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Tiny White Butterfly In Spring

A tiny white butterfly that flutters low to the ground with quick, erratic movements. Though that orange tip seems it would be obvious, when the butterfly is in flight it can be hard to spot. The Falcate Orangetip (Anthocharis midea) has a wingspan of 1.5 inches.

The male and female butterflies are sexually dimorphic, meaning the male and female have different looks. The male, shown in the first image is the one that gives the species its name, with the orange tip visible in the dorsal view. The female, in the image immediately above, is white and gray.

These butterflies are native to the eastern US and in the eastern portions of Texas and Oklahoma. They’re active early to mid spring.

Notice them now, they’ll be gone before you know it.

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Long Gone

Signs. Old signs. Signs that are about to disappear forever. They intrigue me. This is a pair of such, old signs. Long gone.

They sat, for who knows how long at the intersection of Seminole Trail, Airport Road and Proffit Road in Hollymead/Charlottesville, on the land where Walgreens now sits. Long gone.

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Wild Ginger Is Slowly Emerging

An herbaceous perennial, Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), is slowly emerging from its snug winter slumber. The gardens here at my cabin are at an elevation of 1800 feet. This is where these plants are just peeking up through the soil. I often hike up to elevations of 2600 feet and higher, where, during the summer swaths of Wild Ginger grow too. Right now though, they have not even given a thought of emerging from the soil. It’s too cold up there.

This is what the plants in my gardens will look like in a couple weeks. With a maroon flower that must be hunted for, blooming close to the soil level.

A great native plant to use as a ground cover, but keep in mind that it doesn’t like to be extremely dry.

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Chipping Sparrow

A little sparrow that I don’t often see. Small and quite tame, I’m pleased when one shows up at my feeders. The Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) is a bird that will come to feeders, or eat scattered seeds on the ground. During the summer though, insects and spiders are a big part of their diet.

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Various Shades Of Red

The woods are getting soft hints, just whispers of various shades of red. The Red Maple trees (Acer rubrum) are in bloom. This happens quietly. It doesn’t get much attention. There is a subtlety as it happens. The flowers, quite small, just enough to only create a hint of the color.

As the flowers fade, a fruit develops. When I was little I called the fruit a helicopter. Magical to a child as they twirl down to the ground. They’re actually called a samara. Whether a helicopter or a samara, they are still magic.

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First Evening Of Spring

Along a trail, a ways up the mountain above my cabin, Common Blue Violets (Viola sororia) rise up to greet the evening. The first evening of the new season, spring 2023.

There are 87 species of violets native to North America, or perhaps even more. Scientists are unsure of that number. Of those species, there are butterflies that depend on the plant as its larval host plant. These are Fritillary caterpillars. Fritillary butterflies are divided into two groups, the Greater and the Lesser Fritillaries. The Greater Fritillary butterflies are larger in size and depend totally on violets as their larval host. The Lesser Fritillary butterflies generally are smaller and also depend on the violets as a larval host plant though not exclusively.

Violets are welcome in my gardens. All the better for Fritillary butterflies.

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