Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). A woodpecker that normally is seen on the ground, searching for ants, beetles and grubs. They pound into the soil in a way similar to what you’d expect to see other woodpeckers doing, pounding into a tree.
As with most other insect eaters who are in this wintery land, Flickers switch to berries, fruits and seeds during the cold months. They have a long list of things they seek out to dine on including poison ivy berries, dogwood berries, sumac berries, wild cherries, grapes, bayberries, hackberries, elderberries, sunflower and thistle seeds. I’m grateful to this amiable Flicker that struck some great poses for me in a Tulip Poplar.
My first sighting this season was yesterday. The state insect of Virginia, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio glaucus). Native to eastern North America. The butterfly I saw yesterday had just emerged from its chrysalis. Brand new.
This is what a chrysalis looks like. Though NOT an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail chrysalis, it looks to a large extent like one. One major difference would be more rich brown and less bright yellow. The shape is basically the same. This is a Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) chrysalis.
In the autumn an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar will form itself into a chrysalis. NOT a cocoon but a chrysalis. Cocoons are used by moths. Chrysalises are used by butterflies. In ten to twenty days or over the winter the caterpillar makes incredible changes. As if by magic it will become a butterfly — to live just six to fourteen days.
Mainly males, after emerging, often will gather at puddles to take in sodium and minerals which tend to be lacking in the adult’s diet and are necessities for reproduction and flight. This is called “puddling.”
Speaking of reproduction, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails generally have two broods each year. Females lay their eggs on such trees as Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) and Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina). Those eggs will hatch in four to ten days as caterpillars. The earliest stage of the caterpillar looks just like bird droppings. The mature caterpillar is green, with eye spots, and a pale “neck ring.” Further to the front is a little purply-pink head.
Although most females look nearly like males, mostly yellow and black, there is a black form of the female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. This is a method of protection. The black form is a mimic of the Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) which has a disagreeable taste. Predators have learned to avoid both the Pipevine Swallowtail and the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail’s black form. The portion of females with this coloring is more common in areas where there are more Pipevine Swallowtails.
The caterpillar becomes a chrysalis which becomes a dazzling butterfly. And so it goes. On and on.
The first tree I remember getting to know. Growing right next to our patio. As a little one I’d listen for its “heartbeat” and give it “injections” though now I’m sure it was totally healthy. Back then I had the title of “Tree Doctor” and would take care of it. A Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera).
Here, my Mom on our patio and that tree, my “patient”, in this image slightly left and behind her.
One of many common names, Tulip Poplar, is confusing since the tree is not closely related to true poplar trees or to tulips.
Another name from long ago comes from Native Americans using the wood for dugout canoes. It was called Canoewood by early settlers west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The bark of the Tulip Poplar as a young tree has a smooth appearance.
As the tree ages, the bark becomes beautiful with deeply interlaced furrows. The tree can grow as much as three feet per year but as it ages that growth rate slows. Under near optimum conditions a Tulip Poplar can live to be three hundred years old and reach a height of 200 feet.
The “tulip” in the common name Tulip Poplar comes from the look of the flowers of the tree. Since the trees are so tall, often the blooms aren’t even visible.
After the bloom comes the fruit which is a cone-shaped arrangement of winged seeds called samaras.
And of course if one were to be in a parade the leaves would make a perfect banner to carry.
