Nature is full of surprises, like these galls that I found on a wild grapevine. They’re grape tube galls, created by a midge, Schizomyia viticola. The midge lays eggs on the leaf and the gall is the plant’s reaction to it. Actually there is very little damage done to the grapevine, and these galls are rarely found in vineyards. Amazing.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum). An elusive bird that most often is found in dense bushes, brushing its long beak back and forth in leaf litter searching for a meal of insects.
Most frequently I see Brown Thrashers while blueberries are just ripening. And timing was just perfect today. Many bushes with berries turning from soft green to deep dark blue covered in their beautiful bloom.
Berries to please this Thrasher and a birdbath perfect for a warm June day. All this brings it out into the open, for me and my camera, to get pictures of a bird that I’d unlikely see otherwise.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
With wings up, in the ventral position, the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) proudly shows off why it is referred to as Question Mark. The striking white curve and dot. A question mark. Well, on this side, a question mark in reverse.
Here the same butterfly demonstrates the wings fully open, in the dorsal position.
Found in much of the eastern US and southern Canada. One of several species of butterflies that overwinter as an adult. There are a number of plants or trees that are used as hosts including American Elm, Winged Elm, Hackberry or Sugarberry, and False Nettle or Stinging Nettle.
Put a bit of fruit on your back porch and you may entice a Question Mark to come nibbling. Though they seldom go to flowers, they will feed on fermenting fruit, tree sap, dung, and carrion.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
A few days ago I published a post titled, A Milkweed Plant, about the Fourleaf Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia). And now I’ve come upon a couple butterflies enjoying the blooms of this same Fourleaf Milkweed.
These two butterflies are Zebra Swallowtails (Eurytides marcellus). Their host plant is the Pawpaw Tree. Adults feed on the nectar of Redbud, Verbena and, of course, Milkweed.
I love the coloring of the Zebra Swallowtails. Lots of black and white with tiny, beautiful accents of red and blue.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
From blossoms in April,
To green berries in May,
To oodles in June,
That become all sorts of play.
Gets the attention of Towhees,
And attracts Cedar Waxwings.
They’ll fill up the freezer, And keep us fed all winter. While making our yard busy with nature. What could be better.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). Every year, as spring turns to summer and I see the blooms of this plant that makes me itch, just looking at it, I think back to a time when I had no idea that it bloomed. But now I do know, and despite my extreme sensitivity to the urushiol in every part of the plant, I’ve grown to appreciate its role in the woods, its benefit to hungry birds during the winter.
Those blooms with their odd coloring, turn to berries. Like the flowers that don’t get much attention, the berries grow in the woods and don’t get much attention, at least from us humans.
In the bird world, those berries get great attention. An excellent source of food for a long list of birds. This photograph brings back memories of so many woodpeckers stripping the vines of their berries. Here, just three of those woodpeckers, a Pileated Woodpecker, and two Northern Flickers. Though there are only two Flickers in the photograph, where were several others joining in the meal. It was quite an entertaining time for me. And an education. I have much more respect for Poison Ivy now.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
American Snout (Libytheana carinenta). Snouts have what looks like an extremely prominent nose formed by elongated mouthparts. Certainly an offbeat sort of look for a butterfly.
Native to North and South America. A species of butterfly that overwinters as an adult.
The host plant for Snouts are Hackberry trees (Celtis). Adults are attracted to fermenting fruit, and flowers, such as Asters, Dogbane, Sweet Pepperbush, and Flowering Dogwood. They also seek salts and minerals by puddling, or on perspiring skin, as you can see in these photographs. This creature is seeking my sweat, as it is perched on the straps of my trekking poles. I was a couple miles up the mountain, so I was sweating, for sure.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
Blooming now along the trails up here in the woods. Fourleaf Milkweed (Asclepias quadrifolia). Host plant to the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus).
This Milkweed is native to the eastern United States and Canada. In this picture you can see how it has gotten a couple of its common names. The Fourleaf Milkweed, with its four leaves in a whorl, and also Whorled Milkweed.
There are about 100 species of Milkweed in North America. The name Milkweed comes from the milky latex that is in their pods, leaves, and stems, making them unappetizing to animals that might otherwise eat the plant.
I’m captivated by the soft color of the blooms, they’re just thinking about being pink.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
A perennial vine, native to the eastern United States. Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) with flowers that provide nectar to hungry Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Bees and butterflies are attracted to the blooms as well. The Coral Honeysuckle is the host plant for Spring Azure Butterflies and Snowberry Clearwing Moths.
The berries of this Honeysuckle are eaten by many birds, including Quail, Robins, Goldfinches, Purple Finches, and Hermit Thrushes.
A lovely Honeysuckle, native and well behaved.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
Hoping you’re not freaked out by this photo. I had to share this with you, a mother Wolf Spider (Lycosidae). AND those yellow-green dots on her back are her babies. If you look carefully at the image, you can actually see their legs.
The Wolf Spider is a different sort of mom, particularly in the spider world. She carries her eggs in a silken egg sac, attached on the spinnerets at the end of her abdomen. She goes about her normal hunting, while carrying the egg sac. Her abdomen is in a higher than normal position so she doesn’t drag and harm the eggs.
After those eggs hatch, she helps the babies out of the silken sac, and they climb onto her back, where they stay for as long as several weeks. They bring along the yolks from their eggs to eat as they are developing. If a spiderling falls off, mother spider will stop what she’s doing to rescue the little one.
There are 200 species of Wolf Spider in North America, and they all have these amazing moms.
The world of nature astounds me.
_______________________________________________________________________
If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!