Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton). I love so many butterflies. This is one of them. It’s the official state insect of Maryland. I was able to capture this photo of a Baltimore Checkerspot at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland.
The Baltimore Checkerspot larval host plant is White Turtlehead. If that plant is not available caterpillars will often choose viburnum, English plantain, or penstemon as a substitute. I took this image of a Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillar at Buck Hollow in Shenandoah National Park.
Within just a few weeks this is what Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) will look like up here. It’s a great plant that benefits many insects. Flies, beetles, ants, bees, wasps, and butterflies will all gather ’round to join in the dinner buffet.
It’s been so dry. Rain has been forecast this day and that day and it has not happened. But today the weather gods came through for me. Just a few minutes and POOF! half an inch of rain had fallen. The precipitation added sparkle to the feathery foliage of asparagus in the vegetable garden. I can just imagine a big cheer coming from the plants that have patiently been waiting for the moisture. I’m cheering too.
Ah! That feels so good! Sure looks like it, but that isn’t what is happening here. Black bears, young, mature, female, male, all bears mark trees, utility poles and wooden sign posts along their paths of travel.
Most bears that do this marking are males during mating season. They do this marking by rubbing their scent on marking trees. Rubbing, rubbing, rubbing shoulders, neck, back and crown.
They’ll also claw and bite the marking tree (whether it is that wooden sign post, utility pole or actually a tree) often leaving great scars in the wood. Utility poles seem to be a favorite, employing this marking as a way to communicate, one bear to another.
As summer arrives the Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) Butterfly is ubiquitous. A medium sized butterfly with a wingspan of 1.5 to 2 inches.
Not a native to this continent but of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Cabbage White Butterfly larvae are a pest for anyone growing cruciferous plants in their vegetable garden. So, like a weed, in the form of a butterfly.
A beauty in the world of butterflies. Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). It’s common in the southern states, along the California coast and in central America. Also found in other areas of the US, though not as commonly seen.
Here at my cabin I see the Common Buckeye butterfly on apple mint, which is what it’s on in all three of these photos, and on various species of aster.
Common Buckeyes don’t depend on just a single larval host for their eggs and caterpillars but many. A few of these host plants are snapdragon, plantain, ruellia, and toadflax. I look forward to seeing these butterflies every year, and most years I do get to see them. I’ve got my fingers crossed for this year.
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I’m a sentimental sort. Thinking back to my Mom’s gardens when I was little. The flowers that I’m able to remember are quite special to me. Nearly all of them don’t fit into what I select for my gardens now. Natives have become a main focus in choosing what gets planted at my cabin. That was not given much thought years ago.
Rose campion (Lychnis coronaria) is one of the flowers that comes to mind. Those gardens in our yard, giving Mom such pleasure. Cheverly Manor.
I’m sure the fact that Rose Campion was from northern Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East never occurred to Mom. She was going with her heart, designing her gardens in a way that spoke to her sense of garden design. Now I’m adding sentimentality to what is important to me, along with natives.
The Leaf-footed Bug (Acanthocephala terminalis) is found in the eastern United States west to Colorado and Texas. Adults are about an inch in length. Their antennae are in four segments, the last segment is orange, (this is what I normally see) or yellow or white.
Their common name, shared with other species (making things a bit confusing, but that is often the case with common names), makes reference to the Leaf-footed Bug’s last pair of legs that resemble a leaf. Adults overwinter. Eggs are laid in the spring then there are five nymph stages. Quite the interesting bug to see.
Every year, in late May and early June I see Golden-backed Snipe Flies (Chrysopilus thoracicus) mating. These snipe flies are quite attractive with their golden thorax. Very little is known about them, even what they eat. Or whether the adults eat anything at all.
The males have large eyes which meet, while the females have smaller eyes with a space between them. Also the males have a slim abdomen, females are more robust. The Golden-backed Snipe Fly measures in at about one-half inch. Unlike some other flies, these are not pests.
Wild blackberry bushes (Rubus allegheniensis) have just finished blooming up here in the mountains. The list of insects, game birds, songbirds and mammals that these bushes benefit goes on and on. Needless to say the ecological benefit of these bushes to wildlife is quite high.
Many insects benefit from the pollen and nectar available in the flowers, others eat the leaves, sip the sap, or chomp on the canes. Game birds and songbirds eat the fruit. Mammals enjoy the fruit as well as eating leaves and canes. And the bushes themselves provide sheltering protection and nesting sites for some birds.
What I’m waiting for though is my fill of the berries. They are just at the very beginning stage. Many weeks to go as they get big enough, juicy enough and with that perfect wild in the woods blackberry flavor.
Many blackberry bushes up here. No need to search. They seem to be everywhere. The bushes spread thanks to animals distributing the seeds, rhizomes spreading underground, and as the canes reach out and touch the ground they take root. If you want some growing in your yard, you’ve got to keep a close eye on them. Otherwise they’ll run rampant.
Several weeks from now there will be loads of blackberries and maybe if I’m lucky there will be pears on the pear tree too.
