northeast-flora-and-fauna

Tiger Bee Flies are not tigers , nor bees , but are a type of fly . (This is fairly normal species naming nomenclature; if the name consists of multiple things, look at the last name and you're most likely to get a sense of what kind of species you've got.) These guys may look like horseflies on steroids, they're much closer to being human allies than human adversaries: As adults, they are basically pollinators that don't bite humans at all. They might be of benefit to your flower or vegetable garden though. As larvae, they are considered to be the primary parasite of the Carpenter Bees . The females lay eggs in the wood cavities in which Carpenter Bees lay their eggs, and the Tiger Bee Fly larvae will attach to the Carpenter Bee larvae and eventually consume them. (The Carpenter Bees sometimes to minor damage to wooden structures.) It seems appropriate that one of my area's largest bees is parasitized by one of my area's largest flies. Based on pictures I'

This is a fairly common caterpillar, though this was the first one I saw this summer. It's a caterpillar of the Milkweed Tussock Moth , one of the numerous denizens of our local milkweed plants . As moths, they're a little on the plain side, but as caterpillars they look a little like an arts-and-crafts project made from pipe cleaners. Like most insects that use milkweed as a host plant, they're somewhere on the bad-tasting/poisonous side of the edibility spectrum. The caterpillar's unique look makes it easy for would-be predators to identify them as poisonous.  Since they're also considered to be poisonous as adult moths, I'm a little surprised they don't have a more distinctive look as adults. Instead of appearance, they apparently signal their unpalatability by making distinctive sounding ultrasonic clicking noises that bats recognize. They don't normally compete directly with Monarch butterfly caterpillars because while Monarch caterpillars prefer y

Monarchs , the King of the Butterflies, were also attracted to this Wild Bergamot patch. This was a great spot and day for pollinators; I got almost 40 pictures in a little over 2 hours. There is a feast-or-famine aspect to nature photography, and today was definitely leaning towards feast. Though I eventually saw a bunch of Monarchs, the ones I saw this day were among the first that I was able to photograph this year. After this, I started getting pictures pretty regularly. July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 148188503, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

It seems like if you want to attract butterflies, you should get some Wild Bergamot ; here's yet another butterfly attracted to this wildflower: a Great Spangled Fritillary . These are one of my favorite butterflies. Their orange-and-black coloring and relatively large size make them easy to spot and fairly easy to identify. Probably the easiest butterfly (in my area) with which to mistake the Great Spangled Fritillary is the Aphrodite Fritillary , which has a black spot near the base of the forewing that the GSF lacks, and which is generally smaller. (My pictures don't show that spot, but the fritillaries I was seeing were almost the size of the Monarchs. I don't think an Aphrodite would ever get that large.) People sometimes see a Pearl Crescent and wonder if it's a baby GSF, but of course butterflies don't grow that way. They're pretty much at their full size when they emerge from their chrysalis. (I will admit that it's a little hard to see the pattern

These Eastern Tiger Swallowtails will never get their National Geographic moment, where they're photographed in the perfect position, with the perfect background, and in the perfect lighting. These guys have escaped some predicament or another with substantial wing damage. I don't really know what causes this damage. While I initially suspected the wings tore as they escaped from a predator, a lepidopterist felt that plant thorns were a more likely culprit. July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 148189056, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 148189418, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth drinking from a Wild Bergamot (just in case you didn't believe the Silver-spotted Skipper or the Spicebush Swallowtail when they showed how delicious the flower's nectar is). While it's hard to get familiar with a lot of moths because many are noctural, or very small, or gray/brown without obvious patterns. These moths offer none of those obstacles, flying around in broad daylight, being larger than many insects, and having a fairly distinctive appearance. I've talked about these moths before , though I like the way you can see the proboscis in this picture. That's the appendage going from the front of the head down into the flower, and it's the means by which moths, butterflies, and some other insects can drink nectar from flowers. Note this allows them to drink from some narrow tubular flowers that might be inaccessible to them otherwise. July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary

Here's someone I hadn't seen before, though I may be seeing more of; it's a Sculptured Resin Bee . Native to Japan and China, these invasive bees are starting to show up here in the US. Like most bee species, they are solitary bees that live off pollen/nectar. They can sting, but usually don't. There are 2 main concerns about them: They (understandably) prefer to nectar on invasive plants from Asia, which probably helps these invasive plants thrive and spread. They might hurt the our carpenter bees. Since they are tunnel nesters but can't chew through wood themselves, their best strategy might be to take over the tunnels built by local carpenter bees . They get their name because, after laying eggs in their tunnel nests, these bees close the tunnel with resin. They are considered leafcutter bees , though the classic leafcutter bee closes its tunnel with leaves that it has cut. July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 148188333, (c) jpviolette, some

If you didn't believe yesterday's Silver-spotted Skipper that Wild Bergamot has delicious nectar, then maybe you'll believe this Spicebush Swallowtail . I've talked about identifying these butterflies before; you can just about see the orange spots interruption on the left wing of this guy. Note that their name, Spicebush, has nothing to do with the flowers from which they'll drink nectar; most of the time, nectar is nectar. And although the flower's architecture and color could influence the pollinators it attracts, most pollinators (including the Spicebush Swallowtail) will go to an assortment of flowers. Instead, plant names in butterflies/moths are more likely to reflect the host plants they feed on as caterpillars. As caterpillars, these guys feed on spicebush and sassafras , 2 plants in the laurel family . Note that using multiple host plants from the same family is a very common theme among butterflies/moths: Monarchs like milkweeds, sulphurs generally

I encountered this Silver-spotted Skipper (butterfly) drinking nectar from a Wild Bergamot (mint). This is a fairly common sight. For a period of the summer, Wild Bergamot is a fairly prominent meadow wildflower, Silver-spotted Skippers are pretty common, and these skippers are attracted to colorful (blue, red, purple) wildflowers. I've talked before about Silver-spotted Skippers, so I'll mention a little about the Wild Bergamot: They're in the mint family , which also includes catnip and culinary herbs. The stems of mints tend to be squarish, to help you ID them. They're also called "bee balm", suggesting that they're popular with the bees, and thus tend to be nectar-rich. A relative, Scarlet Bee Balm , looks similar but is red. Scarlet Bee Balm doesn't seem to do well in my area - unlike Wild Bergamot I don't think I've seen it growing truly wild (though I've seen it in some Duke Farms flowerbeds where it's a little segregated from

Although it's easy to find Mourning Doves here in NJ, a bird feeder really can draw them close for a good look at them. The feeder got in the way a little, but this is good enough to get a good sense of what these birds look like. Mourning Doves are supposed to "coo", but their vocalization also sounds like a "whoo" - the person convinced he hears but can't find an owl in broad daylight may be hearing a Mourning Dove instead. Doves/pigeons - there's not a heck of a lot of difference between doves and pigeons - feed their offspring crop milk , a regurgitated substance that provides similar nutrition as mammalian milk. Normally these birds like to feed off the ground, though flat hanging platforms like some bird feeders will also suffice. July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 148188219, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

I don't run across Rose-breasted Grosbeaks very often, but the bird feeder at NJ Audubon's Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary is a good place to find these birds. You might be saying "that beak is kind of large, but I wouldn't call it gross", and you would be correct. The name comes from the French word "gros", meaning "large". (Google Translate gives "fat" as its first translation, though it also lists "large" as a valid translation.) The grosbeaks are not a natural group since there are many birds with the grosbeak name that aren't particularly closely related to each other, and are much more closely related to birds without the grosbeak name. Most grosbeaks are actually finches or cardinals; they do all tend to be small birds with stout, seed-crushing beaks.  The Rose-breasted Grosbeak's closest relative is the Black-headed Grosbeak , so much so that they can mate and raise hybrid offspring. I'm unlikely to

Here's a House Finch that seems to be trying to determine the most delicious, savory sunflower seed to eat. Especially at a well-stocked bird feeder, it's okay to be choosy. I've shown House Finches before , but they are neat looking little guys. One thing that might surprise people is that even though they are native to North America, they're not really native to the east . They were a West Coast bird that some people started keeping illegally as pets, and probably some of them were released here, perhaps when the law was closing in on their owners. From there, they relatively rapidly spread throughout the eastern/central US, and are now one of the continent's most abundant wild birds. Presumably because they are native to part of North America, they don't have the notoriety of invasive species like the European Starling or House Sparrow . July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 148188091, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a House Wren I met this summer. This is one of the two wrens in my area, the other being the Carolina Wren , which has lighter reddish-brown feathers. Both wrens have a rotund look, with fairly long, slightly curved beak. While the Carolina Wren can handle NJ winters, the House Wren prefers to spend the winter in warmer locales. House Wrens are very competitive when it comes to nests, attacking adult birds and/or destroying eggs of other cavity-nesting birds. Even Tree Swallows, considered fairly obnoxious and feisty birds, can be victimized by angry House Wrens looking for a nesting spot. They are one of the few birds known to employ spiders to keep their nests clean. They appear to intentionally bring spider egg sacs into their nests so that the spiders eat the mites that like to parasitize the House Wren nests. (Like many birds, House Wrens will also eat insects and spiders. I'm not sure I'd be all that comfortable if I were a spider that hatched in a House Wren

Because I'm not around hummingbird feeders a lot, and because they're frequently in motion even when they're around me, I don't get a lot of chances to get hummingbird pictures. But this summer I got this Ruby-throated Hummingbird picture at the cluster of bird feeders outside the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary visitor center. As a female, this hummingbird lacks the ruby-red throat for which this species is named, though she does share some green coloring with the males. They are the only hummingbirds considered native to NJ. Though they are attracted to red bird feeders (and red flowers), it's sufficient if the feeder itself is red. It's generally considered a bad idea to use red sugar water since it's likely to have additives that are more likely to be bad for the hummingbirds. (As you might expect, Scherman Hoffman (a NJ Audubon location) uses clear sugar water.) It's pretty unlikely that you'll find a hummingbird up here in NJ now. They lik

I'm sure I needed iNaturalist help to identify this Great Crested Flycatcher ; I think this is my first picture of one, and I don't routinely see them either. They do spend a lot of time at the top of tree canopies, where it's hard for us ground-dwellers to spot them. For that matter, that's their ecological niche - patrolling treetops above most of the similar birds. Fortunately the birds that look most like the Great Crested Flycatcher are the Brown-crested Flycatcher and the Ash-throated Flycatcher , neither of which lives around here. Though these guys are flycatchers , they're not against eating fruit. They build their nests in cavities, so you'll sometimes see them use a birdhouse. It's probably a good thing you don't see their nests since they'd probably give off a bit of a dump vibe; they'll use shed snakeskins, cellophane, and crinkly plastic to put together their nests. Flycatchers are a reminder why we should refer to this order of bi

This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail dropped by to imbibe a bit of nectar back in July, allowing me to get a couple pictures. This is perhaps the largest of the commonly spotted butterflies here in New Jersey; large individuals can even be giant sized (or at least about the size of the Giant Swallowtail ). They do have some look alikes , though I suspect that in my area if you see any butterfly that looks like this, you've got an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. My guess is that this fella was drinking nectar from a Wild Bergamot , a native wildflower that's very popular within the pollinator community. Though you can find these butterflies in the middle of a meadow, females lay eggs on trees so edge areas are probably a little better area to find them. July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary July 18, 2021 at Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary Photo 148187961, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a singing European Starling . They are probably the #1 invasive bird species in North America, only rivaled by the House Sparrow . They were intentionally introduced in Central Park in NYC; legend says it was so that all the birds mentioned in the works of Shakespeare could be enjoyed here in the US. The original 60 that were released now form a population estimated around 150 million birds. Unfortunately their success doesn't come free, as they've replaced native bird species as they've carved out a home here. Starlings are considered mimics, able to imitate other birds like meadowlarks, jays, and hawks. Their own songs seem to be a busy, jumbled collection of warbles, whistles, trills, rattles, and chatters . They're not the most melodious singers in the bird world, though it's possible to appreciate their vocalizing dexterity. July 14, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148187900, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

I'm not sure whether this is from an American Sycamore or the American Sycamore/ Oriental Plane Tree hybrid, the London Plane Tree . (The most reliable way to distinguish them is that the American Sycamore has single seed balls while the London Plane usually has a pair of seed balls.) Both trees are perhaps the most prolific bark-shedders of trees in my area. Though bark shedding can occur any time of the year, there's usually a period in the summer when they get most of their shedding out of the way, leaving potentially large strips of old bark on the ground. These trees have a different bark strategy from most trees. The thin bark that they readily shed may facilitate faster growth than the harder, more permanent bark of most trees. Thick bark might be more important for trees that grow in drier locations, both to retain water better and to potentially protect the tree from smallish fires. It's possible that the discarded bark helps the trees rid itself of hangers-on,

I caught these Dogbane Leaf Beetles mating last July.  Considering that I don't see lots of Dogbane Leaf Beetles (though they do have their hotspots), I have caught them mating fairly often. Note that they (and at least some other beetles) mate in this position, very different from the butterflies/moths/flies that I've seen, but similar to the way mantises and grasshoppers breed. When they're not breeding, there's probably not a good way for us humans to differentiate between the sexes of Dogbane Leaf Beetles. July 14, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148187776, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

This summer I caught these 2 Cabbage White butterflies mating. It's fairly common to see butterflies mating. It might look to us like 2 butterflies trying to ignore each other by looking in opposite directions, but they are one of the insects that breeds in this position. (I think flies and true bugs generally do something similar.) I'm assuming that the male is the one on the leaf since I think the females are usually an off-white color, but I'm not sure about that. You're supposed to be able to see 2 spots on each forewing of the females and only 1 spot on the each forewing of the male, which would suggest the opposite gender identifications. (Note that spots on the back wings are less reliable for identification. I wish I had an open-wing view of these butterflies.) July 14, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148187498, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here are 3 dragonflies who are staking out basically the same territory. I almost got each of them into the picture. Left to right, I believe they are a Slaty Skimmer , a Blue Dasher , and a Widow Skimmer , and they're all males trying to stake out a territory. (Controlling a desirable territory seems to go a long way towards making a male dragonfly attractive to a female dragonfly.) When I took this picture, my assumption was that these 3 species would tolerate each other since they're different species and thus not competing for the same females. And there's probably some truth to this; it's hard to believe a male dragonfly can claim to be controlling a territory with rival males perched this close. But my copy of Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East  (Dennis Paulson) suggests things might not be peaceful for long. About Widow Skimmers it claims "aggressive to males of their own and other species", and about the Blue Dasher it says "also fiercely agg

Here's an Eastern Amberwing dragonfly perched on a (suspected milkweed) wildflower. I've presented these dragonflies before ; this one was in an interesting location. These dragonflies are small and stubby enough that entomologists think they qualify as wasp mimics . If so, this dragonfly using flowers as a perch only increases her - the color/pattern implies a female - wasp-like appearance: "No dragonflies here. Just pollinating wasps like me.". In actuality, she's not interested in pollen/nectar; she's looking to make a meal of a small insect. I've read that leaves and twigs are the most popular perches for Eastern Amberwings, so I don't think she landed on the flower in order to look more like a wasp. I suspect this is just a happy accident on her part.  July 14, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148187488, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

This may seem like a seasonal time to show you a Halloween Pennant , though they got their name from their orangish (or burnt orange, or tan/orange) coloring rather than the time you're likely to see them. Like all odonates (dragonflies and damselflies), these guys are predators; they definitely don't acquire their orange coloring by downing pumpkin spice lattes. Here in NJ, sightings can occur early in October, but I wouldn't really expect to see one now. Peak Halloween Pennant is July, when this picture was taken. Despite this, if on Halloween a kid dressed as a Halloween Pennant showed up at my door, I'd certainly be generous with candy for that crazy little entomologist-in-training. (Of course, if the kid was "in character", he/she would probably want me to give them gnats or flies instead of chocolate.) July 14, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148187182, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Meet a Small Milkweed Bug . Although I've talked about them a little in a post about the similar-looking False Milkweed Bug, it doesn't look like I've showed a picture of the Small Milkweed Bug. This is yet another example of insect aposematism , where their red coloring signals to potential predators that these bugs are poisonous. Presumably they acquire their poisonousness in the same way that Monarch butterflies, Large Milkweed Bugs, and Red Milkweed Beetles acquire theirs - they get it by eating poisonous milkweed plants. There's a lot to compare and contrast with the Small Milkweed Bug and their Large Milkweed Bug cousins. Though both love to eat the seed pods of milkweed plants, the SMB has been known to feed on other plants and to actually eat some insects on occasion (including Monarchs). And while LMBs have a migration strategy based on following the milkweed crops, the SMBs can overwinter as (dormant) adults. July 10, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148186194, (c)

Here's yet another Dogbane Leaf Beetle , one of my favorite beetles. I've talked about them before, though this fella might have been about to perform one of its predator-evasion techniques. As vegetarians, they're not particularly fierce, so they defend themselves in 3 ways: Because they eat poisonous plants (dogbanes and milkweeds), they are somewhat poisonous themselves. While many aposematic insects signal being poisonous with red/orange coloring (e.g. Monarch butterflies, Large and Small Milkweed Bugs, Red Milkweed Beetles), the Dogbane Leaf Beetle might be advertising the same thing through its shiny coloring. Presumably also because of their poisonous diet, they can also spray a predator with some noxious chemicals. But when all else fails, they'll look to escape by going to the edge of a leaf and jumping off, hopefully into grass or leaf litter than they can hide in. I suspect this little fella miscalculated the threat of me and my camera, and was thinking of

As Spotted Lanternflies spread through the area, I see the full spectrum of responses: Occasionally I see people who have little or no idea about them. (Usually these are from people living in areas where the Spotted Lanternfly isn't yet prominent.) There is a Facebook group I'm in where people have heard about the threat of Spotted Lanternflies, but they misidentify all but the most recognizable insects as Spotted Lanternflies, frequently will the "kill it" advice. (If you're advising people to kill something, it's a good idea to have the right insect.) But there are quite a few people who are getting fairly knowledgeable about Spotted Lanternflies, knowing what they are and killing them in a variety of ways. (Many times children have heard about them, presumably from school.) For an extremely abundant invasive insect, the Spotted Lanternfly isn't known for its brilliant strategy. They can be trapped fairly effectively without chemicals by taking advant

At today's Trail Steward session at Duke Farms, we did something a little different than usual, mostly because it wasn't really on or adjacent to a trail. Instead of trying to get rid of invasive plants, we were trying to re-establish some native plants. For those familiar with Duke Farms, this was done in the large parking lot surrounded by the bike rental area, Research Woods, and Athena (or at least her statue). The parking lot has several "tree islands", and although the trees are doing fine, the non-tree part of the islands are either desolate or teeming with invasive plants. Our job today was to plant native plants in there in the hope of improving the visuals while also providing food for our insect buddies. I think we were planting 4 species, though I only have names for 3 of them: Blue Wood Aster , White Wood Aster , and Zigzag Goldenrod . We probably should have put them a little closer together; perhaps we can add a few more next week. (I think that psychol

Don't you hate it when you flutter over to a nectar source to get a drink, only to be killed by a a spider? That appears to be the situation for this unfortunate  Painted Lady butterfly. As tragic as this is for the butterfly, spiders have to eat too. (Cue the Circle of Life music.) This picture doesn't provide a good look at the spider. I'm suspicious of a crab spider because they don't trap prey with webs and they're known to lurk near flowers in hopes of grabbing a pollinator. ( Wolf spiders don't use webs either, but I think they're usually on the ground, and are more like active hunters rather than passive ambush predators.) I wish I had a good look at the legs; a lot of the crab spiders have front legs that are much longer than their back legs. I'm afraid all I can authoritatively tell you about the spider is that it didn't starve on this day. July 14, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148186889, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

I need to do something fast today, so here's an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit gazing off in the distance, thinking his deep rabbit thoughts. I'm not sure what he's thinking, but wouldn't be surprised if he was thinking about eating a clover or a plantain. July 10, 2021 at Duke Farms Photo 148186297, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here's a Wood Duck  and the ducklings she's caring for back in July. The adult is the larger duck on the right. Certainly the ducklings are much closer to their adult size than they were a couple months ago, as this post of another duck family shows. These guys may hang around here for the winter. NJ is an area where Wood Ducks can be seen all year round. Still, if the reservoir freezes, they probably won't be able to feed, and I'd expect them to move to open water (e.g. the Raritan River). Both male and female ducklings look similar, I'm not good enough to differentiate them at this age. Eventually the males will be one of our most colorful waterfowl though. This part of the reservoir is awfully green. (You might have thought the ducks were on a golf course, but they're in water.) Assuming this is mostly duckweed/watermeal (as opposed to algae) this is both good and bad: They're native plants that are high in protein, and a valuable food source for animal