Monarch

Monarch butterflies are back, though they may not be easy to spot/identify.

Though this is my 1st decent (non-blurry) picture of them this season, I've almost certainly been seeing solitary ones fluttering around since mid-May. The main problem right now is that there aren't a lot of flowers in bloom, and many butterflies don't sit still unless there's some nectar for them to slurp up. There is quite a bit of Foxglove Beardtongue in bloom, though this plant seems more popular with bumblebees. Monarchs and many other butterflies (I'm pretty sure I've seen glimpses of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails too) seem to be flying maniacally over the meadows looking for the few nectar sources available to them.

But things are changing. Monarchs somewhat surprisingly will visit the non-native Red Clover, and that's in bloom already. Our milkweeds and dogbanes have just started to bloom, and Monarchs (among many other pollinators) love that stuff. Pretty soon there ought to be enough flowers out there that you'll see them landing, taking good long drinks, and then fluttering over to the next flower.

This underscores an issue with climate change. As it changes migration schedules and growing seasons, some of the synchronous aspects of nature can be disrupted. If Monarchs arrive here before milkweed (for laying eggs) or nectar sources (for adults to consume) are available, they won't exactly thrive. Similar issues relate to migrating birds.

May 5, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 205022439, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tussock Moth Herd

Image
Some caterpillars are usually seen in large numbers (like Armyworm Moth caterpillars and Eastern Tent Caterpillars ), while most are more solitary. The Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars (more about them are here ) seem to be slightly social. I'll sometimes see them alone, but more often I'll see them in groups of 2-9 members. In the 1st picture below, you can see there is a clear size difference in some of these individuals. I'm almost certain the little one in the middle is in an earlier instar than the others (though they lack the colorful tufts of fuzz in their earliest instars). August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477945, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) In the picture below, it's clear that these caterpillars don't require a lot of personal space. August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477979, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Copper Underwing Caterpillar

Image
I believe this caterpillar to be a Copper Underwing [1]. At least the coloring and the dorsal hump (near the left end of the caterpillar) seem consistent with the Copper Underwing. These caterpillars are not what you'd consider picky eaters; my Caterpillars of Eastern North America describes their diet thusly: Many wooded plants including apple, basswood, blueberry, cherry chestnut, current, grape, greenbrier, hawthorn, hickory, lilac, maple, oak, poplar, raspberry, rhododendron, viburnum, Virginia creeper, and walnut. Wikipedia adds: Ash, privet, honeysuckle, rose, and service trees. That's a pretty wide range of trees and shrubs. One of the challenges of finding them is that they could be almost anywhere; the other challenges are: Their green coloring blends in pretty darned well with the average leaf. They have a habit of feeding underneath leaves, so they're probably not visible when looking down at their location. They have a tendency to move from leaf-to-leaf; if you
Read more

Eastern Pondhawks

Image
I'm going to try something different today with my Eastern Pondhawk pictures. I'm going to let ChatGPT do my blog today. (ChatGPT is an AI program that you can converse with in a pretty human way; an explanation of it is here .) Me:  Can you tell me something interesting about the Eastern Pondhawk? ChatGPT:  The Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) is a dragonfly species that is native to North America. It is a medium-sized dragonfly, with a wingspan of about 3 inches, and can be found in a variety of habitats, including wetlands, marshes, and ponds. One interesting characteristic of the Eastern Pondhawk is its mating behavior. Male Eastern Pondhawks are known for their territorial behavior and will defend their territory from other males. They will patrol their territory and will try to mate with any females that fly into their territory. Another interesting fact about the Eastern Pondhawk is that it is a fast flyer and is able to hover in midair. It is also an import
Read more