Learn About | Greg Dodge's Journal
Take a walk on the wild side and read Museum Ranger Greg Dodge's Journal!
Every day in and all around Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind nature is alive, thriving and changing. But many visitors do not see the details of this lively natural world they have stepped into. Museum Ranger Greg Dodge's Journal is full of fascinating observations and insights that provide a detailed guide to the Museum's outdoor plants, animals and bugs.
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Greg Dodge Journal, June 16-30, 2009 |
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Flora
Wild Bergamot is blooming along the main path to Catch the Wild as well as at several other locations around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind loop. Black-eyed Susan is still the most abundant flower on the loop, but is beginning to fade. Coming into bloom towards the end of this period, the big showy pink flowers of Hibiscus can be seen at the top of the boardwalk leading to Explore the Wild and along the path as you leave the Red Wolf Overlook headed for the Lemur House. You should have no trouble locating either plant (please don’t pick the flowers). Blackberries are ripening at numerous places along the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind loop, although it can be difficult to locate enough ripe berries to satisfy one’s appetite for them. Gray Catbirds usually get to them first!
Insects and Other Arthropods The First-of-the-Year Great Blue Skimmer appeared on the 27th of June, perhaps adding to the confusion of novice oders (oders = dragonfly watchers). There are now 3 species of dragonfly cruising the Wetlands in which the mature males are overall blue in coloration. They differ in size as well as in several less obvious characteristics, but to the beginner it can be a tad confusing to sort them out, especially if they’re not perched next to one another. While leading a group of Museum Summer Campers around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind loop, one of the campers noticed a cryptically colored grasshopper on the path. After a closer look the hopper showed itself to be an Orange-winged Grasshopper (pardalophora phoenicoptera). A brief burst of the buzzy, high-pitched whine of an Annual Cicada, or Dog-day Cicada, was heard on the 17th of June. On the 27th, several were whining away up in the trees. Beetles are everywhere, although not always obvious. It often requires stopping and having a close look at some of the flowers or plants on the side of the path. While carefully inspecting a patch of Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan), I finally succeeded in getting a shot of a Delta Flower Scarab (Trigonopeltastes delta) which was on the Black-eyed Susans in Catch the Wind (see image at left and Delta Flower Scarab, Explore the Wild Journal, June 1-15, 2009). Japanese Beetles are common. A Ragweed Leaf Beetle (Zygogramma suturalis) was a first for me. It was on Queen Anne’s Lace. Clay-colored Leaf Beetles (Anomoea laticlavia) must have all emerged on the same day – I saw a half dozen or so on June 16th in an area next to the Sailboat Pond in Catch the Wind. A Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis) was on Butterfly Weed in Catch the Wind. If there’s one of those handsome beetles out there, there’s probably more. I saw four or five beetle larvae under one of the milkweed’s leaves. A search through the Dogbane near the entrance to the Lemur House always turns up a few beetles, especially the Dogbane Leaf Beetle, or Dogbane Beetle (Chrysochus auratus), a shiny, iridescent green insect that eats the toxic leaves of the plant (the larvae eat the roots). After previously stating that Eyed Click Beetles (Alaus oculatus) haven’t been seen in any other month except May on the Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind Loop (see Eyed Elater, Explore the Wild Journal, May 1-15, 2009), several more have shown up. In May, one flew into Animal Keeper Larry. This time around one of these large beetles flew into Explore the Wild Ranger Gurlal’s beard as he was making his rounds. If you’ve ever seen one of these large click beetles on the wing, you’d surely agree that their flight appears a bit haphazard. Two of them were seen on the path (on different days at separate locations) after they both had been stepped on. Noteworthy butterflies this period were Cloudless Sulphur, Red-banded Hairstreak (6/20), Banded Hairstreak, fresh Juniper Hairstreaks (6/20 & 6/24), a fresh Gray Hairstreak on Butterfly Weed (6/21), a Red-spotted Purple (6/27), and, spotted on Butterfly Weed by one of the Museum’s Summer Campers, a Monarch caterpillar. Another sharp-eyed camper spotted a Black Swallowtail caterpillar on Queen Anne’s Lace. Silver-spotted Skippers are still going strong on the Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind loop and a Dun Skipper was observed on the 17th of June nectaring on the tiny, greenish flowers of Dogbane. A very small and odd-looking caterpillar showed up on the Black-eyed Susans in Catch the Wind during this period. It took a while before I realized that it was indeed a caterpillar. Research indicates that the specific identity cannot be determined without rearing the caterpillar to adulthood. We’ll never know for sure what the caterpillar was (it’s no longer present), but I did discover that it was the larva of a Geometrid Moth, an Emerald. Emeralds are small green moths. But what makes this caterpillar interesting is the fact that it camouflages itself with bits and pieces of whatever flower it happens to be dining on. In the image at left (Emerald Moth Caterpillar) you can see the caterpillar clinging to the seed head of a Black-eyed Susan (the caterpillar’s prolegs on the left, head to the right). Seeds, bits of the flower’s petals and other indistinct objects adorn the little larva. Feather-legged Flies (Trichopoda sp.) were common on Queen Anne’s Lace during mid June. There were many of these brightly colored flies frenetically working the flowers in Catch the Wind. Although I was able to get several minutes of video of the flies, I could not get one to stop moving long enough to capture a respectable still image from the video, until I saw a pair mating (image at left). To see why they’re called Feather-legged Flies, go here.
Reptiles and Amphibians Green Frogs seemed more vocal this period than in previous weeks. Northern Cricket Frogs can still be heard in the Wetlands, although with less frequency. Many Bullfrog tadpoles have morphed into adults during the past few weeks, evidenced by the dozens of miniature Bullfrogs poking their little heads above the water of the Wetlands. Yellow-bellied Turtles continue to venture out of the water to lay eggs. One was seen heading home after depositing her eggs on the north side of the Wetlands on the warm and muggy morning of 27 June. Other then one seen peeking out from under a rock during the first half of June, I still haven’t observed a Northern Water Snake in the Wetlands. Where are they and what are they doing? On June 24th as I was tending the Ornithopter, I heard the excited voices of both children and adults at the entrance to the Mist Garden next to the Ornithopter. Some of the voices sounded apprehensive while others simply annoyed. Apparently something was on the path that was keeping people from passing. “Must be a snake!” I thought as I quickly ran over to see what it was. What a pleasant surprise to see a Rough Green Snake on the path. While these slender snakes are not uncommon, I usually run into only one or two a season, if I’m lucky. They’re expert climbers, and once they get into a tree or shrub, and off the pavement, they virtually disappear. After assuring the Museum Guests that it was a perfectly harmless snake, I picked it up and placed it in a small, nearby tree. It’s always a treat to see one of these little gems.
Birds A male and female Belted Kingfisher were seen in the Wetlands on the 16th of June. A lone female was seen on the 20th & 21st of June. A single male on 28 June. On June 17th, I witnessed a Song Sparrow with an apparent injured leg (it was hopping along on one leg as it foraged in the leaf litter) feeding a fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird. Quite a feat for this injured sparrow to be tending to another bird’s offspring twice its own size. This is the third species of bird that I’ve witnessed parenting a Brown-headed Cowbird this season. The other foster parents were Eastern Towhee and Pine Warbler. At this time, Gray Catbird seems to be the most commonly observed species of bird on the Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind Loop. The two pictured at left were twenty feet from one another “meowing” at each other, one in a Baldcypress, the other on a post of the boardwalk leading down into the Wetlands. An Indigo Bunting was heard and seen in front of the Lemur House on 28 June.
Thanks to the Museum Staff and Guests who have pointed out their sightings to me or who have shared their experiences with me out on the Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind Loop. As always, if you see me out there, stop and ask what’s new, or let me know what you’ve seen.
Have a good one,
Greg
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