Learn About | Greg Dodge Journal: August 16-31, 2008
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Greg Dodge Journal, August 16-31 |
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Flora Partridge Pea is blooming, most notably, just as you enter Catch the Wind from Explore the Wild on the back side of the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. Note the fern-like compound leaves and the five yellow, different-sized petals on the flowers (image at left). The flowers often appear as if they’re not quite fully opened. Besides being an easy plant to look at, Partridge Pea serves as the host plant for certain sulphur butterflies in our area: Little Yellow, Sleepy Orange, and Cloudless Sulphur. Bend down and have a look – you may find a caterpillar or two on the plant. A plant named for its seeds’ ability to cling to your clothing is Tick-seed Sunflower (see Showy Tick-trefoil, Explore the Wild Journal, June 16-30). It’s in bloom throughout Catch the Wind. This rather attractive 1-5-foot plant can sometimes be seen in spectacular concentrations in overgrown fields during early fall. Here, you can find clusters of the plants next to, appropriately enough, Traveling Seeds, Dancing Plants, and the Bird Feeder Exhibits.
Insects While watching a small Northern Water Snake stalk frogs from the Wetlands Overlook, I happened to see something wiggling amongst the dense plants in the water. A quick look through my binoculars revealed two large Predaceous Diving Beetle larvae locked in mortal combat, one had a death grip on the other. These larvae were quite large. Depending upon the species, Predacious Diving Beetle larvae, or Water Tigers as they’re sometimes called, can get to 70 mm (2.75”). They have large pincer-like jaws. They’re impressive. If you come across Morning Glory on your stroll around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop and you happen to notice small holes in the leaves of the plant, take a closer look: a Golden Tortoise Beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata) may be nearby, possibly on the underside of one of the leaves. They eat the leaves of plants in the Morning Glory family. These beetles have the ability to change colors, and they can do so rather quickly. I picked a beetle off a leaf at the Wetlands Overlook near the Lemur House. As I was showing the beetle to a few Museum guests, the beetle changed from brilliant gold to a much subdued reddish color. There are six spots on the elytra (the forewings, or back of the beetle) which is where this beetle gets the species name sexpunctata. Unfortunately, the photo at left doesn’t show the golden color. However, it does show another interesting feature of this tiny (1/4”) beetle. The elytra is transparent around the edges! Neat little beetle. I discovered another tortoise beetle, a Mottled Tortoise Beetle (Deloyala guttata), on the Morning Glory which covers a good portion of the fence in front of the Red Wolf Overlook. Look for the leaves with the holes in them!
Fall Webworms are at work in Explore the Wild. I noticed the first “webs” of the season on a Redbud Tree off the boardwalk leading down into the Wetlands. Webworms differ from Tent Caterpillars in that the webworm’s silken webs are constructed at the end of the tree’s branches, covering the leaves. The caterpillars feed on the leaves within the protection of the webs. Tent Caterpillars make a silk “tent” in the crotch of the tree, where several branches meet, venturing outside the tent to feed on the tree’s leaves. Tent Caterpillars are active in the spring, not late summer and fall like the webworms.
Other Arthropods There was a Crayfish in the water at the Wetlands Overlook, the first I’d seen. I’d been told that they were present but hadn’t seen one myself until August 18 while I was peering over the boardwalk railing looking for frogs. I saw the first large Argiope (ar-GUY-o-pee) Spider of the season on a Red Cedar in front of the Sailboat Pond on August 21. They’ve been around all summer, but they’re not as obvious as they are in late summer/fall when they’ve grown to a size that’s, well, noticeable. The web has a zig-zag pattern down the middle section making it fairly easy to spot. Even so, when the spiders are small, their webs are also small and usually down low in the grass where they’re not so apparent. The spider in the Red Cedar was apparently not satisfied with the productivity of its web in the tree because the next day the web was placed down in the tall grass behind the tree. This web looked to be in a better spot to me too, more airborne traffic. There was a grasshopper caught in the web on the last day of the month.
Other orb weavers have been noted elsewhere around the Explore the Wild/Catch the Wind Loop. We’ll be seeing more as the season moves on.
Reptiles and Amphibians I’ve said this before, snakes have been putting on a show in the Wetlands. The one pictured at left sat out in the open for quite a while at the foot of the boardwalk near the main Black Bear Overlook while many Museum guests got great looks at it. Understandably, upon first viewing this snake many folks thought it a Copperhead, or Cottonmouth (Water Moccasin). It’s neither. It’s a Northern Water Snake. The pattern on water snakes can vary considerably and can even be absent on some older individuals, so you can’t go by pattern alone to differentiate between these snakes. To my knowledge, Cottonmouths don’t occur in the Piedmont. Although they can certainly swim up river (and portage around falls and dams) if they have a desire to do so. They’re pretty much restricted to the coastal plain. Copperheads are more likely to be seen in an upland habitat. Both Cottonmouths and Copperheads are usually more stout, or heavier bodied, than typical water snakes. The water snakes in the Wetlands are non-venomous.
Birds The Mallards which had so discreetly nested in the Wetlands (Explore the Wild Journal, June 16-30) are being seen daily in front of the Wetlands Overlook. It appears that all 7 ducklings survived to adulthood. Canada Geese have returned to the Wetlands after a two-month absence. On August 23 I saw a Northern Waterthrush walking on plant debris in the water among the fading Lotus plants in the Wetlands. The small, olive-brown-backed warbler with dark streaks on its undersides bounced along, bobbing its rear end up and down, looking for insects to eat. Northern Waterthrushes don’t nest in our area, but much farther north. Some warblers and other passerines are migrating at this time. Some have been on the move since July. Keep an eye out for possible migrants, especially after the passage of a cold front. Of course, I’ll be reporting anything that I see. Our resident Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will be leaving us soon if they’re not gone by the time this is posted. However, now is the time to keep an eye out for western species of hummingbirds. Several have already been reported elsewhere this season within the state. The one that you’re most likely to see is a Rufous Hummingbird. It can be difficult to distinguish between immature Ruby-throated and Rufous Hummingbirds. It’s certainly possible of course, but no need to get into that here. If an adult Rufous shows up you’ll probably notice the difference right away due to the reddish brown (rufous) feathers on the back, sides, and tail. We may be seeing migrating Ruby-throats into October, but after that any hummingbird you see at the feeders in Catch the Wind is very likely to be something other than a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
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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