Naturally
I heard a miracle in the song of what my father called a “summer warbler.” It was an itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie, red-striped, yellow warbler male. Starlings imitated eastern wood-pewees and eastern meadowlarks.
A blue-gray gnatcatcher is blue-gray above and white below, with a white eye-ring. The males have distinctive black eyebrows. They eat various small insects and spiders, not just gnats.
A snowy owl that delighted birders and photographers in Sax-Zim Bog last winter, died after being struck by a train. Owls don’t win that battle.
The European invasive Dame's rocket blooms profusely in colonies. It’s often confused with native phlox, but Dame’s rocket flowers have four petals, while phlox blossoms have five petals (P-H-L-O-X).
The names May beetle, June beetle and June bug refer to species of beetles in the genus Phyllophaga that injure turfgrass. The larvae feed on grass, tree and shrub roots, and mature in the soil, which takes the white grubs two or three years.
The white foam blobs on various plants are produced by the nymphs of spittlebugs, small insects related to aphids. The foam protects the nymph from predators and provides insulation from temperature extremes and low humidity so the nymph doesn’t desiccate. Adult spittlebugs are called froghoppers.
Q&A
“How many inchworms does it take to make a footworm?” Inchworms, also called cankerworms, loopers or spanworms, are caterpillars that move with a distinctive “looping” motion. Full-grown cankerworms are about an inch in length and vary in color. Fall cankerworms emerge from the soil as adult moths in late October; spring cankerworms in March. Spring and fall cankerworm eggs hatch at about the same time in the spring. Cankerworms go through natural cycles with two to seven years of high populations (average of four years), followed by 13 to 18 years of low populations. Spring and fall cankerworms feed on buds and leaves after eggs hatch in the spring. They create small BB-sized holes in leaves. Spring cankerworms can be yellow-green to brownish to blackish. A white stripe may run along the side of the body. Fall cankerworms range from light green to dark green to black.
“Do turtles replace their shells?” The shell of most freshwater turtle species is made of multiple layers and the outermost portion consists of large scales called scutes. The scutes are made of keratin and are similar to human fingernails in that both are composed of a material called keratin. The innermost portion of a turtle’s shell is part of its skeleton. As a turtle grows, its shell must grow with it. A turtle goes through periods of molting where the scutes shed individually, appearing to peel off.
“I read that captive-reared monarch butterflies have smaller wing sizes, decreased navigational abilities, lower migration success, slower flight with less power, are physically weaker and aren’t as intelligent as wild monarchs. True?” We thought we were doing them a favor, didn’t we? They also experience stress from human handling. The Xerxes Society recommends rearing no more than 10 monarchs per year and collecting immature monarchs locally. Keep rearing containers clean between individuals by using a 20% bleach solution to avoid spreading diseases or mold. Provide sufficient milkweed by adding fresh milkweed daily. Keep rearing containers out of direct sunlight and provide a moist (not wet) paper towel or sponge to provide adequate, not excessive, moisture. Release monarchs where they were collected at appropriate times.
“What plant is the old man’s whiskers?” It’s also known as prairie smoke or purple avens, a delightful spring wildflower that spreads by rhizomes to form large clumps. As the nodding reddish-pink to purplish flowers fade, they turn upright to form feathery gray tails that resemble miniature feather dusters.
“Does a robin look or listen for worms?” The American robin uses auditory, visual, olfactory and possibly vibrotactile cues to find prey, but vision is the principal means of prey detection. Scientists found that a robin can locate earthworms just by listening, as reported in the journal Animal Behavior. Researchers hid worms behind barriers, eliminating the possibilities of sight, smell and touch. The robins found the worms easily.
“Do rabbits dig burrows?” They don’t. To nest, the female eastern cottontail rabbit digs a shallow depression and lines it with grass and fur, and tops it with grass and leaves. The young are born blind and without fur, but within a week their eyes are open, and by the second week their fur has grown in. In the winter, rabbits might use an underground burrow abandoned by a woodchuck or other species.
Thanks for stopping by
“Wonder takes our breath away, and makes room for new breath. That’s why they call it breathtaking.”―Anne Lamott.
“‘Wow’ is about having one’s mind blown by the mesmerizing or the miraculous: the veins in a leaf, birdsong, volcanoes.”—Anne Lamott.
Do good.
©Al Batt 2024
The question mark butterfly is a conspicuous orange and brown butterfly commonly found in wooded areas and city parks. When the butterfly folds its wings, they mimic the color and shape of a dead leaf. Its name comes from a small, silver, question mark-shaped marking on the underside of the hindwing. This butterfly overwinters as an adult. I see this butterfly feeding on nectar feeders, sap flows and rotting fruit. Photos by Al Batt.