~MARCH 2013 Photo of the Month Entry Thread~

[bridget1964]

Originally Posted by kchd

While wandering around the house, checking out the local phenology, my DH and I discovered this newly emerged Great purple hairstreak.

How cool that you do a phenology study around your house! My students and I do a little study around our school. They love monitoring this one red maple near the playground. It is fascinating for them to see the buds burst, then slowing turn into leaves.


Gorgeous butterfly! I don't think we have them here in south Jersey. I will have to check. Thanks for sharing!

[havalotta]

Annual ice shove.

[Rebek56]

Originally Posted by wildwatcher

I found this guy hangin out on some damp sawdust. I don't know what it is, but I see them around here every year.

ww

Ooh--I use Feline Pine litter, the sawdust of which is supposedly safe for compost piles once the feces are removed. Do you suppose that urine-infused pine sawdust would attract bitterflies?

[wildwatcher]

hey Rebek, you might checkout Viceroy's account of a muddle, to attract butterflies.

http://www.wildlifegardeners.org/for...tml#post123834

He speaks of keeping a depression in the ground moist, and adding some gatoraid,...etc. , could be an answer in that thread for you, toward reuse of your sawdust. The muddle part gets some attention from Equilibrium about half way thru the thread, so if nothing else you might get a chuckle as she teases Viceroy to reveal his muddle tactics.

Naturally I support feline urine in sawdust, because it might keep your cats out of your wild geraniums!, will it attract butterflies? It should be worth trying.

ww

[Rebek56]

Thanks, wildwatcher. I'd forgotten the other thread (the aging brain....).

[KC Clark]

Originally Posted by wildwatcher

I don't know what it is, but I see them around here every year.

This is where good pictures of antennae come in handy because day flying moths will get people real frustrated when they cannot find that "butterfly" in their butterfly book.

I figured "skipper" when I first looked at the pic but could not find it after looking at all known Arkansas skippers. I then looked more closely at the pic. Antennae are tough to make out but I thought they looked more like a moth's than butterfly/skipper. Grabbed my Covell book and there it was on plate 29. One of those moths that should be in my area but I have not seen it.

Anyway, you have a grapevine epimenis. Caterpillar looks cool too.

Butterflies and Moths of North America | collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Moth Photographers Group – Psychomorpha epimenis – 9309

Species Psychomorpha epimenis - Grapevine Epimenis - Hodges#9309 - BugGuide.Net

[wildwatcher]

Oh how neat KC, tytyty for your interest & time documenting the Grapevine Epimenis, I was happy to track out your hyperlinks you provided! I guess it helps to know that there is lots of wild grapevines in one area of my place, and I've been working & chopping some of it within the last 2 weeks, because it is literally killing a fair amount of large hardwoods in the same area. But my friend Benj1 here at WG, kind of cautioned me long time ago about 'changing things'...now I know why! But still I will be just taking the grapevine that must go, and some dandies that must stay. Hopefully we shall have many more pixs of the Grapevine Psychomorpha in the future, and I'll try to take a better snapshot. I didn't mention it in this thread, but I saw a total of 7 of these little guys in the last 2 days, none today as the weather has changed a bit.

Welcome to Wildlife Gardeners -North America~KC Clark, your posts are informative, and I like that.

ww

[turttle]

Originally Posted by dapjwy

I'm glad you like the idea. I came up with it in my younger years when I used to visit a local park filled with woodland wildflowers...the paths were sometimes bordered by a slope or a cliff. There were times I had to take two or three steps up a slope to look up at some hepatica growing on a rocky outcropping above. Other times the hillside dropped off nearly at eye level. From then on I used to plan how i would plant my future property--a property that didn't become a reality for at least 20 more years.

Luckily our property has a natural terrace and a sloping hillside beyond that which should provide appropriate places to plant.

So far I have two single mayapples planted in two different spots closer to the house. Neither is on a slope...but, once those other areas are prepared, I'd like to grow some there.

I may even get a bloom this year...as far as I know they've grown beyond the one leaf stage. Hopefully, they'll start sending out shoots. Collecting and growing them from seed would be a new adventure for me...I bet they take a long time to reach maturity from seed, but I'd enjoy the process, expand my colonies, and maintain more genetic diversity than by cloning.


I did not know about the box turtles eating the fruit...another great reason to plant them. ....hmmm I wonder if we have any box turtles around?

I don't know if you have box turtles there, dap. Their range extends into southern Pennsylvania, but I don't know how far north you are.

The other thing about mayapples is that you need two separate individuals in order to get fruit. Compllicating this is that mayapples spread clonally, so what might appear to be a hillside full of individuals, is in fact a single clone and therefore will not bear fruit. I am glad you planted two separate plants (I don't believe they are male and female; they just cannot self fertilize).

[havalotta]

Another 8 inches and counting....

Will it ever end?

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by turttle

I don't know if you have box turtles there, dap. Their range extends into southern Pennsylvania, but I don't know how far north you are.

The other thing about mayapples is that you need two separate individuals in order to get fruit. Compllicating this is that mayapples spread clonally, so what might appear to be a hillside full of individuals, is in fact a single clone and therefore will not bear fruit. I am glad you planted two separate plants (I don't believe they are male and female; they just cannot self fertilize).

Come to think of it, I did see a turtle (not sure it was a box turtle) at a local park last year. I have a picture somewhere.

Thanks for the info on the mayapples. I understood what you meant about not being able to self fertilize. I do think I have to separate individuals, but I'll have to see what comes up this year.

As to colonial colonies, I get that too...it makes me wonder if it would be a good idea to mix some individuals of both colonies (assuming I get two or more clinal colonies to establish. That way, if something should happen to on colony, there'd still be a chance for fruit.

At a park I used to go to, there were many individual plants scattered throughout. I do like the look of a colony, but hopefully I can establish several individuals scattered thought a my woodland settings...one of which has yet to be established (my 'would be woulds').