The Days of Summer - Day Eighty through Day Eighty-six

Summer is nearly at an end.  This is my next-to-last installment of my Days of Summer photography project.  I began this project on the Summer Solstice (21 June 2018) with the idea that I would photograph something in nature every day until the Fall Equinox (22 September 2018) and share one image from each day of the summer.  If you've missed the previous seventy-nine photographs, you can start to get caught with the images that I shared last week.

Day 80 (08 September) - Golden

This image of the sun shining through a Boxelder (Acer negundo) was photographed at Forest Hill Nature Area.  This is one of my favorite photos of the summer.  In addition to the sun, I like the contrast of the light sky with the band of dark trees on the horizon, the goldenrods lit up by the setting sun and the shadows in the foreground.


Day 81 (09 September) - Eastern Hemlock

We spend so much time looking down, sometimes we need to remember to look up.  This photograph was taken during a hike at the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's (CWC) Audubon Woods Preserve.  Audubon Woods is my favorite CWC nature preserve.  On September 9th, I led a group on an off-trail hike at the preserve.  One of the sites that I led the group to was this small grove of Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) trees.  Most visitors to the preserves never leave the established trails and I wanted to show off some of my favorite sites in the woods including this grove.


Day 82 (10 September) - Milkweed Portrait

When I started this project I knew that it would be a challenge to take a good nature photo every day, especially once school started.  Fortunately there are many local parks and preserves that can be easily accessed within a few minutes distance from schools or the office.  On September 10th, I did my first school programs of the 2018-19 School Year.  This photo was taken in the field behind the Conservation District offices after completing my classroom presentations for the day.


Day 83 (11 September) - Ah-choo!

This picture was taken at Chipp-A-Waters Park in Mt. Pleasant.  This bumble bee (and a bunch of other insects) were eating pollen and nectar from Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) blossoms.  I took several pictures of this bee as it foraged, but this was my favorite.  I like how you can see the bee's long tongue as it sips nectar.  I have never found Sneezeweed growing wild in Mt. Pleasant.  These flowers were planted about a decade ago as part of restoration project.


Day 84 (12 September) - Fall Abstract

I photographed these poplar leaves at the Conservation District offices.  This trees has been changing color and dropping leaves for about a week.  I thought about cropping the right leaf out of the picture to make the picture more of an abstract image, but decided that I liked the contrast of color.


Day 85 (13 September) - Coral Mushrooms

Recent rains have caused fungi to fruit in every local woods.  This image of coral mushrooms was taken at the CWC's Sylvan Solace Preserve.  I think this is one of several species of Ramaria fungi - there are several yellow Ramaria species that can be difficult to tell apart.  I would have liked to have taken several more images of this mushroom, but the rains have also caused mosquito populations to explode!  I couldn't stop in one place for more than a few seconds.  I am generally pretty tolerant of mosquitos, but they are absolutely miserable right now.


Day 86 (14 September) - Bean Fields

The final image for the week was taken in southern Isabella County.  Mid-Michigan is farm country and soy beans are one of the major crops.  I really liked the color of the sky when I took this picture and wanted to find the simplest landscape that I could.  The row of trees blocked out more distant elements and let me focus on the field and sky without worrying about other distractions.  The color of the ripening bean fields, sky, and clouds remind me of an impressionist landscape painting.

I hope that you have been enjoying viewing this series of photographs as much as I have enjoyed capturing them.  I am into the final week of the project and I don't know what my next photographic journey will be.

The Days of Summer - Day Sixty-six through Day Seventy-two

This is part ten of my Days of Summer photography project.  It's hard to believe that August has passed and we are into September.  I started this project on the Summer Solstice (21 June 2018) and have just under three weeks remaining until the Fall Equinox (22 September 2018).  Photographing every day has been both incredibly rewarding and a grind.  I have taken some of the best photos of my life, but there have also been days when I did not want to pick up a camera at all. When I reach the end I plan to compile all the photographs into one long post, but if you can't wait here is the previous installment.


Day 66 (25 August 2018) - Sunset at Forest Hill Nature Area

On August 26th, we headed out to Forest Hill Nature Area to participate in a public bird-banding event.  While waiting for birds to be caught I made a quick circuit of the property to try to photograph several Sandhill Cranes that could be heard on one of the hills.  The cranes (as always) were wary and while I has able to get several photos from a distance, none of them were very high quality.  Instead my favorite image of the day was this one of the seed heads of Big Bluestem Grass silhouetted against the setting sun.


Day 67 (27 August 2018) - Spotted Touch-me-not

This picture of a raindrop on a Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis) flower was taken during a hike at the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy's Hall's Lake Natural Area.  Spotted Touch-me-not is also known as Jewelweed for the way raindrops bead up on its leaves like so many miniature jewels.  This image has been cropped from a horizontal to a vertical format and the brightness of the image has been adjusted to tone down the highlights.


Day 68 (27 August 2018) - Yellow-collared Scape Moth on Blue Vervain

This image of a Yellow-collared Scape Moth (Cisseps fulvicollis) on a Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) flower was taken at Forest Hill Nature Area.  A wasp mimic, this day-flying moth is a common sight in late summer as it nectars enthusiastically in the restored grassland at Forest Hill.  Blue Vervain is one of my favorite wildflowers.  It's individual flowers are tiny, but each plant may have hundreds of individual blooms.  Large patches of this plant can paint fields, shorelines, and ditches purple.


Day 69 (28 August 2018) - Black Saddlebags in flight

Several days recently have been spent indoors, at my desk, preparing for the new school year.  On these days, my time sent outdoors has been short.  Outdoor time is not always measured in length, but in moments.  On this day, I walked into the field behind the office.  As I walked, a mixed swarm dragonflies flew overhead hawking at small flying insects.  I spent more than a few minutes trying to photograph them in flight.  This picture of a Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) was my best image of the bunch.

Day 70 (29 August 2018) - Turbines

On August 29th, I drove to St. Charles, MI for a meeting on a generally dreary day.  Driving back from the meeting, somewhere in eastern Gratiot County, I stopped to take a few photographs of wind turbines against a cloudy sky.  I took this image over a corn field by standing on the running boards of my truck and photographing over the cab.  I like this picture because of the brooding dark-banded clouds and the upright lines of the wind turbine.

Day 71 (30 August 2018) - Oleander Aphids

This image was another taken at the office.  Some days there is an obvious star photograph; on other days, all the photos feel like duds.  This was one of those days.  I do like the pop of color provided by these bright orange Oleander Aphids (Aphis nerii) feeding on a Common Milkweed stalk, but otherwise I am not enamored by this picture.  I was shooting images of aphids because I spend so much attention on Monarch butterflies and I wanted to get photos of some of the other species that depend on milkweeds.  This picture has been cropped from a horizontal to a vertical format.  I feel like I could have cropped it further, but I thought it would lose some context. 

Day 72 (31 August 2018) - Habitat

This final photograph for the week was photographed on private land near Winn, MI.  This property is owned by a member of the Board of Directors for the Isabella Conservation District and open to the the public for hunting through the MI DNR's Hunting Access Program (HAP). 

I visit this property a couple of times each summer for a very specific kind of hunting.  I am hunting for Monarch caterpillars.  The property is a perfect Monarch habitat with a mix of milkweed and nectar plants.  Right now the Common and Lance-leafed Goldenrod are both in bloom and the Sky Blue Aster is just beginning to flower.  Mix in several species from the mint family, Joe-pye Weed, Water Smartweed, and some hawkweeds and it's a pollinator paradise.

I have visited this place twice in the past three days and have come away with 21 caterpillars.  One of them is hiding in the picture above.  I would never have noticed this caterpillar if I had not knelt down to photograph a bee as it passed from one goldenrod bloom to another.

Native Species Profile - Red Milkweed Beetle

During summer the woods and fields of Mid-Michigan are filled with thousands of buzzing, crawling, and flying insects; winter is dull in comparison.  Insects may be the thing I miss most about summer.  

One of the best places to find summer insects is on Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).  Everyone knows that Common Milkweed is a host plant for the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus), but is also host to many other insects.  My favorite of these is the Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus).  

Red Milkweed Beetle - note warning coloration of red with black spots

Red Milkweed Beetles can be found anywhere Common Milkweed grows.  Like the Monarch Butterfly, the Red Milkweed Beetle is able to consume milkweeds without being affected by the toxins that the milkweed produces.  Instead it stores the toxins within its own body and uses them as a chemical defense of its own (as does the Monarch).  Also like the Monarch, the Red Milkweed Beetle advertises these toxin by displaying  warning colors: red or orange-red with black spots.  These warning colors are also known as aposematic coloration.

Mating Red Milkweed Beetles

Red Milkweed Beetles are also known as Four-eyed Milkweed Beetles.  Each of their compound eyes is bissected by its antennae, giving the appearance that the beetle has four eyes.  

These beetles are commonly found in mid- to late-summer as they feed and mate on Common Milkweed.  After mating, eggs are laid on the plant's stem near ground level. The beetles overwinter as larvae in the roots of milkweed plants, pupate in spring, and then emerge as adults.  As adults, these beetles measure 0.3 - 0.6 inches long.

Red Milkweed Beetle (AKA Four-eyed Milkweed Beetle)

Basic Information

Red Milkweed Beetle 
Tetraopes tetrophthalmus

Size: 0.3 - 0.6 inches long (8 - 15 mm)

Color:  red or orange-red with dark spots

Habitat:  Found wherever Common Milkweed grows

Eats:  Milkweeds, especially Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca); Dogbane

Insect photos (03 August 2017)

This morning I walked into the field behind my office with my camera in hand. I had no specific goals in mind, I just wanted to get away from my desk for a few minutes.  Right away I noticed that the field was full of insect life and birds.  I wasn't fast enough to get a picture of any of the birds, but I did manage to take over one hundred twenty pictures of insects in a little over fifteen minutes - most were multiple images of the same few insects.  Here are five of the best pictures.

Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala) on Riverbank Grape leaf surrounded by Spotted Knapweed

Japanese Beetles (Popillia japonica) on Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia)

Ants nectaring on Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) with Japanese Beetles

Red Milkweed Beetles (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) on Common Milkweed

Swamp Milkweed Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis) and Red Milkweed Beetle on Common Milkweed

A caterpillar at breakfast

Earlier this morning, Shara sent me a photograph from the Saginaw Chippewa Academy's native pollinator garden.

Monarch caterpillar on Common Milkweed (photo by Shara LeValley)

Woohoo!

That's a Monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillar munching on a Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) flower.  It's nice to see the garden being used by wildlife, especially Monarchs.  I am hopeful that we will find more Monarchs in the garden as the summer progresses further.

Early morning milkweed seeds

No photographer ever said "A photo of dew-covered milkweed seeds?  No thanks, I've already got enough photos of that."

Native Pollinator Garden Update - Winn Elementary (22 January 2016)

Earlier this week I shared some photographs of the Native Pollinator Garden at the Mt. Pleasant Discovery Museum.  Today I visited Winn Elementary to do a couple of presentations and decided to take a few photographs of their Native Pollinator Garden.

Looking into the garden from the school entrance

The view from the far end of the garden.  The bee nesting box is waiting for residents.

This garden is certified as a Monarch Waystation and Native Plant Butterfly Garden

Butterflyweed is a Monarch host plant

Nodding Wild Onion

Bird Bath and Leopold bench

Sky Blue Aster

 

Purple Coneflowers provide winter food for birds

I am starting to really look forward to spring.  I am excited to see what surprises will happen in the gardens this year!

This Leaf Ain't Big Enough For the Both of Us - Red Milkweed Beetle Meets Monarch Caterpillar

Just a photograph from this morning...

"Stop eating the ground out from under my feet!"

This Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) and Monarch caterpillar (Danaus plexippus) were sharing the same leaf on a Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) this morning in the field behind the office.  The beetle kept having to move as the caterpillar ate the leaf out from under its feet.

First Monarch Caterpillars of 2015

Earlier today I wandered into the field behind the office with the intent to take photos of bumble bees. Despite the cool weather, the bees were definitely active.  In fact they were almost too active and I didn't get any photographs that I was happy with.  After a few minutes I decided to look for a different photography subject.  I started taking pictures of Common Milkweed (Asclepia syriaca) plants.  I really liked the contrast between the fresh green leaves and last year's empty seedpods.

Common Milkweed - fresh leaves and old seedpods

I liked this subject so much that I started wandering around looking for the perfect angle.  That's when I found this.

Monarch caterpillar on Common Milkweed

 
My first Monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillar of 2015.  It was happily munching away on a Common Milkweed flower.  This caterpillar was in its fifth instar - that means it has moulted or shed its exoskeleton four times.  It won't be long before it forms a chrysalis and becomes an adult butterfly.

Fifth instar Monarch caterpillar eating a Common Milkweed flower (cropped image)

After taking a bunch of photos of this caterpillar I turned to walk back into the office and spied a second fifth instar caterpillar resting on a milkweed leaf tucked down in the grass.  I imagine that if I had done more searching I could probably find more caterpillars in the field.

My second Monarch caterpillar of 2015

100 Species to Know by Sight - #10 Common Milkweed

The next species on my list of species that every kid (and adult) in Mid-Michigan should know by sight is the Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).  This common species is found throughout Michigan and across eastern North America in a variety of soil types.  It is recognized by its bright green oval-shaped leaves that are covered with downy hairs and its globe of pink five-petaled flowers.  In fall its seed pods split open revealing dark brown tear-drop shaped seeds tipped with a feathery tuft of white hairs.  These hairs act as a parachute, catching the wind to disperse the plant's seeds.

For more information about the Common Milkweed please see this species profile from June 2013.

Common Milkweed leaves and flowers

A closer view of the plant's unique flowers

A Common Milkweed with one fully opened globe of flowers and one yet open

The teardrop shaped seeds tipped with a tuft of feathery hairs

Frost covered seeds

Winter stalks and empty seedpods

A nearly empty seedpod with only a few remaining seeds

To see the previous species on my list of Species to Know by Sight look here.

Hard Frost and Milkweed Seeds (23 OCT 2014)

Six times this month the overnight temperature has dropped down below freezing.  Wednesday night the temperature reached down to 28 degrees Fahrenheit (the third time it has reached this low for the month).  When I got to work, the field behind the office was covered with a heavy layer of frost. 

The Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) plants have dropped all of their leaves.  Their seedpods split open releasing the ripe seeds inside.  The field is covered with milkweed seeds and their fluffy parachutes.

The frost covered seeds spent the morning waiting for a breeze to carry them to a new home.

Most of the seeds never make it beyond the field - they snag on plants and other objects along the way.

Even if their silken parachute only carries them a few feet from their parent plant it has done its job of dispersal.   In this way, the parent plant reduces competition from its own offspring and those seeds that do make it further than a few feet become explores capable of colonizing new fields, expanding the species to the physical limits of its range.

Of Monarchs and Mantids

I was searching the field behind the office looking for more of these...

One of three Monarch caterpillars I found in the field yesterday

But my favorite find of the day was one of these...

A preying mantis found in the field behind the office