Hope for Monarchs

Monarch Butterfly on Spotted Knapweed

There appears to be some hope that the Monarch population may be making a rebound after record low numbers in the past few years.  Everyone I know who works with butterflies is reporting Monarchs after seeing almost none last summer.  Last Friday I saw almost as many Monarchs at one time than I saw all last year - four (possibly five) flitting around the milkweed patches behind the office.  I haven't seen any caterpillars yet, but I really don't start looking for them until after August 1st. 

Fingers crossed...

Wildflowers of 2014 - #190 and #191

I did not get out at all during the week last week to look for flowers, but I was able to spend a short time searching on Sunday (27 July 2014) and was able to find two of my absolute favorite wildflowers.  This post is mainly going to consist of pictures because I have written about both species in the past.

Wildflowers of 2014 - #190 Spotted Joe-pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

Both species that I found today were growing in wet soil along the Chippewa River at Mill Pond Park.  The first species is one of the most showy plants of the Late Summer/Fall wildflower season - Spotted Joe-pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum).  This species can grow up to ten feet tall under favorable conditions and has large flat-topped clusters of small pinkish-purple blooms.  It is found across the northern two-thirds of the United States and lower tier of Canadian provinces.

Spotted Joe-pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

 
This species has been renamed several times.  All of my wildflower books list this species as Eupatorium maculatum.  Last year when I looked up this plant it was listed as Eupatoriadelphus maculatus.  Now the name seems to be settled at Eutrochium maculatum.

Spotted Joe-pye Weed - note whorled leaves

For more information on this species please check out this species profile from July 2013.

Spotted Joe-pye Weed - note pink-purple flowers

Wildflowers of 2014 - #191 Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)

The second flower of the day was growing in the shadow of the Joe-pye Weed.  Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis) may grow up to five feet tall, but the ones that I photographed were about two feet tall.  This species can be found across the eastern United States, across Canada, and in the Pacific Northwest.  The tube-shaped flowers of this species are 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches long and attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.  The flowers are orange with reddish-brown spots.  A closely related species Pale Touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida) has pale yellow flowers.

Spotted Touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)

Spotted Touch-me-not - note tubular flower shape

Spotted Touch-me note - note reddish-brown spots on the orange flower

For more information on Spotted Touch-me-not please look at this post from January 2013.

A new Black Swallowtail Butterfly meets the world

A few minutes ago, I walked out into the field behind our office to search for Monarch Butterflies.  I did find two adult Monarchs - I have already seen more Monarchs in the past two weeks than I did all of 2013.  Both of the Monarchs that I saw were very skittish and would not sit still long enough for a good photograph.

On the way back to the office I found something else...

A Black Swallowtail Butterfly - if you look very closely you can see its chrysalis

That dark shape near the center of the photo is a Black Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio polyxenes).  As I walked closer, I noticed that the abdomen of this butterfly appeared swollen.  This means that it has just emerged (eclosed) from its chrysalis and is still pumping fluids from its abdomen into its wings to fully expand them.

This newly eclosed Black Swallowtail is busy pumping fluids from its abdomen into its wings.

If you find a butterfly that is doing this look nearby and you should find the now empty chrysalis.

Black Swallowtail chrysalis (empty)

In this next photo you can see the chrysalis near the top of the plant and the butterfly lower down, still pumping fluids into its wings.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly (below) and chrysalis (above) on Spotted Knapweed

Finally, here is one more photo of the Black Swallowtail as it continues to pump fluids from its abdomen to its wings.  Once the wings are fully expanded, the butterfly will need to allow them to harden before it is able to fly.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly - continuing to pump fluids from its swollen abdomen to expand its wings

Wildflowers of 2014 - #182 through #189

On Thursday (17 July 2014) I headed to Mill Pond Park to look for wildflowers.  In about 90 minutes of searching I was able to find eight new species, bring the total for the year to 189 species.  Several of the species were first time finds for me.

Wildflowers of 2014 - #182 Common Evening-primrose (Oenothera biennis)

The first flower of the day was Common Evening-primrose (Oenothera biennis).  The flowers of Evening-primroses open at night to attract moths.  The flowers then close up during the course of the day.  Common Evening-primrose flowers are yellow, have four petals, and measure 1 to 2 inches across.  They grow in spikes at the ends of the plant.

Common Evening-primrose surrounded by White Sweet Clover

Common Evening-primrose plants may be up to six feet tall.  As their scientific name implies they are a biennial - flowering in their second year.  The plant's leaves are oval or oblong-shaped and measure 4 to 8 inches long.

Common Evening-primrose -  a closer view of the flowers and leaves

Common Evening-primrose usually prefers dry sandy soils found along roadsides, shorelines, forest edges, and fields.  It has a very wide species distribution and can be found from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts with the exception of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona.

Wildflowers of 2014 - #183 Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)

The next flower is considered a noxious weed or an invasive species by many states.  Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) is a native of Europe that was introduced to the Pacific Northwest in the late 1800s.  It is now found in 46 states and seven Canadian provinces/territories.  Spotted Knapweed spreads aggressively by producing large numbers of seeds that remain viable in the soil for several years.  Once established it quickly outcompetes native species.

Spotted Knapweed bloom

Spotted Knapweed plants may grow up to five feet tall.   The purple flowers resemble those of thistles, but the plant can be distinguished from thistles by its complete lack of thorns.  The leaves and stems of Spotted Knapweed are grey-green in color.  The leaves are deeply lobed.

Wildflowers of 2014 - #184 Common Water Horehound (Lycopus americanus)

The third flower of the day is one that I have not found before - Common Water Horehound (Lycopus americanus).  This native member of the Mint family (Lamiaceae) grows in wet soils along shorelines and streams, along the edges of marshes and swamps, and in other areas of low ground.  Also known as American Bugleweed, this species is found across most of North America south of the Canadian Arctic.

Common Water Horehound (Lycopus americanus)

Common Water Horehound may reach heights of heights of up to 36 inches.  It has leaves arranged in opposite pairs.  The leaves are 1 3/4 to 3 inches long and have coarsely toothed margins.  The plant's small white flowers grow in a whorl at the leaf axils.

Common Water Horehound - note whorls of white flowers in leaf axils and coarsely toothed leaves

Wildflowers of 2014 - #185 Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)

The next flower is another native member of the Mint family.  Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), which is also known as Heal-all, is found across the Northern Hemisphere in both North America and Eurasia. Unlike the previous species, this species has flowers that grow in a spike above the leaves.  The flowers may be purple, violet-blue, or even white.  Plants grow up to 20 inches tall.

Seld-heal or Heal-all

Wildflowers of 2014 - #186 Northern Water Plantain (Alisma triviale)

Northern Water Plantain (Alisma triviale) is an emergent wetland species.  It grows in shallow water in streams, ponds, lakes, ditches, marshes, etc.  It can be found throughout Michigan.  Overall it has a range that covers most of North America north and west of a line from Virginia to Texas.

Northern Water Plantain - note basal leaves and widely branching flower panicle

Northern Water Plantain plants have a basal cluster of oval shaped leaves on long stalks.  A flower stalk grows up from the central cluster.  This single stalk then branches many times forming a structure called a panicle.  The plants flowers grow on the tips of the many small branches of the panicle.  Although the whole flowering panicle may be three feet (or more) tall, the individual flowers are small, measuring 1/4 - 3/8 inch across. 

Northern Water Plantain - a closer view of an individual flower

The closely related Southern Water Plantain (A. subcordatum) has even smaller flowers that measure only 1/8 - 1/4 inch across.  To distinguish between the two species compare the length of the flowers petals to its sepals.  If the petals are longer than the sepals it is A. triviale, if they are the same length or shorter the plant is A. subcordatum.

Wildflowers of 2014 - #187 Willow-herb (Epilobium ciliatum)

Like Common Water Horehound, Willow-herb (Epilobium ciliatum) is another new species for me.  I found this plant growing in the floodplain area at Mill Pond Park.  This species is typically found in wet soils.  This species can be found across North America with the exception of seven states in the Southeast and the Canadian territory of Nunavut.

Willow-herb (Epilobium ciliatum)

Epilobium species can be difficult to identify to the species level.  I based my identification of this plant on its height (greater than 3 feet), the size of its flower, size of leaves, toothed margins of its leaves, and locations of known populations in Michigan.  However, this species is known to hybridize with Cinnamon Willow-herb (E. coloratum) and the plants in this small colony may very well be hybrids.

Willow-herb - note flower with four notched petals and toothed leaves

Wildflowers of 2014 - #188 Ditch Stonecrop (Penthorum sedoides)

I found the next plant growing several feet away from the Willow-herb.  Ditch Stonecrop (Penthorum sedoides) is another wetland species, growing on the borders of streams and ponds, in marshes, and in other muddy habitats. This plant is found across eastern North America with several small, presumably introduced populations in the Pacific Northwest.

Ditch Stonecrop (Penthorum sedoides)

Ditch Stonecrop typically grows to a height of 1 to 2 feet.  It has narrow oval shaped leaves that are 2-4 inches long.  The leaves are arranged alternately on the stem.  The plant's flowers grow on a raceme - this means that individual flowers all grow on short stalks off an elongated stem with flowers growing from the base of the stem blooming before those at the top.  The racemes may be 1-3 inches long, but individual flowers only measure about 1/4 inch across.  The flowers are cream colored, with red fruit growing after pollination.

Ditch Stonecrop - note small cream-colored flowers (often lacking petals)

Wildflowers of 2014 - #189 Common Burdock (Arctium minus)

The final flower of the day was Common Burdock (Arctium minus).  This introduced species is a common weed of fields, roadsides, pastures, and other disturbed spaces.  Common Burdock (also known as Lesser Burdock) is native to Europe, but can now be found across most of North America with the exception of Alaska and the Canadian Arctic.

A large Common Burdock - note large basal leaves and purple flowers

Common Burdock plants can be identified by their large leaves (up to 2 feet long and 1.5 feet wide), purple flowers, and round burs.  The burs encase the plant's seeds and are used to disperse the seeds.  Anyone who has ever brushed up against one of these plants is familiar with how the hooked burs cling to clothing (or animal fur or feathers) and pull off of the parent plant.  Common Burdock plants may grow from 3 to 6 feet tall.

Common Burdock - a closer view of the flowers and burs

One Small Step...

Forty-five years ago on 20 July 1969 at at 9:56:15 PM EST, mankind stepped on the moon for the first time when astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped down from the Lunar Module "Eagle" onto the a flat volcanic plain known as the Mare Tranquillitatus or "Sea of Tranquility".  Nineteen minutes later he was joined on the surface by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.


Armstrong and Aldrin became the first members of the world's most exclusive club.  They were the first of only twelve men to ever set foot on the moon - the last was in 1972.

Landing astronauts on the moon inspired a generation of scientists and ordinary people to dream that anything was possible.  In 2004, the United States announced its intent to return astronauts to the moon by 2020.  Funding for this program was cancelled in the 2010 federal budget to the dismay of many including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.  Today the dream of a child to become an astronaut and walk on the moon is only a dream.

Neil Armstrong died in 2012.

I wonder if John Deere makes a turtle baler?

Did you know a group of turtles is called a "bale"?  I just looked it up.  I have heard of bales of hay, straw,  cotton, wool, tobacco, even paper, but I never knew about bales of turtles until now.

Yesterday I saw this group of three Spiny Softshell Turtles (Apalone spinifera) sunning themselves along the Chippewa River.  Unlike Michigan's other turtle species, Spiny Softshell Turtles have a flexible rubbery shell instead of one composed of hard plates (scutes).  Because this is the most Softshell Turtles I have ever seen in one place at one time, I thought I would share the photo.

Three Spiny Softshell Turtles (Apalone spinifera)

Sticky Sticky Pollen

The bee in the photo below has something stuck to its feet.  What is it?

Honeybee with milkweed pollinia stuck to its legs.

Those orange "blobs" are called pollinia.  Unlike most flowers that disperse their pollen as individual grains, Milkweed plants concentrate their pollen grains into two connected sacs (or pollinia).  When a pollinating insect lands on a Milkweed flower this sticky pair of pollinia (the whole structure is called a pollinarium) can easily become attached to the insects legs.  As the insect moves from one flower to another the poliinarium can become dislodged and pollinates the flower where it is left.