It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's.....

Papilio cresphontes - commonly known as the giant swallowtail; the largest butterfly species in North America!  

This really made our day as this was a first for us.  And first experiences are, as a general rule, the best of the best.  The Missus captured this video:

The wingspan on this butterfly is a whopping 4–6 inches and features dark brown to black wings with striking yellow bands forming an "X" across the wings. The underside is mostly yellow with blue and red spots near the tail.  The hindwings feature thin tails lending the species the swallowtail name.

You'll find this critter throughout the eastern and southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and into South America.  In the US it’s most common year-round in the Southeast, but its range extends into the Midwest and as far north as southern Canada during warmer years.

Larva caterpillars are called orange dogs and feed on orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit  leaves.  They have a unique defense in that they resemble bird droppings and emit a foul odor to deter predators.  

Adults have a strong gliding flight and favor flowers featuring nectar.  Around here they're generally welcome as pollinators; although if you're a citrus grower in Florida or Texas you may feel differently.

Labor Day

Worker Bee

 

Mr. Twig

Meet Diapheromera femorata one of the coolest insects around these parts.  This is a bug that literally looks like a twig or a stick that can walk.   Consequently, it is commonly referred-to as a walking stick bug.  This insect is equipped with possibly the most efficient of natural camouflages on earth.   It and the - equally inconspicuous - leaf insect comprise the Phasmatodea order; of which there are approximately 3,000 species worldwide.   

The name Phasmatodea comes from the Greek term phasma, which means phantom or ghost – a direct reference to this camouflage.   A nocturnal feeder this camouflage keeps the walking stick hidden from predators during daylight hours.  Yet it isn’t their only line of defense. Different species also have thorny spines, or they’ll shed and sacrifice a leg if grabbed by a predator.  Some can even secrete a noxious and putrid-smelling fluid.

Walking sticks are herbivores that enjoy dining on the leaves of deciduous trees   With the exception of the southernmost states - where stick bugs are more prevalent - their populations are relatively low in the United States so damage to trees and plants is limited.  

This stick bug on my garage is 3 ½ inches in length so based-upon its size I have reason to believe that this is a Northern Walking Stick.  

You can learn much more about this cool insect by clicking on this link to the UW-Milwaukee Field Station. 

Look-Up!

Four years ago I was out brushing trails and clearings like I ordinarily do this time of year and later discovered I had a close encounter with a nest of bald faced hornets hanging in a white pine.

I never took notice of the nest at the time and as a consequence took no special measures to avoid knocking it from the tree with the roll bar of the tractor.

My Guardian Angel earned some hazardous-duty pay that particular afternoon as it was a close call with the wasps.

Ever since then I have been particularly attentive to be aware of my surroundings and always look-up before driving under any tree branches that might be shaken or disturbed by any chores I am performing.  

Like this nest of bald faced hornets.

That Mama Jama is bigger than a basketball and was one of two I spotted Friday and Saturday and gave a wide berth so as not to disturb the inhabitants.

It's one thing to watch where you step to avoid tripping and falling.  Yet sound advice to look-up too.

Trust me on this....

Animal Factoid

I was reading something the other day about three magnificent raptors – the barn owl, osprey and peregrine falcon. 

These hunters are quite adaptable, capable of flying vast distances and are specialized hunters.  The peregrine falcon preys-upon small birds.  The osprey fetches fish from the lakes and river it calls its habitat and the secretive barn owl subsists almost exclusively on rodents.   

All three of these birds can be found throughout the world - a testament to their adaptability.  Nevertheless, a successfully adaptable as these birds are they are not to be found on the continent of Antarctica.  Evidence that there are limits on adaptability.

Coincidentally, you will find ants and dung beetles on every continent as well.  With the exception of Antarctica. 

Dispatch from the Butterfly Ranch

The kids have returned home and a semblance of routine has returned.  Jill is off to yoga and the girls and I have availed ourselves of a morning walk.  In keeping with my vow of retirement I'm making an effort to be more aware of the natural world around me.

From our walk today there was this...

Compass Plant

Viceroy and Red Admiral Butterfly and Purple Coneflower

Gray-headed Coneflowers all over the place

Large-flowered Beardtongue

Bumblebee and Purple Prairie Clover

Liatris (Prairie Blazing Star)

Wild Bergamot

And False Sunflower

Raising a toast to pollinator habitat.

Fall Flowers

The flowers of Gentiana andrewii - Bottle-Gentian - emerge from August thru October.  Found in wetlands and shoreland habitat this plant's blooms are characterized by a compact cluster of large oval closed flowers at the top of an axis of unbranched leafy stem.

Also known as the closed gentian due to the closed flowers.  Nevertheless, bumblebees will force themselves into the flower by means of pushing-apart the petals. 

click on the image for a closer look at the bumble bee

 

If the interweb is to be believed there are about 60 gentian species in North America, with approximately 23 different kinds to be found in the eastern half of the country.  Everything I've read has suggested that the color of this flower should be blue.  Around here the color ranges from pure white, to rose to violet.

Go figure....

A Droll Bug Indeed

Meet Diapheromera femorata one of the coolest insects around these parts.  This is a bug that literally looks like a twig or a stick that can walk.   Consequently, it is commonly referred-to as a walking stick bug.  This insect is equipped with possibly the most efficient of natural camouflages on earth.   It and the - equally inconspicuous - leaf insect comprise the Phasmatodea order; of which there are approximately 3,000 species worldwide.   

The name Phasmatodea comes from the Greek term phasma, which means phantom or ghost – a direct reference to this camouflage.   A nocturnal feeder this camouflage keeps the walking stick hidden from predators during daylight hours.  Yet it isn’t their only line of defense. Different species also have thorny spines, or they’ll shed and sacrifice a leg if grabbed by a predator.  Some can even secrete a noxious and putrid-smelling fluid. 
click on the image for a closer look

Walking sticks are herbivores that enjoy dining on the leaves of deciduous trees   With the exception of the southernmost states - where stick bugs are more prevalent - their populations are relatively low in the United States so damage to trees and plants is limited.  

This stick bug on my window screen is 3 ½ inches in length so based-upon its size I have reason to believe that this is a Northern Walking Stick.  You can learn much more about this cool insect by clicking on this link to the UW-Milwaukee Field Station.

Locust Love

Now that September has arrived love is in the air.   And the grasshoppers are courting, mating and laying eggs that will produce the next generation.   

I’ve lived a good long time and heretofore have not witnessed the grasshopper courtship ritual up close and personal. Perhaps my situational awareness has improved with age or maybe I'm learning to pay closer attention to the natural world around me.  I don’t want you to get creeped-out by this or think that I am some sort of weirdo voyeur as my observations and photo chronology were quite clinical and very scientific.  A day ago I encountered a couple of grasshoppers in my garden doing you-know-what so I brought them to the countertop in the garage for a closer look.  

With a bit of web-browsing and observation this is what I've learned. 

Male grasshoppers croon the grasshopper love song to summon a female.  They do this by means of rubbing their hind femur against a forewing or rubbing a forewing against a hind wing.  Tympana - eardrum-like structures on their abdomens - allow both male and female grasshoppers to hear.  These come-hither songs are species-specific. 

In any event, after hooking-up, the smaller male grasshopper will mount the female and the female curls her abdomen up to reach the male’s reproductive organ - called an aedeagus.  In a paroxysm of arthropodic ardor the male delivers a package of sperm called a spermatophore.  

This act of mating can take from 45 minutes to a day and a half.  Yikes!

click on the image for a closer look

With her eggs fertilized, the female will then seek to lay them using the same ovipositor used during copulation.  She will use specialized horns on her abdomen to dig an inch or two into the ground, extend her ovipositor into the hole and lay a pod containing dozens of eggs.  The egg pod is shielded by a thick covering that the female secretes during this process which later hardens.  In warmer and moderate climates the eggs will hatch in a matter of weeks while in Wisconsin they will overwinter and hatch in the spring.

Yes, even in the insect world, reproduction is complicated stuff.  The next time you read-up on old testament plagues just remember that it all starts with this.  And yes - the conjoined hoppers were returned to the garden and left alone to finish their business......

Flying Tiger

Meet Papilio glaucus - the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

Characterized by yellow wings and black tiger stripes it is difficult not to take notice of this flashy butterfly.  The specimen captured in the photo is a paler phase.

Habitat is mixed conifer/deciduous forest and open land including urban settings.  It feeds-upon alder, willow and poplar and favors wetter habitat.  In Wisconsin it reproduces two generations.



click on the image for a close-up

Dispatch From the Butterfly Ranch

Meet Limenitis archippus – the Viceroy butterfly.   

Much smaller than a monarch the viceroy is also characterized by a narrow, curved black line crossing the middle of the hind wings.   In flight the viceroy glides with its wings held in a horizontal position - monarchs glide with wings held at an angle.   

This critter enjoys a couple of interesting defenses.  In the larval stage the caterpillar bears a striking resemblance to bird poop - camouflaging it from predators. The butterfly bears a close resemblance to a monarch and as a consequence birds who have previously attempted dining-upon the poisonous monarch will avoid the viceroy. On the other hand birds that have not had that negative experience will readily eat viceroys.  

This butterfly will propagate two generations in this part of North America and inhabits wetter habitats that contain its preferred food – poplar and willow.  These viceroys were part of a large group feasting on the nectar of Jill’s herbs in the kitchen garden.

click on images to enlarge

The Improbable Painted Lady

click on image for a better look

 

Jill snapped this photo on Thursday - an American Painted Lady butterfly on a dandelion. 
 

This was a day of firsts - the first dandelion of the season and the first butterfly of the season.  Which got me thinking about the butterfly - it was awfully early in the season for a butterfly considering the joint was under a couple feet of snow three weeks ago. 
 
Moreover, a little bit of web research told me the life expectancy of this butterfly is only a few weeks.  The timing of this appearance seemingly defied logic.  Unable to reconcile this freak of nature I fired-off an email to a professor with the University of Wisconsin's Department of Entomology:

 

Professor Goodman...

I have a question for you.

The photo (attached) is our first dandelion of the season and I believe an American Painted Lady butterfly.  Photo was taken today.  The interweb tells me the life span of this butterfly is only two weeks and it has been dreadfully nasty weather here. 

Did this butterfly blow-in from somewhere else as some sort of super migrator? 

Location is outside of Brussels, WI (southern Door County). 

Thank you, in-advance, for any assistance you can offer. 

Regards, 

Tom Gaertner

 

Yesterday I received these replies: 

 

Mr. Gaertner, 

 

Yes, I think you have it correct but I will send this message to our diagnostician, PJ Liesch, who will verify your ID. 

 

This butterfly, in Europe, migrates from near the Arctic Circle to Africa.  There was a Nova program on several weeks ago about it.  These butterflies don’t have the flash of a Monarch so they are less well studied.  Two scenarios could have taken place; it was blown in on the south winds that we have been having or it may have overwintered in your area and came out with the warm weather. 

 

Thanks for catching spring’s early harbinger in pixels. 

 

Walt Goodman  
__________________________________________________

Greetings Tom,

 

Yes—looks to be the "American Lady" aka American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis).  I suspect it's most likely an "out-of-town" visitor.  For a while it was thought this species could overwinter in our area as an adult as some butterflies can, but it's now thought that they likely migrate up here from warmer locations.  However, it usually gets up here pretty early and can be spotted early in the spring some years (depending on the weather).   Additional info (including sightings recorded by date) can be found here for the state: https://wisconsinbutterflies.org/butterfly/species/90-american-lady. 

 

---PJ
__________________________________________________

 

The Monarch butterfly migrates between Canada and Mexico.  However, no single monarch makes this entire journey. The round trip is done by a succession of as many as five generations of butterflies. 

 

The migration of the Painted Lady appears to rival that of the Monarch.  This butterfly is known to migrate between Europe and Africa - yet the route has been largely unknown. 

 

Scientists had tracked the butterflies to northern Africa (the region known as the Maghreb), but there have been hints that they may fly across the Sahara.  Several studies back up this claim.  If this is factual these butterflies could be traveling more than 2,500 miles in a single generation — a potential record for a migratory insect. 

 

Sure, this stretches the limits of credulity however another study found that with favorable winds painted lady butterflies could travel almost thirty miles an hour.  At that speed it would take them as little as four days to make it from Central Europe to Central Africa.  One trip for one generation.

 

All of this sheds a new light on the early appearance of this harbinger of spring.  A speedy migration or the prospect of over wintering scenarios suggest that the American Painted Lady butterfly is one tough hombre.  It sort of makes the much-vaunted Monarch butterfly appear to be a slacker.  I'll post the earliest appearance of Monarchs here on our butterfly ranch.  For the present we'll enjoy the ladies....

Worker Bee

I suppose everyone recognizes Apis mellifera - the Honey Bee - known for its strong work ethic.  
                click on image for a better look

 
To be fair all bees work hard and insects in general work hard.  Even grasshoppers.  Aesop got it all wrong about ants and grasshoppers - but I digress.

This is a complicated insect because it lives a complex social hierarchy focused-upon supporting the colony with its queen for up to five years in length.  The insects in the photos could be dining-upon aster nectar and/or gathering pollen (note the pollen pouches).  Not native to North America they were introduced by 17th century immigrants who wished to have Old World honey.  Nowadays, they still produce honey and have become an integral partner in pollinating crops throughout.

Bumbler

I introduced you readers to members of the aster family over the last couple of days so it is fit and proper for you to meet Bombus fervidus - the Golden Northern Bumble Bee.  Or - simply - bumble bee.

click on the bee for a better look

It's a robust bee.  Only young, mated queens overwinter to emerge in early spring to establish a colony.  The female sports a mostly yellow thorax and abdominal segments 1 thru 4.  She is black on segments 5 thru 6.  The male is yellow thru segment 5 and black on segments 6 thru 7.

They're common around here feeding on flower nectar and honey manufactured in their colony. They're all over the asters.

Power of Observation

Try this sometime.

Locate an item of interest in the natural world and see what you can find/observe in the space of five minutes or so.

I did this the other day.  I picked a clump of milkweed in the yard and no sooner had I arrived to check it out this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail lit on a milkweed bloom.  It's flutter was a-stutter tho...

click on images for a better look

No wonder.  It was missing half of its tail.  I wonder what the story is behind that?

  

Lurking amongst the shadows and blending-in with its pale green camouflage was this katydid...

   .

Hiding in a milkweed bloom was a Monarch caterpillar... 

And locating caterpillar frass (poop) on the leaves of a milkweed I tracked this guy down...

It is mind-boggling to think of how much of the natural world we pass by on a daily basis simply because we don't take the time to stop and observe.  

Don't waste your powers of observation and never allow them to waste-away...

ButterFly Ranching Continued

In-coming!

From our walk thru the butterfly ranch is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail coming in for a landing on a Prairie Blazing Star.

 

Amazing....

 

 

click on image for a better look

Butterfly Wrangler

Freshly-emergent female Monarch butterfly.

click on image to enlarge

She lit on my shirt and following that hung-out on my fingertips for some pictures.

Hard work ranching such a delicate and beautiful butterfly - Head 'em up, move 'em out, Move 'em on ... Cut 'em out, ride 'em....

 

Parallel 44 Office

My office today at the 44th parallel.  

Dogs, sun, breeze, laptop, SmartPhone, laptop, butterflies and coffee at my elbow.  If I could only convince one of the four Monarchs flitting around to land on my screen.

Several phone calls and one conference call remains...

Butterfly Wrangler

Is is a bird or a bug?  

Meet Hemaris thysbe - the Hummingbird Moth - sometimes called the Hawk Moth.  At least I think that is what it is.  It wouldn't stop and hold still for a picture so all I know for sure is that it is definitely an iteration of Hummingbird Moth.

This is a daytime flying moth that resembles a hummingbird as it flies rapidly between plants and hovers to feed over tubular flowers.  In the Old World, there are several co-evolved species of hummingbird moths. Some of these species are closely related and all belong to the same genus, Hemaris.

You can learn more about this fascinating insect via this PBS Special Here.

This is a fun insect we have here at the Butterfly Ranch.  From a walk last weekend I captured this short video clip of a Hummingbird Moth feeding on Joe Pye Weed.  The cowbells you hear in the background are the bells on the girl's collars.  They're wrangling and ranching butterflies too...

 

Butterfly Wrangler

click on images to enlarge

It's that time of year again.  

Yup, love is in the air and the second generation of Monarch's have emerged and the rut is on.  You cannot go anywhere without bumping into pairs of orange and black butterflies flitting-about and engaging in their courtship ritual.  

Poor Jill has been working in her flower beds attempting to reduce some of the milkweed that has taken-over and checks each small plant carefully for the single tiny egg before digging and removal.  They're terribly hard to see and as a consequence we have a house guest raised from egg through his fifth instar and as of yesterday it looks like he's poised to begin metamorphosis.  And now another egg has been added.  God bless her - she's a friend to the butterfly.

I don't want to leave you with the impression this is restricted specifically to Monarchs - there are many other species of butterflies and moths.  The joint has become a regular butterfly ranch and I think we're both feeling a bit like butterfly ranch hands.