Late Spring in Stowe, Vermont

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Mary Anne Borge

Spring unfolds more slowly in northern Vermont than it does where I live in the mid-Atlantic. So we were able to catch some late spring action in the Stowe area recently. The show started in the gardens at Trapp Family Lodge, where an Eastern Chipmunk foraged among the Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia),

Eastern Chipmunk with Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia)

while a Groundhog family watched nearby.

Groundhog family in the garden at Trapps

The woods at Trapps and the other natural areas we visited were lush with ferns, with a bounty of other diverse plants peaking through them.

The woods from Fox Track trail at the Trapp Family Lodge

Narrow Beech Fern (Phegopteris hexagonoptera) with Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) and Hooked Crowfoot (Ranuunculus recurvatus)

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) at Wiessner Woods

Pink Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium acaule) shyly raised their heads for our viewing pleasure.

Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule)

Goldthread (Coptis trifolia) had finished blooming, and was setting fruit.

Goldthread (Coptis trifolia) with Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) leaves

Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) shown in the sun’s spotlight,

Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)

while the delicate blossoms of False Solomon’s Seal (Maianthemum racemosum) lit the trails.

False Solomon’s Seal (Maianthemum racemosum)

A White-tailed Deer was unfazed by our visit to her domain.

White-tailed Deer

Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) was in various stages of its bloom cycle in different locations. We often found it close to water.

Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

In the woods, most of the potential pollinators were flies of various species. In the photo below, the fly on the Foamflower is harvesting pollen, a food source for some fly species.

Fly harvesting pollen from Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

Bluebead Lily (Clintonia borealis) was just beginning to bloom, often visited by the fly shown here.

Bluebead Lily (Clintonia borealis)

Bluebead Lily (Clintonia borealis) with flower visitor

A Robber Fly, better know for its diet of other insects than for drinking nectar, visited Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius) flowers.

Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius) with Robber Fly

Dwarf Ginseng was popular with another fly visitor who unknowingly gathered pollen on its hairy body for possible dispersal to other flowers.

Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius) with potential pollinator

Near Stevenson Brook in Little River State Park,

Stevenson Brook at Little River State Park

Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophylum virginianum) bloomed a deep violet, pictured here with a flower visitor coming in for a landing.

Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophylum virginianum)

Southern Pygmy Clubtail dragonflies rested on a fern at Sterling Falls Gorge.

Southern Pygmy Clubtail dragonflies

Sterling Falls Gorge

Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) brightened a meadow at Trapps, the yellow nectar guides at their throats attracting a variety of visitors, incuding Bumble Bees, Eight-spotted Forester moths, Bee Flies and a Mustard White butterfly.

Bluets (Houstonia caerulea)

Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) with Bumble Bee

Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) with Bee Fly (Bombylius major)

Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) with Mustard White butterfly

The Mustard White was a new butterfly for me. Its numbers have diminished in recent years because of habitat loss, and possibly also due to the increase of the invasive Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata). Mustard White caterpillars rely for food on our native mustards, such as Toothwort (Cardamine diphylla) and Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata). Toothwort is present along the trails near the clearing where we saw the Mustard White, and Garlic Mustard was nowhere to be seen.

Back in the woods, two crane flies mated, doing their part to ensure that the show will continue.

Crane Flies mating

Cut-leaved Toothwort

Blackhaw Viburnum – A Subtle Beauty

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Mary Anne Borge

Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)

Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) begins to bloom about a week after Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida), its profuse rounded clusters of creamy white flowers visited by a variety of bees, flies and butterflies for their nectar and pollen. Although less well known than some of its woodland neighbors, such as Dogwood and Redbud, Blackhaw Viburnum’s subtle beauty is a common and essential element of the forest’s palette in spring.

Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)

Spring Azure butterfly caterpillars may eat the flowers or buds of many woody plant species, including the viburnums.

Spring Azure

Hummingbird Clearwing moth caterpillars may feed on their leaves.

Hummingbird Clearwing nectaring on Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

In their later development stages, even Baltimore Checkerspot caterpillars may migrate from the leaves of their preferred food plant, Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) to eat viburnum leaves.

Baltimore Checkerspot

The caterpillars may be lucky enough to attain adulthood, or they may become food for another animal somewhere along the way. Caterpillars are an important source of food for many animals, but especially for birds. It can take thousands of caterpillars to feed a hungry brood of young Chickadees or Titmice.

Tufted Titmouse

If Blackhaw Viburnum’s spring visitors successfully pollinate its flowers, dark blue fruits (called drupes) are produced, maturing in fall.

Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) fruit

Chipmunks, squirrels and many bird species, including Hermit Thrush, Cardinals, Bluebirds and White-throated Sparrows, are among those that eat the fruit.

Northern Cardinal

Blackhaw Virburnum can be single or multi-stemmed, and grows to a maximum height of about 15-25 feet (4.6-7.6 meters). It tends to grow taller when single-stemmed. Its natural habitat is generally medium to dry upland areas, even growing in rocky soil, like the Sourland Mountains of New Jersey where I live. Its range is from New York to Michigan and Wisconsin in the north, to the south from Texas to Georgia.

Blackhaw Virburnum makes a great landscape plant. Look for it blooming in a forest near you, or better yet, add it to your garden and enjoy it and its visitors throughout the seasons.

Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)

Resources

Cech, Rick; Tudor, Guy. Butterflies of the East Coast. 2005.

Wagner, David L.; Caterpillars of Eastern North America, 2005.

http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/blackhaw.htm

Cut-leaved Toothwort

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Mary Anne Borge

Last week’s star players in the world of woodland understory plants in the eastern deciduous forest in my neighborhood were Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

and Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum).

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

This week Bloodroot is already developing fruit capsules. Trout Lily is still blooming on warm days, but will finish soon. New stars have emerged from the obscurity of their winter blanket of fallen leaves to take center stage. Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), completely invisible a week ago, is now in full bloom.

Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is blooming, too, and the Spring Azure in the photo below is taking advantage of the nectar offered by the starburst yellow flowers. At first I couldn’t understand why she was practically laying on her side while she sipped. It seemed like an unusual posture for a nectaring butterfly, until I finally realized that she was positioning herself to catch the sun’s rays on a slightly cool and breezy spring day. Very efficient!

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) with nectaring Spring Azure

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) blossoms are lighting up the forest floor. It gets its name from its deeply lobed leaves, and the tooth-shaped projections on its rhizomes. Typical of a member of the mustard family, Cut-leaved Toothwort’s flowers have four petals arranged in a cross shape, for this species forming a tube at their base. The buds have a hint of pink or violet, and while the flowers may retain a blush when open, they are most often white.

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

Look closely at a Cut-leaved Toothwort flower, and see if you can see that it has six stamens (the male reproductive flower parts). In Cut-leaved Toothwort, the stamens are of two different heights; four stamens are long, and surround the pistil (the female flower part), while the other two are shorter and slightly apart from the others. The stamens are tipped with anthers that open to release the pollen. The pistil is a bit longer than the stamens, offering at its tip the stigma, its receptive part, for incoming pollen deposits.

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

Plants evolve to be as efficient as possible in attracting pollinators, and in manipulating them to pick up and deposit pollen. So why would Cut-leaved Toothwort have evolved to have anthers of two different heights? If we look at some flower visitors at work we might find some clues.

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) with visitors

The bee-fly (Bombylius major) below is interested in nectar, which in Cut-leaved Toothwort can be found in nectaries well inside the flower. The bee-fly’s long tongue and legs enable it to eat without its body going very deep into the flower, but it may brush against at least the anthers on the taller stamens. The bee-fly’s hairy head and body are effective in picking up and transporting pollen, so it is a potential pollinator. But based on its position when visiting the flower for nectar, it may be somewhat random as to whether the bee-fly brushes the stigma to deposit the collected pollen on the next flower it visits.

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) with bee-fly (Bombylius major)

Bees drink nectar, and they may also eat pollen. Female bees collect both pollen and nectar to bring back to their nests as food for their larvae. The bee in the photo below appears to be harvesting pollen from the anther of one of the shorter stamens, while at the same time its lower abdomen is brushing against the stigma, depositing any pollen it might have brought in from another Cut-leaved Toothwort flower. It will likely also pick up pollen from the taller stamens to take to the next flower it visits. So for this bee, the pollen on the short stamens offer an enticement and reward for visiting, while it is unknowingly partnering with the plant to assist in pollination when it brushes against the stigma and the pollen on the taller stamens. This could be the explanation for the two tiers of stamens. It would also seem to indicate that not all flower visitors are equally effective pollinators.

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) with bee

Cut-leaved Toothwort is native in deciduous woodlands in much of the eastern two thirds of North America, from North Dakota, Ontario and Quebec in the north to Texas and Florida in the south. It’s a food plant for the caterpillars of the West Virginia White and Mustard White butterflies. Populations of both of these butterfly species have declined in recent years as a result at least in part of both habitat loss and the influx of Garlic Mustard (Allaria petiolata), a species native to Europe that is invasive in North America because it lacks predators here. The caterpillars of the West Virginia White butterflies in particular are able to digest only a few species of the mustard family, those with which the butterflies evolved. Garlic Mustard’s chemical composition is similar enough to Cut-leaved Toothwort’s to lure female butterflies to lay their eggs on it, but the resulting caterpillars can’t survive on a diet of Garlic Mustard. They need Cut-leaved Toothwort.

Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) with possible nectar thief

Everything changes so rapidly in spring. Don’t miss a single scene of the show!

Related Posts

Spicebush or Forsythia?

Spring Comes to the Sourlands

Signs of Spring – Mining Bees

Resources

Cech, Rick; Tudor, Guy. Butterflies of the East Coast. 2005.

Eastman, John. The Book of Forest and Thicket. 1992.

Eaton, Eric R.; Kauffman, Ken. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. 2007.

Glassberg, Jeffrey. A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America. 2012.

Rhoads, Ann Fowler; Block, Timothy A. The Plants of Pennsylvania. 2007

American Beech

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Mary Anne Borge

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

It can be surprising to see leaves clinging to deciduous trees in mid-winter. In eastern North America, some oak species and American Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) may retain their leaves but American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) trees are among the most conspicuous to do so. By January its leaves are bleached to a papery pale tan, catching the bright winter light while fluttering in the winter wind. The leaves look delicate, but give one a tug and you’ll see how tenaciously they adhere to their branches. American Beech leaves typically stay on the trees until early spring, withstanding the effects of even ice and snow.

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), in March

Why do American Beech and other trees keep some of their leaves in winter? There are many theories: the dry leaves may be a deterrent to winter browsing by deer, moose and other mammals; holding some of the leaves until spring may be the trees’ way of time-releasing some nutrients for recycling into the soil; the leaves may funnel more snow melt to the tree’s root system. But no one knows for certain what caused this trait.

The smooth, pale gray bark is an unmistakable characteristic of American Beech, often tempting passers-by to carve their initials. A more interesting possibility is a sighting of animal ‘tracks’ – claw marks from animals that may have climbed the tree at some point.

Animal ‘tracks’ on American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

Trees are susceptible to frost cracks in winter, caused by warming from the low-angled rays of the winter sun, followed by rapid cooling when the sun sets or disappears behind a cloud. Both the bark and the wood it encompasses expand in the warm sun, but the bark may cool more quickly than the wood when the sun disappears, causing lengthwise cracks to occur in the bark. If temperatures are warm enough, portions of the inner bark may become active, only to be killed if a rapid refreeze occurs. American Beech evolved to minimize the harsh effects of the sun by having light-colored bark that reflects the sun’s rays. The winter leaves may provide an additional layer of protection from the warm sunlight.

American Beech’s long, sharply pointed copper-colored buds are another distinctive winter identification feature.

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) buds

As spring approaches, American Beech buds grow longer and plump, eventually opening to reveal newly unfurling leaves, accordion pleated and hairy as they first emerge. The long silky hairs are an adaptation to make the new leaves less appealing to the many species of hungry caterpillars and other insects that may eat the leaves later as the hairiness dissipates.

Newly unfurled leaves of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

According to Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy, American Beech provides food for the caterpillars of over 100 species of butterflies and moths. Among them is the Early Hairstreak butterfly, a rare species found in deciduous or mixed woodlands from the maritime provinces of Canada to northern Michigan and Wisconsin through the Appalachians to Tennessee and North Carolina. Early Hairstreak caterpillars can only eat the leaves of American Beech and Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta). The presence of caterpillars attracts predatory insects and arachnids to feed on them, including many species of spiders, wasps, ants and flies. These insects are beneficial to the trees, because they help keep the caterpillar population in check.

In addition to butterfly and moth caterpillars, a few of the insects that use American Beech include Leaf-footed Bugs,

Leaf-footed Bug (Acanthocephala species) on American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

leaf-rollers,

Insect shelter, likely leaf-rolling weevil nest

and Woolly Beech Aphids.

Woolly Beech Aphids (Phyllaphis fagi)

The Woolly Beech Aphids’ honeydew in turn attracts other insects who eat it, including wasps and ants.

Ants harvesting Woolly Beech Aphid Honeydew

Ants help protect the tree from the insects that feed on its leaves, by aggressively attacking them.

The Harvester butterfly also feeds on the Woolly Beech Aphid’s honeydew, although its first choice is Wooly Alder aphids. The Harvester’s caterpillars eat the aphids themselves.

Harvester Butterfly

A non-native scale insect (cryptococcus fagisuga) introduced through the nursery trade on European Beech threatens the health of American Beech by providing an opening in the bark that together with a fungus enables beech bark disease. This is a good example of the importance of using native plants in your own garden, and the danger of using introduced exotic plants.

There is a fungus species that grows exclusively on the Woolly Beech Aphid’s honeydew, a sooty mold descriptively named Beech Aphid Poop-eater (Scorias spongiosa). Some studies have shown that leaves covered in sooty molds are more effective at removing pollution from the air than other leaves are.

Beech Aphid Poop-eater (Scorias spongiosa)

Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) and Burnt-Orange Bolete (Tylopilus ballouii) mushrooms, both edible, are among the other fungi that may be found on or near American Beech.

American Beech develops natural cavities that provide nesting sites for cavity nesting birds like Titmice, Chickadees, Woodpeckers and Nuthatches, all of whom rely on insects for a large part of their diet, and will help protect the tree from insect leaf-eaters. Chipmunks, squirrels, porcupines and other mammals also take advantage of the natural shelter American Beech offers.

Gray Squirrel in cavity of American Beech

Other birds, like the Wood Thrush below, may nest on the limbs of American Beech, using some of the previous year’s fallen leaves as nesting material.

Wood Thrush on her nest in an American Beech. Some old Beech leaves have been used as nest material.

American Beech’s fallen leaves may offer insect protein for ground-feeders like the Ovenbird.

Insect nest on fallen American Beech leaf

Ovenbird in American Beech

Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) depends on American Beech for its survival, since it gets its food from the tree’s roots. Look for the flowers in late summer or early fall, and the brown seed capsules throughout the winter.

Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) flowers

Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana) in winter

American Beech flowers are wind pollinated, with separate male and female flowers both on the same plant. They bloom as the leaves are opening.

Male flowers of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

Nuts are produced if the flowers are successfully pollinated, usually 2 or 3 three-sided nuts per husk.

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) nuts

The nuts are a source of high protein and fat for mammals and birds, including red, gray and flying squirrels, chipmunks, bears, Blue Jays, Tufted Titmice, Wild Turkey, and Ruffed and Spruce Grouse.

Tufted Titmouse eating American Beech nut

Nothing goes to waste in nature, so an empty beechnut husk may be reused as a shelter by an insect.

Insect nest in husk of American Beech

As the nights get longer and the temperatures drop in the fall, the American Beech begins to prepare for winter. The leaves gradually stop producing chlorophyll, which reduces the green color visible in the leaves, revealing the yellows and oranges of carotenes, and the brown tannins, .

American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) leaf in fall

American Beech is native in moist woodlands in the eastern United States and Canada. The bounty of insects supported along with its nutritious nuts makes it one of our most valuable tree species for wildlife.

Golden-crowned Kinglet in American Beech

Resources

Cech, Rick; Tudor, Guy. Butterflies of the East Coast. 2005.

Eastman, John. The Book of Forest and Thicket. 1992.

Eaton, Eric R.; Kauffman, Ken. Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. 2007.

Lincoff, Gary H. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. 1981

Rhoads, Ann Fowler; Block, Timothy A. The Plants of Pennsylvania. 2007

Tallamy, Douglas W. Bringing Nature Home, 2007,

Wojtech, Michael. Bark A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast. 2011.

USDA NRCS Plants Database

Tom Volk’s Fungi

iNaturalist.org
http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/144013-Scorias-spongiosa

Butterflies and Moths of North America http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Erora-laeta

Illinois Wildflowers
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/am_beech.htm

Penn State Extension Natural Resources
http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/forests/news/2012/winter-leaves-that-hang-on

Northern Woodlands
http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/why-do-some-leaves-persist-on-beech-and-oak-trees-well-into-winter

Invasive.org
http://www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=300

Maple-leaf Viburnum

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Mary Anne Borge

Maple-leaf (or Maple-leaved) Viburnum (Vibernum acerifolium) is spectacular this fall, with colors ranging from pale pink to deep magenta,

Maple-leaf Viburnum (Vibernum acerifolium)

often with washes of blue and purple.

Maple-leaf Viburnum (Vibernum acerifolium)

The combination of decreasing hours of daylight, the increasing length of darkness, and cool nighttime temperatures is nature’s signal that it’s time to prepare for winter. Plants gradually stop producing chlorophyll, which is responsible for the green color visible in the leaves during the growing season. The absence of chlorophyll reveals the colors of other chemical compounds present, like the yellows of xanthophylls, oranges of carotenes, and browns of tannins.

Many days this fall have been warm and sunny. Nights have been cool with temperatures often in the low to mid 40s (4 – 8°C). These conditions enable deciduous trees and shrubs to continue to produce sugars in their leaves during the day. Some of the sugars combine with minerals obtained from the soil to manufacture anthocyanins, the chemicals that cause the red, blue and purple colors in the leaves. The decreasing number of daylight hours combined with the cool temperatures signal the plant to stop nutrients from moving into the trees’ circulatory system as the leaves prepare to detach from the plant. These chemical compounds are trapped in the leaves, resulting in the colorful fall display.

Maple-Leaved Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) with fruit

Fleshy, dark blue, berry-like fruits called drupes accompany the colorful leaves. Each drupe contains a single seed enclosed by a stony casing or pit, like a peach. For many birds and other animals, the fleshy fruit is an enticement to dine in the coming weeks. Maple-leaf Viburnum and many other plants have evolved to produce such fruits in order to enlist animals as partners in dispersing their seeds. The animal consumes the fruit, passing the seed through its digestive system, and depositing the seed accompanied by other nutrients. White-throated Sparrows,

White-throated Sparrow

Cardinals,

Northern Cardinal

and Hermit Thrush, as well as chipmunks and squirrels are among those who consume the fruits and disperse the seeds.

Spring or Summer Azure butterflies may lay eggs on the flower buds of this and many species of viburnums, dogwoods and other shrubs.

Summer Azure

After hatching from the eggs, the butterfly’s caterpillars feed on the flower buds. That is, they do if they manage to avoid being eaten by a predator like a bird, a spider, or another insect.

Maple-leaf Viburnum (Vibernum acerifolium) in bud. Can you spot the two spiders waiting patiently for an unsuspecting caterpillar or other victim?

Plenty of flowers survive the feeding frenzy to provide a beautiful summer display. Several species of native bees, flies and other insects visit the flowers for nectar, providing essential pollination services that result in the fall fruits.

Maple-leaf Viburnum (Vibernum acerifolium) in flower. Look for the ants who are visiting the flowers for nectar. They would also be happy to find a caterpillar.

Maple-leaf Viburnum is a great alternative to the non-native, invasive Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus), which is often planted in formal landscapes for its fall foliage. Maple-leaf Viburnum offers an equally attractive, and more nuanced display. More importantly, it provides food and shelter for the insects, birds and other animals that share its territory.

Maple-leaf Viburnum (Vibernum acerifolium)

Maple-leaf Viburnum is a woodland understory shrub native to the eastern United States, and Quebec and Ontario provinces. If you live within its natural range, go for a walk in the woods near you to see if you can spot it. Then think about adding it to your own landscape to guarantee a view of this gorgeous shrub.

Maple-leaf Viburnum (Vibernum acerifolium)

For more information on fall foliage colors, see Nutritious Fall Foliage: What Makes Fall Leaves So Colorful?

Resources

Capon, Brian. Botany for Gardeners. 2005

Cech, Rick; Tudor, Guy. Butterflies of the East Coast. 2005.

Glassberg, Jeffrey. Butterflies through Binoculars A Field Guide to Butterflies in the Boston-New York-Washington Region. 1993.

Illinois Wildflowers

The Natural Web

Exploring Nature's Connections

Category Archives: Butterflies

Late Spring in Stowe, Vermont

Related Posts

Cut-leaved Toothwort

Blackhaw Viburnum – A Subtle Beauty

Cut-leaved Toothwort

American Beech

Maple-leaf Viburnum

Related Posts

Cut-leaved Toothwort

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