Tag Archives: Hoary Mountain Mint

What Do Juniper Hairstreaks and Cedar Waxwings Have in Common?

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Juniper Hairstreaks are sprightly little butterflies with varying color forms that predominate in different parts of their range.  Where I live in the east, the ‘Olive’ Juniper Hairstreak is present, sporting a sparkling bright green and brown coloration.  The Juniper Hairstreak is named after its caterpillar food plant, which is Eastern Red Cedar in much of the eastern two thirds of the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains.  To understand the origin of the butterfly’s name, it helps to know that this plant is actually a juniper, reflected in its scientific name, Juniperus virginiana.

Juniper Hairstreak nectaring on Short-toothed Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)

Juniper Hairstreak nectaring on Short-toothed Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)

Juniper Hairstreak’s distribution is sometimes described as ‘locally common’, because this butterfly is usually found in close proximity to its caterpillar food plant.  Male Juniper Hairstreaks spend their time perched on the branches of their caterpillar food trees, waiting for a receptive female to appear.  Eggs are laid singly on the tips of the tree branches.

Juniper Hairstreak nectaring on Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)

Juniper Hairstreak nectaring on Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)

Adult Juniper Hairstreaks visit flowers of many perennials for nectar, but this is most often in the vicinity of their caterpillar food plants.  In my area, they seem especially fond of nectaring at Mountain Mints (Pycnanthemum species), but I have also seen them feeding on coneflowers and other aster family members.

Juniper Hairstreak nectaring on Eastern Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

Juniper Hairstreak nectaring on Eastern Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

Eastern Red Cedar is an evergreen tree with a shape that is generally pyramidal or columnar.  It usually grows to a maximum height of about 40 feet (12+ meters), although in the right conditions it can grow taller.  It does best in full sun.  Eastern Red Cedar can tolerate moist to dry soils but is especially well adapted to dry conditions, making it a good candidate for locations where drought is a concern.  It is effective alone as a specimen tree, or on larger properties it can be used for privacy screening or to line a driveway.  Its deep root system enables Eastern Red Cedar to stand up to strong winds, so it also makes an effective windbreak. It can even stand up to tropical storms.

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

The evergreen foliage of Eastern Red Cedar provides year-round visual interest.  It is accented by the changing color of its fruit, which begin to develop in pale shades of grayish blue by mid to late spring, ripening throughout the summer to a deep blue.  Often some fruits will remain on the trees through much of the winter.  While these fruits look like luscious berries, they are actually cones.  Although there are occasional exceptions, Eastern Red Cedar generally has male and female reproductive parts on separate plants.  At least one male is needed in the neighborhood to produce pollen.  Only the female trees will have the showy berry-like cones.  Eastern Red Cedar relies on wind to achieve pollination.

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) cones

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) cones

In addition to being a caterpillar food plant for Juniper Hairstreaks, Eastern Red Cedar is great for birds.  The berry-like cones provide food from late summer through much of the winter for many bird species.  The social Cedar Waxwings, for whom fruit is a larger part of their diet than it is for most birds, were named for their love of these cones.  Eastern Red Cedar’s dense foliage provides good coverage for small to medium sized birds who are looking for a place to perch safely out of view and reach from larger predators.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing

Eastern Red Cedar is a hardy tree that reproduces readily.  It is sometimes referred to as a pioneer species, since it is often one of the first tree species to appear in fields and meadows.  This is usually the result of its seeds passing through the digestive system of birds, a process that increases the chance that the seed will germinate successfully.

What do Juniper Hairstreaks and Cedar Waxwings have in common?  Both depend on Eastern Red Cedar for food.  Juniper Hairstreak caterpillars rely for their survival solely on this tree species .  Cedar Waxwings have a strong preference for the cones of Eastern Red Cedar, but also eat many other fruits.  The names of both of these animals reflect the strong association between them and Eastern Red Cedar.

Watch to see how many different bird species dine or take shelter in Eastern Red Cedar.  If there are good nectar plants nearby, you’ve found a hospitable home for Juniper Hairstreaks, too.

Juniper Hairstreak on Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)

Juniper Hairstreak on Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)

 

Resources

USDA Eastern Red Cedar Plant Fact Sheet

USDA Eastern Red Cedar Plant Guide

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Butterflies and Moths of North America

Sibley, David Allen.  The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior.  2001.

 

 

Life in Dead Wood

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‘Getting rid of dead wood’ or ‘Cutting out the dead wood’ are phrases that are so commonly used that they have become ubiquitous when referring to a ‘reduction in force’ in the corporate world. These phrases have their origin in advice for maintaining landscaping. In a formal setting where neatness is desired, or where a dead tree or branch poses a threat to people, property or power lines (why don’t they bury those power lines, anyway?), removing dead wood is certainly a prudent thing to do.

But is ‘getting rid of dead wood’ always a good idea? Does dead wood have any function or benefit in a less formal or a natural setting?

Well, let’s think about it. On the plus side, dead wood does provide a home for many species of fungi, some of which are eaten by insects, mammals (including people!) and other critters.

Mushrooms on dead wood

Mushrooms on dead wood

Some insects even develop inside mushrooms, like the puffballs pictured below.

Puffballs

Puffballs

At first glance these snails seem to be using the mushrooms as a sun deck, but a closer look shows that they are feeding here.

Snails feeding on mushrooms

Snails feeding on mushrooms

The young edges of the colorful Chicken of the Woods mushroom are edible, and taste like, well, chicken.

Chicken of the Woods

Chicken of the Woods

Many insect species, including ants, wasps, bees, beetles and even butterflies make dead wood their home for at least part of their life cycle.

Eastern Commas, Question Marks and Mourning Cloaks survive the cold northern winter as adults, often taking shelter in a woodpile or underneath loose bark.

Eastern Comma

Eastern Comma

Mourning Cloak

Mourning Cloak

Some species of solitary bees may make their nests in dead wood, like the sweat bee pictured below sipping nectar in the company of a Gray Hairstreak butterfly. This little sweat bee and other solitary bees are important pollinators, many providing free pollination services for food crops. Some of our native bees are more efficient pollinators than Honey Bees, because the native bees are a better anatomical match for the plants with which they evolved.  Providing habitat for native bees can reduce the need to pay to truck in Honey Bees, the migrant workers of the insect world.  It may also increase pollination rates and crop yield.

Sweat Bee and Gray Hairstreak on Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum)

Sweat Bee and Gray Hairstreak on Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum)

Most wasps are predators of other insects, helping to keep their populations in balance. Mason wasps, for example, provision their nests with caterpillars on which their larvae feed as they develop. They usually nest in borings made in dead wood by other insects like beetles or bees.

Mason Wasp (Monobia quadridens) on Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)

Mason Wasp (Monobia quadridens) on Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)

There are ant species that make their homes in rotting wood. Ants don’t cause wood to rot, and they don’t eat the wood. They excavate spaces for their nests in wood that is already soft, moist, and decaying. Ants are important seed dispersers for many plants, including violets, trilliums, Dutchman’s Breeches, Spring Beauty, and many more.

Ant with Canada Violet (Viola canadensis)

Ant with Canada Violet (Viola canadensis)

Ants and wood boring beetle larvae are favorite foods of many woodpeckers. Among them are the largest woodpeckers in North America, the Pileated Woodpecker. Have you have ever had a Pileated Woodpecker attack the siding of your home? If so, it’s because the bird has detected the presence of a delectable meal of carpenter ants there, which would only be present if you had rotting wood. So think of it as a free consultation, courtesy of nature, to let you know that you have some maintenance to do. Replace, paint or otherwise seal the wood to prevent moisture from getting in, and your problems with ants and woodpeckers will go away. They’ll go back to feeding on insects in the naturally rotting wood found in nature.

Pileated Woodpecker feeding on insects in dead tree

Pileated Woodpecker feeding on insects in dead tree

In the photo below a Pileated Woodpecker is peeking out from his nest hole. Can you tell what type of tree this is?

Pileated Woodpecker looking out of nest hole

Pileated Woodpecker looking out of nest hole

If you said ‘dead’, you’re correct! In addition to providing a bountiful source of insect protein, dead wood offers real estate for homes for many birds, including Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Flickers. Even Chickadees excavate holes in very soft, rotting wood for their nests. Titmice, White- and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Carolina and House Wrens all nest in holes in dead or living trees, sometimes using abandoned woodpecker holes. All of these birds also forage for insect protein, a bounty of which is available in or on dead wood.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee

Eastern Gray Squirrels are among the small mammals that may make their homes in hollows in dead or living wood. Their diet depends heavily on tree nuts, but it also includes insects and fungi, as does that of Eastern Chipmunks.

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Chipmunks often dig underground burrows, but they also use tree cavities for shelter. Larger mammals, like Red Fox or even Black Bear may use fallen or hollowed out trees as a shelter.

Eastern Chipmunk peeking out of tree stump

Eastern Chipmunk peeking out of tree stump

The chipmunks and squirrels may become a meal for a Red Fox …

Red Fox, hunting

Red Fox, hunting

or a Red-tailed Hawk …

Red-Tailed Hawk

Red-Tailed Hawk

… or a Great Horned Owl. Dead broken trees, called snags, are a favorite nesting place for these large predators.

Great Horned Owl in snag

Great Horned Owl in snag

All of this activity contributes to the breakdown and decomposition of the wood, which provides valuable nutrients to the soil. This makes a new generation of plants possible, keeping the cycle of life going.

Tree stump with mushrooms, mosses, ferns and Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)

Tree stump with mushrooms, mosses, ferns and Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)

Dead wood provides shelter and food for insects and other arthropods, birds, and large and small mammals, including people. With the assistance of all of the inhabitants who avail themselves of these services, dead wood gradually breaks down, enhancing the soil for a new generation of plants.

Dead wood also helps to divert and slow the flow of water in heavy rainstorms, allowing the water to slowly penetrate into the soil where it falls, rather than rapidly running off into creeks, rivers, streams and storm sewer systems, contributing to flash flooding along the way.

So, what do you think, should we ‘get rid of the dead wood’?

Resources:

http://www.carnegiemnh.org/mollusks/palandsnails/ecology-diet.html

http://bugguide.net/node/view/5345

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

Eastman, John. Birds of Forest, Yard, & Thicket. 1997.

Eiseman, Charley; Charney, Noah. Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates. 2010.

Elbroch, Mark; Rinehart, Kurt. Behavior of North American Mammals. 2011.

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

Harrison, Hal H. Eastern Birds’ Nests. 1975

Mader, Eric; Shepherd, Matthew; Vaughan, Mace; Black, Scott Hoffman; LeBuhn, Gretchen. Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies. 2011.

A Winter Garden Can be a Wildlife Habitat

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Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Thinking about ‘cleaning up’ your garden for the winter?  You might want to reconsider.  You may be disturbing the winter homes of many of the creatures you enjoy seeing during the warmer months.

For example, butterflies may be present in our yards and gardens in some life cycle stage year-round.  Except for species that migrate or live in more hospitable climates, butterflies will need to find a safe haven to survive the cold winter months in northern locations.   Fortunately, providing winter butterfly habitat may be less work than you think.

Swallowtail Chrysalis

Swallowtail Chrysalis

Leaving leaf litter is one of the most beneficial things you can do, for both the plants in your garden and the critters that live there.  Great Spangled Fritillaries and Baltimores are among the many butterfly species that spend the winter in or under this free, natural insulation and rich fertilizer.  A mulch that’s automatically replenished by nature every year, leaf litter helps to minimize the need for watering your garden, while protecting soil from erosion, and controlling weeds.  As the leaves gradually break down, they replenish the soil with essential nutrients plants need to survive and flourish.  Leaf litter is the best, most cost effective mulch you can use for your plants, and provides important habitat for insects and birds.

Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa)

Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa)

Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)

Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)

Many perennials and grasses have lovely forms in winter, while providing food and shelter for insects, birds and other critters, so it’s best to leave them standing as much as possible.  Pictured here are just a few of the many plants that provide visual interest in winter.  Butterflies that use some of these as food plants will often spend the winter in leaf litter below them, or on the plant itself.  Some skipper caterpillars may make a winter shelter in grass leaves, while overwintering Eastern-tailed Blue caterpillars may take refuge in a seed pod.

Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis)

Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis)

For those lucky enough to have a meadow, maintenance recommendations include mowing to a height of 12-16 inches in late winter, but it’s best not to mow more than a third of a site in a given year.  Although some overwintering butterflies and other beneficial insects will be lost as a result of mowing, the height helps to minimize harm to those whose shelters are at ground level or just above.  The timing offers winter food and cover for birds.  Mowing only a partial site enables the area to be repopulated by residents from the unaffected portions of the meadow.

Brush piles, logs, standing dead trees, tree cavities and loose bark may also provide overwintering sites, so preserve or make these available if you can.  Eastern Commas, Question Marks, and Mourning Cloaks are some of the last butterflies active in late fall, and the first to emerge in spring.  They spend the winter as adults, and are among the species that may use these winter shelters.  Butterflies that overwinter in other life cycle stages may also take refuge here.

Eastern Comma

Eastern Comma

Birds may visit some of these plants for their seeds, like the Chipping Sparrow pictured here, feeding on Indian Grass.  Hungry foragers like Chickadees and Goldfinches are likely to visit the mints and coneflowers.  Birds may also find and feed on insects sheltering among these plants, including some of the overwintering butterflies.  But to make up for it, they will feed on insects that may otherwise parasitize the butterflies.  So over all, birds help keep the insect population in a healthy balance.

Chipping Sparrow eating Indian Grass seeds

Chipping Sparrow eating Indian Grass seeds

I like the look of nature in winter.  It’s fun to search for signs of critters, like a butterfly chrysalis attached to a tree or shrub branch.  A few leaves of grass tied together with silk may be a winter haven for one of the skippers.  With birds foraging for seeds, fruits or insects, that’s all I need to keep me interested.  That’s a good thing, because the more we can leave their habitat in a natural state, the more good we will do for the insects and birds we enjoy so much.

Goldfinch in winter plumage

Goldfinch in winter plumage

Mountain Mints Are Pollinator Magnets!

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To enlarge an image, click on the thumbnail below.

Looking for a deer-resistant pollinator magnet?  Mountain Mints are your answer.

Usually blooming from late June through August, Mountain Mints attract a spectacular assortment of butterflies, bees, moths, and other critters.  These beneficial insects graze amiably together for nectar, since the profusion of tiny blossoms offered by these plants provide enough food for everyone to dine in harmony for many weeks throughout the summer.  From morning until evening Mountain Mints are alive with the dance of pollinators.

There are several species of Mountain Mints, but my favorites are Short-toothed Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) and Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum).  The genus name, Pycnanthemum, means densely flowered, hinting at the reason that these plants can accommodate so many hungry visitors simultaneously.  The foliage of these two species is as showy as the flowers, enhancing their visual appeal.

Plants are all about surviving and reproducing, and Mountain Mints are among the plant species whose survival strategy is to produce clusters of diminutive flowers, together forming a showy inflorescence, a strategy that has evolved to attract insects as assistants in the pollination process.  Individual flowers in each cluster bloom progressively over many weeks, increasing each plant’s chances for successful reproduction.  This works out really well for their pollinator partners, who are looking for a continuing reliable source of food.

Short-toothed Mountain Mint grows to a maximum height of about three feet, topped with round heads of tiny white flowers smudged with bright magenta.  The plants are truly ‘densely flowered’.  A soft velvety bed of pale blue-green foliage frames the blossoms.  Rub or crush the leaves and you’ll be rewarded with a scent that confirms that this is a mint family member.  Short-toothed Mountain Mint can tolerate part shade to full sun, and likes moist but well-drained, average soil.

Hoary Mountain Mint, as the name implies, has foliage very similar to Short-toothed Mountain Mint, with the leaves just below the flower heads looking as if they had been lightly but evenly dusted with powdered sugar.  Each delicate flower is white with a sprinkling of tiny purple spots.  The flowers grow in rounded heads much like Short-toothed Mountain Mint, but the blossoms are somewhat larger, growing in multiple tiers on each stem. The branching habit is open and graceful, showing off the layers of flowers, and providing easy access to their many visitors.  This species grows to a height of 2-4 feet, prefers sun, and average to dry soil.

Virginia (Pycnanthemum virginianum) and Narrow-leaved (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium) Mountain Mints are also good garden candidates.  Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint grows to a height of 1-3 feet, while Virginia may achieve a slightly taller stature, depending on growing conditions.

The seemingly endless supply of nectar makes Mountain Mints a great option for attracting butterflies.  Short-toothed, Narrow-leaved and Virginia Mountain Mints all attract small to medium-size butterflies;  expect to see hairstreaks, blues, Common Buckeyes, ladies and smaller fritillaries.  Hoary Mountain Mint flowers are large enough to also accommodate larger butterflies, like some of the swallowtails.

If you have a vegetable garden, you might consider planting some Mountain Mint nearby.  Good nectar producing plants like these attract many bee species that will help increase your garden’s yield.

Because of their strongly fragrant foliage, foraging deer reject Mountain Mints.     In fall the flower heads dry to a dramatic steel gray, and can be an eye-catching addition to a garden in winter.

The Mountain Mints have adapted to thrive in a fairly broad range of weather conditions.  All of these species are native to much of the eastern half of the United States, some as far west as Texas, and as far north as the eastern Canadian Provinces.  In the northeastern U.S., they have been holding their own very well even during this hot, dry summer.  To see if a particular species is native in your area, and for additional Mountain Mint species, check the USDA website:  http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PYCNA