As summer draws to a close, there is still a great deal of animal activity and
a different group of late blooming flowers. I seem to appreciate the sunrises
and sunsets more in part because I am tired of working on the yard and want to
sit and enjoy the view!
One of my favorite late blooming flowers is the monkshood, which is a classic
blue, bumblebee pollinated, flower. Its shape, downwards orientation and color
tells us that it specializes in attracting bumblebees. In contrast the upwards
facing and easily accessible yellow flowers of wing stem attract a wide variety
of insects such as this yellow/orange collared scape moth. This day-flying moth
is believed to be protected against predation by its resemblance to a wasp. It
also reminds me of the distasteful lightning bug/beetle. Such a variation in
strategy of pollination between extreme specialization and generalization is
quite remarkable and illustrates how evolution seems to explore all options
that could be possible.
Fruits are appearing on many plants and this nannyberry virburnum is a good
illustration of how some plants advertise their ripe fruits by color changes to
black. The plant does not want its unripe fruits eaten since the seeds are not
mature, so they protect them with toxins and show birds they are not ready by
the green color.
We had a period of very wet weather and one result was a profusion of fungi in
the woods. This Jack o-lantern is a spectacular example that not only is
colored like a pumpkin but glows at night with bioluminescence. The purpose of
such light production is unknown but the resulting "foxfire" is mysterious and
impressive on a very dark night. But do not eat these surface fruiting bodies
of the underground mycelium, since they are poisonous.
Goldfinches are looking for seeds on many plants, including this Maximillian
sunflower which we planted in our fields. The males are losing their bright
yellow color after breeding season is over making them less visible to
predators. Such a "bright male" phenomenon usually indicates that the females
are choosing mates based on the brilliance of their colors, which could
indicate health and vigor which they would want to impart to their offspring.
As herbivores, butterflies are often deficient in sodium salts which are more
common in animal prey than in plant food. So when I hung out my sweaty socks
after a long hot hike, this pearl crescent landed on the sock and started
drinking the salty fluid ! Butterflies must detect the odor of such garments
since they target them so quickly. This is a variant of puddling behavior in
which butterflies drink fluids from feces or salty damp soil.
I came across this spectacular viceroy butterfly sunning on a gravel path on a
cool day. Two things are interesting about this- the sunning behavior to raise
its body temperature, and the fact that it did not fear predation when so
exposed. The viceroy is partially protected by the toxins it caterpillar
ingested from its larval food of willow. But it also gains protection by its
mimicry of the even more toxic monarch butterfly.
One of the reliable seasonal changes in late summer is the southern migration
of the large common green darner dragonfly from our ponds. They are replaced by
an equally large shadow darner (shown here) which is quite tolerant of cool
weather in the fall and seems to assume the role of large insect predator
patrolling the pond edges. This is an excellent example of temporal
partitioning of the habitat by species that otherwise would compete with one
another.
For many months now the predominant sound from our ponds has been the booming
call of the bullfrog. But now these dominant amphibians are virtually silent. I
still see them around the ponds, especially finding a sunny spot to enjoy the
warmth before the advent of frosts to come. This is a male as shown by its very
large eardrum and the yellow throat. In the bullfrog world, bigger is better
and the larger you are and the deeper your call, the better your territory can
be and the more females you can attract to lay eggs.
Although fall is upon us, there is still a very active natural world out there.
But in many cases the flowers and animals that are now most active are a
different group than we would have observed in previous months. Bird migration
is in full swing and there is no doubt that other striking seasonal changes are
occurring. So go forth into the natural world and enjoy the spectacle!
Bill Dunson
Galax, VA and Englewood, FL
http://lemonbayconservancy.org/news-blog/nature-notes-by-bill-dunson/ ;
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Sunrise at Galax farm 9.11.16 Bill Dunson aaa.jpg
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Monkshood flowers Crooked Creek WMA 9.16.16 Bill Dunson IMG_5971 aa.jpg
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Nannyberry viburnum fruit VA farm 9.7.16 Bill Dunson IMG_5883aa.jpg
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Fungus Jack O'Lantern Omphalotus olearius VA farm 8.26.16 Bill Dunson IMG_5654 aa.jpg
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Goldfimch on Maximillian sunflower VA farm 9.7.16 Bill Dunson IMG_5893 aa.jpg
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Scape yellow collared moth on wingstem VA farm 9.18.16 Bill Dunson IMG_6004 aa.jpg
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Pearl crescent on sweaty sock VA farm 7.31.16 BIll Dunson IMG_5309 aa.jpg
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Viceroy butterfly at Buck Dam on New River Trail 9.3.16 Bill Dunson IMG_5850 aa.jpg
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Shadow darner pond five VA farm 8.29.16 Bill Dunson IMG_5720 (2).JPG
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Bullfrog male pond eight VA farm 9.5.16 Bill Dunson IMG_5866 aa.jpg
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