As I said in my last post, it rained here every day for a week. The mushrooms are almost jumping up out of the ground and I hope to find enough for a full fungus post in the near future. Meanwhile here is what I think are yellow patches (Amanita flavoconia,) but since my fungi identifying skills aren’t what they should be I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. Yellow patches gets its common name from the yellow bits of universal veil on its cap. You can just see them on the smaller example. The universal veil is made of tissue and completely covers the young mushroom. As it grows it eventually breaks the veil and pieces of it are left on the cap. Rain can wash them off and I’m guessing that’s what happened on the larger example. The rains have been torrential.
Without any human intervention trees get wounded in the forest. It can happen when one tree falls and hits another or sometimes when a large branch falls. Squirrels chew bark, woodpeckers drill holes. In any event a wounded tree is not that unusual, even when it is black and weeping like the wound on this oak was, but what caught my eye were those tiny yellow-orange dots in the upper center of this photo.
I was very surprised to find that the tiny dots were eyelash fungi (Scutellinia scutellata.) This is only the third time I’ve seen them and I don’t know much about them, but I thought they only lived on dead wood. Very well soaked dead wood, in fact; the two previous examples I saw were growing on twigs lying in the standing water of a seep. Eyelash fungi are in the cup fungus family. The hairs on them can move and curl in towards the center of the disc shaped body.
I walked through a field of milkweed looking for monarch butterflies or their caterpillars. I never did see the monarchs but I saw an amazing amount of other insects, including hundreds of bumblebees.
An eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly was on a milkweed plant but flew off to a Queen Anne’s lace blossom before I could get a photo. These butterflies have been skittish all summer and have hardly sat still at all for me, so I was a bit befuddled when this one finally let me take as many shots as I wanted.
I’ve had quite a time trying to identify what I thought was a common butterfly. It was a small one; much smaller than a swallowtail, maybe about the size of a cabbage white. It liked hawkweed and flew from blossom to blossom in a patch of panicled hawkweed. I think it was a silvery checker spot; at least, that’s the closest I could come by looking at similar examples. It was a pretty little thing, whatever its name.
A Japanese beetle looked like a shiny jewel on a milkweed leaf. These beetles do a lot of damage here but this year they don’t seem to have the staggering numbers they’ve had in the past.
Red spotted milkweed beetles hid on the underside of a milkweed leaf. The scientific name of this beetle, Tetraopes, means “four eyes” in Greek. This longhorn beetle is unusual because of the way the base of its long antennae bisect its eyes. The antennae actually splits each eye in two, so they do indeed have four eyes. It is thought that these beetles ingest toxins from milkweed plants to protect them from predators, just like monarch butterflies do. The red and black colors are also there to warn predators.
I thought a milkweed leaf had a tiny gall on it, but when I tapped on it with my fingernail it started to move.
And it moved pretty fast. That’s because it was a snail and not a gall. I’ve never seen snails on milkweed before but we’ve had snail-ish weather this summer with very high humidity, so maybe that has something to do with it. I believe these are called blunt amber snails. They were almost translucent and quite small.
A fly was on the same milkweed plant that the snails were on and it agreed to sit for a photo shoot. I think it was a tachinid fly. From what I’ve read there are over 1300 species of tachinid fly, so I’m not even going to try to come up with an identification. It reminded me of that movie The Fly with Vincent Price.
What I think was a slaty skimmer dragonfly showed signs of age with pieces missing from its wings, but it was still a beautiful blue. It let me get just one shot before it flew off. I’ve read that mature males are dark blue with black heads, so I’d guess that this is an example of a mature male.
A beautiful blue river of pickerel weed flowed through a ditch next to a cornfield. When I see things like this I have no choice; I have to stop and admire them because they are so unexpected. It’s as if they were put there specifically to be admired. These are the things that can take you outside of yourself and let you walk in a higher place for a time. As Amit Ray once said: Beauty is the moment when time vanishes.
A great blue heron wanted to be a statue in its own hidden patch of pickerel weed, and it made a good one. I didn’t have time to wait for it to move; that can sometimes take quite a while.
A yellow bellied sapsucker left its neat rows of holes in a hawthorn. Many other birds, bats, insects and animals sip the sap that runs from these holes and they are an important part of the workings of the forest. But why does the pattern have to be so neat? I wonder.
The berries of false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum) are speckled green and red for a short time before becoming brilliant red. The plant is called treacle berry because the fruit is said to taste like bitter molasses, which is also known as treacle. They’re rich in vitamins and have been used to prevent scurvy. They have also been known to act as a laxative to those who aren’t used to eating them. Native Americans used the leaves and roots in medicinal teas and also inhaled the fumes from burning roots to treat headaches and body pain.
Though I don’t see a banner year for blueberries this year the crop doesn’t look too bad. I think there will be enough to keep both bears and humans happy. One of the best places to pick blueberries that I’ve seen is from a boat, canoe or kayak, because blueberries grow on the shores of our lakes and ponds in great profusion and the bushes often hang out over the water. You can fill a small bucket in no time.
Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica) berries start out green and then turn orange before finally ripening to red. They are pretty things but they can be mildly toxic to adults and more so to children, though I’ve never heard of anyone eating them. Tatarian honeysuckle is considered an invasive shrub. Birds eat the berries and the plant spreads quickly, with an estimated seedling density of 459,000 per acre. Once grown their dense canopy shades the forest floor enough so native plants can’t grow, so the land around dense colonies is often barren.
The seeds of curly dock (Rumex crispus) start out looking like tiny seed pearls before ripening to the pretty things seen here. Curly dock is in the rhubarb family and is originally from Europe. The small seeds can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute, and the leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. They are rich in beta-carotene and vitamins A and C and were used by many as a green vegetable during the depression. Its common name comes from the wavy edges on the leaves.
What does all this ripening mean? I don’t want to be the one to say it but I shouldn’t have to; just looking around will tell the story.
So many hues in nature and yet nothing remains the same, every day, every season a work of genius, a free gift from the Artist of artists. ~E.A. Bucchianeri
Thanks for stopping in.
Hi there! Last week I took a photo of a butterfly similar to the one you’ve got here – the small orange and black one. But mine didn’t have the white “dashes” along the edges of the wings. I think the one you’ve got here could be a Silvery Checkerspot. Check out this ID picture. What do you think? I love that the little details like white dashes or the difference in an angle of a black wing marking (viceroy v. monarch) helps out with identification. It really hones our observation skills, I think!
Thank you Jennifer, but there was no photo attached.
When I tried to identify this butterfly I looked at several photos of the silvery checkerspot and I thought that was it. Differences can be very subtle though so when people more knowledgeable wrote in I assumed they were correct.
I don’t really “do” insects because I don’t have the time it takes for research, so thanks for the help.
A grand variety of beauty here to be sure.
With plenty more on the way.
I’m sure. 🙂
I also think that little one is a pearl crescent butterfly. I have loads this year. And I’ve seen several monarchs recently- which I haven’t seen many of the past several years.
Thank you Amy, I think you’re right.
I saw two monarchs today so that makes three this year. I’m hoping for 10 times that number!
I’m so happy I stumbled upon your wonderful blog! I’ve learned a lot since reading your posts and really admire the photos. Keep up the good work!
Thank you Jennifer and welcome. I’m glad you like it!
I hate to disagree with you, but I for one would never be able to fill a bucket with blueberries found while kayaking, I’d eat them as quickly as I picked them. 😉
I do hope that the rain you’ve had does allow you to do a post on fungi again soon, I’ve been missing them lately. The eyelash fungi is something that I’d like to see in person.
I don’t know if the beetle in this post is a Japanese beetle or not, I can’t identify insects at all. But, I do know that they may not be the problem that they used to be. In my comment to your last post, I said that birds learn by watching what other birds eat, and our native birds are learning that Japanese beetles are safe to eat, and are doing so. That’s an example that Brian mentioned specifically when he told me how birds learn what to eat.
The photos of all the insects in this post were great, but the image of the fly is superb!
Thanks Jerry! I know what you mean, I’ve eaten my share of blueberries while I was picking them too!
I’ve got a fungi post in the works but they take time. I’m shooting for next week.
That would be great if our birds started eating alien insects. It sure would solve a lot of problems.
That fly wanted it’s photo taken!
As usual, I learn a lot from your posts about plants and trees. That fly photo is truly amazing!
Thank you Virginia. The really amazing thing about that fly was how it sat still!
I didn’t know that the False Solomon Seal berries were edible at all. I think on my plants they turn a solid red.
They turn solid red here too, but not before they become speckled.
I’m glad that you got some good rain! That makes everything better this time of year.
Thanks Montucky! Yes it does. It was terribly dry here.
Great picture of the fly. They always fly off before I can get a good one. I don’t like to think what the ripening means.
They usually fly away from me too but this one just sat there and let me click away.
I don’t like to think about things ripening either. It seems like summer just started.
I love your blog and your choice of quotations is perfect!
Thanks very much Lee!
Your photo of the milkweed beetles rang true for me. I used to have a lot of milkweed. One day I spotted exactly such a couple of these beetles. Then, as I walked thru my yard, I found dozens of them — all mating. It’s as if someone had blown a whistle and said, “Now!”
I know what you mean. It seemed like every plant in this field of them had beetles on it! And they were busy.
Goodness me what a wonderful post, the butterflies, the beetles, the great blue heron and all the rest. It is such a treat to read your work!
Thank you Susan, I’m glad you liked it!
“Snail-ish” weather indeed.
Mushroomish too!
I just love to read your posts. Even if I know what the plant or other natural feature is, I always learn something more. The photos are well-explained to highlight both the beauty and science. Wonderful!
Thanks very much. A lot of time and effort go into these “Things I’ve Seen” posts because of all the research involved, so I’m always happy to hear that people enjoy them. Many of the things that appear in these posts are things that I’ve just discovered though, so don’t bet the farm on my identifications.
Are you sure that is a Japanese beetle?
Now that you mention it Gata, I don’t see the little white ruffles around the edge of the shell. I wonder if it’s a flea beetle. What do you think it is?
Gata – I wondered the same thing. It doesn’t look like one that I photographed recently.
I’m not sure what it is now. There are many that look almost the same and that’s why I don’t regulary search for insects. If they come to me I sanp a photo.
I think it is a Dogbane Leaf Beetle. They sure are pretty! I really appreciate all of your pictures!
You’re welcome Saffron. Thanks for the help. I haven’t had time to look that one up yet but I will. They are pretty!
I think Saffron might have nailed it, based on photos I see on the web.
It does look like it. I’m trying to find its size in relation to the Japanes beetle. The one I have the photo of was about the same size.
Wonderful, as always. We’ve also had lots of rain and I wish I could share with you some of the mushroom photos I’ve taken in the past few weeks! We even got to see the fruiting bodies of the blue-green cup fungus last week. I typically only see the blue stained wood. And we also enjoyed the opportunity to observe a still great blue heron last week, in a river in the Smoky Mountains. Our blueberries are gone already now, but we picked about 3 gallons or so on a friend’s property this summer. Our swamp milkweed is blossoming, but we haven’t seen any Monarchs on it yet, although I know some Monarchs have been spotted in our area. I wonder if your little butterfly is a Pearl Crescent, or something similar. We see them often here, as well. Thanks for another great post – so much to see and learn!
You’re welcome Cheri and thank you. I’d like to see the blue-green cup fungus, it’s one I haven’t seen. I have seen a lot of blue stained wood though so I’ll have to watch for them. I’ve seen a lot of fungi over the last week so there will be a fungi post coming along soon.
Three gallons of blueberries is a lot! You must love blueberries as much as I do!
I saw one monarch butterfly last week but I haven’t seen one since. I’m hoping I see at least as many as I saw last year.
Yes, Mike Powell wrote in and said that might be a pearl crescent as well. I think you’re probably both correct. I had a hard time with that one!
Beautiful shots, Allen. My family used to vacation some in Maine when I was growing up and I have fond memories of picking some wild blueberries, so yourphoto of the blueberries brought back some memories. Your little butterfly may be a Silvery Checkerspot, but it lacks the little white spots that are often present. It could also be a Pearl Crescent–there are a number of little butterflies that look a lot alike and I have trouble telling them apart.
Thank you Mike. “Blueberring” is big in these parts so I’m not surprised you did some while you were here. Many people pick enough to freeze and use all year long.
Thanks for the tip on the butterfly. You’re probably right; I had quite a time finding anything similar, which was a surprise.
I love this quote — so true! “Beauty is the moment when time vanishes.”
Thank you Pat. That’s usually the way it works for me!