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- An old growth forest with huge red oaks where cows used to graze in an open field
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- Remnants of an ancient barbed wire fence grown into a sourwood tree
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- A wild ginger Asarum plant not eaten by deer
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- The bizarre flowers of the wild ginger
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- A tree growing in a tractor tire
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- An old field undergoing succession with numerous box elder trees coming up
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- A giant leopard tiger moth
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- An American lady butterfly on butterfly bush
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- A snout butterfly sipping sweat from a running shoe
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- A hackberry emperor butterfly drinking sweat from a shoe
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- A question mark butterfly
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- A six spotted tiger beetle
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- Milkweed leaf beetles mating on a western milkweed
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- The kiing of the dragonflies- a dragon hunter r
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- A tiny female powdered dancer damselfly
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- A female summer tanager
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- A male summer tanager comes to drink
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- A male bluebird catches a cicada
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- A male bluebird shows off his blue structural color
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- Eggs of a Carolina wren
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- A female Carolina wren incubates her nest in a workshop
I continue to be intrigued and intellectually challenged by the natural events transpiring in our 48 acres of woodlands along the Haw River in the Piedmont region of NC. The middle lot of three I bought was kept uncut for at least 50 years by the previous owner for which I am eternally grateful. It is rare to see such large trees in a pastoral landscape given their value as timber. Such “old growth” stands are particularly interesting now since the severe herbivory of young trees by deer threaten the future replacement of the large trees as they gradually die. The large red and white oaks obviously are not “virgin” since they are surrounded by large loblolly pines that must have begun life in a sunny environment. Now the pines are gradually dying out in the shade. An intriguing part of the puzzle of the history of this site is provided by an old barbed wire fence attached primarily to sourwoods. As small as these sourwoods are in comparison to the surrounding oaks they most likely predate the growth of the oaks having been valued as a source of honey and been a handy place to attach a fence.
One of the few plants on the forest floor accessible to heavy deer browsing but protected by toxicity is the wild ginger, or Asarum. They are sometimes called “little brown jugs” because of their strange urn shaped flowers under the leaf litter. The flowers can be self pollinated or pollinated by flies and beetles attracted to the rotten meat odors. Leaves of this pipe vine family plant are eaten by caterpillars of the pipe vine swallowtail which is the model species for a complex of butterfly mimics. There is a mutualistic relationship with ants which feed on substances attached to the seeds and disperse them.
One of the more unusual sights in our forests is this tree growing out of the center of a discarded tractor tire. Obviously this has been going on for many years and the struggle between the tree and the confining tire is currently at a standstill. In a strange way this situation represents at a small level the global conflict between human civilization and nature!
Our neighbor to the north has a large corn field along the river which has not been planted for at least three years. As a result ecological succession is underway and large numbers of box elder trees are coming up throughout the field. I would also expect to see seedlings of sweet gum, sycamore and hackberry. Succession is a remarkable process by which plants occur in a sequential and predictable fashion as the site ages. Old fields such as this are the classic example illustrating how plant communities progress towards a climax forest usually of large deciduous trees. However along a river, parts of the floodplain nearest the river may be in a long term stage of earlier succession due to the disturbance caused by periodic floods.
An unusual moth that came to porch lights was this giant leopard moth, a type of tiger moth. These adults live only a few days and are rarely seen. They exude a foul liquid and spread their wings to show a bright orange abdomen to scare off predators. http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/giant_leopard_moth.html
In late May our butterfly bushes are in full bloom and are attracting a wide variety of butterflies. The American lady is very similar to the painted lady which is a long distance migrant and widely spread over the globe. Several of our common butterflies are not attracted to flowers but to sweat and urine- the snout and hackberry emperor both come and light on our sweaty shoes and clothes and arms looking for sodium. Herbivorous animals often lack sodium and will go to great lengths to obtain it. The question mark is another species that is not seen at flowers but is attracted to salty substances. But even nectar feeding butterflies are attracted to salt- just put out a pan of sand saturated with NaCl and see how the butterflies come to “puddle” and drink the fluid. Feces will also attract butterflies anxious to obtain sodium.
My daughter in law planted some milkweeds from her home state of Utah and to my surprise the young plants attracted a mating pair of swamp milkweed leaf beetles which are brightly colored to warn predators that they are toxic. Just as do monarchs, milkweed tussock moths, and milkweed bugs ,the orange and black colors comprise a Mullerian mimicry complex protecting these herbivores and warning potential predators that they are toxic from the chemical compounds retained from the milkweed food.
Another beetle that I am always excited to see is the beautiful six spotted tiger beetle which is an amazing metallic green color. It flies around and hunts on foot for insects in sunny forest openings. It has huge jaws to catch prey. I am not aware of any explanation for its unusual color.
Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) are becoming quite common now and one of the most exciting to see is the huge “dragonhunter” which feeds on other dragonflies. I rarely see this amazing insect but come into contact with numerous smaller damselflies every day. Just to give one example here is a female powdered dancer that is common along the river sand banks. These tiny creatures are predators on small insects.
Birds are of course heavily involved in breeding in May and their songs fill the air if you can hear them despite the buzzing of the cicadas! They are often hard to see hidden by leaves but occasionally the local summer tanagers visit our water bath. The yellowish female is less shy and is rather well camouflaged. In contrast the male is a brilliant reddish color and seems shy about being seen too much in the open. It is interesting that the summer tanager males remain red throughout the year whereas male scarlet tanagers lose their red coloration when not breeding.
Bluebirds breed in our nest box and we see them often as they busily forage for their young in several sequential clutches. I wondered if their task of feeding so many babies might be less in this year of the cicadas and did see this male with a cicada meal in his beak. A closer view of the male shows off his marvelous blue color. You may be aware that blue feathers are a structural color not a pigment. (https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2021/12/28/nature-news-bluebirds-arent-blue-but-use-structural-coloration/9022497002/ ). Consider how different the wonderful pink colors of spoonbills are which are due to pigments in their food.
A common bird which will not win any beauty contests is the Carolina wren. But it is a bird that sings very loudly and likes to nest in human structures in small niches that provide some minimal protection from view. So when I went to get a tool in our workshop I was startled by a wren flying from a nest behind some tool handles. There were four beautifully mottled eggs in the nest and the female sits so low in the nest that you can hardly see her eyes. It is interesting that she sits very tightly on her nest even with me close by unless I look directly at her, when she immediately flies away.
May is one of my favorite months since so much new life is appearing, both animals and plants. Summer’s heat is yet to appear and walks almost any time of day can be wonderful. So get up off the couch and enjoy the outdoors- forget going to the gym- go out in nature and groove on the fantastic panoply of LIFE !