Fall Color Changes

You might expect this article to have photos of trees with leaves that have changed colors.

Well you are in for a surprise!

While roaming the South Meadow with my camera recently, I saw a Buckeye butterfly gliding along the bike path and over into the grass. I had seen the familiar and beautiful "eye" spots on top of its wings as it flew. 

When it landed on a blade of grass,

the butterfly's weight caused the blade to bend and the under wings were revealed.

The forewings had eye spots and and the hind ones were a solid color but not the usual tan.

Instead they looked like a muted, rosy pink. I thought that the afternoon sunlight had caused them to be that color. I shared the photos with my friend and butterfly expert Clyde Kessler, and he told me that I had photos of a fall generation of Buckeye called the "rosa" form. When I did some research online, I found that the rosy color on the wings is caused when the eggs hatch and the butterfly grows up during fall days that are shorter and have less sunlight. Those days and nights are also colder. This combination causes the lovely rosy color.

Welcome to Wildwood, Rosy!

Wouldn't it be great if these colorful critters could stay with us throughout the year?

Winter gets too cold for buckeyes so they will migrate south to the Carolinas and on as far as Florida.

See you next spring, Bucky

!

(Be sure to read the article "2010: The Year of the Common Buckeye" written by Clyde on 10-15-10)

Zebras? In Wildwood?

No way, you say!

Zebras don't go galloping through our valleys and over our ridges. Ridiculous!
However, I do find some lovely creatures as I wander with my camera. Several times I have taken photos of a very small moth - a Snowy Urola (Urola nivallis).

Snowy is an appropriate name because it is as white as snow.

One day, as I walked down the slope into the floodplain under the North Bridge, I saw a white flutter and thought that it might be Snowy. However, it was a little bigger and kept crawling under the grass and would not let me get a good look, much less a photo. I followed it along until it flew over the bike path and across the creek beyond where I could chase. Oh, well, there was a beautiful butterfly at the butterfly bush in the meadow.

I knew that this was a Spicebush Swallowtail because I could see the two rows of orange spots as it nectared on the sweet flowers. It was missing one of its "tails" and might have had a narrow escape when a bird tried to have it for lunch!


Something else flew to the bush with tiny wings beating rapidly like humming bird wings. But it wasn't a bird it was a moth - a Snowberry Clearwing (Himaris diffinis). It is sometimes called a humming bird moth because it uses its wings to hover as it sips nectar from flowers.

I walked back up to the bike path and saw that the Cup Plants were beginning to bloom, their bright yellow disks shinning in the sun.

Cup Plants have an unusual attachment of their leaves to the plant's stem:

The stem perfoliates or pierces through the fused leaves and forms - you guessed it - a cup!

Cup plants grow six to eight feet tall and rain water gathers in the cups.

I was still curious about the white moth that flew away from my camera, so I returned a couple of days later to that same slope. Yes, I saw the white flutter again! But again it flew up toward the bike path. That's okay, I could stay busy with plenty of other plants and critters. As I looked around for my next shot, I saw the familiar white flutter, and it was down near the creek this time. The chase was on! I snapped!

Ah, ha! I saw a wing tip! Now it became a game of Hide and Seek!

I snapped again - what a tease!

Oh, I liked what I saw! I got down on my hands and knees and set my camera carefully on the ground.

One final snap just before the white flutter flew away across the bike path again and was gone.

That was okay because I had won the game! I had a wonderful photo of the Zebra of Wildwood, a moth named Zebra Conchylodes (Conchylodes ovulalis). This zebra flies over our  valleys and ridges instead of galloping...
but it sort of looks like a zebra, don't you think?

One Wonderful Hour in Wildwood

After missing a couple of days in Wildwood, I returned on Monday afternoon, entering at the Main Street entrance. I have learned that I need to get my camera out of its case before I get out of the car so that I don't miss a good photo op. As soon as I got around the gate, I was greeted by a fresh and lovely Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilo glaucus). It fluttered up to the top of a thistle plant that was higher than my head and tip-toed across the flower.

    

While I was shooting the butterfly, a humming bird almost bumped my nose with its beak - I don't know who was more surprised by that! Eastern Tigers have a wingspan of over four inches, and they are also Virginia's  official state insect.
I moved on around the wetland area and immediately saw a tiny flutter near my boot tops - Virginia's smallest butterfly, a Least Skipper ( Anclyoxypha numitor) was resting on a plant stem.

The tiny wings glow like bright orange sparkles in sunlight and this one even opened its wings to reveal the top side of those wings -  a sight that I had never seen before!

      And another later opened its wings even more. Ah, I saw some orange on the topside, also.

On a nearby leaf of bittersweet nightshade, my camera found an old friend - a Tater Bug (Leptinotarsa juncta) also known as a False Potato Beetle. Its handsome colors make it very photogenic.

Just above the Nighshade on a leaf of the taller Jewelweed , a Variable Dancer (Agria fummipennis) paused long enough for me to get a quick shot. It had a rich purple color in the filtered sunlight.

Moving on across the wetland, I soon spotted my newest favorite butterfly - a Giant Swallowtail (Papilo cresphotes). I really get excited when I see one of those - the wingspan can be as much as 5 1/2 inches. It's easy to see why it is one of the largest butterflies in North America. Until Monday, I hadn't gotten a very good look at those yellow underwings.

Earlier I had seen its rich chocolate brown upper wings and as it fluttered on the swamp milkweed flowers, I could get glimpses of each side all in one lively blur. I could even see the yellow "eye" on the tip of its tail and could hear the soft flap of its huge wings. 

 As I watched, another Giant joined the first, then another, and another - four in all! What an aerial show!
I eventually put my camera aside and just enjoyed the moment. A humming bird - perhaps the one that had almost collided with me - flew through the twirling butterflies, scattering them back to the flowers. I opened my camera again to capture the latest addition to the scene - a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilo troilus).

 

Butterflies love Swamp Milkweed and so do tiny Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle larvae. While standing very close to a leaf, I saw one of those dear little creatures crawling slowly along a leaf and a stem. Slow crawlers help make good photos. Is that a shy smile that I see?

Just before storm clouds gathered enough to begin a sprinkle of rain and send me home to my husband Lou and the welcome dinner he usually has prepared for me, I reflected on the joyous hour I had spent with the Wildwood visitors and dwellers, and I knew that I could relive it in my mind with the help of my photographs. How privileged I felt...

GLEN ALTON OUTING

At this pond, you can often see many species of dragonfly. Today we saw few, but the snag trees were busy with birds, including hummers bossing everything around. Photo © Ray Callahan



A cloudy day, but an enjoyable, early morning trip to Glen Alton. Photo © Ray Callahan

Saturday morning (July 16th)at Glen Alton was cloudy and rather cool, relative to the hot weather of the last few days. It was cool enough that few insects were flying. Exceptions were bumblebees and they were everywhere even nectaring on plantain flowers.

Ray Callahan and I visited there to find dragonflies but found only two: a meadowhawk (Sympetrum) that was just emerging from the skin of its old nymph shell; and a female Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis). The Blue Dasher could barely fly because of the low temperature.

We did find a few species of damselfly:

Swamp Spreadwing (Lestes vigilax)
Aurora Damselfly (Chromagrion conditum)
Variable Dancer (Argia fumipennis)
Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis)
Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata)

We saw only a few species of butterflies:

Eastern Tailed-Blue (Everes comyntas)
Northern Pearly-Eye (Enodia anthedon)
Common Wood-Nymph (Cercyonis pegala)

Birds were easy to locate, we found 45 species. Highlights included watching a pair of flickers feeding their babies. The young ones would stretch their heads slightly out of the nest cavity (in a large dead pine) and a parent would put food inside their mouths. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were everywhere, saw twelve at least, probably a lot more. These were all crazy and feisty, diving at and chasing other birds from Scarlet Tanagers to Phoebes to warblers.

Glen Alton by the way is a great place for nature watching and discovery. It is located in Giles County. You can find five species of thrushes in nesting season: Eastern Bluebird, Veery, Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, & American Robin. Also Brown Creepers and Red-breasted Nuthatches are known to nest there. There are also scads of singing Blackburnian Warblers.

Many species of dragonfly and damselfly can be found there during the summer. Just not this morning.

Glen Alton is a great place for an easy stroll. There are several ponds for fishing. I plan on posting more about the place later this summer and fall. Stay tuned.



Appropriately enough several Barn Swallows would sally back and forth from this old barn. There were likely nests inside. Photo © Ray Callahan

Drama in Wildwood

WARNING: If you are squeamish or terribly tender-hearted  stop reading now!

On Tuesday, I took my camera to the Eighth Avenue entrance of Wildwood. Skipper butterflies love the Everlasting Peas (Lathryus latifolius) that grow there and often come to nectar. As soon as I arrived at the area, a Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) greeted me and agreed to pose for photos for a few minutes in the gravels of the road, its colors glowing in the sunlight.

I ambled on to see what I could find in the peas and in the Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) that had started flowering. 

Almost immediately I saw a male Sachem Skipper (Atalopedes campestris) resting on a leaf. 

He soon fluttered off to find a bloom, and I followed him with my camera. But wait - there was a green leaf blocking his tiny wing. As I reached carefully for the "leaf", I discovered that it was a leg - and it belonged to a young praying mantis!!!

Oh, no! That dear little butterfly had been captured by a predator.

Amazed, I continued snapping pictures.

 

Although I was heart-broken for the victim, I knew that the captor needed a good lunch. 

Such is the paradox of nature. 

Welcome Back!

After traveling home yesterday from a short vacation in Richmond , I was eager to to get out to Wildwood with my camera. Actually, I'm usually eager to get out to Wildwood even when I've been at home! 

I began my walk in the Park at the Eighth Avenue entrance. The cell tower is up there and it's easy to make a quick check of what's happening in that open area. 

I soon began snapping photos of flowers and butterflies and bugs. One little brown butterfly gently fluttered by, stopped to rest in the grass, and allowed me to get close enough to take several shots. I did not recognize the species, and I wanted to get home to get a closer look at its image in my computer.

After dinner, I began my search. I soon realized that I had found an extremely rare critter that had made its home in Wildwood for at least eighteen years according to Clyde Kessler, who also confirmed my identification. These insects are also extremely local within their range. He had told me to be on the lookout for them, but we had not seen any at all last summer. We feared that aggressive spraying under the power lines might have harmed the insect or its habitat.What a joy to discover that our friends had only taken a year's vacation. Even a Northern Metalmark (Calephelis borealis) knows that Wildwood is a wonderful place!

The Northern Metalmark likes limestone and dolomite so the Elbrook Formation of Wildwood is a perfect place for the lovely creature's habitat. It loves to nectar on Butterflyweed but will be satisfied with Rosinweed, Oxeye Daisy, Mountain Mints, and such. For laying eggs and feeding larvae they need Ragworts (Packera) - particularly Round-leaf Ragwort (P. obovata) and Prairie Ragwort (P. plattensis). 

These plants grow in the Wildwood. 

Take a close look at the photo above. Can you see how the Metalmark got its name? Clyde says that when the sunlight catches their wings just right, the markings look to him like embossed silver threaded into the wings. They almost always land and perch with their wings open and flat so that getting a photo or even a look at their underwing is not easy. The mostly dark pattern allows them to be camouflaged and hidden from predators. They are reasonably calm when perched, so I was able to get my camera close and on the ground when one was perched on a low limestone rock and got the photos below of the light colored underwing as it slowly lifted itself on its four long back legs. Notice the two very short front legs - this is a characteristic of the male of this species. Females have two long front legs as well as four long back legs.

Now you can get a glimpse of the metal marks that give the butterfly its name. How about those compound eyes! Many insects use those as an excuse to dart away when a human puts a camera in their face. Love that calm...I snapped several shots and then wished that the critter would fold its wings up. It did raise them a bit, enough for me to feel successful with getting several views.

     

Metalmarks enjoy open glades, road cuts, power line cuts (without spray!), all with limestone soils. In most areas there is only one brood flying from mid June to mid July.

We must take care to guard the habitat of these small jewels and do all that is possible to ensure that they always find a comfortable and inviting home in Radford.

Welcome back to Wildwood, gentle friends!

...passing through...

Many people and animals pass through Wildwood Park on their way to another destination. On May 20, I was substitute teaching at Belle Heth Elementary School and had the pleasure of accompanying three third grade classes to Bisset Park so that they could meet their pen pals from Riverlawn Elementary School and get acquainted over a picnic lunch. Mrs. Woolwine knew that I would enjoy the day as much as her students. 

A police escort cleared the short stretch of Second Avenue and Park Road and met us at the school. Students were eager to have the opportunity to walk with me through the Park and see places that I had shown them in photographs.

Walking through the tunnel was quite a noisy time - imagine 60 nine-year-olds trying to out-scream each other. We arrived at Bisset  in time to play a while before our Pulaski County friends got there, but soon students were busy meeting each other, asking lots of questions as they ate lunch together.

Our police escort was called to see us safely out of the park and back up the hill to school. Their small electric car was even able to drive down the bike path to see where we were so that other police officers and regular cars would be ready to guard intersections for us. We declared the day a fun and successful outing!

On Saturday, May 28, bike riders came through the Park as part of  the Wilderness Road Ride. Of course, I was there with my camera to see a few of the participants. Some whizzed by in a hurry. Perhaps riding in tandem allows you to ride faster?

                   Others were more leisurely. Can you guess what a recumbent bike is?

                    All of the bikers were glad to be coming to the end of their day's journey.

When I decided that I had taken enough pictures (Do I ever really take enough?!!) and needed to head home for lunch, I walked up to Main Street to take one more look down into the Park from above the tunnel. Imagine my surprise when I looked down the sidewalk and saw five horses coming along the walk with riders on two of them. Of course, I asked whether I could take photos, and the riders said, "Please do!" Chris and Shauna had begun traveling from Dallas, Texas, on March 8, 2011, and were on their way to New York City. They had decided to take the long journey to get attention for childhood cancer and hoped to raise $3,000.00 $1.00 for each mile of the round-trip) for Heroes for Children. They didn't actually pass through Wildwood but I thought that you would like to see them and  read about them.

NOTE: Be sure to take a look at the sidebar photos to see a few of the dogs that pass through the Park with their owners. Those dogs do their part to help keep their owners in shape!