24 March 2012: Threatened Plant Communities of North Carolina: A Student Presentation at the North Carolina Botanical Garden

Threatened Plant Communities of North Carolina: A Student Presentation at the North Carolina Botanical Garden

You are cordially invited to a reception for the showcase of “Threatened Plant Communities of North Carolina: A Student Presentation” at the Education Center of the North Carolina Botanical Garden - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday, March 24 anytime between 12:00 PM until 3:00 PM.

Students from Duke University’s first-year writing course W20. From Woods to Words will display twelve informative and inspirational posters on the threatened plant communities of North Carolina. Food and drink will also be available.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Nicolette Cagle at nicolette.cagle (at) duke.edu.

References:

NatureServe. 2011. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. (Accessed: August 18, 2011 ).

Noss, R. F. and R. L. Peters. 1995. Endangered Ecosystems: A Status Report on America’s Vanishing Habitat and Wildlife. Defenders of Wildlife: Washington, D.C. 133 pp.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: February in the Piedmont

Birds.− In 1936, writer and naturalist Donald Culross Peattie opined that “February is a good month in which to make friends with the birds of a great city.” Perhaps Peattie is correct: In the heart of winter in North Carolina, not many changes are occurring in the bird world. In fact, the most active birds seem to be those frequent visitors of feeders: Carolina wrens begin pairing up and building nests, as do non-native house sparrows.

By the end of the month, purple martins and tree swallows will begin to reappear. Barred owls begin hooting their mating calls. Also, woodcocks begin their elaborate courtships in February. It is worth braving the cold this month to watch male woodcocks spiral skyward and fall rapidly back down to earth making a distinct “peenting” call in hopes of attracting a mate.

Butterflies.− Many of our over-wintering butterfly species will re-emerge this month. Near forested habitats, one might expect to see question marks, eastern commas and mourning cloaks. In open habitats (e.g., fields and roadsides), expect to find American ladies, late sulphurs, orange sulphurs, clouded sulphurs and cabbage whites, a commonly seen species that was introduced from Europe. Other species sighted in Durham in February include sleepy oranges, American snouts and even variegated fritillaries.

Remember: The Carolinas are home to five families of butterflies: the skippers (Hesperiidae), gossamer wings (Lycaenidae), brush-foots (Nymphalidae), swallowtails (Papilionidae) and the sulphurs and whites (Pieridae). Each of these families can be divided into a number of sub-families with distinct identifying characteristics.

This month, we will consider another sub-family of the brush-foots: the emperors (Apaturinae). Apaturinids tend to be fast and nervous butterflies, often found perched on tree trunks or feeding on carrion, rotting fruit and dung. They will land on people, taking salt from arms and finger-tips. Resident Piedmont Apaturinids include the tawny emperor (Asterocampa clyton) and the hackberry emperor (Asterocampa celtis), medium-sized orange-brown butterflies with dark brown-black spots. Found in moist woods, along streams, and in backyards, both of these species lay creamy-white eggs on the leaves of hackberries (Celtis occidentalis) and sugarberries (Celtis laevigata); however, the tawny emperor lays large clusters on the underside of the leaves and the hackberry emperor lays single eggs or small clusters.

Reptiles & Amphibians.− This month, expect to hear southeastern chorus frogs and spring peepers. You might also catch the sharp, repetitive clinking of a northern cricket frog, the musical trill of an American toad, the low-pitched croak of the pickerel frog or the sheep-like bleat of the eastern spadefoot. Also, continue to look for breeding salamanders.

In Bloom this Month.− Look out for these February fruits and flowers:

In Bloom (*in some years):

RED MAPLE – Acer rubrum

HAZEL ALDER – Alnus serrulata

ROUND LOBED HEPATICA – Anemone americana

*EASTERN SPRING-BEAUTY – Claytonia virginica

*AMERICAN TROUT-LILY – Erythronium americanum

*CAROLINA JESSAMINE – Gelsemium sempervirens

*LITTLE HEARTLEAF – Hexastylis minor

BLUETS – Houstonia sp.

In Fruit:

BEAUTY BERRY – Callicarpa americana

SUGARBERRY - Celtis laevigata

HEARTS-A-BUSTIN’ – Euonymus americanus

AMERICAN HOLLY - Ilex opaca

February is a great month to eradicate any non-native, invasive plant species growing on your property, many of which are easy to identify even in the middle of winter. In the southeastern United States, most invasive species arrived from Europe or southeast Asia (areas that share the deciduous forest biome). These species have arrived accidentally (e.g., Microstegium, an invasive grass, arrived as packing material), as well as intentionally (e.g., the princess tree was introduced by horticulturalists.) Once an invasive species gets a foot-hold, it can alter the vegetation structure of a community, change food resources for wildlife, and even affect ecosystem-level processes such as sedimentation, erosion, soil chemistry and fire regimes.

Important Terms:

Exotic species – a non-native plant that will grow, but not spread in a given ecosystem

Invasive species – a non-native species that will spread and cause harm in a given ecosystem

Native species – a species that historically occurred in a given ecosystem

Noxious weed – any plant whose presence is detrimental to crops or desirable plants, livestock, land, other property or is injurious to public health (note: can be native)

Notable invasive plant species in our area:

Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense)

Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)

Common reed (Phragmites australis)

English ivy (Hedera helix)

Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata)

Japanese stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum)

Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)

Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)

Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)

Princesstree (Paulownia tomentosa)

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia)

Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata)

Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

Plant Profile.− This month’s plant profile is the ALLEGHENY CHINKAPIN (Castanea pumila).

“The Allegheny chinkapin [may] well be our most ignored and undervalued native North American nut tree.” – Payne et al., 1993

The Allegheny chinkapin (Castanea pumila), also known as the American, eastern, common or tree chinkapin[i]^{, [ii]}, was first mentioned in Captain John Smith’s 1612 account of Virginia, where local American Indians called it checkinquamin⁶. Like its congener, the nearly extinct American chestnut (Castanea dentata), the Allegheny chinkapin bears sweet, dark nuts, smaller than those of the American chestnut, but still coveted by chipmunks, deer, deermice, rabbits, squirrels, along with bobwhites, grouse and wild turkeys ^{2, [iii], [iv]}. The Allegheny chinkapin is also the larval host of the orange-tipped oakworm moth (Anisota senatoria)¹³.

The Allegheny chinkapin is found up to 4,500 feet elevation in the dry woods and rocky uplands of Appalachia and the southeastern United States, as well as in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas ^{1, [v], 6}. This species is recorded in most counties in North Carolina, including northeastern-most Ashe county and southern-most Brunswick County ⁷. Hardy to zone 5 ⁹, the Allegheny chinkapin grows in full sun to light shade and thrives in well-drained soils and those rich in organic matter ^{8, 10}.

Allegheny chinkapins clump into shrubby thickets or grow into small trees[vi]. As a small tree, it can stretch 40 feet into the sky and obtain diameters of up to one and a half feet ^{6, 8}. The toothed, bristled tipped leaves are 6 – 20 cm long, 2.5 – 5 cm wide with a whitish, velvet underside and green top ^{6, 7}. The twigs are also woolly with buds much smaller than the related American beech (Fagus grandifolia)^{1, 7}.Whitish flowers, in upright catkins 4 – 6 inches in length, bloom in July in North Carolina^{6, 7}. While dark brown fruits or nuts, covered in a spiny involucres or cupules, mature in September or October⁷.

The small, egg-shaped chinkapin nuts are produced on trees by the second or third growing season, with 1,200 to 1,500 nuts being produced per tree by the sixth year⁴. These sweet nuts are 5% fat, 5% protein, 40% starch and 50% water². The leaves of the Allegheny chinkapin have been used medicinally to treat fevers associated with the common cold ^{9, 11, 12}.

Threats to the Allegheny chinkapin included weevils and other beetles². Although the Allegheny chinkapin is largely resistant to the fungus that decimated the American chestnut, some plants have been affected by the blight². This species is considered threatened in Kentucky and endangered in New Jersey⁵.

Additional References:

Cook, D. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Chapel Hill, NC: Mystic Crow Publishing.

Daniels, J. C. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.

Peattie, D. C. 16 Feb 1936. “Birds that are New Yorkers.” New York Times Magazine.

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[i] Petrides, G. A. 1988. A Field Guide to Eastern Trees. Houghton-Mifflin, New York.

[ii] Payne, J. A., G. P. Johnson, and G. Miller. 1993. Chinkapin: potential new crop for the south, p. 500-505 In J. Janick and J. E. Simon (eds.), New Crops, Wiley: New York.

[iii] Halls, L. K. 1977. Southern fruit producing wood plants used by wildlife. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service General Technical Report SO-16, New Orleans.

[iv] http://plants.nrcs.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_capu9.pdf [accessed 10 January 2010]

[v] http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CAPU9 [accessed 10 January 2010]

6 Little, E. L. 1980. National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

7 Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles and C. R. Bell. 1983. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

8 Holmes. J. S. 2002. Common Forest Trees of North Carolina (revised, 18^th ed). North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, Division of Forest Resources, Raleigh, N.C.

9 http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Castanea+pumila [accessed 10 January 2010]

10 http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/castanea_pumila.html [accessed 10 January 2010]

11 Moerman, D. 1998. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.

¹² Weiner, M. A. 1980. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballentine Books Fawcett Columbine, New York.

¹³ http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CAPU9 [accessed 10 January 2010]

Roosevelt-Ashe Society Call for Conservation Award Nominations

Know an outstanding environmental educator, conservation volunteer, or philanthropist? If so, nominate them for the Roosevelt-Ashe Conservation Award. Nominations will be accepted until Friday, February 10.

http://wildsouth.org/index.php/roosevelt-ashe-society/529-call-for-conservation-award-nominees

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: January in the Piedmont

Birds.− In the depth of winter, as you walk through the quiet woods, you may come across a lone thrush standing at attention with its delicately speckled throat exposed. Although the hermit thrush is a gifted songster, its song is muted until arriving at its breeding territory to the Canada and the western United States in spring. As the hermit thrush leaves the Piedmont, the wood thrush -- with its rufous wings and boldly spotted breast – arrives to mesmerize North Carolinians with its haunting call.

In January, many people are afflicted by winter birding doldrums. Yet, winter is a great time to watch busy birds from the comfort of your own home. Many species visit well-stocked feeders, including Carolina wrens, brown-headed nuthatches, white-breasted nuthatches, Carolina chickadees, northern cardinals, white-throated and white-crowned sparrows, and finches. Woodpeckers often frequent feeders, especially downy woodpeckers and flickers.

Winter is also a great time to go out and find abandoned bird nests. Take plenty of pictures and notes for identification, but please leave those gems in place, since birds may re-use the nest or the materials from these nests in the next breeding season. Birds of prey often repair old nests and use them again, while passerines (i.e., songbirds) tend to build new nests each season.

This time of year, you may find your backyard birds primping and preening. Preening, a daily ritual, keeps feathers smooth and in good condition in two ways: first, by aligning the fine parallel branches of the feather, called barbs, which are covered by microscopic hooks that interlock; preening also helps spread oil, usually gathered from a gland near their rump, onto their feathers. This preen oil was once thought to waterproof feathers, but biologists now believe that it serves either as a feather conditioner or a chemical repellent to combat fungal growth and parasites. Either way, daily feather care is essential to birds’ health, reproductive success and survival.

Butterflies.− A few butterflies manage to sneak out in January, especially sulphurs and whites (family: Pieridae), but sightings are rare.

Reptiles & Amphibians.− Expect to hear chorus frogs and spring peepers on warm, wet January days. The calls of southeastern chorus frogs resemble the noise of someone running their thumb over a plastic comb, while spring peepers charm with distinctive “peeping”.

Spotted salamanders will appear in breeding ponds towards the end of the month on warm rainy nights with plenty of moonlight. Found in the Piedmont’s deciduous and mixed forests home, spotted salamanders spend most of summer and winter below ground. However, in late January and early February, they emerge to begin their magnificent courtships in ponds and slow streams.

In Bloom this Month.− The bright red berries of our native hollies (North Carolina is home to at least ten species), including the deciduous holly (also known as possumhaw, Ilex decidua) and American holly (Ilex opaca) still cling to frosted branches. The brilliant berries, technically referred to as drupes, provide food for red foxes, gray squirrels, white-tailed deer, raccoons, eastern box turtles and many bird species, including wild turkeys, mourning doves, cedar waxwings, American goldfinches, and northern cardinals. Although wildlife devours these fruits, holly berries can make humans quite sick.

The remnants of the spiny, ball-like sweetgum fruit can also be seen still holding fast to lower branches. Each of these distinctive balls is actually composed of many beaked capsules, which each contain two tiny, black seeds.

In Bloom (in some years):

ROUND-LOBED HEPATICA – Anemone americana

BLUETS – Houstonia sp.

In Fruit:

BEAUTY BERRY – Callicarpa americana

SUGAR BERRY - Celtis laevigata

HEARTS-A-BUSTIN’ – Euonymus americanus

AMERICAN HOLLY - Ilex opaca

Historical Anecdote: White Fringe Tree, Old Man’s Beard – Chionanthus virginicus

“Only a little tree at best, 30 to 40 feet high, with a very slim-waisted trunk, the Fringetree is as gracile and feminine-seeming as any that grows beside the rushing stream or climbs the warm slopes of the Blue Ridge under the shelter of sturdier growths…If it has no economic importance, it contributes to the higher things of life: it is a raving beauty when in mid-spring it is loaded from top to bottom with the airest, most ethereal yet showy flowers boasted by any member of our northern sylva. A faint sweet fragrance breathes subtly from the flowers. In autumn the leaves turn a clear bright yellow.” – Donald Culross Peattie, 1948, A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America

References:

Harrison, H. 1975. Peterson Field Guides Eastern Birds’ Nests. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Daniels, J. C. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.

Cook, D. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Chapel Hill, NC: Mystic Crow Publishing.

Peattie, D. C. 1948. A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: November in the Piedmont

Birds.− By November, the fall migration has usually ended. The wood thrushes have disappeared, replaced by the melodic hermit thrush until springtime. November also marks the return of juncos and a number of sparrows, including tree, fox, white-throated and white-crowned sparrows. You can also expect to see more duck species, especially common golden-eyes and hooded mergansers. If you are very lucky, you might catch a glimpse of short-eared or northern saw-whet owls, which are sometimes spied in the Triangle during the winter months.

This time of year the nuthatch-like brown creeper will start showing up on tree trunks, along with winter wrens (smaller and more shy than our year-round Carolina wrens), and kinglets. In winter, the Piedmont of North Carolina is home to two kinglet species. The ruby-crowned kinglet (Regulus calendula) is a tiny, olive-green bird with a white-eye ring; males sport a bright red spot on their crown. Always in motion, the ruby-crowned kinglet gleans small insects and their eggs from the branches, bark and leaves of trees. Golden-crowned kinglets (Regulus satrapa), also small, olive and constantly flicking their wings, have black stripes going through their eyes and white eyebrows, while the males sport a yellow crown with a bright orange dot in the center.

Woodpeckers make their home in the Piedmont year-round, with one exception, the yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius). These active birds can be recognized by their black and white back and wings, red forehead and yellow breast; males also have a red throat. Found throughout the eastern United States, this woodpecker in well-known for drilling a series of small wells in trees, from which it laps up sap and feeds on the cambium of the tree. These wells also attract insects and are used by other birds species.

Butterflies.− Butterfly watchers can expect a decline in butterfly sightings this month, but you might still see some of the sulphurs and whites (family: Pieridae). The few plants in bloom become very attractive for still-active pollinators: sulphurs often feed from our autumn-flowering asters.

Most adult butterflies are very short-lived, surviving only a couple of weeks after emerging from their chrysalises. Some species can survive several months, migrating in winter or over-wintering as adults. Piedmont butterflies that over-winter locally as adults are often seen early in spring on occasional warm days, these include the American snout, question mark, eastern comma, and mourning cloak.

Reptiles & Amphibians.− Expect to find a few copperheads warming themselves on the roads at night this month. Also, look out for red-backed salamanders and box turtles.

Other Insects.− This month, even after a couple light frosts, leaf-footed bugs (Family: Coreidae) can still be seen. Coreids are slow moving, true bugs named for the leaf-like projections on their hind limbs. Many leaf-footed bugs eat fruit, but if you find them on your squash or elderberry bush, beware: they have stink glands! Crickets and cicadas will quiet down this month, and the orb weaver spiders disappear. Watch out for wasps and yellow jackets while hiking and exploring.

In Bloom this Month.− Be on the lookout for these November fruits and flowers:

In Bloom:

BEARDED BEGGARSTICKS - Bidens aristosa

BLUE MISTFLOWER - Conoclinium coelestinum

WHITE WOOD-ASTER – Eurybia divaricata

WITCH HAZEL - Hamamelis virginiana

SCARLET ROSE-MALLOW – Hibiscus coccineus

BLACK-EYED SUSAN – Rudbeckia fulgida

GOLDENROD(S) – Solidago spp.

FROST ASTER(S) - Symphyotrichum spp.

In Fruit:

PERSIMMON – Diospyros virginiana

BEAUTY BERRY – Callicarpa americana

HEARTS-A-BUSTIN’ – Euonymus americanus

AMERICAN HOLLY - Ilex opaca

CORAL HONEYSUCKLE - Lonicera sempervirens

PASSION FLOWER – Passiflora spp.

FOX GRAPES – Vitis labrusca (thanks Katie Rose!)

MUSCADINES – Vitis rotundifolia

Wildlife Profile.− Although the Piedmont is home to a number of fascinating squirrel (Family: Sciuridae) species (e.g., southern flying squirrels, eastern chipmunks, fox squirrels and woodchucks), the focus of this month’s wildlife profile is the ubiquitous and ever busy EASTERN GRAY SQUIRREL (Sciurus carolinensis).

A denizen of woodland and suburban habitats, the eastern gray squirrel feeds mostly on the nuts and flowers of oaks, hickories, walnuts and beeches. They also consume the fruits and seeds of other species, and will even eat herbaceous plants, fungi and insects. This time of year, backyard observers might see squirrels busily burying their food in a method called “scatter hoarding,” whereby squirrels bury small amounts of food in hundreds of small caches, which they later find using an impressive combination of memory and smell. Those caches left unused after the lean winter months germinate, thus filling the important ecological role of effectively dispersing the seeds of Piedmont trees.

A promiscuous (i.e., an ecological term, not a personal judgment) species, male and female eastern gray squirrels will both take multiple mates each season. Mating takes place in both winter (December to February) and late spring (April to June), with many females bearing two litters of two to eight young per year. Approximately 44 days after mating, baby squirrels are born naked, except for tiny hairs used for touch surrounding their nose and mouth. After 10 weeks of maternal care, squirrels begin to find food on their own.

Did you know?

• Eastern gray squirrels are originally native to the eastern United States, but have been introduced to the western U.S., Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
• They communicate via tail flicking and vocalizations.
• Eastern gray squirrels use two types of homes: a permanent tree den and nest of leaves and twigs 30-45 feet above the ground.
• Black-coated squirrels occur more often in the north, while studies show that black animals have lower heat loss than their grey conspecifics.

References:

Cook, Dave. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Mystic Crow Publishing.

Daniels, J. C. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.

Ingold, J. L., and G. E. Wallace. 1994. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula). In The Birds of North America, No. 119 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Ingold, J. L., and R. Galati. 1997. Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa). In The Birds of North America, No. 301 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

Lawniczak, M. 2002. "Sciurus carolinensis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 03, 2010 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sciurus_carolinensis.html.

LeGrand, H. E. Jr. 2009. Notes on the Butterflies of North Carolina. Available at: http://149.168.1.196/nbnc/

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: October in the Piedmont

Birds.− October marks the beginning of food-caching -- a food storage strategy developed to sustain year-round avian residents throughout the lean winter. Caching strategies vary by species: red-bellied woodpeckers might store acorns in holes high up in the cracks and cavities of trees, while American crows might simply thrust a left-over meal into the loose soil on the ground. Great horned owls have even been known to thaw out cached meals of mice and insects by sitting on them like eggs!

This October, a number of winter residents will return to the Piedmont. Lucky observers might discover a common loon or even a horned grebe, a small water bird that can travel 500 feet underwater and stay there for up to three minutes. Migrant warblers continue to pass through North Carolina as they head towards the neotropics for the winter, often flocking with those food-hoarding Carolina chickadees and tufted titmice. Meanwhile, sightings of chimney swifts, most swallow species and ruby-throated hummingbirds continue to diminish this month.

Although peaking in September, broad-winged hawks continue to migrate south this month, returning to their winter homes in the Caribbean and South America. This time of year, they are sometimes seen kettling, or wheeling and circling in groups of tens to hundreds of broad-winged hawks that are sometime joined by ospreys and American kestrels. These magnificent buteos, with their broad wings and round tails, make use of thermal and deflective currents (i.e., currents that form when air is forced upward after hitting the side of a mountain) to ease their journey southward. Although rare, large groups of broad-winged hawks occasionally fly through the Piedmont in early October: in 2009, 125 broad-winged hawks were reported flying over Greensboro, NC.

Butterflies & Moths.− Butterfly watchers can expect a decline in butterfly sightings this month, with the exception of some of the sulphurs and whites (family: Pieridae). Sleepy oranges will be out showing off the dark reddish-orange undersides that many butterflies sport in fall and winter. Many skippers can still be seen this month, including the brown and white patterned common checkered skipper, and dark brown, white flecked clouded skippers. Monarchs continue to migrate southward this month to their winter residence in Mexico.

In late September and early October, plenty of bizarre caterpillars can be found. They may look soft and cuddly, but many sport stinging hairs. The variable oakleaf moth caterpillar, and its nearly identical congener – the double-lined prominent, is one species that roams the Triangle during October. The caterpillar is green, with faint white stripes and straight black hairs and gives the impression that it is coming out of its skin. These caterpillars feed voraciously on the foliage of oaks, preferring white oaks. This species overwinters in cocoons beneath leaf litter on the ground, and emerges as drab grayish-tan adults in late spring.

Reptiles & Amphibians.− Continue to keep an eye out for snakes and turtles, especially copperheads that become especially well-camouflaged after the leaves begin to fall. Although you may still hear frogs and toads calling this month, large choruses won’t start up again until January.

Other Insects.− This month, keep an eye open for garden spider and praying mantis egg cases. Also, the work of twig girdlers (Oncideres cingulata) becomes evident in the form of neatly broken twig ends littering the forest floor. In late summer, female twig girdlers – large, dusky beetles – lay their eggs at the tip of a branch, and girdle the twig so that eventually it falls off, allowing her offspring to overwinter in and eventually feed on the twig and surrounding debris.

This month, look out for green lynx spiders, medium bright green spiders that ambush their prey. This time of year, some spiders will be perched on shrubs and flowers hunting bumblebees, butterflies and moths, while many female green lynx spiders are vigorously protecting large egg cases containing 200 eggs.

In Bloom this Month.− Be on the lookout for some striking October flowers; the subtle beauty of our native grasses in flower is especially interesting.

In Bloom:

WINGSTEM – Actinomeris alternifolia

BLUE MISTFLOWER - Conoclinium coelestinum

COMMON SNEEZEWEED - Helenium autumnale

SCARLET ROSE-MALLOW – Hibiscus coccineus

BLACK-EYED SUSAN – Rudbeckia sp.

APPALACHIAN BLAZING STAR – Liatris squarrolosa

GREAT LOBELIA – Lobelia siphilitica
DOWNY LOBELIA – Lobelia puberula

ROSINWEED(S) – Silphium spp.

GOLDENROD(S) – Solidago spp.

INDIAN GRASS – Sorghastrum nutans

IRONWEED(S) - Vernonia spp

In Fruit:

HEARTS-A-BUSTIN’ – Euonymus americanus

MUSCADINES – Vitis rotundifolia

Wildlife Profile.− This month’s wildlife profile is the TUSSOCK MOTH (Family: Erebidae, Subfamilies: Arctiinae & Lymantriinae), in honor of the numerous tussock moth caterpillars that can be found in early fall. These caterpillars look fuzzy, covered with tufts of hair-like setae and adorned with extra long tufts referred to as “hair pencils”.

The caterpillars range in color from cream with white and black tufts (like the Banded Tussock Moth, Halysidota tessellaris) to bright orange and black with white hair pencils (like the Spotted Tussock Moth, Lophocampa maculata.) The Banded Tussock Moth caterpillars feed on hackberry and oak, among many other trees. In autumn, they form gray cocoons and remain as pupa over-winter. Adults are tan with dark tan bands etched in black stretching across their wings. They also have hairy teal and orange thorax (right behind the head). To make themselves distasteful to predators, adult moths acquire alkaloid compounds from the leaves of plants. To do this, they regurgitate on the leaves of decaying plants and then drink the fluid, now mixed with alkaloids from the surface of the leaf, back up.

Some setae of these wondrously wild caterpillars produce a painful and poisonous sting, such as the White-Marked Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma) with its distinctive red head, black and white striped body and four dense tufts (in white, gray or yellow) on its first four abdominal segments. White-Marked Tussock Moth larva are also known for occasionally defoliating maples and elms in urban areas, although they feed on a wide variety of both deciduous and coniferous tree species. This species produces at least two generations each year, with one generation over-wintering in the egg stage. The flight-less female moth actually lays a frothy mass of nearly 300 eggs on top of her old gray cocoon. Males are fairly plain looking with greyish wings with a mottling of wavy black lines and a white spot.

Other tussock moth caterpillars are found in the Triangle this time of year as well, including the Sycamore Tussock Moth (Halysidota harrisii, which my neighbor recently showed me), the Milkweed Tussock Moth (Euchaetes egle) and the Variable Tussock Moth (Dasychira vagans).

Did you know?

· Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillars feed voraciously on sycamore leaves, with young larvae feeding close together.

· Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars acquire chemical defenses from milkweed and dogbane plants, which the adult moths retain.

· Many tussock moths have one generation per year in the northern United States and two in the south.

References:

National Audobon Society. 1980. Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. New York, New York: Chanticleer Press.

Conant, R., and J.T. Collins. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, MA.

Cook, Dave. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Mystic Crow Publishing.

Daniels, J. C. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.

Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye (1988). The Birder's Handbook. New York: Simon & Schuster.

LeGrand, H. E. Jr. 2009. Notes on the Butterflies of North Carolina. Available at: http://149.168.1.196/nbnc/

Palmer, W. M. and A. L. Braswell. 1995. Reptiles of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

Wagner, DM. 2005. Caterpillars of eastern North America. Princeton University Press.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/variableOLC/voc.htm

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/green_lynx_spider.htm#dist

http://www.ento.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/twiggirdler.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halysidota_tessellaris

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgyia_leucostigma

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euchaetes_egle

http://wiki.bugwood.org/Archive:Sycamore/Sycamore_Tussock_Moth

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: September in the Piedmont

ON THE WILD SIDE

Birds.− September brings a number of winter residents back to the Piedmont, including the yellow-bellied sapsuckers, an occasional red-breasted nuthatch and a number of wrens (winter, sedge, marsh) and sparrows (swamp and white-throated). Ruby-crowned kinglets, tiny olive-grey birds with bright red spots on their crown, returned to the Piedmont this month after spending the summer in the coniferous forests of Canada and the northern United States. Migrant warblers continue to pass through North Carolina as they head towards the neotropics for the winter. Birders may even see snowy egrets, little blue herons and tricolored herons, which won’t return again to the Piedmont until early April.

Did you know that not all birds need to drink water? Hummingbirds rely on nectar to stay hydrated. Birds in arid areas may not drink at all either (think: ostriches.) Yet, most birds do drink to replenish fluids lost by breathing, excretion through skin and waste production. Some submerge their bills into the water and simply suck it up (e.g., doves). Other birds dip their bills into the water and then point up to the sky, letting the water fall back into their throat. A number of small bird species drink dew-drops.

Butterflies.− This time of year, butterflies are often surprisingly abundant. Look out for the usual suspects, including hackberry emperors gleaning sap from trees, tiger swallowtails puddling to uptake salts and other nutrients, and pearl crescents, whose caterpillars feed almost exclusively on asters.

Expect to see a pulse of cloudless sulphurs, little yellows and sleepy oranges this month. Swallowtail sightings will likely drop-off by mid-month, with the exception of the black swallowtail. Butterfly watchers can also expect to see gray and red-banded hairstreaks, gulf and variegated fritillaries, as well as an increased number of viceroy sightings. Monarchs may be seen as they migrate southward to their winter residence in Mexico.

The Carolinas are home to five families of butterflies: the skippers (Hesperiidae), gossamer wings (Lycaenidae), brush-foots (Nymphalidae), swallowtails (Papilionidae) and the sulphurs and whites (Pieridae). Each of these families can be divided into a number of sub-families, each having distinct identifying characteristics.

This month, we will consider the hairstreaks (subfamily: Theclinae), small and intricately patterned members of the gossamer wing family (Lycaenidae). Hairstreaks are named for the small hair-like tails on the end of each hindwing. These tails resemble antennae and, along with bright eyespots, trick predators into attacking the tips of the wings, rather than the soft body of the butterfly. Males and females usually differ in appearance (i.e., they are sexually dimorphic), but both sexes fly erratically and perch with their wings held together while moving their hindwings up and down. Gray hairstreaks (Strymon melinus), the most widely and commonly seen hairstreak in North Carolina, is particularly abundant in September. They are blue-gray below, with bright orange spots and a dark tail with a white tip. Gray hairstreaks prefer open sites, and larvae feed on partridge pea, vetch, clovers and other legumes.

Reptiles & Amphibians.− Continue to keep an eye out for snakes and turtles, especially baby box turtles. Skinks and toads are also out in abundance. Although you may still hear frogs and toads calling this month, large choruses won’t start up again until January.

Other Insects.− This month, expect an increase in praying mantis and spider activity. Praying mantises will exude their eggs in a frothy, hardened mass called an ootheca in September. Meanwhile, female garden spiders (Argiope aurantia) will be guarding egg cases.

In Bloom this Month.− Be on the lookout for some striking September flowers:

In Bloom:

WINGSTEM – Actinomeris alternifolia

WHITE SNAKEROOT – Ageratina altissima

PARTRIDGE PEA – Chamaechrista fasciculata

TURTLEHEAD – Chelone glabra

BEECHDROPS – Epifagus virginiana

DEVIL'S-GRANDMOTHER - Elephantopus tomentosus

BONESET – Eupatorium perfoliatum

BLACK-EYED SUSAN – Rudbeckia sp.

TRAILING WILD BEAN - Strophostyles helvula

GREAT LOBELIA – Lobelia siphilitica
DOWNY LOBELIA – Lobelia puberula

SMALL SKULLCAP – Scutellaria parvula

AXILLARY GOLDENROD – Solidago caesia

GOLDENROD(S) – Solidago spp.

In Fruit:

PERSIMMON – Diospyros virginiana

HEARTS-A-BUSTIN’ – Euonymus americanus

MUSCADINES – Vitis rotundifolia

Wildlife Profile.− This month’s wildlife profile is the COPPERHEAD (Agkistrodon contortrix), the most widespread of North Carolina’s six venomous snakes. The copperhead probably occurs in every county in North Carolina, and is distributed throughout the southeastern United States. Known as “highland moccasins,” copperheads inhabit wooded areas ranging from riparian habitat to ridgetops. They sometimes reside in more open habitat and are fairly tolerant of human development, often frequenting trash piles and abandoned buildings.

The copperhead is a stout, moderately large viperid than can attain a maximum length of almost 4.5 feet. Adults are pinkish-brown with darker, brownish hourglass-shaped crossbands. Neonates, or newborns, have bright greenish-yellow tail tips. They mate in both spring and fall, and give birth to around a dozen live young in September and October. In autumn, copperheads will gather to den communally and with other snake species to better endure the colder months. Normally a quiet, retiring snake, copperheads will strike vigorously if annoyed.

Did you know?

• Copperheads in the North Carolina Piedmont are intergradations of both northern copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen) and southern copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix).
• Vipers are identified by their triangular heads and vertical pupils; Colubrids, non-venomous snakes, have circular pupils.
• Copperheads in North Carolina eat cicadas, caterpillars, frogs, toads, birds, mice, shrews, voles, lizards, hatchling box turtles, ringneck snakes and worm snakes.

References:

National Audobon Society. 1980. Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. New York, New York: Chanticleer Press.

Conant, R., and J.T. Collins. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, MA.

Cook, Dave. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Mystic Crow Publishing.

Daniels, J. C. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.

Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye (1988). The Birder's Handbook. New York: Simon & Schuster.

LeGrand, H. E. Jr. 2009. Notes on the Butterflies of North Carolina. Available at: http://149.168.1.196/nbnc/

Palmer, W. M. and A. L. Braswell. 1995. Reptiles of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: August in the Piedmont

Birds.− In August, migrants such as chestnut-sided warblers, magnolia warblers and blackburnian warblers begin to pass through North Carolina as they head towards the neotropics for the winter. These warblers will be duller colored than they were in the spring, having lost their vibrant breeding plumage and molted into drabber winter attire.

Vermivoric warblers (i.e., those that eat worms), which stop in the Piedmont for a quick meal before heading further south, can often be found with “friends”. This time of year, experienced birders will often search for American redstarts and black-and-white warblers by first finding a group of more easily located Carolina chickadees and tufted titmice.

Did you know that warblers were the subject of classic ecological study by Robert MacArthur (1930-1972)? Before MacArthur’s study, people thought that five species of warblers -- Cape May, yellow-rumped, black-throated green, Blackburnian and bay-breasted – actually occupied the same “niche” since they all used the same breeding grounds. By watching foraging warblers and dividing individual trees into vertical and horizontal observational zones, MacArthur found that each warbler species actually used a different part of the tree. For example, the bay-breasted warbler fed around the middle-interior of the trees, while the Cape May warbler stayed toward the top-outside of trees. MacArthur showed that the warblers were dividing up a limited resource, a phenomenon now known as “niche partitioning.”

Butterflies.− Expect a pulse in the migrant cloudless sulphurs and little yellows and lookout for the 2^nd and 3^rd broods of the tawny and hackberry emperors, respectively.

Also, expect to see a continued rise in swallowtail sightings, this month, after the mid-summer lull. In fact, very lucky lepidopterists (i.e., butterfly observers) might even come across a bilateral gynandromorph tiger swallowtail, like the one that was seen last year in Hillsborough. A gynandromorph is an organism that has both male and female characteristics; bilateral gynandromorphs are half male and half female and mosaic gynandromorphs are a mix of each. Gynandromorphs are the product of sex chromosomes that do not split apart in the typical way during the first division of the zygote (i.e., the fertilized egg).

Reptiles & Amphibians.− Keep an eye out for snakes and turtles, especially baby box turtles, which begin to hatch this month. Fence lizards and skinks are also out in abundance. Green anoles can also be sighted. Listen for large choruses of green tree frogs and bullfrogs, as well as occasional calls from eastern narrow-mouthed toads and eastern spadefoots.

Other Insects.− Expect a pulse in grasshopper and cicadas activity this month. You might also find dead or dying luna moths this time of year. August marks the time of their third and final brood of the summer.

Did you know?

· The luna moth is one of the largest moths in the United States, with lime-green wings expanding to nearly four and a half inches.

· Luna moths only live for 1 week!

You may also see green lacewings flying around in the evenings. Lacewings are fascinating insects that are important predators in many agricultural systems. They consume aphids and other soft-bodied insects. Predators of lacewings include bats and spiders. Interestingly, lacewings are sensitive to the frequencies emitted by bats when hunting and will try to evade them. Lacewings also will not struggle in a spider web, but attempt to free themselves by chewing the strands of the web.

In Bloom this Month.− Be on the lookout for some striking August flowers:

In Bloom:

SMALL-FRUIT AGRIMONY – Agrimonia microcarpa

AMERICAN BEAUTY-BERRY -Callicarpa americana

TRUMPET-CREEPER – Campsis radicans

TICK-TREFOIL – Desmodium nudiflorum

DEVIL'S-GRANDMOTHER - Elephantopus tomentosus

JOE-PYE-WEED – Eutrochium (syn.Eupatorium) dubium

SNEEZEWEED – Helenium autumnale

SCARLET ROSE-MALLOW – Hibiscus coccineus

ST. ANDREW’S CROSS - Hypericum hypericoides

CARDINAL-FLOWER – Lobelia cardinalis

GREAT BLUE LOBELIA – Lobelia siphilitica

CORAL HONEYSUCKLE(S) - Lonicera sempervirens

BLACK-EYED-SUSAN - Rudbeckia fulgida

GREEN-HEAD CONEFLOWER – Rudbeckia laciniata

ROSINWEED – Silphium sp.

AXILLARY GOLDENROD - Solidago caesia

ANISE-SCENTED GOLDENROD – Solidago odorata

IRONWEED – Vernonia sp.

Piedmont Habitats.− Did you know that oak savanna once stretched across North Carolina’s Piedmont?

The savanna community consisted of grasses and forbs under a thin canopy of oaks and sometimes graded into true prairie. This system was documented by a number of North Carolina’s early explorers and settlers, including John Lawson and Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg. While traveling around the Yadkin River in the mid 1700s, Lawson noted that he had “travell'd, this day, about 25 Miles, over pleasant Savanna Ground, high, and dry, having very few trees upon it, and those standing at a great distance. The Land was very good, and free from Grubs or Underwood.”

The Piedmont savanna was formed and maintained by a variety of factors, including climate, characteristic soil types (including saturated, basic or droughty soils), both natural and American Indian set fires, and perhaps grazing by now diminished herbivores, such as bison. Now nearly gone in North Carolina, Piedmont savannas were incredibly diverse, containing nearly 300 plant species. Johnny Randall, the assistant director for conservation and natural areas at the UNC Botanical Garden, is optimistic about restoration efforts for this community type. Local savanna restoration sites include Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve and parts of Mason Farm Biological Reserve.

References:

Cook, D. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Raleigh, NC: Barefoot Press.

Daniels, J. C. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.

Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye (1988). The Birder's Handbook. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Juras, P. 1997. The Presettlement Piedmont Savanna - a Model for Landscape Design and Management. University of Georgia Master’s Thesis.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS: July in the Piedmont

Birds.− This month, lucky birdwatchers may catch a glimpse of rare common mergansers, tricolor herons, little blue herons and snowy egrets. Also, sandpipers are beginning to return to the Piedmont. The melodious songs of most bird species begin to disappear this month, although the indigo bunting can still be heard from its high perch.

Populations of the indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea) have steadily increased in abundance since the 1900’s, despite being vulnerable to cowbird parasitism. These brilliant blue finches prefer to breed in forest edges, open woodlands, weedy fields and orchards. As Piedmont habitats become increasingly fragmented (a process detrimental to many bird species), more edge habitat is available for nesting indigo buntings. Indigo bunting nests can be found one to 15 feet off the ground in tree tangles, and consist of woven grass, leaves and bark. The nests may even include snake skin, and they are often lined with fine grass, cotton, feathers and even hair. The female primarily cares for the young that hatch from the small (0.8”) white to light blue eggs. In summer, the indigo bunting displays sexual dimorphism, making it easy to distinguish the vibrant blue males from the brown females. In winter, indigo buntings will join flocks of other finch species and shift their diet from primarily insects to seeds.

In July, remember to look for anting behavior, when birds carefully arrange themselves on top of an ant hill or vigorously rubbing its feathers with an ant. Summer and year-round residents that are known to engage in anting include the yellow-billed cuckoo, mourning dove, common flicker, brown thrasher and pine warbler.

Remember: Give those fledglings a fighting chance by KEEPING CATS INDOORS.

Butterflies.− This month the grass skipper doldrums begin, but grass skipper activity should increase by the end of the month. Also, the flight of the common wood nymph is just beginning, so you may see some fresh (i.e., newly emerged) ones out and about. Lucky observers may also see fresh Appalachian browns and tawny emperors.

Also, observant naturalists and gardens may notice large green caterpillars with black and orange markings munching away on flowers in the Carrot family this month, or you might even see strange, greenish-brown cocoons hanging from plants (see video of the process). Most likely, you are witnessing black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) larvae in action. In fact, the black swallowtail is one of the most commonly seen garden butterflies. Males are recognized by their jet black wings lined with yellow-orange bands, a few blue spots and a single black-eyed orange spot. The female is mostly black with lines of yellow and blue spots. After a female black swallowtail lays yellowish eggs on a member of the Carrot family, it takes a few days to hatch into a caterpillar. The caterpillar will go through five instars (or stages, click here for more information) before transforming into a chrysalis. After about 10 days, a butterfly will emerge from the chrysalis, although in some cases, the chrysalis will over-winter.

Reptiles & Amphibians.− Keep an eye out for snakes and turtles this month, their eggs are still incubating, but some may hatch towards the end of the month. Fence lizards and skinks are also out in abundance. Large choruses of Cope’s gray treefrogs, green tree frogs, bullfrogs and green frogs can still be heard this month. Also listen for eastern narrow-mouthed toads and eastern spadefoots. Cope’s gray treefrog froglets will continue to emerge from ponds and wetlands this month.

Other Insects.− Cicadas and katydids will be chorusing in earnest this month. Also, lookout for increased numbers of Japanese beetles, a pest that arrived from Japan in 1916. This month, a number of large and fascinating beetles can be found in abundance. Some species you might see (with identifying traits in parentheses) include: fiery searchers (up to 1.5 inches long, with greenish, lined wings), Bess beetles (large black beetle with small horn), Hercules beetles (army green with black spots; males have two horns -- one on the thorax and one on the head), and reddish-brown stags (reddish-brown beetles, with “antlers”).

In Bloom this Month.− Lookout for some striking July flowers and their amazing array of pollinators. Ever wonder why flowers come in such a diversity of shapes, sizes and colors? They are meant to attract different pollinators. Orange flowers, like butterflyweed, and purple flowers, like purple-coneflower, primarily attract butterflies although other pollinators will visit these floral gems as well. Tubular red flowers with copious and sweet nectar, like cardinal flower and trumpet creeper, are very attractive to hummingbirds.

In Bloom:

SMALL-FRUIT AGRIMONY – Agrimonia microcarpa

SWAMP MILKWEED – Asclepias incarnata

DOWNY YELLOW FALSE-FOXGLOVE – Aureolaria virginica

AMERICAN BEAUTY-BERRY – Callicarpa americana

TRUMPET CREEPER - Campsis radicans

GREEN-AND-GOLD – Chrysogonum virginanum

WHORLED TICKSEED – Coreopsis verticillata

TICK TREFOIL(S) – Desmodium spp.

INDIAN-STRAWBERRY – Duchesnia indica

PURPLE-CONEFLOWER – Echinacea spp.

EASTERN DAISY FLEABANE- Erigeron annuus

NORTHERN RATTLESNAKE-MASTER – Eryngium yuccifolium

THOROUGHWORT – Eupatorium spp.

WHITE AVENS – Geum canadense

SCARLET ROSE-MALLOW – Hibiscus coccineus

ST. ANDREW’S-CROSS – Hypericum hypericoides

VIRGINIA BUNCHFLOWER –Melanthium virginicum

SUMMER PHLOX – Phlox paniculata

AMERICAN LOPSEED – Phryma leptostachya

BLACK-EYED-SUSAN(S) – Rudbeckia spp.

HOARY SKULLCAP – Scutellaria incana

STICKY ROSINWEED – Silphium glutinosum

STARRY ROSINWEED –Silphium asteriscus

AXILLARY GOLDENROD – Solidago caesia.

STOKES’-ASTER – Stokesia laevis

IRONWEED – Vernonia spp.

Piedmont Habitats.− Have you ever wanted to identify characteristics of a forest or habitat by a few key plant or animal species or cues from the landscape? Old hayfields are usually dominated by grasses and legumes, while former pasture land (i.e., grazed) is often home to eastern red cedar, thistle and dense fescue.

References:

Burt, W. H. and R. P. Grossenheider. 1980. A Field Guide to the Mammals, 3^rd ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Cook, D. 2001. The Piedmont Almanac. Raleigh, NC: Barefoot Press.

Daniels, J. C. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.

Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye (1988). The Birder's Handbook. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Elbroch, M. 2003. Mammal Tracks and Signs A guide to North American Species. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.

Wagner, D. L. 2005. Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ