Author: Beth

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Early October Wildflowers: Spotted Jewelweed

In early October, wildflowers in shades of orange-gold, yellow, purple and white light up Minnesota’s roadsides, fields, woods and riverbanks.  One of my favorites is spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), or touch-me-not.  Its small flowers are bright orange with red spots and are shaped like tiny funnels or cornucopias.  The name jewelweed refers to the way that water droplets bead up like shiny jewels on the plant’s leaves, and also to the blossom’s jewel-like appearance.  Touch-me-not refers to the ripe seed pods, which burst open and expel the seeds if touched.  When our teenage son was little, we loved popping open the ripe pods and watching the seeds fly out.

Spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)blossom and ripening seed pods.

Spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) blossom and ripening seed pods.

Native to much of Canada and the United States, spotted jewelweed grows along streams, rivers, damp roadsides and other moist, shady spots.  The one I photographed was growing in a shady wet area about four feet from the edge of the cabin road.  Hummingbirds, which are attracted to the bright, red-spotted blooms, are the main pollinator of spotted jewelweed.  The nectar is contained within spurs that are easily reached by the hummer’s long beak.  A closely related plant is pale touch-me-not (Impatiens pallida) which is light yellow with just a few reddish-brown spots.

Related Video:  Spotted jewelweed pods popping open.

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Lake Darner Dragonfly

I love dragonflies for their aerial acrobatics, beautiful colors and ancient presence — they’ve flown Earth’s skies for about 300 million years.  In Minnesota, a few species of large, colorful dragonflies are active into October.  Last week I found a darner (Aeshna) dragonfly sunning itself on a nearby cabin.

A lake darner dragonfly (Aeshna eremita) rests in the sun.

A lake darner dragonfly (Aeshna eremita) rests in the sun.

Called darners for the resemblance of their long abdomen to a darning needle, the blue or mosaic darners can be confusing to tell apart.  I believe the one I photographed is a lake darner (Aeshna eremita), based on the notched side stripe, the vivid greenish-blue jewel-like coloration of the stripes, its length (about three inches) and its vertical perching position.  It flew away before I could get close enough to see its facial markings.  Lake darners are native to Canada and the northern United States, and are the largest species of North American darner.  They prey on mosquitoes, wasps, mayflies and most other kinds of soft-bodied insects.

Related Websites:

The Dragonfly Website includes a great overview of dragonfly facts in its “Frequently Asked Questions” section.

ARKive.org features a profile and photos of the lake darner, along with thousands of other plant and animal species.

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Orange Sulphur Butterfly

Today’s warm temperatures and south winds brought an orange sulphur butterfly to our garden.  Normally a common butterfly, this is the first one I’ve seen all year. The orange color on the upper wing, and dark black spots help to distinguish it from other sulphur butterflies.  Adults drink nectar from many species of garden flowers; this one visited garden phlox and asters.  The caterpillars prefer red clover, white clover, vetches and alfalfa.  Other insects seen in the garden today include a potter wasp, paper wasps, bumble bees, honey bees, metallic green bees, flower flies, cicadas and an autumn meadowhawk dragonfly.

An orange sulphur butterfly (Colias eurytheme) drinks nectar from garden phlox.

An orange sulphur butterfly (Colias eurytheme) drinks nectar from garden phlox.

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Misty Autumn Morning

Mist curls, rises, swirls over the Snake River in the light of early dawn and a full moon.  It is the morning of the autumnal equinox.  The air is calm and chilly, about 42 degrees.  A touch of autumn color tints a few trees.  Pileated woodpeckers and a northern flicker sound their ringing calls in the woods.  A small group of black-capped chickadees gurgle softly to each other as they hunt for insects in the hazelnut bushes on the riverbank.  In a few minutes, the sun will rise, the mist will vanish and the day will gradually warm to 70 degrees.  But for now, the river valley is hidden and serene.

Early morning mist swirls over the Snake River in Pine County, Minnesota.

Early morning mist swirls over the Snake River in Pine County, Minnesota.

Autumnal equinox on the Snake River.

Autumnal equinox on the Snake River.

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September Garden

Our garden reached its peak a few weeks ago, but it’s still full of color and life in mid-September.  Butterflies, many species of bees, and dragonflies are present.  A tiny charcoal-colored mouse slices off the black-eyed Susan flower heads leaving long, empty stalks.  (One year I found a mouse’s stash of flower heads and seeds in my garden toolbox!) A family of cardinals eats red yew berries; chipmunks and squirrels munch on the last of the beacon apples.  Here are a few of the flowers and insects in our garden on this warm, sunny afternoon in St. Paul, Minnesota:

Asters with spotted Joe-Pye weed and Japanese anemones

Asters novi-belgii with spotted Joe-Pye weed and Japanese anemones.

White-faced meadowhawk dragonflies patrol the garden for mosquitoes and other small, soft-bodied insects.  Many years these dragonflies are active in our garden until mid-October.

A male white-faced meadowhawk dragonfly.

A white-faced meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum obtrusum).

Heath asters (Symphyotrichum ericoides) is native to the eastern and midwestern United States and Canada.

Heath asters (Symphyotrichum ericoides) are native to the eastern and midwestern United States and Canada.

Grass funnel spiders (Agelenopsis) are shy spiders that build flat webs with a funnel or tube at the back of the web.  The spider rests out of sight in the funnel.  When an insect lands on the web, the spider quickly captures it, bites it and wraps it in silk.

A funnel spider spun its web among the helenium plants.

A funnel spider spun its web among the helenium plants.

After many days without monarchs, a straggler sipped nectar from several different flower species.

A monarch sips nectar from a spotted Joe-Pye weed plant.

A monarch sips nectar from a spotted Joe-Pye weed plant.

Native white turtlehead (Chelone glabra) brightens up a shady spot in the garden

Native white turtlehead (Chelone glabra) brightens up a shady spot in the garden

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Red Admiral Butterfly

A splash of bright red flashed by as I counted monarch butterflies in our garden late Wednesday afternoon.  Perched in a sunny spot on the apple tree trunk, a red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) fanned its wings, flew around the backyard a couple of times and landed on a lower limb of the tree.

The red-barred upper wings of a red admiral that perched on my leg.

The red-barred upper wings of a red admiral that perched on my leg.

Named for the red-bar markings on their black upper wings, red admirals also sport white marks in the upper corners of the forewings.  The underside of the wings, which is often visible when the butterfly perches, is a mottled brown, tan and black, with a pink band and white spotting on the forewing.

The mottled underwings are marked with a pink bar and white spotting in the forewing.

The mottled underwings are marked with a pink bar and white spotting in the forewings.

Red admirals range from near the Arctic Circle to as far south as Guatemala.  (They also live in Europe, Asia and North Africa, and have been introduced in other parts of the world.)  They prefer moist areas such as fields, meadows, open woodlands, gardens and yards.  Red admiral caterpillars prefer to eat nettle leaves; adults eat overripe fruit, tree sap, and the nectar of many types of flowers, such as aster, blazing star, spotted Joe-Pye weed and red clover. In Minnesota, there are one-to-two broods each year.  The butterflies of the second brood are smaller and less colorful than the first brood.  Most migrate to the southern states in autumn, but a few successfully hibernate in the north during mild winters.  Many years, this butterfly remains active into October and I’ve seen them as early as mid-April in the spring.

For more information about the red admiral and other butterflies, visit:

http://minnesotaseasons.com

http://butterfliesandmoths.org

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Bumblebee “Buzz Pollination”

Last Sunday afternoon was quiet in the garden; too cool for the loud whining of cicadas, and no wind to swish and rattle the leaves.  However, a persistent high-pitched buzzing in the anemones was driving my husband nuts.  Turns out it was the sound of several bumblebees releasing pollen through sonication or “buzz pollination“.  In sonication, bumblebees, and other native bees, hold onto a flower with their jaws or legs, press the upper portion of their body into the flower and rapidly vibrate their flight muscles to jar loose pollen.  The freed pollen clings to the bee’s furry body.  Some of it is collected in the bee’s pollen baskets to be brought back to the colony, and some fertilizes the next flower that the bee visits.  (The pollen basket is located on the outside of the bee’s back leg.  It’s easy to see when it contains pollen because it will be yellow, orange or red, depending on the type of pollen it contains.)  Buzz pollination is essential to plants such as blueberries, cranberries and tomatoes, in which the pollen is firmly attached deep inside a tubular anther.  However, bumblebees also use it to release pollen in other flowers, such as the Japanese anemones in our garden.

A bumblebee buzz pollinates a Japanese anemone in our garden.

A bumblebee buzz pollinates a Japanese anemone in our garden.

In addition to the buzz pollination video link in the text above, find out more about pollination and bumblebees from master naturalists Paul and Mary Meredith at VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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Biodiversity on a Sunflower

Late Sunday morning in early September.  I walk along our unpaved road next to the Snake River.  The sun is hot, grasshoppers whir and click, bees drone and American goldfinches call to each other in the aspen grove.  Small stands of native sunflowers (Helianthus tuberosus L.) dot the roadside.  In a single group of three plants, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, I spot four species of native bees, two species of wasps, several ladybird beetles, a goldenrod soldier beetle and a northern crescent butterfly.  Here’s a sampling:

Green metallic bee.

Metallic green bee on a native sunflower known as Jerusalem artichoke.

Ladybug beetle on woodland sunflower.

Ladybird beetle on a native sunflower (Helianthus tuberosus L.).

Goldenrod soldier beetles are important pollinators of native sunflowers, goldenrod and tansy.

Goldenrod soldier beetles are important pollinators of native sunflowers, goldenrod and tansy.

A crescent butterfly, most likely a northern crescent, sips nectar.

A crescent butterfly, most likely a northern crescent, sips nectar.

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Bottle Gentians

One of my favorite late-summer wildflowers is the bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii), which grows in sunny, moist patches along the dirt road next to our cabin.  The tightly closed oval flowers, which never open into a blossom, are all deep blue so far this year, but in the past, I’ve also seen powder blue, pearly white, and light pink blooms.  The plants are about 18 inches tall and the flowers are clustered together at the top.

Bottle gentians grow in sunny, moist patches.

Bottle gentians grow in sunny, moist patches.

Because the blooms are narrow and closed, they primarily are pollinated by bumble bees, which are strong enough to wiggle their way into the flower.  A bumble bee pollinated several of the blooms on the bottle gentian that I was photographing.

A bumble bee pushes its way into the closed bloom.

A bumble bee pushes its way into the closed bloom.

After pollinating the gentian, the bumble bee backs out of the bloom.

After pollinating the gentian, the bumble bee backs out of the flower.

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Monarchs and Joe-Pye Weed

Monarch butterflies are rare visitors this summer.  In a typical year, they float through the backyard all day.  Over the past week, a solitary monarch visited our patch of spotted Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum) each day between 7 and 8 a.m.  Sunlight glowed in its beautiful wings as it sipped the Joe-Pye nectar.

A monarch sips Joe-Pye weed nectar in early-morning sunlight.

A monarch sips Joe-Pye weed nectar in early-morning sunlight.

In the next two weeks, monarch migration through St. Paul, MN, should peak, according to MonarchWatch.org.  To check peak migration in your own area, visit  peak migration.  During the 2011 fall migration peak, 10-to-25 monarchs visited our Joe-Pye patch each afternoon, and often roosted in our apple tree for the night.  I’m interested in comparing this year’s numbers with the 2011 observations.  (Last year, the Joe-Pye blossomed two-to-three weeks earlier than usual, due to the early spring, and as a result, finished blooming ahead of monarch migration.

In addition to the low numbers of monarchs, I’ve only seen one each of black swallowtails, red admirals and mourning cloaks, and only two tiger swallowtails in our garden.  I haven’t found caterpillars of any of the five species.  Read more about the low number of butterflies this year, from the Star Tribune.