Posts Tagged Green Frog
Metamorphosis
Posted by piedmontgardener in Conservation Corner, Native Wildlife, piedmont gardening on October 4, 2021
“Caterpillars are really just walking leaves, for that is all they eat.”
–Douglas W. Tallamy, The Nature of Oaks
I am reminded of this sentence in Tallamy’s latest book every time I encounter a caterpillar in my yard. It feels to me to be a deep and important truth, one that is easily overlooked by many, I fear.
He notes in another paragraph that he wants people to stop thinking of caterpillars and other insects as bugs. Instead, he asks us to remember that every stink bug, caterpillar, wasp, and ant is potential food for an animal, perhaps another insect or spider, perhaps a bird, perhaps a mammal. Wildlife needs those bugs to keep the cycle of life operational.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtails enjoy many native and non-native flowers, but their caterpillars eat leaves of a number of our native canopy trees, especially Tulip Poplar and Black Cherry.
Now, instead of caterpillars, I see leaves with legs. And although, Tallamy didn’t write it, I now see the butterflies and moths that these caterpillars become as leaves that fly — farther than an autumnal tumble from branch to earth on a chilly north wind. Flying lepidopterans allow leaves, albeit transformed ones, to travel much farther. I am hoping that some of the transformed leaves of swamp milkweed in my garden make it all the way to Central America in the form of a Monarch butterfly migrational journey.
It has been a tough year for the leaves-with-legs in my yard. Predatory wasps and birds got most of the early rounds of Monarch butterfly caterpillars that appeared on my common and swamp milkweeds. One moment, the tiny hatchlings would be happily chomping away. The next — nothing, save a few bits of frass (caterpillar poop) adorning leaves below those on which they were feeding.
Monarch caterpillars on Sept. 20.
Two weeks ago, I was elated when I spotted eleven small Monarch caterpillars dining on swamp milkweed near my front water feature. Wasps were no longer patrolling the plants, their life cycles completed for the season. I thought these leggy leaves had a real chance to make it to their next transformation. For nine days, they grew fatter. I felt certain they were close to their time to become bejeweled emerald chrysalises.
One by one, they began to vanish. Caterpillars wander when they are preparing to pupate. They deliberately leave their food plants and search for another place to build their magic metamorphic enclosures. I searched carefully all around for signs, seeking walking leaves dangling from stems of other nearby plants in the classic J position they assume before they melt into the gilded jewel boxes from which they emerge as winged leaves ready to fly south.
Finally one afternoon, I spotted a fat caterpillar walking on the ground around the water feature. I feel certain it was seeking a plant upon which it would metamorphose. Just as I excitedly pointed out this caterpillar on its transformational journey to Wonder Spouse, one of the Green Frogs spending the summer in our water feature jumped down from the rim of the pool, and before we could blink, we watched the amphibian grab the caterpillar, swallowing it in two big gulps. We were stunned. And horrified.
Green Frog sunning on rim of water feature
Of course, I know that frogs eat insects, but it never occurred to me that they would eat caterpillars as they descended the milkweeds to metamorphose. Later that day, I spotted perhaps the same frog staked out beneath a milkweed that still had two caterpillars dining on it. It was very clearly waiting for them to descend and become its next meal. I confess, I chased the frog back into the water feature, scolding it.
After scouring the area for signs of transforming Monarch caterpillars, I found only one dangling from a spent scape of a daylily. It was in the J position that afternoon, safely beyond the reach of greedy frogs. By the next morning, the leaf with legs had become a jade green chrysalis. I have moved it to what I hope is the safety of my greenhouse before predicted rains could potentially enhance opportunities for fungal contamination or predatory wasps/flies could harm it.
I visit it several times a day to encourage it on its metamorphic journey. October seems to be planning to stay warmer than “normal,” but one never knows when a cold front might blow in with the first frost. It’s not unusual for Monarchs to migrate in late October, so there’s every reason to hope for a positive outcome for this little emerald jewel box.
Still, my heart will lighten when metamorphic magic transforms the chrysalis into a leaf with wings that will carry it safely to warmer winter climes.
Safe travels, flying leaves…
Pollinator Palooza
Posted by piedmontgardener in Native Wildlife, piedmont gardening, Vegetable Gardening on July 28, 2015
Feather-legged fly
I have been spending way too much time outside with the camera lately. I’m not sure whether the diversity of pollinators in my garden has expanded this year, or I just wasn’t paying attention until now — mostly because I never had a camera that could come close to capturing these tiny, very active insects.
Well, mostly tiny. That very cool-looking creature above is actually relatively large, maybe the size of one of our common carpenter bees. Those “feathered” back legs are its diagnostic feature. It was bouncing around on my bronze fennel flowers.
It always held out its wings like this.
As I mentioned on the Piedmont Gardener Facebook page earlier, this fly is a garden ally, not just for its pollination prowess. Its larvae parasitize the larvae of squash bugs and green stink bugs. Bring on the feather-legs!
A scoliid wasp maybe?
This one was much smaller and also on the fennel flowers. Its red body-black head and wings conjures in my admittedly strange mind a mini-superhero pollinator.
Ready to leap into action?
All of these little wasps, bees, and flies are covered in tiny hairs that catch pollen.
A scoliid wasp, I think, enjoying the tiny flowers of my Greek oregano.
I’ve learned that scoliid wasps come in a dazzling array of colors and stripes. All have larval forms that parasitize scarab beetle larvae, many of which are also garden pests. Until I had a camera that could capture these tiny beauties, I never realized how diversely wonderful they are.
Another scoliid wasp maybe?
I ponder the shape of this one and wonder how such tiny “waists” are adaptive.
Perhaps another scoliid wasp — this one with reddish-yellow stripes.
The oregano and fennel flowers — both tiny and numerous — seem to attract the most diverse array of pollinators. This fall, I’m going to add some new perennials that will produce similar flower clusters. I want to attract all the squash bug and beetle eaters that I can!
The honeybees like the oregano flowers too.
Many different bumblebees, carpenter bees, and honeybees were all over the fennel and oregano too, but not dominantly so. The bees seemed to prefer anise hyssop flowers, zinnia blooms, and the abelias currently perfuming the humid air.
A Common Buckeye enjoying oregano flowers.
The butterflies are still around too, but still not as numerous as I’d like. I still haven’t seen a Monarch, although sitings not far from me have been reported.
A battered Red Admiral enjoying abelia flowers.
Far more numerous than the butterflies are the dragonflies. I think they are largely responsible for the ragged look of many of the butterflies.
They patrol the skies from dawn to dusk.
Writing spider finishing her breakfast
Of course, I’m not the only one who has noticed the pollinator palooza going on in my garden. The predators become more numerous daily. In addition to the sky dragons, spiders are setting up shop between tomato plants, on the bean trellis, among the tall zinnias — anywhere that’s likely to intercept the flight path of an unwary pollinator.
An Asian Praying Mantis doing its best to imitate a bronze fennel bloom stalk
This mantis set up shop in the bronze fennel several days ago. It’s still there, so I’m thinking it is enjoying picking off the busy pollinators visiting the flowers just above this predator’s head.
Pollinators beware!
When the mantis is extra hungry, it eschews its disguise, preferring to perch boldly right on top of the flowers.
Wheelbug on a fennel stem
This wheel bug moved in on the mantis’s fennel turf yesterday. They are ignoring each other, so I guess there are enough delicious pollinators to go around.
Small skink in the boulder garden
Of course, pollinators also need to be wary of non-insect predators like this young skink, which was chasing Pearl Crescent butterflies in the boulder garden.
Green frog on rim of water feature
As always happens in summer, mature green frogs have moved into my little water feature. Here they are safe from predators, such as water snakes, and can focus on being predators themselves.
Ailanthus Web Worm moth on Joe Pye Weed flowers
I’m picking beans and tomatoes every day, thanks in large part, I’m sure, to all these busy pollinators. But that productivity won’t last much longer, unless summer rains decide to visit my yard. In the last few weeks, all the storms have missed me. My creek has stopped flowing; it’s just a series of puddles between sand bars at the moment. Here’s hoping some juicy clouds have pity on my yard soon.
STOP — and Savor Summer’s Waning
Posted by piedmontgardener in Favorite Plants, Native Wildlife, piedmont gardening on August 22, 2014
Spicebush Swallowtail stops for a drink.
I’m seeing a variety of reds in my landscape these days, most of it not attributable to leaf color — that will come later. Red flowers and fruits — and related colors in that family — are visible in nearly every corner of my yard. I think of them as stop signals; they alert me to slow down and linger with the lovelies in my landscape before all that beauty fades.
Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ seed cones
Ripening seeds are also sporting red colors, signaling wildlife that fruits are ready for consumption.
Cardinal flower
Vermillion spires of Cardinal Flowers set fire to shady spots on my floodplain and random, self-sowed corners of perennial beds.
Joe Pye Weed
Magenta heads of a cluster of late-blooming Joe Pye Weed glow in a spotlight beam of sun that managed to pierce the dense canopy.
Green frog
Green frogs float on my green pond, their bulging eyes watching summer’s waning as they seek unwary winged meals.
Spicebush Swallowtail on a Beauty Berry Zinnia
In this year of few butterflies, Spicebush Swallowtails are the most common large butterfly in my landscape, possibly due to the abundance of native spicebushes tucked under the towering canopy trees.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Chinese Abelia bloom
An occasional Eastern Tiger Swallowtail floats through the humid late-summer heat, unable to resist the potent perfume of the Chinese Abelia bushes dotting the sunnier parts of my landscape.
Umbrella Magnolia seed cones
The native Umbrella Magnolia that thrives beside the creek produced quite a few seed cones this year. Even tucked into deep shade, the ripe cones stop my forward progress, demanding admiration.
Scarlet Wild Basil
Native to the Sandhills region of NC, my Scarlet Wild Basil continues to produce abundant orange-red blossoms, drawing daily visits from hummingbirds, and admiring questions from visitors.
Spicebush Swallowtail on Milkweed flower
Like hummingbirds, Spicebush Swallowtails often hover as they feed, blurring my photographs as they rush to drink all they can before summer’s flowers disappear.
Mapleleaf Viburnum berries
As soon as they are fully ripe, the reddened berries on native Mapleleaf Viburnum are devoured by wildlife.
Praying Mantis
Slowly and methodically, the Praying Mantises in my landscape grow fat on the insect bounty attracted to summer’s blooms. This one hunted from a large lantana beside my front door for three days, then moved on to new territory.
Everywhere I look, Nature’s signals are clear. Animals fatten, seeds ripen, blooms explode in late-summer splendor. All feel the changing angle of the sun as it makes its daily trek across the sky. Soon, too soon, cold air will descend from the North, browning flora, scattering fauna.
But every gardener knows that winter sleeps are essential rhythms in Nature’s dance. The pauses make the crescendos that much more powerful.
Preparations
Posted by piedmontgardener in Favorite Plants, Greenhouse growing, Native Wildlife, piedmont gardening on October 24, 2013
Winterized water feature.
Pardon my silence, loyal readers. It’s that time of year, when freeze warnings pop up for my region, and Wonder Spouse and I must scramble to prepare our yard and gardens for their winter sleep.
First up last weekend was the water feature in our front garden. It was full of murky greenish water. We knew we’d need to catch and relocate the two Green Frogs who lived there most of the summer, but we were surprised to find that about 50 or so tadpoles were still alive and well and not yet ready for metamorphosis. Some had sprouted back legs, but most were still fully tadpole in form. We spent over an hour painstakingly scooping up tadpoles as the pond drained to reveal their hiding spots. I have no idea what species of tadpoles we moved, but they seemed to be at least two different sizes, colors, and shapes.
Frogs and tadpoles were relocated temporarily to a bucket filled with pond water. When we were sure we had all of them, Wonder Spouse carried them down to a small pond on our floodplain, where he gently poured them out. We know it’s tricky for them to make their way into territory already claimed by other amphibians, but we figured at least this way they have some chance to survive.
They can’t stay in the water feature all winter. If we happen to have one of our colder winters, the water would freeze throughout, cracking the pond, and killing anything trying to overwinter in it. When Spring warms the air, we are always surprised at how quickly frogs and toads find the newly re-filled water feature. It is a favored courting and egg-laying spot in our yard, probably because it is more protected from predators than the pond or creek on the floodplain. Nothing says spring like a raucous nighttime serenade by amorous amphibians.
Reptiles in our yard move themselves to their winter homes. Many seem to prepare for winter hibernation by shedding their skins. We found several two-foot-plus-long recently shed skins from our resident Black Racers. One lives in the rock wall holding up the beds around my greenhouse. Another lives somewhere beneath our front deck, and I know several others nest somewhere on or near the floodplain. I encounter them on patrols every few weeks during the warm months.
Suddenly visible in great numbers again are the Green Anoles. About a dozen of these color-changing lizards spent last winter living around the west-facing front of our house and the south-facing wall of our garage. They dispersed when the weather warmed. I’d occasionally meet one hunting among my flowers or vegetables, but otherwise, they seemed to have disappeared. But now, my goodness, they are not only back, they have multiplied.
A number of them seem to also be shedding summer skins, as you can see here on this one I spotted on the corner of the garage:
It took me a minute to realize why this lizard looked so odd.
Another anole seemed interested in the shedding process of his garage-mate.
At least a dozen anoles have reappeared along the west-facing entry to our house. We now must check our screen doors before opening inner doors, lest a dozing anole drop into the house. A recently acquired pot of chrysanthemums by the front entry has been adopted as a favorite resting spot.
Insects attracted to the flowers are likely providing handy snacks for this clever reptile.
Every warm sunny afternoon, they emerge from their hiding spots to catch a few rays.
On the kitchen window screen.
Checking out the electric meter.
This year, I’ve spotted a least three anoles enjoying our back deck, which faces south and is protected from west winds. They even seem to be enjoying our deck chairs.
The metal arm of this chair warms in afternoon sunlight.
Sometimes, they join the squirrels in watching the humans indoors:
What are YOU looking at?
Of course, freeze warnings mean it’s time to relocate all summering potted plants to their winter quarters in the greenhouse. The pitcher plants and sedges that live in pots inside the water feature all summer get moved into individual trays that hold water. I refill them regularly, so that their favored moisture levels are maintained.
Pond plants don’t mind the transition as long as I maintain their moisture levels.
All the potted plants that spend their summer beneath the shelter of the Southern Magnolia also move into the greenhouse, along with pots of still-flowering annuals on the back deck. By the time we move in the deck plants later today, the greenhouse will be very full.
It’ll be a full house after I move in the deck plants later today.
A packed greenhouse is actually better for the plants. Humidity levels are easier to maintain, and any insects or other critters who succeeded in hitching rides on the plants don’t usually cause much trouble. One year, a Cope’s Gray Treefrog snuck in for the winter. He just dozed quietly through the cold months until I moved him and his pot back outside the following spring. I keep my greenhouse cool all winter, so that plants mostly sleep but don’t freeze.
The plants growing on our five acres don’t need any help from me to prepare for winter. The Tulip Poplars have already dropped most of their leaves. Berries on the native dogwoods are almost gone, thanks to flocks of marauding American Robins and hungry Pileated Woodpeckers. They have moved on to the Southern Magnolia. Most of its seed cones are open now, revealing tasty red fruits coveted by wildlife of all kinds. I can lose an hour quickly this time of year just watching birds and other critters argue over magnolia fruits.
Scarlet fruits of the Southern Magnolia are irresistible to wildlife.
Fall color grows more glorious daily, of course. I’ll show you some examples soon. Right now, I’ve got to get the potted plants on the back deck tucked into the greenhouse. The weather seers are calling for a freeze tomorrow night. At my house, that likely means lows in the mid-twenties. Time to break out the extra blanket for the bed, find my cozy winter slippers, and wait for next season’s seed catalogs to start filling my mailbox.
The Pineapple Sages are always in full bloom when the first freeze hits them. But departing hummingbirds and I appreciate every scarlet blossom before it is browned by ice.
Aerial acrobats in the garden
Posted by piedmontgardener in Native Wildlife, piedmont gardening, Vegetable Gardening on July 31, 2013
Swallowtail butterflies mobbing the Joe Pye Weed.
Record amounts of rainfall this growing season continue to create ripple effects throughout my landscape and gardens. For the first time I can remember, I harvested two zucchinis today. Normally by this point in the summer, heat, drought, and insect pests have exterminated my squash crop. Not this year. Zucchini spice bread, anyone?
Likewise, the Fortex pole beans seem to be ramping up for another surge in bean production. The vines have already climbed their six-foot trellis, grown down the other side, and now I’m trying to persuade them to climb back up again.
Tomatoes? Oh yes, we’ve got tomatoes. The plants are fighting fungal diseases, but the fruits are coming in bigtime. Ornamental flowers, which have often surrendered to the heat by now, continue to bloom with abandon. I’ve got sunflowers, zinnias, nasturtiums, and cosmos among the annuals. Perennials like black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, salvias, verbenas, daylilies, and now cardinal flowers have never been happier.
A Spicebush Swallowtail enjoys the ever-blooming Verbena ‘Homestead Purple.’
The rain has also produced a bumper crop of biting flies, gnats, and mosquitoes, among the aerial pests. But that’s not all bad, because the record abundance of flying insects has also brought record numbers of predators to prey on them. Insect eaters like Eastern Bluebirds, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Carolina Wrens, and Eastern Phoebes patrol the skies from dawn to dusk. Numerous bats take care of night patrol. And during the heat of the day, when the birds relax in the shade, the sky dragons take over.
A Sky Dragon pauses briefly before resuming its hunt for flying food.
I have not yet spent the time needed to learn the names of our local dragonflies, but I can tell you our landscape is blessed by quite a number of species, some small, some as large as the hummingbirds with whom they share the sky. Wonder Spouse was so struck by the diversity of dragonflies in our yard last weekend that he spent some time capturing them with his camera. In fact, all the photos in this post were taken by Wonder Spouse.
The butterflies thrust themselves deeply into the throats of the flowers of our Autumn Daffodil daylilies. See its tongue curling above its head?
Dragonflies are efficient hunters, and yes, they do grab and devour an occasional butterfly on the wing. But they glitter like jewels; their wings appear to be made from delicate lace, yet are strong enough for aerial maneuvers any stunt pilot must envy.
An emerald Sky Dragon pauses on a boulder.
As much as I love the butterflies, this year we can lose a few to the dragonflies. My Chinese Abelia, a massive shrub about 10 feet tall and equally wide, has been blooming since June — and continues to do so. All day long, it is visited simultaneously by at least a hundred butterflies. I’ve never seen so many!
When they fill up on the Chinese Abelia, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtails stop by the lantana growing along the front walk.
Between the drifting flight of butterflies and the zooming quick starts and stops of the dragonflies, I get bumped into on a regular basis as I walk around my yard.
This dragonfly appears to be made of lapis lazuli, or perhaps sapphire.
Patterns on the wings of the dragonflies are likely diagnostic. I really must learn the names of these hunters.
The white wing bars on this one make it more noticeable in flight.
This one appears to be designed to blend in with the trees.
Butterflies, of course, are silent creatures. If I stand right next to the blooming abelia, I can sometimes hear a gentle fluttering of wings by the Spicebush Swallowtails, which never seem to remain motionless for more than a few seconds. Dragonflies make a bit of a buzzing noise as they zip erratically through the air, snagging snacks on the wing.
But for aerial maneuvers with sound effects, you can’t beat the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. This season has brought a bumper crop of them to the front feeder. The bejeweled beauties visit it from dawn to full dark. It seems to be a pit stop for them when they tire of dashing from coral honeysuckle to cardinal flower to salvia to abelia, all the while chittering as they argue over the rights to a particularly tasty nectar source.
After an early morning harvest session in the vegetable garden, I spend probably too much time sitting in the shade and watching the aerial show. I’m not the only one. I often spy a Green Anole perched on a shrub or vine within grabbing distance of unwary butterflies. And a large Green Frog usually meditates in one of the pots of sedges and pitcher plants sitting in our front water feature. The cicadas thrum, the hummingbirds swoop and squeal; in the distance, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo calls from the treetops, predicting more rain.
Pesky bugs and all, it’s the best summer we’ve had in years. I reckon I’m not going to feel to guilty for enjoying it as much as possible.
A Sky Jewel grabs a quick drink from the feeder that I keep supplied with fresh fuel.
Beginnings and Endings
Posted by piedmontgardener in Favorite Plants, Native Wildlife, piedmont gardening on September 12, 2012
Illicium floridanum ‘Halley’s Comet’ flower and fruit
Astronomically speaking, autumn begins with the vernal equinox, which will occur on September 22. However in my yard, autumn’s influence is showing more every day. But at the same time, summer has not surrendered, thanks to frequent August rains and high temperatures that have not ventured near the record heat wave that plagued us during much of July.
In the last few days, our first round of autumn air has chilled our mornings, leaving heavy dew on grass, leaves, and garden benches, and bright blue, humidity-free skies that beckon birds to start thinking about their southerly migrations.
The late-summer rains have confused some of my plants — like the Florida Anise-tree in the opening photo. While still ripening the abundant fruits it produced from its spring flowers, it has put out quite a respectable second flush of new flowers. All the trees — red- and white-bloomers are doing this to some extent.
The annual flowers in my vegetable garden are also reinvigorated, looking nearly as lush as they did in June — quite unusual in recent summers.
But most plants are well into seed-production mode. My pecan trees this year set abundant fruit, but I suspect the July heat wave damaged them. Instead of being harvested and devoured by squirrels, most of the nuts have fallen to the ground. A few look as if the squirrels tasted and rejected them.
Pecans fell prematurely and are being ignored by squirrels.
Only a few nuts still remain on the trees, apparently more successful in maturing to full ripeness, as these two here:
Perhaps the squirrels will approve of these?
The bronze fennel I grow in the vegetable garden as food for Black Swallowtail caterpillars were not visited by those butterfly larvae this year. Instead, they bloomed prolifically, and now their seeds have ripened in abundance. I predict a bumper crop of fennel volunteers in my garden next spring.
I hope the birds eat some of these, or I’ll be growing a fennel garden next year.
Fruit set on the native trees is abundant. Pileated woodpeckers are arguing daily over dogwood (Cornus florida) berries, which turn scarlet well before their leaves.
By the time the leaves turn, the fruits will all have been devoured.
The long, mild spring helped the Sweet Bay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) produce an abundance of fruit-filled, squat cones:
Although shorter than cones of sister species, it is still unmistakably a Magnolia fruit.
Local wildlife seems to be working overtime as winter’s cold looms closer. Last week, I had noticed that a few tadpoles were still lingering in my little water feature. This morning, when the thermometer on our hill read 49.3 degrees Fahrenheit, a new froglet emerged and settled on a dew-covered leaf. These little ones never photograph well for me, but I think perhaps it’s another Cope’s Gray Treefrog. I hope so.
Warming up in the first rays of morning sun.
Two hours later, one of the Green Frogs that’s been living in the water feature all summer emerged seeking sun. These frogs have more than doubled in size since they first arrived after a rainy night.
The Green Frogs have flourished this summer.
The insects and arachnids seem to go into a near frenzy of activity this time of year, perhaps trying to squeeze in one more generation of themselves before winter’s cold shuts down production. Two days ago, I was surprised to see a male Carolina Mantis on the wall beside my front door. I know he was a male, because he was so skinny that I at first thought I was looking at a very large Walking Stick insect. Then he turned his characteristic triangular head in my direction, and I realized my mistake.
I haven’t seen a Carolina Mantis in my yard in maybe ten years. The Chinese Mantises were all I saw, and even they have been sparse this year, I think due to a lizard population explosion in my front garden.
I suspect this fellow was looking for a mate, and I hope he found one. I’m all for helping our native mantises thrive. Click on the photo below to enlarge it enough to see that he was staring at me.
This male Carolina Mantis lingered for about an hour before disappearing.
The Black and Yellow Garden Spiders (Writing Spiders) are disappearing one by one. I think they are laying their egg cases, then fading into oblivion. Two large ones remain in my front garden. This beauty resides in my lantana hedge, where she grows fat on unwary butterflies and moths. Check out the design on her back:
Early inspiration for tattoos, perhaps?
Another one lives beside my little water feature. This morning, she was waiting patiently for breakfast:
The mist from the water feature gives her a bit of a sinister air.
The other Garden Spiders that once resided in the plants that sit within my water feature have all vanished. But one left behind a very large egg case. Before I carry the water plants inside my greenhouse for the winter, I’ll gently relocate this case to a spot in the garden where the hatchlings will be appreciated next spring.
Note the messy web left around the egg case — a defense perhaps?
Finally, two caterpillars crossed my path this morning. Caterpillars are everywhere right now. I know this by the frass (entomologist jargon for caterpillar poop) littering my deck below the oak tree, and by the myriad birds that hunt for them in the trees all day. I’ve been hearing the chipping call of a patrolling Summer Tanager nearby for several weeks.
This intimidating caterpillar was on my deck railing this morning.
White-marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar
Don’t touch those hairs. They will sting and give you a painful rash. This one likely fell from the oak tree above where I found it.
This one and its siblings have been eating my native coral honeysuckle for a couple of weeks now.
Snowberry Clearwing Moth Caterpillar
Honeysuckle is one of this species’ favorite food groups, and my vine is huge, so I let them have their way. They don’t eat the flowers or fruits, merely stripping the vines of leaves in a few spots. Note the discarded skin on the branch behind it, left over from an earlier molting.
How do I know the identity of these caterpillars? I’m glad you asked. Everything I know about caterpillars I learned from my go-to reference — Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David L. Wagner. Dr. Wagner’s book is full of excellent photos and all the information you need to know about what the caterpillars eat and what they’ll turn into. I highly recommend this book.
That’s just a sample of what’s going on right now on my patch of North Carolina piedmont. I’ll fill you in on some other highlights in another post soon. Meanwhile, get out there and enjoy that autumn air while it lasts. Word from the weather seers is that heat and humidity will be returning within 48 hours. But not for long — we hope!
Guardian of the Walk and Other Newcomers
Posted by piedmontgardener in Native Wildlife, piedmont gardening on June 23, 2012
Eastern Fence Lizard defends its turf.
In the 23 years that we’ve been tending our five acres of North Carolina Piedmont, we have encountered many native animals. I am happy to report that our greenly chaotic landscape is home to most of the species of reptiles and amphibians that you’d expect to find in such a spot. Lizards are especially welcome because of their bug-eating habits and non-venomous natures, and numerous skinks and anoles have always been all over the yard.
But until the day of the Summer Solstice, I had never seen an Eastern Fence Lizard here. This has always puzzled me, because theses lizards are notoriously arboreal — more so than our other native lizards — and our yard certainly has plenty of trees. Still, no matter what time of day or season I walked our land, I never saw one Eastern Fence Lizard.
Imagine my surprise when I finally encounter one — on my front sidewalk! According to the sources I checked, Eastern Fence Lizards prefer open woods with lots of rotten logs and stumps to hide in. And they are never far from trees, because that’s where they run when they are frightened.
Although I will admit that my front garden is not exactly in garden-magazine-worthy shape, no rotten logs or stumps are to be found there. And the trees near the spot where I found the above lizard are not large — no more than ten or twelve feet high with slender trunks.
We’ve seen this lizard in the same area three days in a row now. It seems to have declared the end of our walk where it meets the driveway as its territory. We see it there every morning a few hours after sunrise. The driveway ends in a rock wall, which our other lizard species adore, so perhaps that’s part of the attraction. And I recently added fresh mulch — shredded wood — to the bed that edges the walk, so it’s nice and moist. Lizards eat spiders and insects, and Eastern Fence Lizards are supposed to be especially fond of beetles. I am certain that end of the front garden is a veritable lizard smorgasbord.
It looks quite ferocious, doesn’t it? It seems unimpressed by the humans who keep taking pictures of it. That close-up above was taken by Ace Photographer Wonder Spouse this morning. Here’s one I took yesterday:
Eastern Fence Lizard seeking breakfast.
He’s looking at the giant lantanas blooming profusely along the walk. They attract all kinds of pollinators. I’m thinking this creature has noticed.
Later this morning as we returned from picking vegetables in the garden (75 Jade bush beans, 74 Fortex pole beans, 3 Sweet Treats cherry tomatoes, 1 Super Marzano paste tomato, 1 Viva Italia paste tomato, 2 Raven zucchinis, and 1 Spineless Perfection zucchini), we discovered the lizard had moved from the walk to the mulch. It was all splayed out, perhaps to maximize its ability to soak up a weak sun obscured by morning clouds. It blends in so well with the mulch that I wouldn’t have seen it if it hadn’t moved just a bit as we approached. See what I mean:
Camouflage expert blends with the mulch.
I’m guessing that passing insects may well have as much difficulty spotting the lizard as I did – perhaps with fatal consequences for them.
We’re delighted to have this new species of lizard move into such a prominent location, where we can observe it often. Odds are its kind has been around all along; this one just may be a bit bolder than its kin.
Two other animal newcomers have shown themselves this week. A juvenile Green Frog has moved into our front pond.
Young Green Frog meditating on a misty morning.
We spot it often sitting on the edge enjoying the mist from our ultrasonic mister. My research says that newly metamorphosed Green Frogs will travel as far as three miles to find a new pond after they emerge from their birth ponds.
I know — it doesn’t look very green, does it? According to the link above, they usually don’t. But that ridge running from its eye down its back is diagnostic for the species according to the link, so I’m fairly certain that’s what it is.
One more newbie animal showed up today — a gorgeous Red-headed Woodpecker. This is another species that I’ve always felt should be here, but I’ve only spotted one once before, about ten years ago — and only one time. Although our yard would seem to provide ideal habitat for these woodpeckers, I suspect that the well-established populations of other species of woodpeckers may have something to do with the scarcity of this one. Every other native woodpecker of my region, including the Pileated Woodpecker, routinely nests and feeds in our yard.
The Red-headed Woodpecker I saw today was moving from tree to tree on our floodplain. It did not wish to cooperate with me and my camera, so you’ll have to take my word for it that I saw it. Wonder Spouse saw it too, which helped to assure me that I wasn’t imagining this beauty.
I hope all the newcomers will stick around. It has always been my hope that by increasing the native plant species diversity in our yard, we would also increase wildlife species diversity. I’m happy to report that our efforts seem to be paying off. As we continue to create ideal nesting and foraging habitats — and provide additional native food — the critters keep on coming.
As the woodlands all around us are replaced by the botanical monotony of new suburbs, I expect even more wildlife will find our yard a welcome haven in the years to come. Here’s hoping I can make room for all the wild ones.
Piedmont Gardener 