Raising Butterflies and Other Odds and Ends

        When I mentioned raising butterflies indoors in my last post several of you left comments expressing an interest  in knowing more about the process. I do not have pictures of the entire sequence, but I can explain what you need to know without them, and I think the narrative will be sufficient. After this post if you still have questions feel free to get in touch with me.

     The first thing to determine of course is the species you wish to raise and to ensure that you have their preferred plant either in your garden or close at hand.

     We have usually raised three species (and I must add that Miriam pretty much does this without a whole lot of help from me), Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) and Monarch (Danaus plexippus).

     The swallowtails are known to seek out Rue (Ruta graveolens) to lay their eggs, so we have it growing in our backyard. At the appropriate time just keep an eye on the plant and you will not fail to notice the females depositing eggs. For Monarchs, a species of milkweed (Asclepias spp.) is necessary and we have Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), both containing a poisonous, bitter-tasting chemical which remains in the tissue of the adult butterflies and gives Monarchs immunity from predators. Dill (Anethum graveolens) is also accepted by swallowtails but milkweeds are essential for Monarchs.

     Bring stems of the plant indoors with lots of leaves for the caterpillars to munch on when they hatch, keeping them green and fresh by standing them in water, and then watch the process unfold. When the caterpillars first emerge from the eggs you will be astounded at how tiny they are, yet you will be even more amazed at their rate of growth and the sheer volume of frass that accumulates at the bottom of the cage. You can't believe how much poop one little caterpillar can produce! We line the bottom of the cage with newspaper and change it regularly, and provide new food constantly.

     If you are fortunate and are able to catch the moment when the caterpillar forms a chrysalis, or the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, you will be moved by the experience in a way that little else in life has moved you. It all takes place very quickly, however, so you have to keep checking!

     When the butterfly emerges from the cocoon it hangs for a while inflating its wings and letting them dry; after which it is good to go on its journey as an adult butterfly.

Black Swallowtail

Giant Swallowtail

     We are finished with swallowtails for this year but have several Monarch caterpillars at various stages of development in the house now, so we have much pleasure and excitement to look forward to.

Other Odds and Ends

     After four months of not getting together our Tuesday Rambles with David resumed, and we were careful to practice socially-distanced birding.

     From left to right above - John Pries, Carol Gorenc, Jim Huffman, Judy Wyatt, David Gascoigne, Franc Gorenc, Mary Voisin.

     Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) appear to have had a very successful breeding season and we have seen several newly-fledged families of these delightful flycatchers.

     The local creeks, swamps and wetlands harbour good populations of Midland Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta marginata) which can often be seen sunning themselves on a convenient log.

         The young Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) at RiverSong have now left the nest and this lone adult was perhaps more than a tad relieved to be free of parental duties.

     We have had a decent amount of rain of late, much needed and very welcomed by various species that gather in low spots in fields flooded by rainfall. This Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) was taking full advantage of the conditions.

     Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) is quite common around the shoreline of lakes, ponds, rivers and streams, but it was unusual to find one just taking a rest.

     We continue to get out every day and we are almost giddy with the full flush of nature at this time of the year. Life like this really is the way life was intended to be.

Butterflies, Bunnies and Birds

     We, (well, Miriam really) have had another successful year raising Black Swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes) and Giant Swallowtails (Papilio cresphontes) indoors and it has been fascinating, as always, to watch the development of these wonders of nature from tiny egg to resplendent butterfly. There are some things that never get old and this is one of them.

     When you look at the exuvia above it is hard to believe that this huge Giant Swallowtail (83 - 133 mm) emerged from it.

     It has been a very successful breeding season for Eastern Cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) but they have not ravaged Miriam's garden too drastically and have even permitted the coneflowers (Asteraceae compositae) out front to prosper, so I think that her antagonism towards them has moderated significantly.

     The breeding season has ended for the Green Herons (Butorides virescens) at SpruceHaven but the adults find rich feeding on the pond.

     This time of year is notable for the number of recently fledged birds beginning the difficult task of making their own way in life, no longer able to count on parents to provide food, shelter and protection. This young Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) seems to have made a good start.

     A family of recently fledged Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) were still flocking together; perhaps it's a good thing to have your siblings watch out for you.

     On our nightly walks at Hillside Park we have been seeing Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus) with great regularity, and have been keeping an eye on several likely breeding locations.

     The snag on the left above attracted our attention several times, and often we saw flickers in the area.  Finally we noticed movement and you can see a young bird poking up from the hole.

     We watched a male perch atop the snag.....

     .....and it was not long before we witnessed nestlings being fed.

     From what we could observe from our position on the ground far below the nest, it was apparent that these young woodpeckers were close to fledging.

     What a pleasure to watch all this activity!

     A couple of nights later the nest was silent, but just before leaving to make our way home, we saw the entire family perched together on another dead tree - father, mother and three healthy children.

     All is well with the world!

     

Midsummer Happenings

         It has been miserably hot of late, with the daily temperature routinely getting up into the thirties, not conducive to long walks, unfortunately. As a consequence this post will be a bit of a mixed bag of sightings around the backyard, in the house, and a few items from farther afield.

     Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), the arch invader of the garden, is both a delight and a menace, and is extremely common. These creatures, whose life span seldom exceeds six to eight months, rarely one year, are susceptible to all manner of diseases, and harbour a full suite of endo and ecto parasites, and in addition face a formidable array of predators, both terrestrial and aerial.

     Cottontails contract a range of occular surface diseases, and this individual, a regular visitor, appears to have a cataract in one eye.

     It does not seem to have affected its ability to forage and even with one operative eye it unerringly finds the plants Miriam would least like it to chew upon.

     Woe betide it, however, when a cunning fox comes up on its blind side!

     For several years now we have raised butterflies inside the house, with an undiminished fascination for observing the transformation from egg to caterpillar, to chrysalis, and finally a beautiful butterfly.

     Here are two companions, both feeding on Rue (Ruta graveolens), safe from the elements, and more significantly from winged predators of many types. Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) is at the left, nose-to-nose, so to speak, with Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) at the right.

     Miriam and I were outside looking at another half dozen caterpillars or so on the Rue, debating whether we should bring them into the safety of the house, all the while recognizing that these larvae are an important food source for birds and other insects. Our minds were made up for us, in short order, as several European Paper Wasps (Polistes dominula) swarmed the plant, and immobilized the caterpillars with their sting, and feasted on them.

     Most caterpillars do not survive, of course, and songbirds would be unable to raise their young without this spring flush of protein.

     Less desirable are Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) caterpillars, which have appeared in profusion this year, and are capable of inflicting serious damage to a range of native deciduous trees.

     Foolishly, this species was deliberately introduced into North America in 1868-69 and threatens our forests. Many have found their way into our yard, where we destroy them.

     Their spiny body makes them unappealing to most birds and other potential enemies.

     A male Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) nectaring on Salvia is not threatening at all.

     There was a bumper crop of Paeonies (Paeoniceae) this year and Miriam brought the final few into the house. 

     Several juvenile American Robins (Turdus migratorius) have appeared in the backyard as they leave the nest, sometimes accompanied by an adult but more frequently alone as they embark on an independent life.

     It was apparent that one young bird was in trouble. It panted frequently, its wings drooped and it had a noticeable tremor. I do not know whether some form of pathogen affected this bird or whether it was carrying a lethal load of parasites, but it succumbed overnight and was found dead the next morning.

     It is always sad to see a young bird not live to fulfill its potential, but life in the wild is neither easy nor predictable.

     The Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) below seemed to be engaged in some kind of feather maintenance activity, either anting or soaking up UV rays.

     Our Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) has done exceptionally well this year, and provides a burst of colour at the front of the house.

      Despite its name, we have never seen a butterfly on it, although it does not lack for other pollinators.

     It is by any measure a beautiful plant and has fortunately escaped the attention of the rabbits.

     At SpruceHaven this year we have not been able to do any serious monitoring of the Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) as the Coronavirus put an end to team work and cooperative effort, but the colony appears to be prospering.

     Fairly early in their development the nestlings learn to orient their rear ends to excrete over the lip of the nest, so an easy way to know which nests have active young is to follow the piles of poop building up beneath them.

     Many species of butterfly are active now; witness this Tawny-edged Skipper (Polites themistocles) on Bird's Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculata).

     Several Pearl Crescents (Phyciodes tharos) were flitting around; finally one came to rest and we were able to get a picture.

     This period has also been marked by upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 on a brand new computer. Nothing has the capacity to make me nervous more than computer issues and we owe a great debt of gratitude to Jeremy Faulkner of Nerds on Site for making the transition seamless and worry-free.

     We had always used Picasa for our photo editing and were very familiar with its ease of operation. It was at the apex of user-friendliness. However, it was discontinued some years ago and is no longer available for download, so on Jeremy's advice we switched to digiKam. After some initial consternation, and a great deal of perseverance from Miriam, we (insert "she") navigated our way through it, and are becoming more comfortable with repeated use.

     Adding a watermark to a photograph seems inordinately complicated, however, and we will eschew this feature for now. I am not quite sure why amateurs like us need a watermark anyway.