Bees Bee and Bears Bear

The ultimate goal, perpetuate the species. Throughout the summer and fall insects are busy mating. While there are several ways to mate, tail to tail is the preferred method of most. This is a pair of Large Milkweed Bugs.

Here are a pair of Eastern Tailed Blues and Pearl Crescents.

A pair of bee mimics of the Syrphid Fly family. In many insects, the female is the larger of the two.

This pair of Buckeye butterflies were interrupted by a peeping tom.

Apparently someone didn't get the memo that three's a crowd.

Mating moths from the Choleophoridae family. Choleophorids are micro moths that can be recognized by the always forward pointing antennae.

You want sex? Buy me dinner first. Looking like a four-winged crane fly, Hangingflies are related to Scorpionflies. Their mating behavior involves the male capturing smaller insects and presenting them to a female. If she approves of the meal, she will take it and let him mate.

If the meal is too small, she will finish it and kick the male off before he's done. If the gift is rather large, after mating the male will take the meal away from her and present it once again to another female.

You call this mating? Perhaps the most interesting reproductive behavior is exhibited by the dragonflies and damselflies. These are Stream Bluets, the male up top is holding on to the female by digging his claspers in behind her head.

Males protect their investment by holding on to females until she has laid her eggs. Notice the difference between the sexes in these damselfly species. When females are flying alone, you almost always have to have them in hand to make proper identifications. This is a pair of Violet Dancers.

Dragonflies, like damselflies also fly united in heart shaped or pretzel shaped formations. Males have a sperm sac that they store in the upper abdomen, allowing him to grasp the female. She then reaches up and takes the sperm from him. When capturing females, you can tell if she has mated as there will be clasper marks on the back of her head.This is a pair of Ruby Meadowhawks. (A Lisa Sells photo)

It's Red, Can I Eat It?

There is always someone in my class who wants to munch on anything we come across. Here's a collection of various red fruiting plants.

Autumn Olive, Elaeagnus umbellata, is an exotic shrub originally brought over to use as a landscape plant in disturbed sites. It's roots are nitrogen fixers, the flowers are sweet scented, and the fruit IS edible. In fact it has nutrients exceeding that of Tomato. It can be recognized by the orange freckles on all parts of the plant. Regardless of the positive attributes, it is highly invasive and extremely difficult to eradicate.

Wild Black Cherry, Prunus serotina, has little red cherries that turn black upon maturity. They are edible. Some find them sweet, others say they are bitter. Perhaps "tart" is the better word. They are used in jellies, jams, pies, etc. This surprises some folks, as they may have heard wild cherry is poisonous. This does occur when branches break and the leaves start to wilt. At this time hydrogen cyanide becomes active and can kill livestock. Any broken branches should be removed from the vicinity of animals.

Spicebush, Lindera benzoin, is a common shrub in our area. While I wouldn't eat them right off the plant, you can use them in medicinal teas. In pioneer days (and even today), you would collect the berries, squeeze out the center black seed, and chop them up. Fry them with meat or veggies as an allspice substitute.

This tiny ground cover plant is Partridgeberry, Mitchella repens. It is an evergreen, forming mats on rocks or acidic soils. It is called Partridgeberry because many gallinaceous birds (turkey, grouse, quail) will feed on it. It's not consumed by humans to my knowledge.

What is most interesting about the plant is its reproductive biology. With most plants, when a flower is fertilized, it becomes a fruit. In Partridgeberry, there is a pair of white tubular flowers, BOTH of which must be pollinated to produce the fruit. Here you can see the two holes where the flowers once were.

Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra, is a shrub of open sunny habitats. The berries can be used to make a nice pink lemonade. When I was younger, my roommates and I made the mistake of putting them in hot water. This usually results in a sour taste. There are four red sumac species in Ohio you can use. Two of them are hairy. I suggest you put the berries in a cheesecloth to filter out the hairs (and any bugs), put them in cold water overnight. Add a touch of lemon and as they say "sweeten to taste".

High-bush Cranberry Viburnum, Viburnum opulus (trilobum), is native to the north-east corner of Ohio. It is used a lot in landscaping not only for it's bright fruit, but showy flowers as well. High-bush is very sour, and sometimes used as a cranberry substitute. Read any recipe carefully, as a certain percentage of people get sick from eating this.

Jack-In-The-Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum. Upon ripening the fruits are so heavy, the entire plant tends to fall over on the ground. The bright red color entices animals to feed, but it is not edible to humans. The concern over this plant are the basal portions of the root, or corms. Putting that in your mouth will result  in either a cottonmouth reaction or extreme burning. Consuming it can cause the stomach or intestines to swell up. Animals get sick from eating the root, but usually stop before it becomes fatal.

Pictured here is Carolina Rose (native) and Multi-flora Rose (exotic). Roses have been used for centuries in ornamental gardens, to make perfume, and the fruit or 'hips' are cooked in stews, soups, pies, and countless other desserts. They are high in vitamin C, and are common in herbal and medicinal teas.

Coralberry, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, is a native shrub related to the Honeysuckles. It is sometimes used in landscaping. It's fruit smell like apples, but are not edible.

Flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida. One of the most popular trees used as an ornamental. It has 4 showy white bracts (not petals) on it's flowers. There is also a pink variety. The clusters of fruit are not edible to humans. Before toothbrushes, native american indians chewed dogwood bark to clean their teeth.

Yew, Taxus spp. There are many species of Yew trees and shrubs around the world. A native shrub, Taxus canadensis, is found in unglaciated portions of Ohio. Most Yews that people see are planted non-native ornamentals. Yews are gymnosperms, and produce a hollow fleshy 'cone' that surrounds a hard green seed. It is more properly called an aril. It is said the sticky liquid in the red portion can be used to make a syrup. But the seed itself is one of the most toxic and deadly of fruits.

Winterberry Holly, Ilex verticillata. A showy plant of swamps and marshes. Like all hollies, the fruit is poisonous.

Japanese Barberry, Berberis thunbergii. Recognized by the little spoon shaped leaves and sharp thorns, it has been used a lot in landscaping. Trouble is it has become an invasive escape. Scraping the bark will reveal a neon yellow-green color. The fruit persist into winter, but are not edible.

Other exotic invasives include the Bush Honeysuckles. Morrow's, Amur, Tatarian, and a fourth hybrid. I have seen folks get upset when metro parks remove these. People just don't understand the invasive potential of non-native plants. The berries are not edible, and some honeysuckles can be poisonous.

Serviceberry, Juneberry, Shadbush, Shadrack. Amelanchier arborea. Ripening in June, the fruit is used for jams, pies, wine, or eaten right off the tree. Depending on your palate, the taste is described as having hints of blueberry or cherry.

The folklore behind the names is interesting. In the old days when the ground was frozen during winter, people could not dig a burial pit. When serviceberry came into bloom early in the spring, it told people the ground was thawing, and services could then be held for the dead. When this plant started blooming, it indicated to people the shad were running, and it was time to go fishing.

While I haven't mentioned this for each individual species, the vast majority of these are used by birds and mammals. Wildlife students learn which of these are native or exotic, which prefer forests or open fields, and management is practiced accordingly.

Hey, how'd that get in here!!

Zaleski Wetlands

When traveling along Rt. 278 past Lake Hope State Park, you'll encounter a number of wetlands. Most are open marshes with perhaps Buttonbush shrubs throughout. One in particular, with River Birch, Pin Oak, and Sphagnum Moss, caught my attention.

Identifying plants in flower is one thing, but I didn't recognize this post-bloom species. I had seen this plant in Michigan, but never in Ohio. Turns out this is Marsh St. Johnswort. Look for the long perfoliate leaves.

Another common wetland plant is Bur-reed. Difficult to identify to species, you have to look closely at the spiny seed cluster. This is Sparganium androcladum or americanum. Range maps indicate it's probably the latter. These green clusters are white when flowering, and look similar to Buttonbush.

Speaking of which, here is Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis. It is one of the first woody shrubs to colonize wetlands.

Arrow-leaved Tearthumb is a common plant of wet soils, but I usually see it with white flowers more so than pink blooms.

Ferns are common in a variety of habitats. Some are more often seen in forests, while others prefer to keep their feet wet. This is Sensitive Fern, recognized by the way the leaves (fronds) form a wing-like main stem.

Another species of wet soils is the Cinnamon Fern. Both these fern species produce separate stalks for their spores rather than on the back of each frond.

One of the nice finds in this swamp was the Winterberry Holly, Ilex verticillata.

This species of holly is deciduous. It has rather small non-showy flowers.

Much more noticeable are the clusters of bright red berries. Like American Holly, only the female plants will produce fruit. The leaves are serrated, and have small wrinkled cross veins.

When the leaves fall, look for the single bump, or bundle scar inside the leaf scar. Also look at those two sharp objects on either side of the leaf scar.

Upon maturity these pointy black 'stipules' aid in identification, especially in winter. Because the fruit persist into the cold months, Winterberry is often used as a landscape plant.

White to pink tinged, these oddly shaped flowers account for the common name Turtlehead.

You can't walk through a wetland without encountering the orange Jewelweed or Touch-Me-Not.

Coming in for a landing. This is a Bee Fly of the genus Lepidophora. Because there is yellow on the 4th abdominal segment, it is probably Lepidophora lutea.

This species looks like a large marsh mosquito. Most bee flies mimic bees in both looks and behavior. These use that long needle-like proboscis for probing flowers. Bee fly larvae are parasites of bees.

This fly has long antennae covered in thick black scales. More typical of flies are short, thin, wire-like antennae like you see at the end of these.

Because of the large round thorax, these flies are often called hunch-back flies.

Where the wetland meets the road I found this Ground-cherry, a common plant in disturbed sites.

This is a Dogbane Leaf Miner. The leaves are rolled up and the caterpillars hide inside while eating only the soft green cells of the plant.

After tearing the leaf open, the caterpillars immediately started grabbing the silk and sewing the leaf shut.

It's late in the season, but this Monarch was still busy eating away at a milkweed. Upon hatching it will start to migrate south.

This is a Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar. It is turning dark and sitting on a silken web, evidence it is starting to pupate.

Upon arriving home I was presented with this giant silkworm caterpillar. It is the larvae of the Imperial Moth. The color varies from green to reddish brown, and has 4 horns behind the head, followed by many soft white hairs.

Insects all have 3 body regions, not always easy to distinguish on larval forms. Here the head is obvious. The thorax region has the legs, and in this case, the four horns. The abdominal segments all have light circles on them called spiracles. This is how they breathe.