Field Notes (Blog)

Weather May Affect Monarch Butterfly Reproduction

Posted on by admin

Scorching summers in Central Texas are nothing new. I mean, they’re always hot. But this year we had some next-level heat with temperatures as high as 110, plus humidity, and, of course, no rain for a month straight. So, it wasn’t surprising that both flora and fauna suffered. Only one of my dahlias flowered, one sad little bloom that was at least half a size smaller than it should have been. And the birds ravaged my succulents and Myer lemons–I guess for the moisture, although we have two birdbaths and a pond. But it was the butterfly populations that seemed most affected by the climate.

But that’s one reason to grow native plants, right? They’re better able to adapt to extreme temperatures even when they’re extreme, so that plants and animals have a shot at survival. Even in the extreme heat, I still had my old standby plants to enjoy: sage, milkweed, rock rose, and the annual wildflowers. Nice.

What was sorely missing, though, were the butterflies. Most of the time, I have Monarchs, various swallowtails, fritillaries, sulfurs, etc. all summer long. Not this year. I’m not sure exactly why, but I can make an educated guess that it was because of the heat.

According to the National Wildlife Federation, “Like most butterflies, monarchs are highly sensitive to weather and climate: They depend on environmental cues (temperature in particular) to trigger reproduction, migration, and hibernation.”

Indeed. My neighbor has gotten into raising caterpillars and releasing the butterflies, so early this summer when I found a black swallowtail on some fennel, I gave it to her. Despite the heat, it grew and soon formed its chrysalis. But…it didn’t hatch for over a month until the temperatures cooled off some. Apparently, black swallowtails have been known to go into an extended sort of hibernation when conditions are not right.

Thankfully, though, late September and now October have brought somewhat cooler temperatures along with a little rain, and the butterflies are back. It feels strangely like spring since the summer was so brutal, but now, everything is blooming and colorful and full of the ethereal beauties I love so much.

Monarch butterfly on blue mistflower
Monarch and blue mistflower.
Giant swallowtail butterfly and zinnia
Giant swallowtail and zinnia.
Gulf fritillary on pink zinnia.

Gulf fritillary and zinnia.

Queen butterflies on blue mistflower.
Queens on blue mistflower.
Giant swallowtail butterfly flying over zinnia
Giant swallowtail and zinnias.
Hackberry emperor on butterfly bush bloom.
Hackberry emperor and butterfly bush.

The Importance of Native Bees

Posted on by admin

While you may be familiar with the importance of honey bees for pollination, you may not be as knowledgeable about the importance of native bees. These bees tend to be loners and don’t get the same press that honey bees do.

Native bumble bee
Bumble Bee

But wildlife gardening is all about promoting native plant species, animals, and insects, so let’s put them in the spotlight for a second!

First, just for clarification, anything considered native to your area–and that will vary greatly, sometimes even over a few miles–is a plant, insect, or animal that is designed to be there. Specific plants will feed the specific animals and insects that live there, and native species will thrive, not just survive.

What’s the Problem with Honey Bees?

The problem with all the hubbub about honey bees is that honey bees are not from the United States–they were imported from Europe. Honey bees are akin to herd animals, functioning in groups, (I’ve heard them even referred to as livestock) while native bees are generally more solitary. You know what they say, there’s strength in numbers, and honey bees can pose a significant threat to other species when it comes to resources. Think about it. If pollen sources are spare, who is going to get most of it? Those with the bigger numbers.

Additionally, believe it or not, most native bees are better pollinators than honey bees. In an ongoing study by the US Department of Agriculture on native bee species in New York state apple orchards, native bees are “two to three times better” at pollinating. And with the rise of colony collapse disorder, and various pathogens, viruses, and fungi threatening honey bees, that’s great news. Native bees are less likely to suffer from these problems because of their solitary lifestyle.

native carpenter bee
Carpenter Bee

Unfortunately, it is still possible for honey bees to pass on some diseases, and with more and more people trying to raise bees, the more likely we are to see an increase native bee disease.

native digger bee
Digger Bee

How to Support Native Bees

The way to support native bees is similar to supporting the honey variety. Don’t use pesticides or herbicides, plant more wildflowers indigenous to your area, reduce lawns, and provide habitat that is specific your area. For example, mason bees nest in tube shaped nests, either dried stalks or other plant material, or in store-bought bee houses. Some bees nest in the ground, so try to provide some areas of bare dirt.

In Texas alone, there are about 1,500 species of bees! I’ve identified only six varieties in my yard so far, but I’m hopeful that I will see more as time goes on.

To date, I’ve seen:

  • carpenter bees
  • digger bees
  • mason bees
  • bumble bees
  • hover flies
  • sweat bees

While we may not get honey from native bees, they play an important part in pollinating fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and in our ecosystem overall.

For information on native Texas bees, see https://npsot.org/wp/story/2012/2422/

Butterfly Daze

Posted on by gardengirl8

It might be November, but it doesn’t feel much like fall here in Central Texas. We’ve had mostly eighty degree days for a while now, and though that’s better than the one hundred-degree stretch we suffered through in August, it still seems strange. But to be honest, I’m glad it’s still warm because I’m not ready to say good-bye to my flowers yet! Especially when they are so often visited by butterflies.

The butterflies seem to like just about all the flowers in my yard–my butterfly bush is always a favorite, hence the name. But this year, two flowers stood out among all the rest, quite unexpectedly: marigolds and cosmos.

Queen butterfly flying over a marigold patch.
Queen Butterfly

It’s been a stellar year for butterflies. I’ve seen more species in the last few months than I ever have before. Just goes to show, if you want to bring butterflies to your yard, you need to plant flowers–a lot of them!

Pipevine swallowtail getting nectar from a marigold flower.
Pipevine Swallowtail
Pipevine swallowtail visiting a marigold.
Side view of a pipevine swallowtail, showing the pattern on the underside of its wings.

The biggest butterfly attractors have been the French marigolds I planted in my vegetable garden. I’ve never given much thought to marigolds. I’ve never thought they were all that interesting. The only reason I planted them was as companion plants to my tomatoes to help deter pests. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised by just how many flowers each plant blooms and how long they last. The colors are quite stunning too.

Clouded sulfur butterfly on a marigold flower.
Clouded Sulfur
Giant swallowtail flying off a marigold.
Giant Swallowtail
Side view of a giant swallowtail butterfly.

Of course, the butterflies aren’t the marigolds’ only visitors. Bees love them too.

My cosmos have been another flower popular with the pollinators. While they don’t bloom quite as profusely as the marigolds, they do put out plenty of flowers–especially if you deadhead or cut them as often as I do for my pressed flower art (by the way, cosmos make excellent pressed flowers; marigolds do not!). I love the cosmos’ long, graceful stems.

Monarch butterfly on a cosmos flower.
Monarch Butterfly
Monarch butterfly on a cosmos flower.
Queen butterfly on a cosmos flower.
Queen Butterfly
Long-tailed skipper on a cosmos flower.
Long-tailed Skipper

I’ve already got my flower seed packets ready for next year, with both nectar and host plant seeds. Maybe next year, I’ll break my butterfly spotting record.

New Bird Sighting: Eastern Phoebe

Posted on by gardengirl8

I heard this guy long before I saw him. He’s got a repetitive call that sounds a lot like he is saying “phoebe.”

It’s quite pretty, with a dark gray back and head, then a dusting of olive green on its chest and belly. He seems quite talkative, making his distinctive sound often enough to rival a blue jay.

According to the Cornell Ornithology Lab’s All About Birds page, phoebes eat mostly insects, including wasps, beetles, flies, midges, cicadas (yay!), butterflies, dragonflies (boo!), spiders and ticks.

Phoebes are also loners, rarely appearing in groups or even with their mate. If you’d like to read more about the Eastern Phoebe, check out: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Phoebe/lifehistory

Insect ID: Crab Spider

Posted on by gardengirl8

white crab spider

What the heck is a crab spider?

So, I was dead-heading my roses the other day, totally noticing that they were looking crappy. Some buds had shriveled and browned before even opening, and there was hardly any color. As I went to dump my basket of spent rose petals, I spotted this white spider.

Ok, I have to admit, I have a bit of arachnophobia, and when I saw the color of this guy, I thought for sure it was something deadly. My Google search turned up equally terrifying results–apparently there is a poisonous white spider in Australia. So, I went to my Texas A&M site and filled out their form. As usual, the response was quick. Patrick informed me that this was a crab spider and is considered beneficial.

He said it was not the cause of the damage on my roses, that it looked like the plants were infected with spider mites. Gosh, Patrick is just so helpful!

Anyway, I promptly ordered a bunch of ladybugs and lacewings to eat the spider mites, so stay tuned!

New Bird Sighting: Bronzed Cowbird

Posted on by gardengirl8
Bronzed cowbird

So, this guy landed in my yard today (it seems like I see a new bird a few times a week now!). At first I thought it was just a common grackle, which are extremely common in these parts. But I noticed right away that it was much smaller, and as you can see, it has intensely red eyes. I soon discovered that it was a bronzed cowbird.

bronzed cowbird on bird bath

It was really quite striking with its jet-black feathers and beautiful, if not a little creepy, eyes. But what was interesting was the way it would bunch up its neck feathers.

bronzed cowbird with bunched up neck feathers

He kind of reminded me of Jon Snow in Game of Thrones when he wore the Night’s Watch cloak.

No Spoilers] A question about the Night's watch cloak : gameofthrones

Sigh. I miss that show. But I digress.

Here is what Cornell Lab’s All About Birds has to say about this bird:

A compact, bull-necked bird of open country, the Bronzed Cowbird forages for seeds and grains on the ground, usually in flocks. In good light, the male shimmers with deep glossy blue on the wing and a black body with a velvety bronze sheen. Males and females have intense red eyes. Like their relatives, the smaller Brown-headed Cowbirds, these unusual birds are “brood parasites”—they lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, leaving the hosts to provide all the care for their young.”

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bronzed_Cowbird/overview

Yeesh. I hate that they are “brood parasites.”

And here are some cool facts:

Both Brown-headed and Bronzed Cowbirds have expanded their ranges recently, and the two species now overlap extensively. Competition for host nests has been one result. Bronzed Cowbirds tend to lay eggs in the nests of larger species than the Brown-headed does—but people have reported many host nests containing the eggs of both cowbird species.

Many species of songbird that are regular hosts to Bronzed Cowbird eggs attack the cowbirds when they are near their nest, which suggests that they perceive the cowbird as a threat to the nest. Couch’s Kingbirds, Hooded Orioles, and Northern Mockingbirds are especially aggressive toward Bronzed Cowbirds.

At least 101 species of songbirds have been known to host Bronzed Cowbird eggs in their nests. These range in size from the small Golden-cheeked Warbler to the sizeable Green Jay.

Bronzed Cowbirds often parasitize the nests of orioles. Birders have noticed that the sound of an oriole singing in the springtime often brings in both male and female Bronzed Cowbirds.

The record for the number of Bronzed Cowbird eggs found in a single nest is 17.”

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bronzed_Cowbird/overview

Check out a previous New Bird Sighting.

Night Bird

Posted on by gardengirl8

For a couple of years, every night in the spring and summer, we’d hear a bird chirping. It wasn’t like the long drawn out bird song you might hear in the mornings. It was more of a consistent succession of chirps–sometimes one at a time, and sometimes a rhythmic series of them. At one point, the chirper must have been in the red tip photinia right outside our bedroom window, and he kept us up with his serenade.

What bird sings at night? I wondered. I found an article that mentioned how Mockingbirds will sometimes chirp at night during mating season. But this didn’t sound even remotely like the Mockingbirds I’ve heard, which are bold and forceful in their singing.

Armed with a flashlight, I searched the bushes and trees around our backyard to no avail. Every time I got close to where the sound was coming from, he’d just clam up.

“It’s just Night Bird,” my husband said.

After a while, we just sort of let the mystery of Night Bird be. And so, whenever we’d hear it, we’d just say, “Night Bird.” Like, there he is, at it again.

A few months ago, I took up my sleuthing once more. I’m really not one to let things go. I call it persistence. You might call it being obsessive. Potayto, potahto. Anyway, one night, Night Bird was doing his thing, and I decided to go out and have a look. I started thinking about everything I know about birds, namely that when you get close to them, they fly off. So, if this indeed was a bird, it was being remarkably still. There wasn’t even the sound of rustling leaves or movement of any kind. Which led me to think…

It wasn’t a bird at all.

Suddenly I remembered the tree frog we found on our porch a few years back. It was making the strangest sounds. I knew that whatever Night Bird was, it wasn’t the same as the tree frog, but maybe it was some other kind of frog or toad.

So, I searched “frog call that sounds like a bird.” Boom! I had my answer. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Night Bird. Also known as the Rio Grande Chirping Frog:

Rio Grande Chirping Frog

As you can probably guess, I just had to see this guy for myself. They are pretty small, so viewing them can be a challenge. In fact, all I managed to do was snap a picture as it was hopping away. Not a great shot, but it’s all I’ve got.

We still call him Night Bird, although, there is clearly more than one. Their calls seem to echo all over the backyard. Sometimes, I even hear them in the morning. I’ve looked and looked and I still haven’t been able to see one in person. But maybe one day, I’ll get lucky. One can hope. Or one can obsessively, er, I mean persistently look.

One day, Night Bird, one day.