----- Original Message -----
As July starts, the nature lover can continue to enjoy some breeding birds and
observe an increasing number of interesting insects. New flowers are blooming,
such as day lilies and catalpa trees and we are starting to be bothered by some
of the less desirable critters such as Japanese beetles and ticks. I spend a
lot of time watching our ponds, some with and some without fish. The pond in
the first two photos is next to our house and our grandson Sam enjoys catch and
release of our "pet" bass and sunfish. A second pond I watch has no fish but
far more species of dragonflies and damselflies. For example a type of clubtail
dragonfly, the black-shouldered spinyleg (note long spines on the third leg-
the better to hold prey) is somewhat of a generalist and is found in both the
fish and non-fish ponds. In contrast the beautiful azure bluet damselfly is
primarily found at ponds lacking fish.
Another example of how a small change in habitat conditions supports a new
species is the eruption of Jimson weeds on the soil around our landscape debris
burn pile. The seeds in the ground perhaps were stimulated to germinate by the
recent burning of the debris. Jimson weed flowers are striking examples of the
nightshade family and are quite toxic due to the presence of atropine and
scopolamine. The flowers are pollinated by night flying sphinx moths. A very
different flower of the catalpa tree was blooming nearby. I planted these to
observe the "bean worms" or catalpa sphinx moth caterpillars which are used as
bait by fishermen. The unusual flowers are primarily pollinated by large bees
and the resulting long seed pods are the "beans."
A toxic insect that gains protection from its poisonous food is the red
milkweed long-horned beetle which is now common in our grasslands. If you look
carefully you may notice why this is called the four-eyed beetle, since the
antennae on both sides bisect the eyes into two parts. Milkweeds support a
number of such interesting specialist insects in addition to the monarch
butterfly. A second aposematic long-horn is now found on our elderberries, the
elderberry borer, and is also brightly colored to advertise that it is toxic
due to its diet. Few realize that aside from the edible flowers and fruit, the
rest of the elderberry plant is dangerously poisonous.
So as summer progresses, birds will complete their breeding, new flowers will
appear, and insects will generally become more prevalent. Observe and enjoy the
changing panorama of life.
Bill Dunson
Galax, VA and Englewood, FL
http://lemonbayconservancy.org/news-blog/nature-notes-by-bill-dunson/ ;
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Fish pond at farm with grandsons fishing 6.26.16 Bill Dunson panorama aa.jpg
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Sam catches bass at farm pond 6.25.16 Bill Dunson cc.jpg
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Black shouldered spinyleg VA farm 6.26.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4530 aa.jpg
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Azure bluet pond eight VA farm 6.24.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4451 aa.jpg
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Jimsonweed around burn pile VA farm 7.1.16 Bill Dunson aa.jpg
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Jimsonweed flowers VA farm 6.20.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4376 aa.jpg
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Catalpa flowers VA farm 6.22.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4413 aa.jpg
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Red milkweed beetles mating on common milkweed VA farm 6.18.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4301.JPG
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Elderberry borer VA farm 6.16.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4269 aa.jpg
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