Archives

BACKYARD SECRET – GEORGIA IS HOME TO A DIVERSE POPULATION OF NATIVE BEES

Apr21

        When we think of native pollinators, it is only natural to think about moths, butterflies and hummingbirds.  However, some of our most important native pollinators are bees.  There are some 4,500 species of native bees in the United States; 500 of these species live in Georgia.

BLOGGER REPORTS MONARCHS NECTARING AT ENCORE AZALEAS

Apr17

        Native azaleas are nectar plants used by butterflies and other pollinators. However, such is not the case with ornamental azaleas.  While these showy exotic spring bloomers are beautiful, they are not known for their production of nectar.  However, a few years ago I was surprised to find that a hybrid known as Encore Azalea does indeed attract butterflies. 

       Since that discovery, I have witnessed eastern tiger swallowtails, cloudless sulphurs, painted ladies, ocolas, common buckeyes, and long-tailed skippers nectaring at Encore Azalea blossoms. 

       An April 13, 2024, post by an anonymous blogger stated that monarchs also nectar on the shrub.

       If you have noticed other butterflies nectaring on Encore Azaleas, please let me know.

ZEBRA SWALLOWTAILS ARE NOW FLYING

Mar24

      The zebra swallowtail (Eurytudes Marcellus) inhabits all of Georgia’s 159 counties.  It typically flies from late March into August; however, in my neck of the woods (middle Georgia), I see tiger swallowtails more often in early spring than at that at any other time of the year.

       The zebra swallowtail is easy to identify as it has a black and white stripes and long tails.  This handsome butterfly has a 2½-4” wingspan.  No other butterfly in Georgia looks anything like it.

      While this species prefers woodlands and shrubby areas, it will venture into backyards. This is particularly true if you live in suburban or rural areas.  Zebra swallowtails are less often seen in urban backyards. Most often, you will see a zebra swallowtail flying by close to the ground.  Much to our chagrin it will pass by without giving us a chance to enjoy its beauty.  However, there are ways in which you can enhance your chances of seeing one up close. 

       One of the best ways to accomplish this is to set out its host plant.   This butterfly’s caterpillar host is a small tree known as the pawpaw.

       You can also plant nectar plants. Zebra swallowtails prefer to feed at flowers that do not have long tubular throats.  They also seem to nectar most often at white flowers.

       The best way to lure male zebra swallowtails into your yard is to create a spot where they can stage a puddle party. This special habitat feature is a location where sand, soil, or gravel is wet.  Sometimes several males can be seen “puddling” at the same time.  They gather at such locations in search of salts and amino acids that are beneficial to their reproduction.

BEEBALM WAS PLANTED IN THOMAS JEFFERSON’S GARDENS

Feb8

       I am always on the lookout for heirloom plants that have link with our history.  With that in mind, I found that unbeknownst to me, one of the plants that has been growing in my yard for years was grown by Thomas Jefferson.  The name of this plant is beebalm (Monarda didyma). 

       The gardens that Thomas Jefferson designed and built on his plantation known as Monticello are recognized as botanic showpieces.  While Jefferson is known to have experimented with plants from around the world, roughly 80 percent of the plants grown in his gardens were native to North America.  Some say beebalm was planted to attract hummingbirds.

       Although winter has Georgia in its icy grip, it is not too early to plan on what you will be adding to your gardens this spring.  With that in mind, beebalm is a plant you should consider introducing into your home landscape.  This native perennial is beautiful and is a bee. butterfly and hummingbird favorite.

       Now that I realize it is a plant that adorned the gardens at Monticello, when I point it out to visitors to my home, and talk about its value as a wildlife plant, I can tell them it is a plant that was grown by Thomas Jefferson.  In my mind, that makes it extra special. 

 

MONARCHS IN WINTER?

Dec31

       Have you ever seen a monarch butterfly in your neck of the woods during the winter?  While most folks have never done so, some 6,700 sightings of the colorful butterflies have been made during the past two decades in Georgia and the rest of the Southeastern United States during the harshest season of the year.  These observations suggest that an unknown number of monarchs are overwintering each year far from their traditional winter home in central Mexico.  In an effort to determine how many monarchs are actually spending the winter here, and how this behavior might it might affect the butterfly’s future population, butterfly experts need our help.

           A partnership composed of universities, state wildlife agencies and private conservation groups has launched a study to investigate the importance of these sightings. This survey relies of the public reporting any sightings they make of monarchs from November 1 – March 1 in the states of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana and Texas.

              According to Susan Meyer, a volunteer with Monarchs Across Georgia, “Volunteers are vital to this effort.  It you enjoy being outdoors and exploring your local ecosystem, this is an easy activity that can be done alone or with your family.”

       Georgia Wildlife Conservation wildlife biologist, Anna Yellin, went to say, “When we come together as a community as we have with this effort, we stand a better chance of protecting the monarch butterfly for future generations.”

       If you would like to take part is the survey, visit the Journey North website – https://journeynorth.org/reg/

A RAINBOW, BUTTERFLIES & AN ENCORE AZALEA MADE A BIRTHDAY EXTRA SPECIAL

Nov29

      This year my wife, Donna, celebrated her birthday on the day after Thanksgiving.  This birthday was very special because we were able to celebrate it with our daughter and granddaughter and two very unusual natural events.

       The day began with light rain falling from the sky.  However, by the time we ventured outside for the first time, the sky was clearing and a beautiful rainbow stretched across the heavens.  We all commented that this was truly a sign that this birthday was going to be special. As beautiful as the rainbow was, it would pale in comparison to what we would see later on.

       Later in the afternoon as my wife and I drove down our driveway I just happened to notice a large cloudless sulphur nectaring at the blossoms of an encore azalea growing alongside the driveway.  As we drove past, I suggested that we park the car and return to take a closer look at flowering shrub.

       Upon walking back to the azalea, we began snapping pictures of the cloudless sulphur feeding among the gorgeous azaleas blossoms.  Almost immediately, we noticed there was not one butterfly present—there were five different species feeding at the large azalea blossoms.  In addition to the cloudless sulphur, we also spotted a painted lady, ocola, common buckeye, and long-tailed skipper.  It appeared that two species of bumblebees were also visiting the flowers.

       It is hard to believe that so butterflies were visiting a single flowering plant in Middle Georgia in late November.  This is because butterfly gardeners in this neck of the woods know nectar is extremely difficult for pollinators to find nectar at this time of the year.  I have known for years that this long-blooming azalea hybrid attracts butterflies late in autumn.  However, never before have I ever seen so many different species of butterflies visiting a nectar plant this late in the year.  This year our encore azalea has produced more blooms than ever before. The stunning flowers coupled with the butterflies left us with the impression it was a living birthday card.

       It is just amazing how a rainbow, butterflies and an encore azalea helped make my wife’s birthday one she will never forget.

     Can find the 3 species of butterflies in the photo?

THE LITTLE YELLOW

Sep27

       The little yellow (Eurema lisa) is the most common predominantly yellow butterfly most of us ever see yards.  It is bright yellow and has a wingspan of only 1 – 1.6 inches.  Although it looks much like a cloudless sulphur that never grew up, it is a separate species.

       You can easily identify it when it lands and folds its wings over its body.  In this position, if you look carefully, you will see a pair of tiny spots located near the forward edge of the folded wings.      While it can be seen somewhere in Georgia from late January into early September, little yellows are most abundant from late summer into autumn.  This is a butterfly that I never see flying far above the ground. Fortunately, for those of us that want to study one more closely, it will often land before resuming its erratic flight.

       The little yellow nectars on a variety of plants, however, it seems to prefer to dine at flowers borne on plants in the genus Aster.

       The favorite host plant of this strikingly beautiful tiny butterfly is partridge pea.

BACKYARD SECRET – TRIFOLIATE ORANGE IS A BUTTERFLY HOST PLANT

Sep20

              The trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata) is a plant sometimes seen growing in brushy fencerows, and around older homes.  It has long green thorns and bears golf ball –size, fragrant fruit.  This plant is native to China.

       With that in mind, you might be surprised to learn that it is a giant swallowtail host plant.

MOUNTAIN-MINT—A SUMMER POLLINATOR FAVORITE

Aug20

        Throughout this summer’s unprecedented heart wave, many of the plants my wife and I have planted for pollinators are requiring regular watering.  Such has not been the case with a native plant named mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum ssp.).  We have not watered our three patches of mountain mint a single time.  In spite of this, the plants in all three spots have flourished and are attracting more pollenators than other plant growing in our yard.

       This was dramatically illustrated week when we participated in the Great Southeast Pollinator Count.  We selected the two plants (mountain-mint and butterfly bush to survey.  During the 15-minute count at the mountain mint plants, 39 individual pollinators were recorded.  This list included bumblebee – 1, carpenter bee – 2, small bees – 2, wasps – 8, flies – 7, butterflies – 18, and ant -1.

       We saw two juniper hairstreaks and 16 red-banded hairstreaks.  To put this in perspective, the day before I surveyed butterflies on the Annual Fall Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge/Rum Creek Wildlife Management Area Butterfly Count.  In spite of the fact that the team I was assigned to spent 7.5 hours in the field and walked some 2.2 while visiting a number of sites scattered across much of the eastern side of Monroe County and a small piece of Jasper County, we spotted only three red-banded hairstreaks.

       The value of mountain-mint to wild pollinators has been long recognized.  For example, Penn State conducted a research project to determine the value of a number of pollinator plants o wild pollinators found mountain-mint to be the plant most attractive to these special insects.  In addition, it tied with stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida) for the top spot for its ability to attract the greatest diversity of pollinators.

       This fragrant plant grows up to six feet tall.  The plants blooms appear in clusters of small white to lavender tubular-shaped flowers arranged on a button-like base.  Each flower cluster is surrounded by a cluster of bracts (modified leaves) that appeared to be covered with flour or powdered sugar. In addition, it blooms for weeks during the summer.

       Mountain-mint is easy to grow. Like most folks that have it growing in their yards, a friend gave me, a handful of plants several years ago.  They did not produce any flowers the first year they were in the ground but have bloomed ever since.

       Keep in mind that the plant spreads rapidly, so place put it in a spot where it has room to spread.  If they do venture into areas where you don’t want them, they can be easily controlled.

       Like so many plants, they seem to attract more pollinators when planted in large groupings.  This is in partly because a large number of plants are more easily seen by pollinators.  In addition, larger patches of plants such as mountain-mint produce scents that can be more easily detected by potential visitors.  This appears to be particularly true in urban areas suffering from air pollution.

       If you do not have a friend or two that is willing to give you a few mountain-mint plants, I am sure that a nursery that deals in native plants can provide you with all that you need.

BACKYARD SECRET – A FEMALE MONARCH CAN LAY UPWARDS OF 1,000 + EGGS

Jun13

One the average, a female monarch butterfly lays 300-500 eggs during her lifetime.  However, the record number eggs laid by a single monarch are 1,175.