nature

August 20: Giant Swallowtail with Thistle

Posted on August 20, 2021August 20, 2021 by farlane

Giant Swallowtail with Thistle by Jacqueline Verdun

I’ve been saving this photo for 6 years apparently!! Way back in 2015 the Ann Arbor Observer had a feature titled The Biggest Butterfly: Seeking Giant Swallowtails that said in part:

The aptly named giant swallowtail is the biggest butterfly in Michigan.

Form your two index fingers into pointers and touch them to each other: if you take a large glove size, the butterfly’s maximum wingspan is approximately the length of both fingers put together. The field guides say around six inches.

The giant swallowtail’s coloration is as spectacular as its size. From the top, its wings look dark brown to black, with yellow dot ribboning and a yellow eye-shaped spot on the end of each wing. When the wings are raised, the bottom is revealed to be a subtle cream interrupted by wavy blue and rust bands.

Ronda Spink, coordinator of the Michigan Butterfly Network (michiganbutterfly.org), says she sees more and more of these butterflies each year. This species spends its Michigan winter in the pupa stage and emerges in two broods each summer, the first in May through June, the second in July through early September.

Read on for more including tips on the best time of day to see them!

Jacqueline took this gorgeous photo on August 20, 2014. You can check out another shot she took of this butterfly right here & see more in her Macro Insects etc gallery.

More Michigan butterflies on Michigan in Pictures.

Prothonotary Warbler bringing the yellow

Posted on August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 by farlane

Prothonotary Warbler by Kevin Povenz

All About Birds shares that the Prothonotary Warbler got its name from the bright yellow robes worn by papal clerks, known as prothonotaries, in the Roman Catholic church.

Kevin took this photo back in June at Grand Ravines North Park. See more in his Birds gallery on Flickr!

Foraging Friday: Black Raspberries growing wild

Posted on August 6, 2021 by farlane

Black Raspberries Growing Wild in Michigan by Lee Rentz

One of the things I love about summertime in Michigan is stumbling upon a snack when I’m out for a walk! Lee found these beauties near Battle Creek.

Head over to Lee’s Flickr for the latest & also check out his Facebook & leerentz.com to view & purchase prints.

Say Hello to Oliver & Charlotte

Posted on July 21, 2021 by farlane

Red Fox Pups (Vulpes vulpes) by John Dykstra

The Social Security Administration has shared the 100 most popular baby names for each state in 2020 to their online list. For Michigan in 2020, the most popular male name was Oliver & with Charlotte as our most popular female name. Amelia, Olivia, Eva & Emma completed the top five girl’s names while Noah, Liam, Henry & Elijah rounded out the top boy names.

The lists go back to 1960 when David & Mary led the way.

While John didn’t report the actual names of these two when he shared the photo back in 2009, the little guy on the left is definitely an Oliver! See more in John’s Michigan gallery on Flickr.

An American Bug: The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Posted on July 19, 2021July 19, 2021 by farlane

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly by David Marvin

The University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web entry for the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) says in part:

The eastern tiger swallowtail ranges from Alaska and the Hudsonian zone of Canada to the southern United States, east of the Rocky Mountains.

This species occurs in nearly every area where deciduous woods are present, including towns and cities. It is most numerous along streams and river, and in wooded swamps.

As with most butterflies, Eastern tiger swallowtails tend to be solitary. Males “patrol” for a mate, flying from place to place actively searching for females. “Patrolling” male tiger swallowtails can recognize areas of high moisture absorbtion by the sodium ion concentration of the area. It is believed that the moisture found by these males helps cool them by initiating an active-transport pump. Both male and female tiger swallowtails are known to be high fliers. Groups of fifty butterflies have been spotted in Maryland flying 50 meters high, around the tops of tulip trees.

The tiger swallowtail is thought of as the American insect, in much the same way as the Bald Eagle is thought of as the American bird. It was the first American insect pictured in Europe; a drawing was sent to England from Sir Walter Raleighs’ third expedition to Virginia.

You can read on for more including photos. I also found a page with a listing of Michigan butterflies and apparently we have eight species of swallowtail butterfly!

Beautiful capture by David. See more in his 2022 Calender gallery on Flickr!

The Last Thing You’ll Ever See

Posted on May 26, 2021 by farlane

The Last Thing You’ll Ever See by William Dolak

Bill shared this photo from the West Lake Nature Preserve in Portage in our Michigan in Pictures group on Facebook & writes:

If you were a fly or a mosquito, this grotesque monster might be your conveyance to the afterlife. Michigan has several native carnivorous plants growing in bogs throughout the state; this one is the pitcher plant. It entices its prey by collecting rainwater; when the insect climbs in for a drink it is trapped by barbs and drowned in the pool. The plant then absorbs the nutrients from the decaying bodies…most gruesome, indeed.

You can check out some more pics from West Lake preserve by Bill including these shots of a Pink Lady Slipper on Facebook. Read more about the pitcher plant (with another pic from Bill) on Michigan in Pictures!

Happy (belated) World Turtle Day!

Posted on May 24, 2021 by farlane

Map Turtle by David Marvin

World Turtle Day (May 23rd) is an annual day of recognition that was started in 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue to raise awareness about turtles & help preserve endangered turtles worldwide. Although it was yesterday, I can’t let it pass without comment & really hope you take the time to Know Your Michigan Turtles. We have TEN native species in Michigan, including the common map turtle!

David took this photo back in 2014 and you can see more from him in his Lansing gallery on Flickr.

Marching at the Marsh

Posted on May 10, 2021May 10, 2021 by farlane

Marching at the Marsh by PKHyperFocal

This dude definitely has swag! Here’s a few mostly male facts about red-winged blackbirds from the excellent All About Birds website:

The Red-winged Blackbird is a highly polygynous species, meaning males have many female mates – up to 15 in some cases. In some populations 90 percent of territorial males have more than one female nesting on their territories. But all is not as it seems: one-quarter to one-half of nestlings turn out to have been sired by someone other than the territorial male.

Male Red-winged Blackbirds fiercely defend their territories during the breeding season, spending more than a quarter of daylight hours in territory defense. He chases other males out of the territory and attacks nest predators, sometimes going after much larger animals, including horses and people.

The oldest recorded Red-winged Blackbird was 15 years, 9 months old. It was banded in New Jersey in 1967, and found alive, but injured in Michigan in 1983. It was able to be released after recovering from its injuries.

PK caught this red-winged blackbird on patrol last week. See more in their Feathers gallery on Flickr.

Read up on Red-winged Blackbirds on Michigan in Pictures!