Help Us Name This Photo!

While taking a walk in our prairie today, we came upon a situation that we had always heard about, but had never actually witnessed. Hanging from a tall stalk of Big Bluestem were two Praying Mantids in copula. They were very still and motionless so I wasn't sure they were alive. I touched the end of the female's antenna and she turned her head to look at me. Unfortunately for the male, I was unable to touch his antenna because his better half had already chewed off his head. The Praying Mantis is a fascinating insect and one of the most well-known facts is that the female cannibalizes the male either during or after mating. Actually, this is known to happen less than 30% of the time. It occurs most often if the female is hungry. This gal must have been in need of a meal. Anyway, even though he had already lost his head during their "moment", they were still connected. (Although, in the photo, this connection is obstructed by a prairie grass stalk.) The Praying Mantis is a beneficial insect that eats a number of insect pests. Many cultures consider this insect to be good luck. It has a moveable, trianagular head and is the only insect capable of moving the head from side to side. Its' body is made for capturing and devouring live prey. We would like to invite you to help us find an appropriate caption for this photo. We know you can come up with something very clever - so many possibilities! Just click on the comments icon, get creative and give us your best title. Most folks already know this, but we would like to remind you to click on the photo to enlarge it for your viewing pleasure!

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

This very attractive eastern swallowtail tends to stick close to wooded areas; flight is slow and close to the ground. Mimics Pipevine Swallowtail which gives it some protection from predators. The male is the one show in the picture. The larva feed on Spicebush, sassafras, and other laurels.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

There was a heavy dew and I caught this guy drying himself in the sun. They usually move fast and eratic which makes them hard to photograph. Some years the Red Admirals migrate north in large numbers and seem to be everywhere. This year they were somewhat scarce so it was a treat to see this one. The larva usually feed on Nettles and related plants.

Monarch Magic

When a caterpillar is full grown it usually leaves the milkweed plant it has been feeding on voraciously and crawls until it can find a safe place to pupate. When it finds just the right spot, it makes a silk-like mat and then attaches its last pair of legs to the mat. Allowing its' body to drop, it hangs there upside down in a J-shape for about one full day. As it passes from the larval (catepillar) stage to the pupa (Chrysalis) stage, it sheds its' skin one more time. Under the catepillar's skin is a jade green casing which is called a chrysalis. Inside this green casing, a true miracle of nature will happen - the catepillar will turn into a beautiful Monarch butterfly. This process will take 9 to 14 days. We found this beautiful chrysalis in one of our prairie plantings this morning. The catepillar has attached itself to a beautiful Prairie Dock leaf. Prairie Dock is in the Silphium family and is one of the largest of the native prairie species. The flowering stalk grows to over 10 feet tall and the roots of a Prairie Dock plant can reach 15 feet into the ground. We will be keeping an eye on the chrysalis to see if we can possibly watch the brand new butterfly emerge. Because the wings are tiny, crumpled and wet when the butterfly emerges, it must sit and wait for the wings to "harden". This will take about an hour. The chrysalis will often split open early in the morning - let's hope we can capture it on film!

True Wonder - the Monarch

Diane (Gary's wife) here with a few photos of my own to share. We happened upon two Monarch butterflies in copula this morning. It seems a little late in the summer for this kind of goings on, but I am sure they know best. The female Monarch is above the male and is carrying the pair. They are so beautiful. I also included a photo of a Monarch larva munching on a swamp milkweed behind our house. It is the milkweed that gives this caterpillar its' bitter taste and so it is not on most birds' menu. Soon, after consuming massive amounts of milkweed, the larva will pupate and emerge as the beautiful adult butterfly. The whole developmental process of the Monarch takes about a month. The transformation from larva to this beautiful winged insect is a true wonder of nature.

Cloudless Sulphur Congregation

Hello - I am Diane, Gary's wife, and I'm going to interject a few of my photos into the blog. Gary is hog-tied in the basement. Last year we planted 41 new acres of native prairie where row crops had previously grown. We have had spectacular results with the prairie species we planted and also in the numbers of insects we have attracted to this habitat. One lovely visitor is the Cloudless Sulphur butterfly. In our plantings, the Partridge Pea has done particularly well. The Partridge Pea is a larval foodplant for this butterfly. It also will lay its' eggs on Wild Senna and various clovers. So you see, plant a butterfly's larval foodplant and it will come. We have noticed a dramatic rise in the numbers of this species this year. The Cloudless Sulphur in the photo is actually sitting on a stonecrop plant that is in a garden very near the prairie.

Two Steppin'

I caught this guy "dancin' in the street". Well he was either dancing or trying to get off the hot oil road. Either way he seemed to be out of his habitat.

One Stayin' and One Leavin'

There were eight baby Bluebirds sitting high in a dead Walnut snag this morning with faces toward the sun. I took a couple of pictures when the noise of Harley scared them. The one sitting in this picture soon followed his brother.

Bluebird

Birds are banded for several different reasons. Some birds travel great distance during migration so a banded bird if identified by and reported by another birder can tell how far. Bluebirds are short distance travellers and if the winter is warm enough they may not migrate at all. They usually just go as far south as needed to find food. I usually migrate in the winter myself and usually can't find food until I reach Sanibel Island. Bands also can tell how old a bird is and whether it is male or female. The bird shown was banded as a baby. The silver band on left leg is a wildlife band, the pink band on left leg tells it was born in 2005, and the two bands on right leg tell whether it is male or female and where it was born(Coles County,Il.). Usually after one year bluebirds are fully colored just like adults and the blue color of this guy was very vivid.

Tiger Swallowtail (Pterourus glaucus)

There are six swallowtails in the Midwest and the tiger is the only one which is yellow. The male is always yellow but the female is dimorphic either yellow or black. The black female mimics the Pipevine Swallowtail which is distasteful. Tiger Swallowtails nectar on several plants both domestic and wild. The one pictured is nectaring on Butterfly Bush.