insect

Blue Dasher

insect

Common name: Blue Dasher, Fishers Island, NY, July 2017

Scientific name: Pachydiplax longipennis 

Not a moth, but too beautiful to omit. The blue dasher is one of the more common dragonflies in the eastern U.S. and one of the most striking. Like many dragonflies, this species is sexually dimorphic, meaning that the appearance of the individual depends on its gender. Only males develop bright blue abdomens, whereas females have an orange-and-black pattern instead. This is a fully mature male.

When adults perch, they tend to raise their abdomens in the air in what is known as the “obelisk” position. This is believed to be an effective way to minimize heat by allowing more wind to pass over the abdomen.

moth

Common Spring Moth

mothCommon name: Common spring moth, Fishers Island NY, June 2017

Scientific name: Heliomata cycladata

Season: March-July

Food:  Black locust and honey locust.

Ecology: As the name implies, these moths are common to see during the spring and into July through the Mid-Atlantic. Although small, they are quite beautiful.

Short-billed Dowitcher's Brunch

Short-billed Dowitcher’s Brunch

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Displaying their breeding plumage, Short-billed Dowitcher’s pick through thick seaweed berms at low tide.

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Curve-toothed Geometer

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Common name: Curved-toothed geometer

Scientific name: Eutrapela clemataria

Food: Larvae feed on leaves of ash, basswood, birch, elm, fir, maple, poplar, willow and other trees.

Ecology: These geometers live in deciduous and mixed woodlands. Their scientific name derives from the Ancient Greek “measure” “the earth” in reference to the way their larvae, or inchworms, appear to “measure the earth” as they move along in a looping fashion. The geometer has two generations a year and is part of a very large family of around 23,000 species of moths.

Lucinda Herrick Photo, July 2018

monarch butterfly caterpillar

Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar and Aphids

monarch butterfly caterpillar Monarch butterfly caterpillar and aphids, Fishers Island NY, August 2015

Scientific names: Danaus plexippus and Aphis nerri

Here’s a bit of hidden moth science, provided by entomologist Adam Mitchell, PhD:

Like animals, plants have an “immune system” and have a series of finely-tuned responses to specific stressors in their environment. When a leaf is chewed, signals are sent to the plant to create defenses that prevent further feeding. When, for example, a caterpillar chews on a leaf, the production of a hormone called jasmonic acid (JA) signals that kind of response. In contrast, when an insect feeds on the vascular (xylem-phloem) tissue of a plant, such as an aphid, a different signal is sent, and a different hormone is produced. This one is called salicylic acid (SA).

Generally, these different signals allow plants to focus specific defenses against specific threats. However, the production of one signal can sometimes prevent another. If a plant is already producing salicylic acid, it struggles to produce jasmonic acid. That is, if aphids are already feeding on a plant when a caterpillar begins to chew on the leaves, the plant cannot raise its defenses as effectively against the caterpillar as it usually would, because it’s already producing defenses to defend against the aphid.

Spotted sandpiper and sweet spots

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July 08, 2016

We all do it at least once, especially during these early days of July: we make an appearance here on Fishers Island.

On a recent early Saturday evening, in my neck of the woods on the western end of the island, the Munnatawket offloads another parade of cars, then a screaming helicopter touches down (for a minute I am tempted to “fume” too). A stream of invitees-to-cocktail-parties traffic moves down the Fort Wright stretch. Laughter wafts from mingling on porches and floats with the scent of honeysuckle seaward.

The birds chirp excitedly and prep for evensong and with the dimming sunlight, I smile, knowing we already have made other plans. South towards Elizabeth Field airport, parallel to the runway, a sandy sanctuary invites me. Oddly, but ever so humbly – because I never RSVP – there is a sense of my past moments living in the Pribilofs that I embrace here. Maybe it is revisiting with the innate and intuitive, but I find myself appearing in this special place often, mostly to observe and now, over the years, more likely with a sense of protective preservation.

I have been happy asking the town of Southold to send me more signage to mark delicate nesting areas of the island’sslowly but surely rising population of oyster catchers. I’ve been enthusiastically sharing unique sightings of the elusive shore birds; creating posters to suggest a ban on Mylar balloons; taking time to untangle tidal pools strangled with yards of ribbon; and diplomatically reminding beach combers to leash their dogs, while explaining just what healthy habitat a wrack line is. For me it is like being a steward in “stewardship,” and just NOT waiting for the “ship” part to come in.

And now sitting here peacefully this late Saturday eve in this sanctuary of sands on a sun-washed wooden plank, buried knee high in warm, smelly, salted seaweeds, I find my own sweet spot along waving sand dune grasses. A rarely seen Spotted Sandpiper appears and welcomes me as we share this moment.

Spotted Sandpiper and Sweet Spots

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Spotted Sandpiper

We all do it at least once, especially during these early days of July: we make an appearance here on Fishers Island.

On a recent early Saturday evening, in my neck of the woods on the western end of the island, the Munnatawket offloads another parade of cars, then a screaming helicopter touches down (for a minute I am tempted to “fume” too). A stream of invitees-to-cocktail-parties traffic moves down the Fort Wright stretch. Laughter wafts from mingling on porches and floats with the scent of honeysuckle seaward.

The birds chirp excitedly and prep for evensong and with the dimming sunlight, I smile, knowing we already have made other plans. South towards Elizabeth Field airport, parallel to the runway, a sandy sanctuary invites me. Oddly, but ever so humbly – because I never RSVP – there is a sense of my past moments living in the Pribilofs that I embrace here. Maybe it is revisiting with the innate and intuitive, but I find myself appearing in this special place often, mostly to observe and now, over the years, more likely with a sense of protective preservation.

I have been happy asking the town of Southold to send me more signage to mark delicate nesting areas of the island’sslowly but surely rising population of oyster catchers. I’ve been enthusiastically sharing unique sightings of the elusive shore birds; creating posters to suggest a ban on Mylar balloons; taking time to untangle tidal pools strangled with yards of ribbon; and diplomatically reminding beach combers to leash their dogs, while explaining just what healthy habitat a wrack line is. For me it is like being a steward in “stewardship,” and just NOT waiting for the “ship” part to come in.

And now sitting here peacefully this late Saturday eve in this sanctuary of sands on a sun-washed wooden plank, buried knee high in warm, smelly, salted seaweeds, I find my own sweet spot along waving sand dune grasses. A rarely seen Spotted Sandpiper appears and welcomes me as we share this moment.

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Delicate Cycnia

moth

Common name: Delicate cycnia or dogbane tiger moth, Fishers Island NY, June 2017

Scientific name: Cycnia tenera

Season: Two generations in the Northeast, with adults in late spring into June and again in the fall.

Food: Caterpillars feed on milkweeds and dogbanes, but they feed on older, mature leaves, as opposed to monarch caterpillars, which feed on younger, tender leaves.

Ecology: Although lacking stripes or spots, this moth belongs to same family as tiger moths. Males emit a “clicking” sound from their thorax for mating and also in flight. These clicks actually “jam” the echolocation of bats, preventing predators from being able to effectively find the moths.

moths

Eastern Tent Caterpillar

moths

Common Name: Eastern tent caterpillar moth

Scientific Name: Malacosoma americana

Season: One generation, with caterpillars appearing first in April into late May, and adults by June.

Food: Caterpillars feed primarily on cherry trees, but may build nests on apple and crabapple as well.

Ecology*: As the name implies, the caterpillars of this moth form a silken nest in the crotch of tree branches, where caterpillars rest and molt. Caterpillars that leave the nest “scout” for leaves to feed from, dragging a trail of silk behind them that other caterpillars will follow. When the caterpillars reach their final molt, they leave the nest to pupate, and may be found several plants away from their actual host plant.

*Contrary to popular belief, a nest of tent caterpillars in your cherry tree will not outright kill the plant, and within a month’s time, trees recover. Adults produce a spongy mass of eggs on twigs of their host plant, which will overwinter.