Eight Spotted Forester Moth and Native Foodplants

Image © Ilona Loser - Website 

Eight Spotted Forester Moth ~ Alypia octomaculata
This is another showy, day flying, nectaring moth. It has long bright orange hairs on its two forelegs, which look like collected pollen. It has two creamy-white spots on the black forewings, and two on each hindwing, thus its common name Eight Spotted.

I first saw this moth a couple of years ago, nectaring in a prairie in late May. It was moving quickly from flower to flower making it fairly difficult to photograph. It was exclusively nectaring on Amorpha nana - Dwarf False Indigo that day.

Habitat & Lifecycle:
Woodland and forest edges. One generation in spring with mature caterpillars from April to July. Caterpillars overwinter in chewed out cavities in pulpy wood.

Eating Habits on Foodplant Vines:
Caterpillars often perch on the underside of the vine leaves near shoot apices and consume the leaves, tendrils and growing stem tissue.
(Caterpillars of Eastern North America)

MAJOR NATIVE FOODPLANTS 

FOR EIGHT SPOTTED FORESTER MOTHS 

The Eight Spotted Forester Moths prefer Grape vines, Woodbine and Virginia Creeper Vines. (Insects: Their Natural History & Diversity)

Woodbine & Virginia Creeper ~ Parthenocissus inserta (vitacea), Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Both these vines occur in Minnesota, but Woodbine is more common. (Source) They are very similar in appearance with palmate leaves and 5 leaflets. Most often you will find them growing in woodlands up tree canopies or horizontally along lower growing shrubs or the forest floor. They can both reach heights up to 60 feet.
Please refer to this article for distinguishing between Woodbine and Virginia Creeper.

Riverbank Grape ~ Vitis riparia

Riverbank Grape is species of native Grape Vine that occurs in Minnesota. It is also a climber and will reach heights up to 75 feet. Compared to the Parthenocissus species above, it likes a more open, sunny and often disturbed habitat. We have both Woodbine and Riverbank Grape growing in our yard. See earlier post.
Riverbank grape can be aggressive so you definitely want a structure for it to climb on if you plant it in your yard.

I plan to look for the Eight Spotted Forester Moth caterpillars on these vines next spring.

Winter Mouse Art

Who said mice weren't artistic?

Native Plant of the Week: Indian Pipe ~ Monotropa uniflora

Indian Pipe ~ Monotropa uniflora


Other Common Names: Ghost Plant, Corpse Plant

This amazing fall flowering native is white because it lacks chlorophyll. It is heterotrophic  (getting its nutrients from another source, the root parasitic fungi (instead of through photosynthesis). These parasitic (mycorrhizal fungi) are connected to the nearby photosynthetic trees, "and thus the energy ultimately comes from photosynthesis of the tree(s), passing through the mycorrhizal fungi on the way to the Monotropa." (Tom Volk, UW LaCrosse)


I have only seen this native on east facing, mesic to moist, shaded wooded slopes in Minnesota. It emerges in early to late September just before the new layer of leaf litter falls.

When in fruit, the flower heads turn upwards, looking like white waxy tulips. As the plant ages, the margins of the scale like leaves and stem start to turn brown in color.

Looking down at the top of the flower there are large bright yellow anthers.

Indian Pipe is between 4 and 8 inches in height.  It is easy to overlook in dark shaded woodlands and I often have to slow down to look for it in the places I know it should be.

Indian Pipe is native to most of North American except for the "4 corners" southwest States.

See distribution map.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 3

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply.

More photo clues will be posted later.



Answer:
Giant or Smooth Solomon's Seal ~ Polygonatum biflorum

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Snowberry Clearwing Moth & Native Foodplants

Snowberry Clearwing Moth ~ Hemaris diffinis
If you want to attract this amazing day flying nectaring moth, having the right native food and nectar plants in your yard is the key. This caterpillar was photographed in early June.

Hemaris thysbe in flight

Pictured here is the closely related species, Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe), with its long proboscis unfurling from its coil to nectar on native Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa).

Hemaris diffinis

Clearwing moths are fun to watch as they hover like hummingbirds nectaring on flowers.

These moths are bee mimics, resembling a bumble bee. Read an earlier post on bee mimics here.This defensive camouflage makes birds think twice about eating the moth, a real advantage since they're active during the day.

This moth has "two overlapping generations" per year in the upper Midwest. (Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods) "When they (caterpillars) are fully-grown they drop to the ground, spin a loose cocoon and pupate, partially protected by leaf litter." (US Forest Service, Celebrating Wildflowers)

MAJOR NATIVE FOODPLANTS 
FOR SNOWBERRY CLEARWING MOTHS
The Snowberry Clearwing Moth caterpillars have some favorite food plants including Diervilla ~ Bush Honeysuckle, Lonicera ~ Honeysuckles, Symphoricarpos ~ Snowberry, Amsonia ~ Bluestar, and Apocynaceae ~ Dogbane. (Caterpillars of Eastern North America)

Bush honeysuckle ~ Diervilla lonicera is a great native shrub for medium to dry shade. It has a layering habit and in the home landscape works well planted under mature trees. The new leaf growth is burgundy tinged, and the yellow flowers emerge mid June.

Snowberry ~ Symphoricarpos albus is a nice native shrub for full sun or partial shade. It has a blue green opposite leaves, and small pinkish-white flowers in July that produce small white berries in late fall. It also has a suckering habit, forming thickets and is another good candidate for under trees when there is adequate sunlight.

Eastern Bluestar ~ Amsonia tabernaemontana is one of many native Amsonia species that flowers in May, five petaled, light blue flowers. This is a very drought tolerant native for full sun and well drained soils. Note: there are no Amsonia species native to Minnesota.

The attractive foliage turns a golden yellow in fall with interesting partially hidden seed pods that unwrap to reveal a rectangular brown seed.

Hemp Dogbane ~ Apocynum cannabinum is one of several native Dogbane species. It is often mistaken for Milkweed species because of its milky sap. Dogbane flowers from late June through July. It grows in open, sunny and often disturbed habitats.
It is an aggressive native and for that reason is not usually available for sale.

Native Plant of the Week: American Plum ~ Prunus americana

American Plum ~ Prunus americana
This small native tree makes a great addition to open, sunny, well drained landscapes. It is extremely showy when in flower, and can reach heights of about 12 to 15 feet. Flowering early in the spring, the 5 petaled white flowers are amazingly fragrant and attract all sorts of emerging pollinating insects. In Minnesota, flowers start to open in early May.

We have planted a couple of ~ 6 foot single-stemmed American Plum trees in our yard that we purchased from Out Back Nursery. One is at the edge of a Gray Dogwood thicket in almost full sun, and the other is near our front door so we don't miss out on the flower fragrance.

American Plum is often not single stemmed in the wild. There will usually be several stems forming a multi-stemmed tree or thicket. It is considered an early successional species, taking advantage of sunny openings along field-woodland edges as well as at the edges of old prairies.

The light gray stems of American Plum are often mistakenly cut by people thinking it is a young invasive Buckthorn stem (Rhamnus cathartica), especially when both are without leaves. Make sure you check the buds and stems closely.

By early June, the pollinated flowers are forming green plums (drupes). These plums continue to ripen throughout the summer turning from a bright green in June to yellow in August and fully ripening by early September with a reddish-yellow skin.

The plums are very sweet and worth collecting before they fall to the ground. I harvested these 3 plums from our tree that we planted in the spring. Not a huge bounty, but as the tree grows I'm looking forward to more fruit.





Although this native is from the Cherry genus (Prunus), I have not found that the rabbits browse on the stems or branches as you might suspect.

The multi-stemmed thickets that form are valuable for "bird nesting, loafing and roosting, and animal loafing and bedding. Twigs and foliage provide a highly preferred browse for whitetail and mule deer." (USDA Plants Database Factsheet)

American Plum is native to most of North America except the western most States and Provinces and Texas.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 2

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply.

More photo clues will be posted later.

Another Clue: Fall Leaf Color

Answer: Wild Geranium ~ Geranium maculatum

Oak Wilt

Oak Wilt, a fungal disease, is very common in central Minnesota and it is killing many of our beautiful oak trees - mainly the red and pin oaks.

Our tiny 5 acre City Park in the neighborhood lost several red and pin oaks this summer.

The City has marked and numbered them for removal. The death of these oaks has left a very large opening in the forest canopy.

Fortunately, for this disease, the surrounding oak trees can be treated with a systemic pesticide, propiconazole, to prevent infection. The City did a late fall treatment. "Most new infections are the result of the fungus moving from infected to healthy oaks via grafted root systems, which are common. Trees as much as 50 feet apart may be grafted together. Root grafts may occur occasionally between different species of oaks." (University of Minnesota Extension Fact Sheet)

After the injection treatment, the City also did some trenching to sever the root system grafts between the diseased and healthy trees.

White and bur oaks are also affected by this disease but are less susceptible and will have a slower die back.

"Propiconazole treatment of white oaks exhibiting early symptoms of oak wilt (less than 30% of crown affected) can also prevent further disease development for at least 2 years." (University of Minnesota Extension Fact Sheet)

Last spring, we treated a large pin oak on the north side of our house because our neighbor has lost 4 oaks in the last two years. We have red and pin oaks on the south side of the house, but the consulting arborist said that our house foundation would prevent any of these trees having connected root systems. This disease can also be spread by beetles carrying the fungal spores from tree to tree.

Illustration: Julie Martinez, Minneapolis, MN
Image Source: US Forest Service

"Sap beetles are commonly attracted to the sporulating mats produced by the fungus between the bark and wood of oak wilt-killed trees. These mats are commonly produced between April and late June on red oaks that wilted during the previous summer." (University of Minnesota Extension Fact Sheet)

It is this reason that our City advises its residents not to prune any healthy oak trees from March through November to prevent new infections.

For more information on the Oak Wilt cycle and distribution maps of the disease: US Forest Service Fact Sheet, University of Minnesota Extension Fact Sheet

Native Plant of the Week: Little Bluestem ~ Schizachyrium scoparium

Little Bluestem ~ Schizachyrium scoparium (Andropogon scoparius)


This is the time of year when Little Bluestem turns an amazing rusty red color. It is a much richer (darker) hue than the Big Bluestem fall color. Throughout much of the Midwest, you will see Little Bluestem growing along roadsides.

This prairie grass is a staple in short grass prairies. It has extensive (deep) root systems that allow it to thrive on drier and poorer prairie soils. This photo shows Little Bluestem in a short grass prairie remnant nearby our house.

This grass has many attractive characteristics - not just the late fall color. It is an upright, clump forming grass, reaching about 24-36" in height when flowering, and the new grass blades emerge anywhere from a very light blue to blue-green in color.

Like Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), the flower stems alternate from blue-green to a rosy color between the nodes. We have quite a bit of variation in blade and node coloration within our own yard.

The seeds are sought after by birds in our yard in the late fall and winter. We often scare up Dark-Eyed Juncos, Sparrows and Chickadees foraging for the seeds. In the winter the snow will be dotted with seed debris around this grass.




Little Bluestem flowers from mid August into October in Minnesota. "Several pairs of spikelets occur on opposite sides of the raceme's rachis (central stem); this rachis is covered with long white hairs and it tends to zigzag between the spikelets as they become mature." (Illinois Wildflowers)

Because of all these interesting attributes, Little Bluestem is becoming a fairly well known prairie grass. It is cultivated by the horticultural industry and readily available for landscape use at local nurseries.

Image Source: Wikipedia

It is an important food source for wildlife other than birds too. The Illinois Wildflowers website lists several species of Skippers, grasshoppers, leafhoppers and other insects that feed on this grass.

Name That Native Plant - Quiz 1

Do you know what native plant this is?

Post your reply.

More photo clues will be posted later.

New photo


This is a woodland native that flowers in June.

Answer: (thanks to Scott)
Osmorhiza longistylis, Long Styled Sweet Cicely

Fall Native Seed Collection

We are enjoying late Indian Summer temperatures right now in central Minnesota and it's an excellent time to collect native seeds before the snow comes.

For collecting seed in our yard, I buy a package of Coin Envelopes every couple of years. They're slightly larger than a business card in size and can hold a lot of seed.

These easy to gather fluffy white seeds are Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis).

For more difficult to gather seeds (ones that are small or enclosed in a capsule), I like to use a white frisbee.

I shake or bang the seed heads onto the upside down frisbee and can easily see the seed as it falls out. It's easy to remove any extra leaves as well.

These seeds pictured in the second photo are Great St. John's Wort (Hypericum pyramidatum). They are very tiny but also easy to collect once the capsule opens.

Once the seeds are collected for a particular species, they can be poured into the labeled envelope.



Some seed capsules are very hard to open. An example is the Wild Petunia (Ruellia humilis). You can gently hit the seed capsules with a rubber mallot to break them open.

With any seed collection, timing is everything. Most seeds need to be fully ripened before being collected. Some seed capsules are designed to disperse seed great distances, others shake out the seed like salt shakers when the wind blows, for example, Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia).

It is best to refer to books or seed catalogs for specific growing information for each species.

One book we really like is William Cullina's Growing and Propagating Wildflowers.

Prairie Moon Nursery's Catalog and Cultural Guide is also an excellent resource.

We will store our collected fall seed until mid February.

We then divide the seed into two categories, cold/damp stratification and cold/dry stratification. The cold/damp seeds go into zipper lock bags and are mixed with damp sand. They are then put in the back of our fridge for a minimum of 30 days, and sometimes as long as 90 days depending on what is recommended. The dry/cold seed is put in the fridge in the collection envelopes.

Most legume seeds will require scarification (scratching the seed coat in order for moisture to penetrate). This is especially true for Lupinus, Baptisia, and Astragalus species.

We will either direct sow our stratified seeds in the spring in the landscape once the soil warms up, or sow them in pots to grow out after they have been stratified.

Discoveries Out & About: Oxycoccus macrocarpus (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

Large Cranberry ~ Oxycoccus macrocarpus (Vaccinium macrocarpon)


Other Common Name: American Cranberry


This photo of the Large Cranberry was taken in early spring across the road from my house in a wetland. We donned our rubber boots and went out into the wetland to see what was growing there last spring. The water level was down and we were able to walk on the spongy but still frozen Sphagnum moss hummocks.

Image Source: USDA Agriculture Research Service photo gallery 

I was really surprised to see the Large Cranberry plants, thinking that the native species needed a very acidic environment to grow in. In our area in central Minnesota, our soils are quite alkaline. According to Welby Smith in his book Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota, the Small Cranberry (Oxycoccus quadripetalus) requires the most acidic habitat (pH of 2.5-3.8) but the Large Cranberry needs a pH range of 4.8-6.1.

I hope to go back out next summer and photograph the Cranberry in flower.

This Cranberry is the same species used for commercial production.

Native Plant of the Week: Tamarack ~ Larix laricina

Tamarack ~ Larix laricina

The tamarack needles are turning a beautiful gold color right now. This interesting conifer sheds its needles in late fall and looks all but dead throughout the winter months.

One's brain can trick you into thinking that any conifer without its needles must be dead. But as the new needles emerge in the spring, soft to the touch and blue-gray in color you are reminded that this tree is very much alive.

Tamaracks typically grow in wet habitats although you will see some clusters in upland habitats. When we travel to north-central Wisconsin, Tamaracks (along with Black Spruce and Alder) are very abundant where there is a high water table.

In our metro area in central Minnesota, there are small fragments remaining of the original Tamarack swamps that existed before European settlement.

"Several animals depend on the Tamarack for food including the porcupine, snowshoe hare and red squirrels. Several birds also use the Tamarack to nest in, such as the white-throated sparrow, song sparrow and the great gray owl." (Johnston, W.F., Silvics of North America, Washington D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990, p. 151)




We have one small Tamarack in our yard which was planted at the lowest elevation and moistest spot. The area often gets flooded in the spring as the snow melts and the ground is still frozen underneath. It has not produced any cones yet but has doubled in size in the last three years.