Gathering our "Tribe"

 The Butterfly Workshop  held by the Midwest Native Plant Society was another successful gathering of our "tribe."  These events are friendly, but focused, encounters of a like-minded group of people. Nature-lovers from far and wide gather to share information and knowledge and have a great time.(McCormac's recap of the event here)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus

 We were thrilled to see our old friends, both human and lepidopteran. There were not huge numbers of butterflies, but a good number of species were present. Our group had Tiger Swallowtail, Red Admiral, American Painted Lady, Silver-spotted Skippers, Pearl Cresents, Sulphurs, and a Peck's Skipper. Another highlight was the Hummingbird Clearwing moth, Hemaris thysbe.

Our tribe of nature lovers on the field trip.

 It is wonderful to be in the field with a group of people who are actively engaged in learning and finding nature in the field.  Everyone calls out their "finds" and we sort them out together.  Dragon and damselfly sightings were just as welcome as the saw-fly larva and prairie forbs we enjoyed together.

Sandy and Jeffery Belth

 And new friendships are made!  This is Sandy and Jeff Belth from Indiana.  Jeff has a book on the market called Butterflies of Indiana which is a good cross-over guide for Ohio.  I love the way his book is organized for easy ID of like species.  If you don't have if book, you will want to get it!

Jim Davidson and Jaret Daniels in the field.

Jim Davidson is a long-time friend and one of my favorite field companions. We met up with Jaret Daniels, author of Butterflies of Ohio (also an excellent field guide) for a little pre-scouting and comradery.

             Spicebush Swallowtail puddling

Real nature enthusiasts are just as excited to see a beautiful Spicebush Swallowtail as they are to see the larval form of these leps, the caterpillars. I brought my blue Rubbermaid bin that has become a traveling exhibit of Cecropia moth caterpillars. We had a good representation of silk moth caterpillars and a few butterfly caterpillars as well.  It was a very educational event all the way round.

A nature freak moment...

Part of the fun of these events is the good company we keep.  The speakers and organizers had their own little "nature freak" moment in a parking lot in downtown Lebanon, Ohio.  What could get this many people hanging out in a darkened parking lot late on a Friday night?

Chimney Swifts dropping into a chimney

 It was a flock of Chimney Swifts!  We had heard them circling above the city street and we followed them to the back of the building to watch the live nature show.  These birds roost communally at night, until they are ready to start south for the winter months.

On the corner of  Main Street

 So if you wander through Lebanon, Ohio some evening in the next moth or so, this is the building you will want to find.  It is probably their City Hall. The Chimney Swifts' chimney is located at the back of the building,

You might want to try dinner here,

The City Building is easy to find, as it is located right across the street from Lebanon's most historical landmark, Ohio's oldest Hotel, the Golden Lamb.  Dinner was wonderful, too bad the other dinners didn't know about the live show going on across the street!

Hope to see you all again at the Midwest Native Plant Conference!  A special thank-you goes out to Kathy McDonald, Jim McCormac and all the other wonderful people who help to put these event together and run them.  My hat is off to you!

Botany and Butterflying

Jaret Daniels has several fine field guides on the market, and I used his wildflower guide during my recent trip to Florida.  I highly recommend it to the general naturalist who wants to get a "lay of the land." There are so many plant species in Florida that it boggles the mind of this Ohio girl, and I appreciated an idiot-proof guide to help me along.

Jaret also wrote an excellent  field guide to Ohio's butterflies.  He is not only very knowledgeable about the identification of all those hard-to-know skippers and such, he is a marvel in the field.  Jaret is a professional photographer and his artistic eye for detail is obvious.  Nothing gets past this guy.  He can be in a group of 40 and STILL be the one who finds the rarity!

We are so lucky he travels up from Florida each year, just to be a Flora-Quest guide.  It is an incredible opportunity to be in a small group of participants and really have the time and ability to access  Jaret's knowledge.

Click on the photo below to go straight to the Flora-Quest web site to register.  We only have a few spots in Jaret's trip, so you'll not want to delay. 

 

Flora and Fliers

Both Shawnee State Park / Forest and Adams County are full of exciting flora and fliers, including "butterfliers". And unfortunately, the wet weather during Flora-Quest was not too conducive to butterfly watching, but the day before and after were both sunny and prime weather for the "leps" (Lepidoptera= Butterflies).


Flora is important for butterflies as well. Not only do flowers provide nectar, but plants also become the host for caterpillars. Most butterflies are very picky about their plants, for example the Black Swallowtail only utilizes plants in the parsley family. One of those plants is the Golden Alexanders, Zizia aurea.

Blooming along the Scioto Brush Creek we found a healthy population of Golden Alexanders intermingled with Dwarf Larkspur, Delphinium tricorne.

And nectaring on the Dwarf Larkspur was a very "fresh" Female Hobomok skipper. Considered an occasional to common butterfly, it is noted in Butterflies of Ohio for using forested stream margins.

Author of Butterflies of Ohio, Jaret Daniels, is a popular guide at Flora-Quest and a ton of fun in the field. Even the rain could not dampen his enthusiasm, as he gave a program on the endangered Miami Blue Butterfly and his work with the species.

Friends, flora, butterflies and birds, no matter the weather, we had a great time at Flora-Quest '10.

Return of Jaret Daniels

So who is this Jaret Daniels, and where is he returning? If you are an Ohio Butterfly enthusiast, you'll already know that name. Jaret is the author of Butterflies of Ohio, an amazing little book that covers all the colorful butterfly species found flying in the buckeye state.

The most common, the Spring Azure, a delicate blue beauty (magnified here to 4 times its actual size!) found near woodlots and dappled shade is a fast flier who rarely provides an extended look.

Equally appealing are Red-banded Hairstreaks, just one of our many, similar-looking, gossamer winged hairstreaks. They can be a challenge to sort, but how gratifying would it be to find a rare White-M Hairstreak! It would be the same thrill a birder feels when finding a Mississippi Kite or a Kirtland's Warbler, all three are rarities in Ohio.

If you don't have this book, you'll want to go here and order one.

Butterflies are interesting creatures of diverse habits and habitats. Most are highly selective, with specific host plants needed to maintain their larva. There is such an intimate tie between butterflies and their host plants, it is not surprising that Dr. Jaret Daniels is a botany guy too.

What is surprising, is the fact he would trek all the way from Florida for the third year in a row- just to see the Southern Ohio butterflies and lead a Flora-Quest trip!

So if your wildest dreams include Olive (Juniper) Hairstreaks, or...

the subtle shades of Henry's Elfins, you'll want to beat feet to the Flora-Quest website and download a registration form. You'll have to write in "BUTTERFLY TRIP" as this news is so new- we don't even have it listed yet!

Everyone attending Flora-Quest will get a species list of the butterflies found in Shawnee during the spring, and I hope you'll enjoy these little beasties as much as I do.

Maybe some year we will have to offer a "Caterpillar Quest" too!

Photos and Butterfly chart all provided by John Howard

Flora-Quest's good omen

A good omen visited my cottage at Shawnee this morning, one of the giant silk moths, a Polyphemus arrived just in time to kick off tomorrow's Flora-Quest.

The flora has been refreshed by the recent rain showers, and the forest fire is old news. Guides are arriving from all over the state and beyond, Jaret Daniels comes the farthest, and has flown in from Florida. Jaret will be leading a butterfly workshop on Saturday and black lighting for moths on Saturday night. I'll be crossing my fingers for a few more of these jewels of the night for our guest's enjoyment. Flora, feathers, and night time fliers- we will be having tons to view in the next three days. I'll look forward to seeing so many friends gathered here!

Butterflies and Skippers of Ohio

Tucked into the Ohio Diversity Conference packets (March 4th, 2009) , were copies of the Ohio Division of Wildlife's newly released Butterflies and Skippers of Ohio.

The booklet is the perfect field guide for your daypack or car's glove box, as it features 60 species with stunning photos of the adults and larval forms of many butterflies. Their life histories are complimented with distribution maps, and occurrence charts. Written in cooperation with the Ohio Lepidopterist, it has most of the species the casual butterfly enthusiast will see in Ohio.

Generously provided with Diversity Funds, your free copy of Publication 204(109) from the Ohio Division of Wildlife is available by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE (1-800-945-3543) or (614) 265-6300 for those outside of Ohio. The text and photos are beautifully presented; photos were provided by folks throughout Ohio, including contributions from good friends John Howard, Jim McCormac, Jim Davidson and Dr. Jaret Daniels, from Florida.

Don't forget, Jaret Daniels will be leading trips and teaching a workshop at Flora-quest: Butterflies on the Wing: Their Biology and Identification. This may be your last opportunity to get in, as it is filling rapidly! Go to

Flora-Quest for the details and register for Butterflies and Botany. Hope to see you at Shawnee!