Butterflies occupy a unique place in the chain of insect life. They also add a lot of beauty and pleasure to the wildlife lover's life.
Appreciating a creature's beauty is no longer enough to help it maintain its place in nature. Knowing how it lives helps man realize how important it is to make sure each species survives the ultra modern world.
There are four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly. There are the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis (pupa), and adult. When you observe these changes up close, you will see they are fascinating. Metamorphosis is the scientific name for a butterfly's complete seasonal change.
Female butterflies lay eggs only on plants that provide nourishment to her offspring. A butterfly's feet are unique and are the chief tool used to locate the right host plants on which eggs will be laid. A butterfly's feet scratch a plant's leaves and receptors located on the bottom of the feet taste the plant to identify it as a correct host.
Butterflies lay single eggs and clusters of eggs. Many do not survive hungry predators. A caterpillar emerges from the egg. It feeds almost constantly and sheds its skin several times before forming a chrysalis. Butterfly silk is spun to form a supportive protection for the chrysalis.
During the chrysalis stage of butterfly development rest is the order of the period. The chrysalis is usually camouflaged and may resemble leaves, stems or wood.
When a butterfly reaches an adult stage, the chrysalis splits open and a beautiful fully formed butterfly emerges. It rests on a leaf as blood is pumped into its fragile wings. Before taking off on its maiden flight, the wings must be completely dry and have hardened.
A caterpillar munches its way through leaf after leaf. This is not true of the adult butterfly. It drinks nectar and other nutrients. The straw-like proboscis is the tool used to intake nectar.
Butterflies must maintain a body temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit to fly. You will often find them sunning lazily moving their wings. They are soaking up sun to increase their body temperature.
Many butterflies live only a few short weeks. However, some species live several months. The Monarch survives to migrate north and south. However, a Monarch does not survive to make both the north and south migration in one year. After flying south, it breeds on the way back and the offspring
complete the migration.
The Monarch usually chooses the milkweed plant as its egg host. Meadows with milkweed growing are favorite breeding grounds. Eating the milkweed plant makes the Monarch poisonous food for predators. The Cloudless Sulfur butterfly likes partridge peas, clovers, and other legumes as host plants for egg laying. This butterfly is found in the southern states close to open spaces, gardens and along seashores.
The most help that you can give all species of butterflies is to plant flowers that they enjoy for egg laying and for nutrition. Do not use deadly chemicals that prove fatal to these fragile flying flowers. Remember, adult butterflies enjoy nectar producing plants where caterpillars enjoy leaves, leaves and more leaves.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Butterfly hibernating box
With the loss of so much natural habitat, non-migrating butterflies like the mourning cloak can be helped with man-made shelters.
This is an excellent summer time project to have ready for fall positioning.
Some butterflies hibernate in the winter in all parts of North America. The mourning cloak spends the winter in many regions, the question mark and comma in the east, and the satyr anglewing in the west.
You can provide thes e and others with a suitable hibernating spot in your back yard. All you need is rectangular wooden box - probably cedar is the best - with narrow vertical holes cut into it. These are for the butterflies to enter and leave.
Place long strips of bark inside the house. The bark gives butterflies something to hang onto while hibernating.
Many home improvement places and garden centers sell butterfly hibernating boxes.
Always place a butterfly hibernation box in the shade as the occupants will not overheat. Also, place it close to nectar producing shrubs and flowers.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
This is an excellent summer time project to have ready for fall positioning.
Some butterflies hibernate in the winter in all parts of North America. The mourning cloak spends the winter in many regions, the question mark and comma in the east, and the satyr anglewing in the west.
You can provide thes e and others with a suitable hibernating spot in your back yard. All you need is rectangular wooden box - probably cedar is the best - with narrow vertical holes cut into it. These are for the butterflies to enter and leave.
Place long strips of bark inside the house. The bark gives butterflies something to hang onto while hibernating.
Many home improvement places and garden centers sell butterfly hibernating boxes.
Always place a butterfly hibernation box in the shade as the occupants will not overheat. Also, place it close to nectar producing shrubs and flowers.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Replacing a dove nest
It isn't unusual for a dove nest with babies to be blown out of a tree during a wind storm. Most doves cross a few sticks loosely held together and call it finished.
Place the baby doves in a box with a heating pad under the box cushioned with a folded towel. Set the heating pad on low. If a heating pad isn't available, secure the baby doves in a container and place it where it will be shielded from the elements.
Materials:
***12-inch square of 1/4 or 1/2-inch wire screen.
Cut a 12 inch circle.
Then cut a 2 1/2-inch pie-shaped wedge from the circle, and discard it. Pull the circle into the shape of a cone. Over lap the edges and wire them together.
Secure the nest basket close to the crotch of a tree limb from eight to 16 feet above the ground.
Replace the baby doves and watch from a safe distance. The parents should return quickly to feed and shelter them.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Place the baby doves in a box with a heating pad under the box cushioned with a folded towel. Set the heating pad on low. If a heating pad isn't available, secure the baby doves in a container and place it where it will be shielded from the elements.
Materials:
***12-inch square of 1/4 or 1/2-inch wire screen.
Cut a 12 inch circle.
Then cut a 2 1/2-inch pie-shaped wedge from the circle, and discard it. Pull the circle into the shape of a cone. Over lap the edges and wire them together.
Secure the nest basket close to the crotch of a tree limb from eight to 16 feet above the ground.
Replace the baby doves and watch from a safe distance. The parents should return quickly to feed and shelter them.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
May Brings Abundance in Nature
Whatever Mother Nature does, she does it with all her heart. She
dishes out recovery with blooms and new leaves, songbirds, butterflies,
and bees.
The mountaintop reeled under the devastation of the Easter weekend freeze. The Quantum Cherry tree is still struggling to put on new leaves as if the star magnolia. There aren't enough leaves to provide a canopy for the tender pot plants from the greenhouse. I fear the Clendendron trees, one of all time favorites, are dead. There is no sign of life after six weeks since the freeze. They were not only my favorites, but butterflies covered them from the time they bloomed until fall. The oldest stood 30 feet tall, and provided shade for the Pilgrim geese during the heat of summer. Their demise is much like losing an old friend on the mountaintop.
A few of the Iris are showing buds, and the late blooming peonies are opening. What a luxury to have flowers in bloom again. Spring without blooms is hard to imagine, after waiting months through winter for them to arrive. Some of the lilies are nodding in the warm spring breezes with heads full of buds. Others did not show buds this year.
The laurel is in bloom, and it is a welcome escort down the mountain each morning. Bees are back out and humming, and at evening the whippoorwills call. Although it is past mid-May, it seems that is was March only yesterday. Every year we worry about if spring is early or late, and we fear for plants, blooms and buds. But the plants don ' t
forget, because their memory is not like ours. Plants have a fundamental memory, a response to the rhythms of time. It is part of the order that keeps days and nights, season and years in their immutable sequence.
The scarlet tanager has found the mountaintop again. Some call it a black-winged redbird or firebird. Nobody ever forgets the scarlet tanager, once one visits. Beside the tanager, the cardinal' s deep red seems a bit dull. Only the males are clothed in the vivid red, and then only in the spring and summer. The females have yellowish
olive-green feathers. Her wings are a brownish-gray. When winter approaches the male tanager will look much like the female.
May' s air holds the golden dust that sends many humans hurrying for the tissue box. The air itself is dusted with the substance of life, the pollen crop of the trees. The hickories, oaks, walnuts, and all the conifers spread clouds of sulphur-yellow pollen. It is one of the
oldest fertility rites on earth. Some of the pollen reaches the female flowers and produce the seeds that keep the planet green. It will be over soon, and red noses and eyes will be able to return to normal.
The day begins early now. At first light, the birds begin to celebrate the dawn. The dawn chorus swells into a full cathedral choir by 7 a.m. No one complains that May is a noisy month.
Wisps of silver mist still hug the hollows with memories of midnight coolness at daybreak. The busyness of the day hasn' t intruded yet.
You can hear the breeze whispering through the treetops. The sunrise is the day's beginnings. Perhaps that is what the birds are celebrating. Those who know another dimension of time can, for a little while, participate in genesis itself.
June bugs are already on the back walk. They are blundering beetles
that appear at dusk and linger well into the dark.
Fawns are beginning to appear in the woods. Leave them where you find them. A fawn lacks scent and with their dappled coloring, they are well camouflaged, and usually remain safe from predators. The doe returns to the fawn several times a day to nurse it and clean it. Staying only a few minutes each time, she leaves again to seek food. Most
fawns do not do well in captivity. Leave nature where you find it.
Bees are in serious trouble in the Valley. They are suffering "bee hive collapse." The bees leave the hive in search of nectar and pollen, and never return. This is drastic, because man depends on bees to pollinate crops to produce food. Man cannot replicate what the bees do. There is no substitute for trillions and trillions of honeybees
worldwide, pollinating hundreds of thousands of square miles. If
honeybees become extinct, man may not be far behind. Mites and pollution, including pesticides, had already compromised bees and now a new plague has struck.
"We don't know what is causing the hives to collapse," Edd Buchanan, master beekeeper says," We are meeting and we are studying, but we simply don't know yet."
Researchers have decided to call the latest bee plague "colony collapse disorder." A Cornell University study estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, which includes fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
"Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee
to pollinate that food," Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, said.
Some beekeepers on the east coast report losses of more than 70 percent of their hives. Beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20 percent in the off-season normal. Colony Collapse Disorder is not just a United States problem. It is occurring in Spain and Poland as well.
With global warming threatening many species, and now bees seriously endangered, it may be later than we think.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
dishes out recovery with blooms and new leaves, songbirds, butterflies,
and bees.
The mountaintop reeled under the devastation of the Easter weekend freeze. The Quantum Cherry tree is still struggling to put on new leaves as if the star magnolia. There aren't enough leaves to provide a canopy for the tender pot plants from the greenhouse. I fear the Clendendron trees, one of all time favorites, are dead. There is no sign of life after six weeks since the freeze. They were not only my favorites, but butterflies covered them from the time they bloomed until fall. The oldest stood 30 feet tall, and provided shade for the Pilgrim geese during the heat of summer. Their demise is much like losing an old friend on the mountaintop.
A few of the Iris are showing buds, and the late blooming peonies are opening. What a luxury to have flowers in bloom again. Spring without blooms is hard to imagine, after waiting months through winter for them to arrive. Some of the lilies are nodding in the warm spring breezes with heads full of buds. Others did not show buds this year.
The laurel is in bloom, and it is a welcome escort down the mountain each morning. Bees are back out and humming, and at evening the whippoorwills call. Although it is past mid-May, it seems that is was March only yesterday. Every year we worry about if spring is early or late, and we fear for plants, blooms and buds. But the plants don ' t
forget, because their memory is not like ours. Plants have a fundamental memory, a response to the rhythms of time. It is part of the order that keeps days and nights, season and years in their immutable sequence.
The scarlet tanager has found the mountaintop again. Some call it a black-winged redbird or firebird. Nobody ever forgets the scarlet tanager, once one visits. Beside the tanager, the cardinal' s deep red seems a bit dull. Only the males are clothed in the vivid red, and then only in the spring and summer. The females have yellowish
olive-green feathers. Her wings are a brownish-gray. When winter approaches the male tanager will look much like the female.
May' s air holds the golden dust that sends many humans hurrying for the tissue box. The air itself is dusted with the substance of life, the pollen crop of the trees. The hickories, oaks, walnuts, and all the conifers spread clouds of sulphur-yellow pollen. It is one of the
oldest fertility rites on earth. Some of the pollen reaches the female flowers and produce the seeds that keep the planet green. It will be over soon, and red noses and eyes will be able to return to normal.
The day begins early now. At first light, the birds begin to celebrate the dawn. The dawn chorus swells into a full cathedral choir by 7 a.m. No one complains that May is a noisy month.
Wisps of silver mist still hug the hollows with memories of midnight coolness at daybreak. The busyness of the day hasn' t intruded yet.
You can hear the breeze whispering through the treetops. The sunrise is the day's beginnings. Perhaps that is what the birds are celebrating. Those who know another dimension of time can, for a little while, participate in genesis itself.
June bugs are already on the back walk. They are blundering beetles
that appear at dusk and linger well into the dark.
Fawns are beginning to appear in the woods. Leave them where you find them. A fawn lacks scent and with their dappled coloring, they are well camouflaged, and usually remain safe from predators. The doe returns to the fawn several times a day to nurse it and clean it. Staying only a few minutes each time, she leaves again to seek food. Most
fawns do not do well in captivity. Leave nature where you find it.
Bees are in serious trouble in the Valley. They are suffering "bee hive collapse." The bees leave the hive in search of nectar and pollen, and never return. This is drastic, because man depends on bees to pollinate crops to produce food. Man cannot replicate what the bees do. There is no substitute for trillions and trillions of honeybees
worldwide, pollinating hundreds of thousands of square miles. If
honeybees become extinct, man may not be far behind. Mites and pollution, including pesticides, had already compromised bees and now a new plague has struck.
"We don't know what is causing the hives to collapse," Edd Buchanan, master beekeeper says," We are meeting and we are studying, but we simply don't know yet."
Researchers have decided to call the latest bee plague "colony collapse disorder." A Cornell University study estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, which includes fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
"Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee
to pollinate that food," Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, said.
Some beekeepers on the east coast report losses of more than 70 percent of their hives. Beekeepers consider a loss of up to 20 percent in the off-season normal. Colony Collapse Disorder is not just a United States problem. It is occurring in Spain and Poland as well.
With global warming threatening many species, and now bees seriously endangered, it may be later than we think.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Some birds enjoy air bathing
Game birds and sparrows enjoy a good wallow in dust to clean their feathers, while other birds enjoy a dip in a puddle or bird bath.
Sometimes you may catch a glimpse of a bird air bathing. The bird is stimulated to go through the motions of bathing while watching other birds in water.
The air-bathing bird goes through all the motions of taking a bath with no water. After taking the imaginary bath, the bird preens its feathers just as it would after a real bath.
Some behavior truly falls in the category of mind over matter.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Sometimes you may catch a glimpse of a bird air bathing. The bird is stimulated to go through the motions of bathing while watching other birds in water.
The air-bathing bird goes through all the motions of taking a bath with no water. After taking the imaginary bath, the bird preens its feathers just as it would after a real bath.
Some behavior truly falls in the category of mind over matter.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Bluebirds are an early summer favorite
Eastern and western bluebirds are among the most favorite of spring songbirds.
Populations have made great strides in stabilizing since the species almost became extinct. The eastern bluebird can be found in hardwoods and grasslands mainly in rural settings. Grassy areas like meadows, pastures, roadsides, yards, rights-of-way, and farmlands attract the gentle bird. The more open grassy areas provide foraging habitat. Nearby trees are used for perching and nesting sites. The largest threat to the bluebirds' future is the continued loss of nesting area.
Landowners are important in the struggle in keeping bluebird populations stable. Keep the snags or dying trees rather than destroying them. They provide cavities for nesting.
Approximately two-thirds of the diet of an adult eastern bluebird is made up of insects and other invertebrates. The remainder of the diet comes from seasonal fruits. Favorite insect foods include crickets, katydids, beetles and grasshoppers. The birds also enjoy spiders, earthworms, millipedes, centipedes, sow bugs and small snails. When insects are scarce, fruits become very important.
During the winter months, eastern bluebirds consume dogwood berries, hawthorn berries,wild grapes, hackberry seeds and sumac. Supplemental fruits include blackberries, honeysuckle and bayberries. Virginia creeper, red cedar and pokeberries are enjoyed. The availability of winter foods often determines whether bluebirds migrate or stay. If they decide to stay in a region, they gather in flocks and seek cover in orchards, and heavy thickets. A brush pile is a delight for bluebirds.
Bluebirds feed by sitting prey from high perches. They swoop down to catch insects on the ground.
The eastern bluebird's winter and summer ranges differ primarily in how far south the bird reaches. Eastern bluebirds nest from southern Saskatchewan, east across southern Canada to Nova Scotia, south to southern Florida, and south from eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and the Dakotas south to Texas. Bluebirds winter in the middle parts of eastern North America south into Mexico, the Gulf coast, and southern Florida. Populations have also been found in southeast
Arizona and south into Nicaragua.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Populations have made great strides in stabilizing since the species almost became extinct. The eastern bluebird can be found in hardwoods and grasslands mainly in rural settings. Grassy areas like meadows, pastures, roadsides, yards, rights-of-way, and farmlands attract the gentle bird. The more open grassy areas provide foraging habitat. Nearby trees are used for perching and nesting sites. The largest threat to the bluebirds' future is the continued loss of nesting area.
Landowners are important in the struggle in keeping bluebird populations stable. Keep the snags or dying trees rather than destroying them. They provide cavities for nesting.
Approximately two-thirds of the diet of an adult eastern bluebird is made up of insects and other invertebrates. The remainder of the diet comes from seasonal fruits. Favorite insect foods include crickets, katydids, beetles and grasshoppers. The birds also enjoy spiders, earthworms, millipedes, centipedes, sow bugs and small snails. When insects are scarce, fruits become very important.
During the winter months, eastern bluebirds consume dogwood berries, hawthorn berries,wild grapes, hackberry seeds and sumac. Supplemental fruits include blackberries, honeysuckle and bayberries. Virginia creeper, red cedar and pokeberries are enjoyed. The availability of winter foods often determines whether bluebirds migrate or stay. If they decide to stay in a region, they gather in flocks and seek cover in orchards, and heavy thickets. A brush pile is a delight for bluebirds.
Bluebirds feed by sitting prey from high perches. They swoop down to catch insects on the ground.
The eastern bluebird's winter and summer ranges differ primarily in how far south the bird reaches. Eastern bluebirds nest from southern Saskatchewan, east across southern Canada to Nova Scotia, south to southern Florida, and south from eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains from Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and the Dakotas south to Texas. Bluebirds winter in the middle parts of eastern North America south into Mexico, the Gulf coast, and southern Florida. Populations have also been found in southeast
Arizona and south into Nicaragua.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
Did You Know? (Crow facts)
*** Crows show strong group loyalty. Despite man's hunger to always expand taking more and more habitat. This bird has not only survived but thrived.
*** Crows incubate their eggs for 18 days. Within five weeks the baby crows are able to fly.
*** A crow can eat almost anything. Diet includes grains, insects, eggs, fruit, even carrion. Rarely do crows face a food shortage because they are so adaptable.
*** A crow gives up flock loyalty during nesting season. Attention is transferred to the female. Researchers believe that they mate for life and are model wildlife parents. A mate knows where the other is at all times. Even in flight, a slower mate is waited for so that the two can fly as a team.
*** During nesting the male provides the female with food. When the eggs hatch, the pair provides their offspring with a minimum of eight full meals every day.
*** Crows have very rapid digestive systems. This accounts for them being able to eat large quantities of food even when they are babies.
*** The raven and crow are two different birds. The raven is larger and remains in northern regions throughout severe winters.
*** A crow, like a parrot, can learn to repeat words and even long phrases. This indicates a high degree of intelligence. It can associate words with meaning. Also, the crow responds to commands.
*** The crow is a scavenger and hunts along the sides of roads.
*** Crows warn each other of danger.
*** Crows build large basket type nests of sticks, bark, fur, leaves, and whatever else they can find that attracts their attention. Yearlings often help.
*** Scarecrows are useless in discouraging crows from raiding the garden.
*** Researchers have succeeded in distinguishing some 300 different crow calls. Five different crow calls have been distinguished to refer to different kinds of danger.
*** Crows dislike hawks and owls and chase them when the opportunity arises.
*** The crow's ability to learn new behaviors in a changing environment is one of the reasons they are as common as they are.
*** Crows have forward pointing bristles which cover their nostrils. This aids in preventing bacteria from entering their bodies when they feed on carrion.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
*** Crows incubate their eggs for 18 days. Within five weeks the baby crows are able to fly.
*** A crow can eat almost anything. Diet includes grains, insects, eggs, fruit, even carrion. Rarely do crows face a food shortage because they are so adaptable.
*** A crow gives up flock loyalty during nesting season. Attention is transferred to the female. Researchers believe that they mate for life and are model wildlife parents. A mate knows where the other is at all times. Even in flight, a slower mate is waited for so that the two can fly as a team.
*** During nesting the male provides the female with food. When the eggs hatch, the pair provides their offspring with a minimum of eight full meals every day.
*** Crows have very rapid digestive systems. This accounts for them being able to eat large quantities of food even when they are babies.
*** The raven and crow are two different birds. The raven is larger and remains in northern regions throughout severe winters.
*** A crow, like a parrot, can learn to repeat words and even long phrases. This indicates a high degree of intelligence. It can associate words with meaning. Also, the crow responds to commands.
*** The crow is a scavenger and hunts along the sides of roads.
*** Crows warn each other of danger.
*** Crows build large basket type nests of sticks, bark, fur, leaves, and whatever else they can find that attracts their attention. Yearlings often help.
*** Scarecrows are useless in discouraging crows from raiding the garden.
*** Researchers have succeeded in distinguishing some 300 different crow calls. Five different crow calls have been distinguished to refer to different kinds of danger.
*** Crows dislike hawks and owls and chase them when the opportunity arises.
*** The crow's ability to learn new behaviors in a changing environment is one of the reasons they are as common as they are.
*** Crows have forward pointing bristles which cover their nostrils. This aids in preventing bacteria from entering their bodies when they feed on carrion.
© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education
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