Painted Lady

The Painted Lady group of colourful butterflies comprises the subgenus Cynthia of the genus Vanessa in the Family Nymphalidae.

The group includes:

the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui),
 Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi)
American (Painted) Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella)

Distinguishing features

In general, the Painted Lady is a large butterfly (wing span 5--9–cm (2--2 7/8 in)) identified by the black and white corners of its mainly deep orange, black-spotted wings. It has 5 white spots in the black forewing tips and while the orange areas may be pale here and there, there are no clean white dots in them. The hindwings carry 4 small submarginal eyespots on dorsal and ventral sides. Those on the dorsal side are black, but in the summer morph sometimes small blue pupils are present in some.
Source:  Wikipedia

Painted Lady Butterflies

 (Life Cycles)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are at least 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of Australia (genus Ornithoptera).

Papilio Glaucus

Swallowtails differ from all other butterflies in a number of anatomical traits. Most notably, their caterpillars possess a unique organ behind their heads, called the osmeterium. Normally hidden, this forked structure can be everted when the caterpillar is threatened, or forced out with a gentle squeeze, and emits smelly secretions containing terpenes. The adults are often tailed like the forked tail of some swallows, giving the insect its name.                                                 

Source: Wikipedia
Photo: Mary C Smith

Swallowtail Butterflies of the Americas: 

A Study in Biological Dynamics,
 Ecological Diversity, Biosystematic and Conservation                                                 

Majestic Monarch

Danaus Plexippus

The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed-butterfly (subfamily Danainae), in the family Nymphalidae.
It is perhaps the best known of all North American-butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer.
In Europe it is resident in the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, and is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 centimetres (3½–4 in).
Female-Monarchs have darker veins on their wings, and the males have a spot called the "androconium" in the center of each hind wing from which pheromones are released. Males are also slightly larger.
The Monarch is famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer in the Americas which spans the life of three to four generations of the butterfly.
Source: Wiki

Old America

Like a piece of old rusty farm equipment, America is beginning to rust a little around the edges... some people see it as a crumbling infrastructure, but I think it's more like the aging of a fine wine or a good strong cheese.  We are just becoming more flavorful and bold with age. 


Collapse Under Pressure
Freedom of the American Road: The case for more Highways (1955) [DVD]
Invisible New York: The Hidden Infrastructure of the City (Creating the North American Landscape)
The Physical City: Public Space and the Infrastructure (American Cities : a Collection of Essays, Vol 2)

Spiderwort

Tradescantia ohiensis is a species of Tradescantia (spiderwort) native to much of the eastern United States.  It is the most common species of Tradescantia in the wild in the United States.

The flowers are white, pink or purple but most commonly bright blue, with three petals and six yellow anthers.  The sap is mucilaginous and clear.  The leaves are long, thin and bladelike to lanceolate, from 3–45 cm long.

Its native range extends north to Wisconsin, Michigan, and slightly into Ontario, west to Texas and Kansas, south to Florida, and northeast to Massachusetts. 

They are weakly upright to scrambling plants, growing to 30–60 cm tall, and are commonly found individually or in clumps in wooded areas and fields. 

A number of the species flower in the morning and when the sun shines on the flowers in the afternoon they close up, but the flowers can remain open on cloudy days until evening.

The three species of Wandering Jew, one native to eastern Mexico, also belong to the Tradescantia genus.                             Other names used for various species include Spider-lily, Cradle-lily, Oyster-plant and Flowering Inch Plant.

The cells of the stamen hairs of some Tradescantia are colored blue, but when exposed to sources of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, the cells mutate and change color to pink; they are one of the few tissues known to serve as an effective bioassay for ambient radiation levels.

The generic name honours the English naturalists John Tradescant the Elder (ca. 1570-1638) and John Tradescant the Younger (1608-1662).
 wiki

Squawroot

This grouping of Squaw-Root was found growing in the Mammoth Cave National Forest.  These were very interesting to capture, however, they did seem a little past their prime.

Squawroot - Conopholis americana

Common Name: Squawroot, Cancerroot, American Broomrape

Scientific Name: Conopholis americana Family: Orobanchaceae, Broomrape

This plant, which lacks leaves, is parasitic on the roots of trees, especially oaks.

• Family: Broomrape (Orobanchaceae)

• Habitat: woods, often under oaks

• Height: 3-8 inches

• Flower size: 1/2 inch long

• Flower color: yellow-brown

• Flowering time: May to June

• Origin: native

Like all members of the Broomrape family, the Squawroot contains no chlorophyll. It must therefore obtain nutrients from a host plant as a parasite.  The Squawroot attaches to the root structure of oak trees for this purpose. However, this parasitic activity generally does not result in the death of the host tree.

Squawroot has astringent medicinal properties. A decoction can be used to treat hemorrhages of the bowels and uterus and as a cure for headaches.


The name Squawroot is attributed to its use by Native American females as a treatment to relieve the symptoms of menopause.

The name Cancerroot is a generic reference to its general palliative properties, as it has no measurable anti-tumor properties.

The genome of the Squawroot has been sequenced. The genes responsible for photosynthesis proteins are missing, while the remainder of the genome is consistent with other vascular, seed-bearing flowering plants, indicating an evolutionary mutation.  Excerpt taken from the Hiker's Notebook.

URL:  http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/Squawroot_040620.htm

Turkey Tango

This turkey was runnin' bout in Mammoth Cave National Park one spring morning, 2010. It was not the only one we spotted that morning, but this one did stick around long enough for me to capture a photo.

Here are some tidbits of info about the habits of a turkey.

The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which was domesticated from the South Mexican subspecies of the Wild Turkey. 
Adult Wild Turkeys have long reddish-yellow to greyish-green legs and a black body. Males have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles.
When males are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, and this, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all become engorged with blood, almost concealing the eyes and bill. Each foot has three toes, and males have a spur behind each of their lower legs. 
Wild Turkeys are surprisingly agile fliers and cunning, unlike their domestic counterparts. Turkeys are very cautious birds and will fly or run at the first sign of danger. Their ideal habitat is an open woodland or savanna, where they may fly beneath the canopy top and find perches. They usually fly close to the ground for no more than a quarter mile (400 m).

Turkeys have many vocalizations:
"gobbles," "clucks," "putts," "purrs," "yelps," "cutts," "whines,"    "cackles," and "kee-kees." In early spring, male turkeys, also called gobblers or toms, gobble to announce their presence to females and competing males. The gobble can carry for up to a mile. Males also emit a low-pitched "drumming" sound; produced by the movement of air in the air sack in the chest, similar to the booming of a prairie chicken. In addition they produce a sound known as the "spit" which is a sharp expulsion of air from this air sack. Hens "yelp" to let gobblers know their location.
Gobblers often yelp in the manner of females, and hens can gobble, though they rarely do so. Immature males, called jakes, often yelp.
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