Life in the Campbell Park Pollinator Patch: Part I

 There is a community garden in the park next to our place, where approximately a dozen gardeners have various sized plots to grow garden produce. Marie and I are the local coordinators of this garden, and it has been a useful, and learning, experience.

One of the things that we, along with a couple of co-coordinators involved with this at the beginning of the project back in 2017, thought would be useful was to set aside part of the garden for (mostly) native wildflowers. With our interest in tallgrass prairie, it may be no surprise that many of those wildflowers were typical tallgrass prairie types.

The pollinator patch has looked quite impressive.

 

The Wild Bergamot has overdone itself this year, as the previous image shows. I will likely have to trim it back a bit aggressively before next year, to give some other plants a better chance.

A close relative is Bee-Balm, or Oswego Tea.

Butterfly Milkweed

Wild Columbine

Foxglove Beardtongue

Gray-headed Coneflower

Wild Senna

Purple Coneflower

Purple Coneflower is a tallgrass prairie species, but not native to Ontario. It is widespread in mid-western US prairies, and a crowd-pleaser, hence it is often planted in gardens.

There are more than twenty plant species established at this prairie patch. In addition to the ones shown above, there are others such as Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Missouri Ironweed, Canada Anemone, Swamp Milkweed, Oxeye, Blue Vervain, Mountain-mint, Culver's-root, New England Aster, Gray-headed Coneflower, Black-eyed Susan, Boneset, Canada Goldenrod, Riddell's Goldenrod and Common Milkweed. There is something flowering from May until September, or even longer, so something for insects for much of the season.

 Pollinators, as most readers will know, are incredibly important in the productivity of many of the garden produce we rely on and enjoy. 

 With so much of the general landscape being affected by outright loss of native habitat as well as the overuse of many pesticides, pollinators have a tough time surviving. With virtually all pollinators also having natural predators to contend with, it makes it extra challenging for them to carry on with their normal activities for survival. Therefore wildflower patches such as there is here and not impacted by pesticides, are very helpful for them, and also for gardeners. We are pleased to not only add some colour to our local garden, but also be amazed at the diversity of insects that show up! It is also encouraging to see various people walking by and pausing to enjoy the plants, butterflies and other insects they see.

In addition to these information signs, we've also put up posters highlighting some of the butterflies that have been seen here, as well as another poster illustrating many of the wildflowers in bloom. We have another poster in preparation, featuring more than 20 different non-butterfly insects commonly found here. 

One of the major problem insects that gardeners have to deal with is the Japanese Beetle. They aren't native, of course, and can be incredibly abundant and damaging especially to some plants, such as raspberries, beans and grapes as well as horticultural plants. In fact they are considered pests on more than 300 species of plants.

If one looks around at garden centres, hardware stores and the like, one will find them providing a great sales pitch for Japanese Beetle traps. In a 20 minute walk around our neighbourhood, we noted 5 traps, all in the front yards. Who knows how many others were in the area that we didn't see.

While these traps are very effective at attracting and collecting these beetles, what said garden centres, etc. don't tell you is that if you place one of these traps in your yard, you will likely end up with more beetles than ever! The attractant in the trap is a scent of flowers that initially attract the beetles, and when a large number of beetles arrive, the pheromone that they give off attracts hundreds of others in short order. Many will come to the trap, but many others will spend time on various garden or horticultural plants, causing the damage that the homeowners were trying to eliminate. Research has shown that vegetation damage is greater in the immediate area of a beetle trap than in areas where homeowners have not put up a trap. Here is a link describing this. 

The bottom line is that Japanese Beetles are here to stay, and putting up traps will only increase their number, and therefore the damage, in your yard or garden. 

There are other problem species in gardens besides Japanese Beetles. For example growers of cabbages and greens, have an ongoing battle with the larvae of the Cabbage White butterfly.

The little caterpillars love feasting on garden greens.

Less problematic, but still non-native, are other beetles. In fact most of the lady bugs, or Lady Bird Beetles we are familiar with, are not native. Here are two of the more common ones in our area.

Seven-spotted Lady Bird Beetle

Asian Multi-colored Lady Bird Beetle

On occasion you may find something like this next creature, roaming about. One wouldn't automatically make the connection, but it is the larval stage of the Asian Multi-colored Lady Bird Beetle.

There is another non-native insect species common in gardens, and this one at least has a very positive influence on our gardens and other things. It is the Western Honey Bee, commonly known as the honey bee that gives us such a sweet, tasty and generally healthy product.

Stay tuned for Part II, which will feature some of the impressive invertebrate creatures I've found and photographed in this pollinator patch!

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The perils of being a Monarch

Monarch butterflies have been getting a lot of publicity in the last few years, and rightfully so. They are undoubtedly the best known butterfly in North America and beyond. They are large, easily identified (except for the Viceroy being an excellent mimic) and are known for their incredible journey to the highlands of Mexico to overwinter.

Unfortunately for Monarchs, they rely almost exclusively on milkweeds for laying their eggs and therefore the survival of subsequent generations. For decades, the agricultural community despised milkweeds, as Common Milkweed is an aggressive invader of fields. There are lots of less common species, none of which are particularly problematic to the farming community but all species were painted with the same brush. Between the use of harsh chemicals and being officially on the Noxious Weed List milkweeds, and therefore Monarchs, did not have a promising future.

Fortunately as more and more people realized the serious decline of Monarchs there was a move afoot to remove milkweed from the Noxious Weed List, and more and more people started planting milkweeds in yards and gardens to provide some assistance to the survival of this magnificent butterfly.

The overall results have been fairly positive, with larger and seemingly more stable populations of Monarchs being observed. But every year is different, for different reasons. The limited overwintering habitat in Mexico is not all that secure from impacts. The weather is one of several factors there. Also the long journey by the survivors as they make their way northward in the spring, is not easy. Those that do survive overwinter begin moving north, laying eggs as they go and then dying, counting on the next generation to make the next leg of the trip north. It may take several generations for the species to get all the way back to the northern limits of their usual range.

In some years it seems there are relatively few that arrive here in southwestern Ontario at the beginning of the season, but gradually their numbers increase. In other years, such as 2018, it seemed there was a decent number present in May, leading one to hope for a good population throughout the summer. But it was not to be, at least in this area. The ones that did arrive in good time had some severe weather to contend with once they got here. Not as in stormy, hurricane type weather or cold, frosty weather. No, it was the shift from a cool damp spring to a very hot and very dry period for several weeks in the early part of the summer.

We regularly saw Monarchs in our yard, both male and female, for the early part of the summer. Eggs were laid.

But there were very few caterpillars that matured to adulthood. It was just too hot and dry for them. In fact many butterfly species experienced lower numbers than usual, which was reflected in the results of the annual butterfly counts in mid to late July. Small species of butterfly in particular were affected, but even the large Monarch was affected.

And then by late July and throughout August, we got more rain than usual. Lawns that were brown returned to luxuriant green. Milkweeds were less stressed and provided a better source for caterpillars. The tough, dry leaves of milkweeds responding to the hot dry weather earlier were not suitable for the caterpillars, so many of them did not develop until the moisture levels improved and there were more and younger, fresh leaves to feed on.

Between the milkweeds in and around our yard as well as those in a pollinator patch in a community garden close by, there are well over 125 milkweed stems. We started seeing more and more caterpillars. They developed and formed their trade mark chrysalis.

On one occasion, Marie noted a chrysalis behind a small cage in the garden. The cage was to protect the vegetables from marauding wildlife, such as cottontails. We didn't expect that a Monarch caterpillar would venture here. The nearest milkweed plant was at least 4 metres (12') away. It had to crawl through a lot of grass and other thick vegetation to get to this spot. But there it was.

 The butterfly eventually emerged, and we were concerned that it could not get out without damaging its fragile wings.

 Even though the 'foot' of the chrysalis was attached to the underside of the leaf, it was also attached to the wire of the cage. I decided to carefully tease the foot of the chrysalis away from the wire, and gently lift it outside the cage.

The Monarch managed to continue with its emergence and fluttered away not knowing how close it might have come to a much less desirable end.

As the season continued, we saw more and more caterpillars. On one occasion I could stand at the edge of the pollinator garden and count a dozen caterpillars of various sizes. But there was something concerning about this. None of them were under the leaf, where they would normally be feeding. Instead all of them were quite visible, including some which were just sitting in full view on the upper side of the leaf.

A closer look showed that some of these caterpillars were dead. Almost full size, but quite dead.

We also noticed that at least a couple of recently emerged adults had deformed wings.

One could fly a bit, the other could hardly even remain upright. Clearly something was not going well as both caterpillars and adults were suffering.

Was it something in the air? Were there pesticides that were affecting them? Were they trapped in a place and couldn't emerge properly?

We are not close to any agricultural field, so pesticide drift surely was not a factor. We had no way of testing air quality. We could only surmise that perhaps some caterpillars decided to place their chrysalis in a tight spot and the adults damaged their wings upon emergence.

But that didn't explain the death of so many caterpillars before ever getting to the chrysalis stage.

Marie took it upon herself to see if Google had any answers. And there were some.

Not surprisingly, there are various things that affect Monarch caterpillars, from fungus to bacteria to flies. Yes, flies, and specifically, Tachinid Flies, also known as parasitic flies.

There are more than 1000 species of Tachinid fly in North America, and at a glance they generally look like the flies we are most familiar with. However they do have some differences. These next few photos are all of Tachinid flies, and probably are all different species. A couple of the key features are that they have somewhat hairy bodies and large, reddish-brown eyes.

As adults, the flies feed on nectar of various flowering plants. But it is their reproductive behaviour that is of concern to Monarchs. The flies glue their eggs on to a caterpillar or, depending on the species of fly, sometimes inject the eggs directly into the body of the caterpillar. When the eggs hatch, they begin to feast on the caterpillar and it is doomed. In some cases the eggs are deposited on the surface of the leaf and it is ingested by the caterpillar. In other cases, the Monarch eggs themselves may have a fly egg attached or injected. Regardless, the result is the same. The caterpillar will not develop to a mature adult.

But before we castigate these flies for what we might consider their nefarious deeds, it is important to look at the bigger picture. The term 'fly' is not nearly as endearing as the term 'monarch'. Even the name of the butterfly is regal and something humans may admire. But these flies are not focusing just on Monarch caterpillars. In fact they are a huge benefit to agricultural and garden crops as they parasitize all sorts of other critters, some of which are very harmful. Think of all the damage that pests such as gypsy moths, squash bugs, cabbage loopers, army worms, Japanese beetles, cutworms, sawflies, codling moths, peach twig borers and tent caterpillars do to fruit and vegetables.

Any and every species of wildlife has natural enemies. It is what keeps things in check....the balance of nature, so to speak. If Monarch butterflies weren't so impacted by human activities, such as loss of habitat and the extensive use of harmful chemicals I suspect the effects of Tachinid flies wouldn't be much of a concern. If things were in a truly healthy state, and Tachinid flies weren't affecting Monarch caterpillars, we may be over run with Monarchs! I don't think anyone would complain if there were a lot more than there are, that is for sure. However Tachinid flies are just doing what they were meant to do, and have a place in the wild.

If you have noticed a similar situation in any milkweed patch/pollinator garden that you are involved with, it might be worthwhile to consider this: an emphasis on helping Monarchs is to plant milkweeds and generally speaking, that is a good thing. But if all you have is a big patch of milkweeds, it makes it easier for the flies to find a lot of Monarch caterpillars and eggs. In a truly natural setting, milkweeds are just one of a multitude of grasses and wildflowers, and are seldom in large patches. Instead they are widely scattered, likely giving any caterpillars on them a better chance at being missed by the flies. So add other pollinator plants to the garden patch, and spread out the milkweeds. You just might help a few more caterpillars survive to become a beautiful adult flitting about your yard.

More Life.....and Death....in the Backyard

Backyards can be great places to observe wildlife, especially if one has a garden or natural area. Yards that look more or less like a golf green will not be so productive.

This morning, I had several species of warblers in the yard. For anyone who knows where we live, warblers of any kind are a novelty! On migration I might see the occasional one, and only because I planted so many trees when we moved here more than 27 years ago. Today I had a Black-and-white,  at least two Bay-breasted, two Wilson's and a Yellow Warbler, all in just a few minutes. I also had a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, the first one for my yard list.

Black-and-white Warbler

But the veggie and flower garden is what draws most of the action, and the wildlife is fairly small. We've had several Black Swallowtail butterflies visit our yard, and soon after the caterpillars show up on the dill.

 One of them has now formed a pupa.......hopefully in less than a couple of weeks, it will emerge successfully.

Black Swallowtail pupa

 Monarchs are present regularly, sometimes to feed and sometimes to lay eggs. The eggs are incredibly small, only 2-3 millimetres in diameter.

Monarch egg

 And some have hatched. We haven't noted any chrysalis yet, but with over 30 Common Milkweed plants, they have lots to choose from.

One time when I was searching for monarch eggs, I came across this tiny Long-legged Fly. And when I looked closer, I saw an even smaller fly being munched on by the Long-legged one! You have to look closely....I didn't realize there were flies that small!

It has been a bad year for Japanese Beetles. Our raspberries and many other plants have been enjoyed by them, it seems. They also like Wild Grape leaves, as evidenced by the 33 or so that were resting, feeding, mating, etc on this grape leaf all at the same time.

 According to the experts, the Japanese Beetle traps don't work well. At least not in ridding the beetles from your yard, as the scent actually draws the beetles from throughout the neighbourhood. If you have a trap, it is best to place it away from your yard (like maybe in your neighbour's.......just kidding!). The most effective way of getting rid of the beetles is to collect them in a bucket of soapy water. Unless it is a windy day and they are hanging on tightly, they usually drop down if disturbed. Therefore placing the collecting jar immediately underneath before you jostle them, will usually catch them. We sometimes collected over 100 a day during the peak.

Bucket of beetles

In trimming a tree not that long ago, I came across this recently vacated nest in the crotch of a maple tree.

It is a nest of an American Goldfinch. The shallow cup of fine hairs is a clue, but the clincher is the ring of baby bird poop ringing the outside of the nest. The adults of many bird species will remove the fecal sac from the nest almost immediately. Not the goldfinch.....they are messy in that regard. I knew they were around, but never knew they were using our yard to nest in.

I found this very small fly visiting our dill. It isn't much bigger than the tiny flower. Thank goodness for a good macro lens!

Toxomerus marginatus

Another time I noticed this large dragonfly zipping through, but it landed near the top of the Austrian Pine. I couldn't get a close look, but managed this photo using the equivalent of a 640mm lens, and cropped it further. I think it may be one of the mosaic darner types, but I am open to suggestions.

A Large Milkweed Bug (not a beetle, which has a different wing type) was on some of the various Echinacea plants.

Large Milkweed Bug

If you have tomatoes, or as my very English grandmother would have said, tomahrtoes, you probably have big juicy hornworm type caterpillars of the sphinx moth family from time to time, such as this Carolina Sphinx. They can do quite a bit of damage to the tomato plants.

Carolina Sphinx caterpillar

But if you keep an eye on it, you may see it ending up like the one in this next image.

This one has been parasitized by a Braconid wasp. The adult wasp has laid its eggs inside the caterpillar, and when the larvae hatch, they feed on the insides of the caterpillar. After a few days, they emerge and form their pupae, looking like small eggs, on the outside of the caterpillar. By this time the caterpillar has had much of its insides sucked out but may live a bit longer, at least until the pupae emerge. A tough life for a hornworm caterpillar, but the gardener can appreciate this natural control.