Friday, August 13, 2021

CONTINUING MY SERIES OF POSTS ON WALNEY POND - EASTERN TIGER BUTTERFLIES.

There were more Common milkweeds next to the pond, and I saw a lady taking photos in this area.  I was hopeful for butterflies or dragonflies.  By the time we had walked around the pond, the lady had left and Gregg and I took our own photos of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus).  It was dining on the nectar from the blooms of a Pickerelweed.

Adult Eastern swallowtails have a wingspan as small as 3 inches, but they can grow up to 5 1/2 to 6 inches across. They also have four black parallel stripes at the top of each wing and a solid black stripe along the base. Female Eastern swallowtails tend to have more blue on the hindwings than the males.  This website has photos which will show you the differences.  You will find the Eastern tiger swallowtails from the East Coast to the Great Plains.  
You can click here to see what the caterpillar looks like.  It is also a site that shows you how to raise them.  I often think of Debbie at It's All About Purple when I see a butterfly.  She has the most gorgeous photos of them, and this link will take you to one of her posts where she has raised her own.  Thanks Debbie!  
I read here, and much more, that in the eastern half of the country, females lay yellow-green eggs singly on leaves of willow, birch, black cherry, ash and the tulip tree." 
We were getting ready to leave the pond and our butterflies, but this Blue dasher dragonfly was very cooperative and landed long enough for us to take a photo.  Dragonflies were some of the first winged insects to evolve, some 300 million years ago. Modern dragonflies have wingspans of only two to five inches, but fossil dragonflies have been found with wingspans of up to two feet.
This is a Sawtooth blackberry and can be found in many of our states, including Virginia.  
In the next photo the plants growing out of the pond among the lily pads are Pickerel weed, the blooms of which you can see in the butterfly photos.  It is also known by other names, Pickerel rush and Heart-leaved pickerel weed.  Its botanical name is Pontederia cordata.
No ID for the following but I looked up and thought it worthy of a photo, especially as the sunlight was shining through the leaves.
Next you will probably recognize the Cattail plant.  It provides a safe haven for tiny fish and attracts many of the smaller aquatic creatures that birds and other wildlife feed on.  They create a shelter from winter cold and wind for mammals and birds, and are a source of nesting material with their leaves and seeds.  
Humans have always benefited from the cattail. The plants have been used for rush bottom furniture, baskets, and mats, and their downy seeds have been used to stuff pillows and mattresses.  During World War II they were used to stuff life jackets.  It really is amazing what you can find out online.  I also read that many native peoples around the world wove cattail leaves and flower stalks into roof thatch, sleeping mats, duck decoys, hats, dolls and other kids' toys, to name a few of its uses.  Fresh leaves and roots were pounded and used as poultices.  Cattail fluff was also used in diaper linings, moccasin insulation and wound dressings.
Next photo shows the Winged sumac, botanical name Rhus copallina and also known as Shining sumac, Flameleaf sumac, Mountain sumac, Wing-rib sumac, Black sumac and Upland sumac.  It has some nice ornamental features (flower panicles in the spring, shiny dark green summer foliage, fruiting clusters in the fall and excellent fall foliage color).
That's all from our latest trip to Walney Pond. It is part of the Ellanor C. Lawrence Park which you can read about at this link.
Have a great weekend everyone.  I will be back on Monday with my weekly recipe.




43 comments:

  1. Beautiful shots. A pretty area to explore.

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    1. Thank you William, it is one of our favorites :)

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  2. I will not be able to stop thinking about prehistoric Draginflies with two foot wings!! I bet they could take down a cat.

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    1. I know Ginny, my eyes opened wide when I read about the two foot wings :) and I bet they would!

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  3. Your photos are beautiful. After reading this I can say that I am very glad that dragonflies aren't as big as they used to be.

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  4. I do hope that Blogger will allow this comment through. Thank you for the calm and the beauty, both of which are very welcome. And how I would love to see a giant dragon fly...

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    1. I hope you haven't been having trouble with your comments Sue. We seem to go through hiccups don't we? Yes, a giant dragonfly would really be something :)

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  5. Hello,
    Lovely views of the pond and plants. The Swallowtail butterflies are beautiful, great captures. Take care, have a great day and happy weekend!

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  6. The creature are so lovely to see. The reeds/grasses are good and your photos a pleasure to view.
    Take care Denise.

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    1. Very happy you enjoyed them Margaret, you take care too :)

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  7. Extraordinary beauty!! I never knew about cattails being used for lining a life jacket!!

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  8. the butterflies are so wonderful and i can tell you I do not want to meet a dragonfly with a 2 foot wing span and that might be why they were named dragon flies

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    1. Hi Sandra :) I think many of us agree with you, no dragonfly with a 2 foot wing span and that's a very good point.

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  9. Thanks for this well researched post. I wish I could remember some of this.

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    1. You are very welcome Red, that's the hard part for me too, remembering everything I read :)

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  10. what a beautiful area and your images are superb. you captured the swallowtail in all of it's true glory!! i really LOVE the first picture, a difficult angle to capture, it's shows a perspective that we don't often see!! i always enjoy all of the information you share along with your gorgeous pictures!!

    thank you so much for referring to my butterfly posts, i was thrilled to see myself here, and even more thrilled to read of your admiration of me and my "skills"!!! i will be sharing butterfly pictures tomorrow in my critter post!!

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    1. Thanks Debbie! So glad you didn't mind me mentioning about your photos. They really do leave me in awe :) I will be over to look at your critter post very soon.

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  11. Great dragonfly capture. I am out on the patio in the cooler evenings lately watching them. Seem to be many in flight around my home. One landed on my grand daughters arm and she liked seeing it up close. Gentle insects. Interesting story about the cattails and it's uses. Beautiful nature pictures with good info you have posted.
    betsy

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    1. Thanks Betsy :) That sounds idyllic and how lovely for your granddaughter.

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  12. Love those butterfly shots! Pretty!

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  13. Butterflies have been a few and far between in my garden this year so it is especially lovely to see your lovely photos today. The dragonfly photo is beautiful. Thank you as always for the informative post, Denise!

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    1. So glad Martha Ellen and you are always very welcome. I enjoy putting these posts together, I learn so much through reading about them and always hope others will enjoy also :) Not too many butterflies around my garden either, that's why I enjoy going to these places so much.

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    1. Fico feliz que você tenha gostado das minhas fotos :) Muito obrigado. Um abraço e boa semana.

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  15. Great photos and information. Thanks for your natural science lesson. The plants are quite different to ours.

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    1. You are very welcome Diane, glad you enjoyed them. I like to look at your plants also :)

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  16. That is a beautiful garden! I enjoyed looking at your photos, Denise.

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    1. I have visited your recent posts and wasn't sure my comments made it through. I checked on the last two and when I published, they didn't appear. Perhaps you are moderating? I hope so but I did enjoy reading them.

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  17. Very interesting about the cattails. Love your pretty butterflies!

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    1. Thank you Linda, I have fun finding these things out :)

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  18. What beautiful butterfly photos. It's hard to get a good picture of them because
    they flutter about so quickly and don't stand still, but you really did a nice job
    capturing them.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Thank you Sheri :) I had a hard time with butterflies too a couple of days ago but I was lucky with one or two.

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