Meadow Overlords

 

Spot-winged Glider, Pantala hymenaea

At the apex of insects attracted to the meadow, dragonflies patrol the airways to make life hazardous for the busy pollinators. 

Widow Skimmer, Libellula luctuosa

Dragonflies spend much of their waking hours in the air. They are carnivores. Although they might come to rest on a flower they are not seeking pollen or nectar.

Autumn Meadowhawk, Sympetrum vicinum

The flower makes a convenient station for both the dragonfly and the observer.

Wandering Glider, Pantala flavescens

Some species, especially the 'Gliders',  rarely alight and you may have to glimpse them on the wing. They hunt higher in the air and are capable of crossing oceans.

Common Green Darner, Anax junius

Naturally there are advantages for resting dragonflies to blend into the surrounding vegetation. You're unlikely to see them except at takeoff or landing.

Blue Dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis

Some types wait on an open perch, relying on their sharp eyes and a burst of speed to capture prey.

Painted Skimmer, Libellula semifasciata

Those 'sitting up' occasions give the best views, like airplanes on a runway.

Calico Pennant, Celithemis elisa

Their dazzling symmetry and aeronautic skills have drawn human fascination since the beginning of time.

Eastern Pondhawk, Erythemis simplicicollis

Dragonflies spend their larval and juvenile phases in aquatic environments. Many species remain close to bodies of water but venture to the meadow in search of prey.

Fragile Forktail, Ischnura posita

The demure damselflies live in a parallel microcosm, often within the canopy of upright vegetation.

Shadow Darner, Aeshna umbrosa

No such discretion fits the lifestyle of the Darner clan zooming like colorful darning needles above the fabric of the meadow.

Selective Seduction - Butterflies in the Meadow

 

Common Wood-Nymph, Cercyonis pegala

Countless plants in the summer meadow raised their flowers up for notice. Interestingly, butterflies were not their prime customers in the barter of nectar for pollination. Unsuspected insects smaller and much more numerous than butterflies did most of the work. I would bend low to admire them buzzing and crawling in the microcosm of a flower. But butterflies were the attraction I thought both I and the flowers were entitled to.

Northern Crescent, Phyciodes cocyta

Despite the lovely impression they make there just weren't that many butterflies gracing the airways over the Park. The millions of up-facing yellow daisies (rudbeckias) in the meadow, spectacular enough to compose navigational lanes to Logan airport, should have drawn legions of lepidoptera. The occasional butterflies sampling those flower coronas were modestly proportioned and decorated types. There‒I confess my delight in lavish display.

Eastern Tailed-Blue, Cupido comyntas

Not that lavish only goes with large or with excess. It can be a force in miniature if your observations are drawn to intimate scale.

Hawaiian Beet Webworm Moth, Spoladea recurvalis

Some of the lepidoptera were moths rather than butterflies.

Clouded Sulphur, Colias philodice

Nature was confirming one of its general principles in this specific endeavor, that when it comes to flowers one flavor doesn't fit all.

Horace's Duskywing, Erynnis horatius

Incidentally, all those yellow petals made a distinctive backdrop for their earth-toned visitors.

An overflying spectacle

Once in a while a tantalizing, vivid butterfly would survey the field of yellow flowers without stopping.

Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes

If it stopped at all its focus might settle on something to my eye more modest, but evidently more desirable in its own way.

American Copper, Lycaena hypophlaeas

Clover blossoms often won favor in this way. Their nectar reservoirs counted as a preferred destination for many foragers.

Monarch, Danaus plexippus

Diverse various floral characteristics have co-evolved with the tastes, anatomy, and life schedules of a certain range of pollinators. Sometimes the relationship is so specific as to be obligate, requiring that one and only partner for survival. It all adds up to a prolific encyclopedia of possibilities and change.

Zabulon Skipper, Lon zabulon

The daisy clan wraps up its floral pageantry late in the season with the nutritious crescendo of asters.

Cabbage White, Pieris rapae

Confetti-like Cabbage Whites that have fluttered disdainfully all summer over yellow-hued members of the family at last find their ambrosia in purple. 

Natives and Novelties

Halibut Point's newly constructed meadow has matured this year into a wide range of grasses and wildflowers that have given a colorful welcome to visitors and pollinators alike.

Most of the new plants have their origins somewhere in North America though not New England. While they make an enjoyable sight and nourish pollinators as intended, they are not necessarily natives in an historic nor ecological sense. This meadow feature is more a renovation than a restoration, the latest in a long series of alterations throughout human history even in pre-colonial times, on forward into lumbering, agricultural, quarrying, and recreational pursuits. Some of the botanical comings and goings over the centuries have been intentional, some inadvertent as migrating plants have found opportunities in disturbed soils. Most of the novelties we are now noticing have resulted from prescribed seed mixes sown in the fall of 2021. Some of them probably hitchhiked in imported loam.

Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta

In late summer the meadow blossomed into a sea of cheerful Black-eyed Susans that originated in the central parts of our continent.

Gloriosa Daisy, Rudbeckia fulgida

The majority of the display consists of Gloriosa Daisies, a close relative of the Black-eyed Susan. They flower into endless patterns, including this one with unique bicolored purple rays.

Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa

Tucked into one corner of the meadow was a single Butterfly Weed. It too has more westerly origins.

New York Ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis

Another singular specimen just showing its head above the masses of yellow is this Ironweed. Its native range includes New York and much of Massachusetts, but not Essex County.

Dense Blazing Star, Liatris spicata

Liatris has a similar geographic background. It has become a popular garden plant.

Cornflower, Centaurea cyanus

European Cornflowers have naturalized in this country from garden origins to the extent that they may seem native.

Sweet William Catchfly, Atocion armeria

This Sweet William Catchfly has a similar story. It has just made its appearance at Halibut Point, to my knowledge.

Smooth Hawk's-beard, Crepis capillaris

Other herbs like Hawk's-beard that bear a close resemblance to North American wildflowers are less likely to have crossed the ocean as a garden choice.

Foxglove Beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis

A single specimen of this charming native that I had not previously seen at Halibut Point bloomed this summer at the edge of the meadow.

False Sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides

Robust perennial sunflowers stretched their height here and there above the mass of vegetation.

Common St. John's-Wort, Hypericum perforatum

At the diminutive end of the stature scale twinkled the sweet blossoms of St. John's-Wort.

Indian Tobacco, Lobelia inflata

Another demure first sighting this season is a native member of the lobelia family.

Beach Plum, Prunus maritima

Across the entrance road from the meadow a Beach Plum was added to a traffic island.

Beach Plum fruit ripens

Shortly after ripening its grape-sized plums disappeared, whether to hands, paws, or beaks. The fruit were a success story in the encouragement of pollinators for edible crops.

The Meadow

 

The dilapidated barn and chicken coop, 2018

When the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation recently considered its options for the renovation of Halibut Point State Park, converting the half-acre lawn around the barn into a naturalized meadow figured prominently in its design priorities.

Partridge Pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata

Great doings were undertaken. The landscape was harrowed, loamed, and planted with wildflower seeds in the fall of 2021. The following season's drought hampered development of a full-fledged meadow. In the sparse vegetation that did emerge an exotic-looking "native" (from the south-central U.S.) plant appeared. Its pretty flowers bore Partridge Pea fruit, prompting my imagination to give wings to flocks of prairie birds that might arrive from their native Great Plains range.

Coreopsis blooming at the Park entrance, June 2023

Leap forward to this summer's generous rains. The prospering meadow has greened and flowered.

New signs place emphasis on accommodating insects in the Park.

The un-mown meadow has made an inviting habitat for the insects as well as a beautiful landscape.

Unfortunately, the enforcement of protections has imposed painful restrictions on formerly free-roaming photographers.

My rambles, confined to a linear path, have nevertheless presented various flora and fauna novelties.

The barn in the meadow, September 2023

Hopefully the barn, looking all the more picturesque in its new surroundings, will receive life-saving attention from its conservators.

End of season still-life:
Queen Anne's Lace, burdock seeds, blackberry leaves

In the coming series of postings we will look at diverse summer occurrences in the meadow.

Dressing Smart

Evolution has given insects two opposite directions to take in adapting their outer appearance, either toward conspicuous imitation or toward invisibility.

Wasp Mimic Fly, Spilomyia longicornis

In the last "Note from Halibut Point" we took a look at wasps that advertise themselves because of their stinging capability. They warn potential predators of a price to be paid for any harm.

Hover Fly, Epistrophe grossulariae

A number of defenseless flies have borrowed those black and yellow stripes for their own protection.

Thick-headed Fly, Physocephala tibialis

Taking on the thin-waisted waspy shape of a wasp also helps to ward off danger. How would you know at a glance that this is a fly rather than a wasp? Flies (members of the Diptera family with only two wings rather than four) have sucking rather than biting mouthparts and feathery rather than thread-like antennae.

Grapeleaf Skeletonizer Moth, Harrisina americana

A similar evolutionary procedure has undoubtedly benefited  this moth species.

European Woolcarder Bee, Anthidium manicatum

Certain bees get an advantage from their waspy pattern and coloration.

Bee Fly, Mallota bautias

Similarly, mimicking the appearance of a bumblebee has served this fly well.

Slender Meadow Katydid, Conocephalus fasciatus

Taking quite an opposite approach are those creatures that simply try to blend in.

Changeable Grass-veneer, Fissicrambus mutabilis

The Grass-veneer moth's name reflects its canny merger of appearance to environment.

Treehopper, Entylia carinata

If this Treehopper hadn't moved from a woody surface to a green leaf I might not have seen it at all.

Two-striped Planthopper, Acanalonia conica

Its planthopper relatives escape attention by imitating the leaf itself.

Northern Walkingstick, Diapheromera femorata

Walkingsticks successfully draw on both these strategies to blend into the shrubbery.

Goldenrod Crab Spider, Misumena vatia

On the offensive end there are predators that utilize principles of camouflage to wait in ambush for unsuspecting prey.

All these and many more combinations of appearance and behavior show the vast diversity of adaptations that have evolved in the animal world to further their survival.