Stinging Saddleback Caterpillar

   
     This Saddleback caterpillar (Acharia stimulea) showed up at a master naturalist field trip I was co-leading last year. This is one of our largest slug caterpillars (they're called this because of the way they move in a gliding fashion, with no legs showing), but you can see how small it really is. The sting hurts to be sure, but is not that big a deal for most folks and I was not afraid of getting stung. They're neither aggressive nor quick. There's been a lot of sensational info on stinging caterpillars, but they're mostly not a problem around here unless you happen to be allergic (which can happen if you're allergic to anything and is rare regardless, but it can happen, as my wife can attest to from an encounter with a stinging Barboso caterpillar in her home country of El Salvador that had her hospitalized a week).
     Most members of the slug caterpillars, family Limacodidae, are armed with stinging hairs. You can actually see the stinging spines on this one. This is considered the most powerful sting among our native slug caterpillars. Because they use their stinging spines in the construction of their protective cocoons, even these can sting. You can also see the warning colors and the saddle-marks that give them their name.
     Their stinging abilities do not protect them from all predators though, with wasps in particular preying on them. Braconid wasps insert their eggs into them and the wasp larvae feed on the inside, leaving the vital organs until the last. The walking caterpillar is a zombie. When the white little wasp cocoons show up on the outside of the caterpillar, it is basically dead but still moving. I've also seen paper wasps bite off the stinging spines so they can take them back to their nests to feed their young safely.
     Just today I found a Saddleback crossing the entry road to one of our nature centers. Having heard that they won't sting when gliding over you, I decided to test that theory. So I let it crawl onto my finger for about 20 minutes and can attest that this particular one at least did not sting me.

Apparently Saddlebacks can crawl on you without stinging. The stinging hairs are pretty evident along its back however.

     These beautiful caterpillars are polyphagic, meaning they can eat a lot of different plants. I've found them on corn, maples, oaks, elms, apple trees, even English Ivy (which almost no other native creature eats). They've also been reported feeding on the leaves of blueberry, beans, buttonbush, cabbage, citrus, grasses, grapes, linden, ash, dogwoods, cherries, iris, viburnums, and asters. The worst experience I ever had with them was when I bumped into some stinging nettles and of course got stung. A second later I got tagged again by the Saddleback that I had accidentally picked up that was feeding on the stinging nettle. A double whammy.

Ailanthus Webworm Moths

Ailanthus Webworm Moth on Goldenrod

     While most moths fly at night and are drab, a few don't follow that trend. One of these is a colorful daytime flying moth called the Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva aurea). These are very common and very visible from now through the Fall, especially favoring goldenrod to nectar at. They are one of the few native insects that has benefited from the introduction of an invasive alien exotics plant, the Ailanthus, or Tree-of-Heaven.

     Formerly, Ailanthus Webworm Moths were limited to areas where their original caterpillar food host plant, the Paradise Tree (Simarouba glauca and Simarouba amara), grew in the tropics to Southern Florida. When the Ailanthus Tree (Ailanthus altissima) was introduced from China, it was similar enough that the caterpillars were able to feed on it. In fact, now the caterpillars are so associated with the widely spreading invasive plant that even their common name reflects this. The caterpillar and moth are now found well outside their original range and are as common as their exotic pest host plants.

     The moth is quite colorful, likely as a warning that it is distasteful due to the chemicals it ingests from its food plants. People often confuse it for a butterfly because of its diurnal nature and colors. It loves to nectar at such plants as goldenrods, asters, ironweeds, and other blooms, performing some minor pollination services. 

Ailanthus Webworm feeding inside its web on Ailanthus (Tree-of-Heaven)

     The caterpillars fold together several leaves and wrap them in webs, feeding inside this protective shelter. Although this is the only plant they eat in our region, they rarely do much real damage to the tree itself and are not really a natural control for this invasive pest plant. 

     I enjoy seeing these colorful moths now in our region and take some pleasure that their caterpillars feed on the invasive tree. Rare is the case where invasive species provide much benefit to native creatures, in fact the contrary is almost always the case. Helping this moth expand well outside its native range does not make up for the damages the invasive plants cause. Regardless, it is good to know that at least one creature has had this luck and adds its colors to those in our meadows, fields, and roadsides.  

Black Nightshade

Black Nightshade in fruit in my yard.

     The Nightshade family (Solanaceae) is surrounded by all sorts of legends and stories dealing with their toxicity, despite several edible members (such as tomatoes, potatoes, and hot peppers) being in the same family. Indeed, many members contain potent toxic alkaloids including such plants as Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, Sacred Datura, and Jimsonweed (which was used locally for very important hallucinogenic rituals by the Native American Indians and which I should do a post about). Many of them can and have killed people. Atropa Belladonna was used for example by some prominent Romans to murder competitors.

Black Nightshade with the distinctive flowers typical of the Nightshade family, much like tomatoes.

     You can imagine my reaction then when my wife several years ago found a nightshade growing in our yard and declared it to be just like the ones they used to eat back in her home country of El Salvador. One look at the flower and I knew it to be a nightshade of some sort. I also explained to her that many were indeed quite poisonous and that there were many plants that could look quite similar, but that could be quite different (even if within the same family) from one country to another. Despite how sure she was, I told her it would be a very bad idea to try and eat it.
     A week passed and one evening my wife served me a delicious soup. As I devoured it, she asked me what I thought of it. I liked it, I told her, and she explained to me that the main ingredient was "Mora." Now Mora in my ancestral home of Peru means "mulberry" (the scientific Genus for mulberry is Morus by the way). I told her that it didn't taste like mulberry fruit one bit and it was too late in the season to find any anyways. She revealed to me that it wasn't that plant actually, and that it didn't even contain any fruits or berries at all. It was made using the leaves of the plant she had pointed out to me earlier that also grew in her homeland and was called "Mora" by Salvadorans.
     I did a double take as I digested the new information, and stopped my digestion of the nightshade soup she had served me (and which I had nearly finished). Several things ran through my mind at that moment: that I shouldn't have taken out that life insurance policy, that I knew many potentially deadly members of this plant family, and that I really needed to positively identify that plant (as well as have the poison control center number ready).
     I luckily had a few good resources available, but could do no better than it was called Black Nightshade. This plant is sometimes simply classified as Solanum "nigrum" but many others now believe it to be a complex of various species and maybe subspecies. I couldn't get a perfect ID other than that.
     More worrisome was that the common name Black Nightshade had contradictory information, some saying it was edible while others saying it was poisonous. Thankfully, I had on hand my favorite foraging book, the one by Samuel Thayer called "Nature's Garden" and it had Black Nightshade listed. I consider Thayer's two books the absolute best on the topic of wild edibles and foraging and so trusted it as the best resource.
     According to his very detailed and illustrated book, Black Nightshade is indeed edible both as greens and ripe fruits, regardless of which species in the complex you eat. The confusion, he believes, is in the use of the common name and the poor reputation of the Nightshade family. The aforementioned Atropa belladonna is also sometimes called Black Nightshade (as well as Deadly Nightshade and Belladonna) and is quite toxic. Thayer theorizes that poisonings from eating "Black Nightshade" are from eating this particular plant. I was positive that what I had consumed with such relish was luckily not that plant, as they are fairly different in appearance. That I'm still alive today, that I make sure to spread some Black Nightshade seeds every year to get more plants, and that my family continues to eat it, are all proof of the edibility of Black Nightshades in the Soluanum nigra complex. The variety found around here is usually classified as Solanum ptycanthum nowadays. It also helps show the importance of universally accepted scientific names rather than regional common names.

Black Nightshade, despite its dangerous reputation, has both edible leaves and ripe fruits.

     This native plant is an annual (thus why I keep making sure I spread some seed into strategic locations in my yard every year). A version of it has been consumed (or feared) across most of the world. Our own native peoples had some tribes who considered it edible, others medicinal, and yet others poisonous. Porcher's Confederate Ethnobotany considered it to have have medicinal properties but stressed its supposed dangerous effects as well.
     So my family continues to eat this plant, both as greens and when the fruit is ripe. My wife was right, which she likes to point out to me in many other things as well. Luckily most of the time my life isn't at stake when she tries to prove this to me.

Elephant Mosquitoes

An Elephant Mosquito nectars on Boneset flowers.

     After yesterdays Facebook video on "wrigglers" as mosquito larvae are called, I thought I would follow up with this impressive mosquito species. Elephant Mosquitoes (Toxorhynchites rutilus) are labelled this way due to their large size for a mosquito. They are imposing looking creatures, big with a very prominent and fierce looking proboscis. One would not want to have one of these feed on you (though they are smaller than Crane Flies that are often confused for gigantic mosquitoes and do not harm us).
     Luckily, these big mosquitoes are not only harmless, but actually beneficial. Not only do they NOT feed on blood, the adults feed mostly on nectar, sap, and perhaps rotting fruits. The huge proboscis helps them access the deep flowers and they are thus minor pollinators (which male mosquitoes of most species are anyways).
     As if that wasn't enough, the young Toxo mosquitoes feed on small aquatic creatures, having a special taste for other mosquito larvae ("wrigglers"). While most female mosquitoes need a blood meal in order to produce their eggs, the Elephant Mosquitoes (or "Mosquito Hawks" as they are sometimes called) get their protein from the mosquito larvae they eat while young. An individual may cannibalize up to 400 other skeeters before reaching adulthood.
     This predatory trait and benefit as pollinators has made them the subject of testing as a biological control for mosquito pest species. Although there have been successes in these attempts (including introducing them into other countries and places such as Hawaii to control disease bearing mosquitoes), they are never as numerous as the smaller pests they eat. They also hatch very quickly and takes a lot of man power to get a population into production, all factors that make this yet an experimental biological control.
     Still, we have them occurring naturally around here, much to our benefit and to some plants. So the next time you see what appears to be an especially large and nasty looking skeeter, take a second look. It could well be a Mosquito Hawk helping to naturally keep the other mosquito numbers in check.

Green Frog

A Green Frog sits on a rock in front of my home's small pond.

     The most common pond frog in our region is the Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota, formerly classified as Rana clamitans melanota). Although it is the typical and most widespread of our frogs, despite its name, it is not always green. They can vary in skin color, though usually they're green to brown and often have blotches. These mid-sized amphibians have white bellies and are are best told apart from the the very similar looking Bull Frogs by the fold of skin that forms a ridge along their sides. This dorsolateral fold curves around the ear drum in Bull Frogs. 

     Males have an ear drum (tympanum) that is larger than the eye, while female tympanums are about the same size or slightly smaller than their eyes. This by the way is true in Bull Frogs as well. Males also tend to have bright yellow throats when in breeding condition. Even if you don't see them though, you can often tell that Green frogs are about because they commonly give a high pitched "squeenk" call when they are startled and jump into the water. 

A male Green Frog showing the large tympanum (ear drum) and bright colored throat, as well as the dorsolateral skin fold typical of all Green Frogs. 

     Otherwise, males also can be identified by the rubber-band like twang call they give when trying to attract mates and establish territories. Females lay a raft-like mass of about 1,000-7,000 black-and-white eggs that hatch about a week after being laid. The tadpoles are plump with pointy tails, often taking about 90 days to metamorphose into froglets by the Fall. Sometimes however, a few tadpoles overwinter as tadpoles, the only local frogs to do so other than Bull Frogs. Adult Green Frogs overwinter on the bottom of ponds or slow steams, under the leaves and mud.

A Green Frog Tadpole feeding on algae at the bottom of a pond. 

     These frogs are one of the first to colonize new water systems. They have been known to disperse up to 3 miles from their natal pools, often following streams or travelling over land during wet weather. 

     Many things eat Green Frogs, from dragonflies while they are tadpoles, to herons, egrets, larger bull frogs, raccoons, and so many other predators. Even humans eat their frog legs. If they survive all these dangers, they can live for 5 or so years. These frogs often struggle vigorously when captured, unlike so many other frogs that just seem to give up once caught. 

     Some studies have demonstrated that aquatic invasive alien Japanese Knotweed plants reduce foraging success in these animals (since less things eat the exotic plant to begin with). Otherwise, they can survive in even small, clean bodies of water. I have 3 that live in my tiny 100 gallon home pond. I love the way they jump when I get nearby (though at times I can get right next to them without their moving), usually accompanied with a "squeenk" and "kerplunk." I also enjoy the one male that calls every summer and when they stake out my porch lights during wet weather for fallen bugs. They may be common, but I find Green frogs quite interesting, like I find most "wildlife" that lives in my backyard. So next time you go by a pond, listen for their telltale calls and see if you can get close enough to really observe them. 

Legend of the Passionflower

     There are a couple of legends having to do with the naming of the Passionflower which I posted about just recently. My favorite (myself being of Peruvian descent) goes back to 1620 when a Jesuit priest came across a beautiful plant in Peru. That night, he said he experienced a vision in his sleep that revealed the symbolism of this beautiful plant representing the suffering of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion, what is referred to as the "Passion of Christ."
     The plant he believed was revealed to him so it could be used to help explain the crucifixion and suffering (passion) of Christ to others. He thought it would be useful to help in the conversion of the native Inca people to Christianity (something already being done by the sword and by the cross). In his vision, the various parts of the plant could be used to help teach about the "Passion of Christ" and so all members of this plant family came to be referred to as "passionflowers."
     The symbolism breaks down like this according to legend:

• The leaves represented the head of the Centurion's spear that was used against Jesus.
• The spiraling tendrils the vine uses to climb represented the whips used to scourge and lash him. 
• The central flower column was seen as the pillar Jesus was strapped to while he was whipped.
• The five petals and five sepals represented the 10 faithful apostles (omitting Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus and Peter who denied him when he was arrested).
• The three pistils became the nails used to secure him to the cross.
• The lowers five anthers represented the five wounds delivered to Jesus.
• The purple filaments or corona symbolized the crown of thorns placed on his head. 
• The reddish spots present on some species could appear to be the blood that was spilled.
• And finally, the round fruit represented the world that Christ was said to have died to save.

 

     So that is the legend that supposedly led to the naming of this beautiful plant. In fairness, the other version has the same elements but supposedly originates with an Augustine friar from Mexico. Regardless of what it was said to symbolize or not, the name stuck in various fashions throughout the world. There are hundreds of species, but we only have two passionflowers locally, with the Purple Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) being shown above. The much smaller and less showy Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea) is shown below. It's small fruit (berry) is not very edible.

The Yellow Passionflower is a much smaller vine, with a less showy flower and inedible fruit that turn purple when ripe. 

     There are numerous other stories and legends surrounding our native plants. From time to time I like to tell a few for people to learn about...

Maypops

A Passion or Apricot Vine with a flower and green fruit.

     One of my favorite vines and prettiest of wildflowers is the Purple Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata). It goes by quite a few common names: Maypop (because of the popping sound the fruits make when stepped on), Mollypop, Pop-apple, Apricot Vine (due to the tasty fruits), Granadilla ( in Spanish), Maracuya (in Spanish),  Maycock, Wild Apricot, Ocoee (a Cherokee name, also applied to a river, because of the fruit), Holy-trinity Flower, and Passion Vine (more on the use of the word "passion" in a follow-up blog). The tropical looking plant with 3 inch lavender blooms (which occasionally are white) is the state wildflower of Tennessee. 

The beautiful Passionflower itself.

     This is one of the two northernmost perennial native passion vines (the other is the smaller and less showy Yellow Passionfower, Passiflora lutea), but is nearing the edge of its range in our region. It can grow 25' in one season, but is usually half that size, either sprawling on the ground or climbing using its tendrils. In our area it dies back to the ground each season and is a late starter, but grows quite rapidly once it gets going. Purple Passionflower prefers sunny locations, but can stand a bit of shade as well. This affects how many flowers it makes and how late it blooms however. It may not fruit reliably every year, but spreads quite readily by producing suckers up to 10' away from the previous year's plants. Although a beautiful, tropical looking flower, this needs to be kept in mind by those wishing to include it in their gardens. 

A ripe Maypop, note the dark seeds once the pulp is removed.

     Some people may be familiar with the tropical passion fruits which are often used in breakfast drinks. The fruits (berries in botanical terms actually) themselves are quite tasty, and our native Purple Passionflower fruit has a very similar taste. Indeed, its edibility led to its name of Apricot Vine. The superb taste even led naturalist John Muir to declare it "the most delicious fruit I have ever eaten." The fruits are edible once they start turning yellowish, fall off the vine easily, have a rich aroma, and are about the size of chicken eggs. They may be a bit wrinkled at this time. The sure test is to split one open, look for dark seeds buried in aromatic, juicy pulp, and of course taste it! 

A few Maypops I collected. 

     The fruits can also be made into juice, wine, pies, jam, even smoothies by enterprising souls. Both the pulp and seeds can be consumed. My wife makes some great, refreshing juice from them, much like she did in her home country of El Salvador with their native species.The leaves have been used as teas (as their tropical relatives still are) and are said to have quite a sedative effect, being used to treat nerves, insomnia, and stress to this day. Parts were even used as an aphrodisiac. In Bermuda, some used it as a perfume base. The Cherokee used an infusion of the crushed roots to treat boils, thorns/spines, and even poured it into ears for aches. 

A batch of Passion juice my wife has prepared, ready for the pouring. 

     The flowers truly standout, not just to us, but to wildlife. They are usually covered in bees, especially bumblebees and carpenter bees. The plant itself serves as a host plant (caterpillar food) for a variety of butterflies such as Gulf Fritillaries, and the various Longwing butterflies (Zebras, Julias, etc.) which rarely get to our region. Locally, the Variegated Fritillary uses it as an alternate host. Five species in total have been recorded in North America. Of course, all sorts of critters eat the fruit as well. 

Bumblebees and Carpenter Bees tend to be the main pollinators in our region.

     This truly is one of my favorite all around plants: beautiful, tasty, and important for wildlife. What more can you ask for?