A Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) in a characteristic hunting posture. The bird is searching for its major prey, the caterpillars of moths. It has its head cocked upwards, searching the lower surfaces of the leaves above, as that's where many caterpillars hide during the day. Lepidopteran larvae - and those are OVERWHELMING moth caterpillars (not butterfly caterpillars) - are the vireo's major food source. During a long summer day, the roughly 130 million Red-eyed Vireos breeding in the U.S. and Canada consume something on the order of 4 billion caterpillars. Hard to believe but based on what is known of their foraging rate and dominant prey items, that's how the numbers shake out.A Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) with a freshly harvested caterpillar (unsure of species). Almost all of the 38 warbler species that breed in eastern North America eats scads of caterpillars, and so do most groups of songbirds. So do some nonpasserine species, most notably the cuckoos. Many of these birds are migrants that winter in more southerly haunts, often in Central or South America, and migrate northward during the breeding season to exploit the eastern deciduous forest region's vast bounty of caterpillars. As this is crop is only seasonally available, many of these bird species must travel back to warmer climes for the winter - where they undoubtedly also consume great numbers of caterpillars.
A romp through the diverse flora and fauna of Ohio. From Timber Rattlesnakes to Prairie Warblers to Lakeside Daisies to Woodchucks, you'll eventually see it here, if it isn't already.
Friday, September 13, 2024
Camo caterpillars and the birds that eat them
Monday, September 9, 2024
Epic caterpillaring results in many cool finds
Dozens of species of caterpillars were found and photographed, including this Cherry Dagger (Acronicta hasta). We brought lots of livestock back to the Arc's forest museum - our base camp - and from 10 am - 2 pm the public is invited in. Dozens of people got to see crazy larvae that they likely never knew existed. One should not underestimate the value of moth larvae (which the overwhelming number of caterpillars are). They are the primary organisms that convert plant matter into a digestible form of protein for birds and myriad other animals and underpin food webs.
We certainly do not ignore the occasional butterfly caterpillar that turns up, and this was a particularly interesting one. It is the caterpillar of the Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), which specializes on feeding upon species in the Pea Family (Fabaceae). These cats resemble Mike & Ike candies and are tiny and easily overlooked.
This one is feeding on a tick-trefoil in the genus Desmodium. Many hikers know this group of plants by their triangular loments (fruit) that are thickly beset with stout hooked hairs. They evolved for mammalian dispersal, and that includes the clothing worn by humans. Those loments can be tough to get off and will even survive trips through the washing machine.
Here's what that Gray Hairstreak caterpillar in the previous image will (hopefully) morph into - one of our showiest butterflies. I say "hopefully" because the survivorship of caterpillars is astonishingly low. Just about everything wants to eat them and for some species of moths, at least, probably only one percent or so of caterpillars make it through the complete life cycle and to the mature reproductive stage. The rest become part of a great food chain. To compensate for such high mortality, butterflies and moths lay enormous numbers of eggs; a carpet-bombing strategy if you will.Monday, September 2, 2024
Blanchard's Cricket Frog
The trick is to find a possible subject, slowly ease closer, then slowly drop to the mire and ever so gently worm your way towards the frog. Done with delicacy, one can get quite close - I was probably only a few feet from the animal in the photo. It's best, in my opinion, to have your camera on the ground. Eye level is usually best with small ground-bound organisms.