It’s the first Bloom Day I’m able to report blooms spotted on the Lot!
During the end of each Winter, after the snow drops (Galanthus) have emerged, we can expect the winter aconite (Eranthis cilicica) to bloom. Since planting these bulbs in the Fall of 2015, they have naturally spread. The little yellow flowers are also appearing in other parts of the Lot where I didn’t plant them. This may be due to a few squirrels fancying themselves as gorilla gardeners.
Along with the winter aconite will come the Tommies, or early crocus (Crocus tommasinianus)…
…and a few friends quite excited to see them.
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While the early spring bulbs are doing their thing, yet more bulbs are waiting in the wings. Here are some daffodils on the way out of the ground.
Always the first perennial to bloom on the Lot after winter, I caught sight of the Lenten rose (Hellebores) today as well. The foliage around the new growth in the center are the old stalks and leaves from last season’s growth. Even though the foliage is evergreen, I will eventually prune the old growth away to make room for the new.
This Labor Day weekend has been a gardening marathon. Mom G is visiting and helping a frantic gardener (hint: it’s me) tick off many to-do-before-winter tasks. While we were working in the garden, we came across other workers going about their days.
Out on a stand of Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia) near the alley, this lady monarch was getting herself something to eat.
And as I was weeding around the plant, I found this little one on the ground. My neighbor had the day before bemoaned battling tomato worms, so I looked up that insect first. Nope, not this one. The closest I could find was a type of moth. If anyone knows, please leave a message in the comments.
Then there was this little one. This is the first time we’ve spotted this butterfly on the Lot. I can’t say enough how much I am enjoying the guide I scored at the gardening conference, Michigan Butterflies & Skippers. I PROMISE I am not being paid to promote this guide. It’s just really, really cool and helpful!
This butterfly is a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). Adults nectar on “blackberry, buttonbush, catnip, ironweed, knapweed, lupine, Labrador tea, blazing-star, and joe-pye-weed. Like the Question Mark butterfly, I found this one on the Anise Hyssop. But we do have a nice stand of Joe Pye Weed.
Caterpillars for the Painted Lady are found on thistle, burdock, aster, hollyhock, and common mallow. I don’t remember seeing any caterpillars as the guide describes, yellowish green mottled with black and having black spines. Apparently they are found in loose webbing on the host plant.
A winged visitor to the Anise Hyssop ( Agastache foeniculum )today caught my eye. We have had swallowtails and monarchs make appearances in the garden this season. This butterfly really stood out as being different from those. When perched on the plant, it looked like a dead leaf had fallen on the hyssop. Even beyond the coloring of the underside of the wings, the shape of the wings’ edges reminded me of a leaf.
When its wings opened, the pattern consisted of the prettiest burnt orange and black colors. I of course snapped a few photos and consulted the Michigan Butterflies and Skippers guide. This butterfly is a Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis). The darker color on the hindwings is the summer form. Totally didn’t know butterflies have winter and summer forms!
Common but Not a Comma
The guide lists this butterfly as “one of our commonest anglewings” in Michigan. Anglewings? Apparently this is just an English catch all term for butterflies with angulate wing shapes.
Question Marks do belong to the family Nymphalidae, which are commonly called brushfoots. This is a large family tied together by the shared trait of the male having forelegs reduced to “brushlike appendages”.
While trying to identify the butterfly, I was struggling with the difference between a Question Mark and a Comma. The guide stated the Commas are smaller, but unfortunately I was using photographs and not at the plant with the butterfly. What finally helped me make the decision is the small, silver marking on the underside of the wing. I zoomed in here so it can be seen better.
The marking on the underside of the hindwing consists of a curve and a dot. This is the identifying mark of a Question Mark butterfly. If it had been a Comma, the hindwing would have the silver curve but no dot.
The Real Question: Why The Lot?
Since I select plants with pollinators of all sorts in mind, I am of course curious why the Question Mark was visiting. The host plants for caterpillars are “elm, nettle, hackberry and hops”. Also, the guide states adults do not often nectar on flowers but prefer rotted fruit and tree sap instead.
When they do visit flowers, the plants include “aster, common milkweed and bog-rosemary”. However, the hyssop belongs to the mint family. We do have a lot of common milkweed on The Lot this season, but much of it is past bloom time. The asters are getting ready, but will not be blooming until a few weeks from now. Maybe like the Giant Swallowtail last year, this little one was looking to expand its culinary horizons.
