A Common Newt

The terrestrial juvenile or eft stage of Notophthalmus viridescens

 If these eastern red-spotted newts are so common, it seems like we would see them more frequently.  Perhaps one reason we don't is because they live an elusive  life that involves extreme transformations --  changing color and appearance with each life cycle.  Larvae and adults rely on gills to obtain oxygen from the water, while terrestrial juveniles have lungs.  Members of the salamander family, they begin life in the water, leave for a few years to live on land, and then return to live in water. 

In the early spring, females lay eggs in a pond or other quiet body of water.  Weeks later small, brownish larvae hatch and spend the summer in the water.  In late summer they grow into orange efts, or juveniles, like the one pictured above, and leave the water to spend up to three years on land in woodland habitats.   Once they reach maturity, they return to the water to breed, and then spend the rest of their adult lives living in the water. Aquatic adults can reach five inches in length and are greenish brown but retain their juvenile spots. They can live for more than 10 years. 

The bright orange of the juvenile stage is a warning color to predators.  If attacked, their skin can secrete a toxic substance to discourage most predators from eating then.  Efts often move around at night but can be seen in the daytime when the ground is moist.  Efts eat worms and insects that can be found in leaf litter.

In Search of Herps

         “The beauty of amphibians is that they are cute, small and slow,” said Mike Clifford, co-author of the book Snakes of Virginia.  Clifford and two other Virginia Herpetology Society members recently led master naturalists on a herpetology survey on property in Powhatan County.  Armed with a variety of tools, the group headed for the woods, where they found Fowler’s toads, green frogs, spring peepers, bull frogs, a five-lined skink and more. 

 

A Fowler's Toad showed up for the count.

 

Frog specimens were briefly bagged for closer identification and then released.

 

A male box turtle participated in the survey.

                                            

One herpetologist pointed out the mites attached to a skink.  He also explained that researchers are
 trying to determine whether or not ticks that feed on certain species of lizards obtain a bacteria that could
 inhibit the spread of Lyme Disease.
 

Magnolia grandiflora

 

 

           

           It is June and the magnolias are in bloom.  There is something so very southern about a magnolia.   It has been called  “an aristocratic tree.”  Historically, magnolias were often selected to line the entrance to antebellum plantations.  But, the magnolia’s history predates the antebellum landscape by millions of years.  In fact, fossil records indicate magnolias existed on earth before winged insects evolved.  As a primitive plant, magnolias were pollinated by beetles back then, and still are today. 

          There are many varieties of magnolias.  Some are diciduous, such as the saucer magnolia and star magnolia.  Others are evergreen but tend to shed yellow leaves throughout the year, which some homeowner find to be rather messy.   With various species, flowers may be white, yellow, pink or purple.  Most  magnolias can grow to be quite large, so careful consideration should be given when choosing a magnolia. 

Polyphemus Moth

          Anthera polyphemus is a very large moth.  The female, seen here, releases pheromones to attract a male so that she can mate and lay eggs.  The adults only live for a few days -- they have no mouth and cannot eat.  When the eggs hatch, the caterpillars feed on leaves from a variety of trees -- cherry, walnut, beech, willow, hickory and more.  The caterpillars eat all summer long.  In late summer or early fall, they spin a cocoon to overwinter until spring, when the adult moth will emerge and the life cycle begins anew. 

Blue Ridge Mountains

Sunrise in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains

Dusk in the aptly named Blue Ridge

Protecting Baby Trees

          Last year volunteers joined the James River Association in planting trees along a riparian buffer between an agricultural field and the riverfront in rural Virginia.  The worksite was in a area where a thousand acres are protected by a conservation easement, thanks to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, owners of several thousand acres dedicated to historic preservation and environmental education and conservation.

          Riparian buffers are important buffer zones that help reduce the impact of flooding, stabilize shoreline, provide shade and wildlife habitat, and protect rivers and streams against sediment, run off and pollution.

          Simply planting trees would have been easy.  But before planting nearly 1,500 native trees last year, first a lot of invasive Ailanthus altissima, or trees of heaven had to be removed.  Tree of heaven is an evil, aggressive tree originally from China.  A single tree can produce thousands of seeds each year, and, a tree's roots can sprout new trees that can produce seeds within two years.  But wait, there's more...the tree produces a chemical that kills whatever is growing around it, including native trees.  Try cutting it down and the stump will produce new trees!  The only thing is it good at is creating a dead zone among native trees and plants. 

          Once we removed the invasive trees, the next step was planting small native tree seedlings.  These seedlings, only eight to 12 inches tall, included birch, sycamore, wild cherry, oaks and other native trees.  Tree tubes were placed around the seedlings and staked into place.to protect the tiny trees.  Tubes allow sunlight in but protect tender seedlings and prevent animal grazing.

A Master Naturalist inspects a seedling by the James River.
I happen to know she has an I Love Baby Trees bumper sticker.

A healthy seedling

          Once the trees were planted, our work wasn't over.  This year, a year later, we inspected the trees to evaluate the survival rate.  Most of the trees were alive, although in the dormancy of early spring, we looked for tiny leaf buds rather than leaves.  We also had to rake away dead and competing plant material from around each tree to give it space to grow.

          Tubes remained in place unless we found a dead tree.  Damaged tubes were replaced and re-staked. Some tubes were damaged by animals.  Other tubes were damaged by vines.  A large area of the property is covered in Japanese hops vines, the new kudzu of vines.  Unfortunately, it isn't the right kind of hops to harvest for beer.  Seeds travel by water and can aggressively overtake a new area after flooding.  So, where did this awful vine come from?  It was introduced as a ornamental vine because someone somewhere thought it looked nice on a trellis.  It escaped into surrounding states and is doing its best to prevent our seedlings in Virginia from surviving.
 

Hops vines in pursuit of baby trees.

 

          We worked all afternoon on a cold, spring day.  A light drizzle fell near the end of our chores.  We found mice living in nests in some tubes and wasps in others.  One person found a black snake in a tube.  Despite the weather the work was gratifying.  After a few hours about 35 amazing volunteers had completed the job and more than about 1,300 baby trees were ready to begin a second year of survival, on their way to becoming giant, noble trees.

          I want to come back in a hundred years just to see those trees.

Spring Ephemerals

         Spring ephemerals are wildflowers that are appear in deciduous forests in early spring.  Most grow close to the ground, a habit which makes them more adaptable to varying weather conditions. They must rise out of the ground, bloom, get pollinated and set seed promptly, before leaves emerge on the trees and block their sunlight. 

          Some ephemerals emerge before many pollinators appear.  That’s why a few flowers rely on the queen bumble bee for pollination.  In the late fall, the entire bumble bee colony dies out – with the exception of a single fertile female who overwinters.  Come spring, she has the daunting task of finding a site, building a nest and creating a whole new colony.  Such tasks require plenty of energy in the form of nectar.  At the same time, some early spring ephemerals are desperate to exchange nectar for pollination since pollinator competition is limited.  So, once again nature provides the perfect plant/pollinator relationship. 

Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica



Showy Orchid, Galearis spectabilis