Pine Barrens Gentians

 

If it's September, it's time to visit the New Jersey Pine Barrens to look for the rare and lovely pine barrens gentian flower, Gentiana autumnalis. Behold a beauty from last year.

I went for a long walk in the fine fall like weather this week and I found some. They were just beginning to open.

Not a problem because I am also a big fan of the buds. They remind me of Tiffany vases. Here is a rare pink one. Click to enlarge.

This one is on the verge of opening.

Opening even more.

And here is the most open gentian I found. Very promising, right?

Before long they will be open in all their glory like this one that I photographed in a past year. I hope to get out there again in time to witness it.

Meanwhile, here is a quote that I see myself in from Given Poems, Sabbath II, Wendell Berry. You could too.

"I dream of a quiet man

who explains nothing and defends 

nothing, but only knows 

where the rarest wildflowers 

are blooming, and who goes, 

and finds that he is smiling 

not of his own will."

Spicebush Swallowtail Dance

One of the best butterfly moments of my nature-watching season this year started with this spicebush swallowtail on a buddleia flower. Click to enlarge.

A male flew into the picture.

Note the jauntily curled proboscis on this guy.

He immediately broke into a beautiful courtship flight around her, fluttering and flashing his wings. I'm sure that butterfly pheromones were flying through the air, too.

She fluttered in place, and after a few minutes, they flew out of my view together. I wish them a family of healthy caterpillars. Spicebush swallowtails are not long-distance migrators. In places with cold winters, like here, they overwinter as pupae and emerge as beautiful butterflies in spring.

Clearwing Moths

I've seen a lot of hummingbird moths around southern New Jersey lately. Buzzing. Flying fast. Hovering at flowers. Click to enlarge.

You might think it is a tiny hummingbird at first, but on closer inspection you'll see the antennae. Also note that you can see right through its fast-moving wings. This is the hummingbird clearwing moth, Hemaris thysbe.

Also note the long probing proboscis it uses for collecting nectar from flowers.

Check out the cute curly proboscis on this one.

In southern New Jersey, I often see another kind. This one is sometimes called a bumblebee moth. It's the snowberry clearwing moth, Hemaris difinis. It's black and yellow and has a stripe on its face.

See the difference? It looks like a huge fuzzy bumblebee.

For comparison, here is an actual hummingbird. A female ruby-throated hummingbird.

Never mistaken for a moth.

Katydid Surprise

 

So, this insect landed on a leaf in front of me. I only had time to take one picture before it jumped away again. Is it just me, or is it making a face at me? I see one of those arm-waving inflatable tube men. Click to enlarge.

Here's the uncropped picture, showing a pair of extremely long antennae. It is a male short-winged meadow katydid. I've seen meadow katydids before, but I guess not from this angle, because I have never noticed any cartoon-face markings on their backs! From the side, this guy would resemble a grasshopper with long antennae. Male short-winged katydids are known for singing buzzy female-attracting songs during both night and day. But, really, get a load of the antennae on the guy.

Indian Pipes

I found these Indian Pipes growing in a shady spot under some stately old beech trees. They are white and waxy with black flecks. And rare. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I've found them growing in the wild. They are also called Ghost Plant.

According to the Morgan Library and Museum, this was the favorite flower of the poet Emily Dickinson. She wrote a poem that begins: 'Tis whiter than an Indian Pipe, 'Tis paler than a lace.

Look like mushrooms, don't they? They are not. They're flowering plants, but they don't have chlorophyll. Instead of making their food photosynthetically, they take it parasitically from fungi that grow around tree roots. (Those fungi essentially exchange minerals and moisture from the soil for sugars produced by the tree.)

Each pipe stem has one downward facing flower. They are pollinated by flies and bees, and they make tiny seeds that are dispersed by the wind.

How to Photograph Six-spotted Green Tiger Beetles

Here's a pair of six-spotted green tiger beetles.

They are mating. Click to enlarge,

I usually notice these beetles in areas that are clear of brush, like dirt paths, roads, and even sidewalks. They run along very quickly, glittering like little Christmas ornaments, while they search for their arthropod prey. My typical encounter with a green tiger beetle consists of seeing one, following for a moment while I try to focus on it, then snapping a blurry picture just before it flies away. Is the secret to photographing them becoming obvious? Find a pair that are distracted while mating and snap away.

Bumblebee on Buttonbush

 

A bumblebee on a "honeyball" of tiny flowers of the native North American buttonbush.

Bees, hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies visit the shrub, which is also a host plant for several kinds of moths. This bumblebee is collecting nectar while spreading pollen among the blossoms, a good deal for both the bee and the bush. Click to enlarge.

I recently heard this African proverb: "When the bee comes to your house, let her have beer; you may want to visit the bee's house some day."