Monarch Butterfly Release
I raised a couple of Monarch caterpillars this August, something I had not done since I was a child. I collected them and ended up feeding them from my own supply of swamp milkweed leaves that went otherwise unused. While many pollinators visited to enjoy the nectar of the flowers, I did not note any Monarchs in the yard or find any eggs. A couple weeks ago I noticed each chrysalis was turning black not far apart from one another, and by late that morning they’d emerged. I released them onto my coneflowers after their wings dried, and one of the two females provided me a chance to...
Read MoreEastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)
Here’s a familiar neighbor from many of our backyards, the Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus). This one is wet from the rain on the second day of the RTPI/SUNY College Lodge BioBlitz. It was more “cooperative” (and I use that word loosely) than the three species of mice we captured that morning. None of them seemed to want to be released back into that pouring rain, though…
Read More
