PART III. EARLY SUMMER

Summer is our longest season, lasting ninety-three days and fifteen hours. At the time of the northern hemisphere's summer solstice, June 21, the northern part of the earth's axis is pointing more toward the sun than at any other time of the year, even though the earth is farther away from the sun now than in the northern winter.

In the forest, the third spring wave brings the full leafing of the large trees of the upper canopy. This third wave clearly establishes a haven for the mid-and upper-canopy birds.

As summer arrives, it is as if we have reached the climax of the bell curve where the mean, median, and mode of overall species activity reaches a height. The forest has stabilized in the sense that there are fewer changes now. Most plant species have at least leafed-out by now.

CHAPTER 12: LATE JUNE AND EARLY JULY: MEADOWS WITH BUTTERFLIES

June 23 Tuesday

It is relatively cool today. I took a photograph of the flowers of the Common Elderberry by the parking lot area. On the orange trail I find a mushroom of the Russula genus of the russula family (Russulaceae), which because of their very brittle flesh often have a broken cap margin. The gills also flake apart when handled. Both Russula and Lactarius genera have mycorrhizal alliances with specific trees, that is, the fungi and roots of the tree have a symbiotic relationship in which the roots provide the structure and the fungi make it possible to take in nutrition from the soil. At the base of a tree, I also find the shelf-like mushroom known as Northern Tooth (Climacodon septentrionale), which grows in the wounds of living deciduous trees, rotting the heartwood. This mushroom is white to dingy yellowish, turning brown later. It looks like a polypore (also known as bracket or shelf fungus), but this species has obvious teeth. There are quite a few shelves, with each shelf attached at one side to a common thick stalk.

In the water at lake dock is some type of yellowish brown pike. It has a long snout. On its sides are dark, chainlike markings. Perhaps it is the Chain Pickerel (Esox niger), from whence comes the name for the Pickerelweed plant. This species is a member of the pike family (Esocidae). Chain Pickerels have chain-like markings along the sides of their bodies. They spawn in marshy areas and shallow bays in spring. They are usually fifteen to eighteen inches long and weigh about one-and-a-half pounds. Pikes are large, voracious predators with a large duckbill-like snout. They tend to be good fighters, and along with the Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and Northern Pike (Esox lucius) are favorite sport fishes. In the winter, fishermen catch large numbers of Chain Pickerels through the ice.

Some of the Skunk Cabbage is yellowing and wilting, but Mountain Laurel still blooms. Green berry-like fruits grow on the Tupelo. The fruits are loved by many birds and mammals. The green berries of the Wild Sarsparilla are now turning an attractive purplish color.

I find some type of inch worm on a Maple-leaf Viburnum. Inchworms are the caterpillars of the family of geometer moths (Geometridae). This is a large family with some 1,200 North American species and occurring almost everywhere.

June 26 Friday

I arrive earlier today, around 8 o'clock, and am rewarded by seeing the red Cardinal. There are lots of mosquitoes at this early hour.

I find some white coral fungi along the path. It is probably Crested Coral (Clavulina cristata), of the coral fungus family (Clavariaceae). Most of the coral fungi are edible, but a few can cause gastric upset. The genera are distinguished in part on the basis of microscopic and chemical characteristics.

Down by lake dock I take up a fragment of the water lily. The floating leaves are attached to what looks like an electrical outlet extension block. There are at least twenty lines leading to lily pads.

The False Hellebore is rapidly yellowing and wilting. This plant contains alkaloids and can result in toxicity. Looking around, I see the Wood Thrush. There are definitely fewer blooms now. The Partridgeberry blooms are already gone, but Mountain Laurel is still going strong.

I find more White Coral fungi on the trail and Whorled Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia) by the embankment of the trail near the waterfall area. The flowers are yellow with red marks around the center of the corolla. This plant's whorled leaves and flowers are characteristic of members of the primrose family (Primulaceae).

I first smell the male Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) of the quassia family (Simaroubaceae) and then locate it. The one here is a real giant. This native of China is the famous tree that grows in Brooklyn after the book by the same name. It is known as a weed tree because it often grows in any waste place in an urban setting. Some people are allergic to the pollen. One has to be careful of the tree roots because they are not only poisonous, but wind their way into drains and wells.

Set on a hammock, Winterberry continues to bloom by South Lake boardwalk. Its white flowers are really tiny.

The Swamp or Clammy Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum) of the heath family (Ericaceae) is finally in bloom! The flowers are very fragrant, but the flower bases are sticky-hairy, hence one of the common names and specific epithet. The stickiness is a device to prevent disturbance of the flowers by small insects. The pistil and stamens project beyond the flower petals, but the pistil is longer than the stamens and therefore are touched first by pollinators, thereby preventing self-pollination. The obovate leaves are glossy above and often whitish beneath with hairs on the midrib.

By the trail I find the waxy Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) of the indian pipe family (Monotropaceae). This is a saprophytic plant that gets its nourishment from decayed organic material. To do this, it has a symbiotic relationship with a mycorrhizal fungus associated with its roots. The stem is translucent and carries the pendant white or salmon-pink flower at the top. The leaves, since they are not needed for photosynthesis, are reduced to scales.

Heading back to my car, I see Hairy Hawkweed (Hieracium gronovii Asteraceae) on the yellow trail. The leaves are at the base of the plant and mostly on the lower half of the stem.

June 29 Monday

This morning it smells like skunk in the area, probably the work of the Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis), a member of the weasel family (Mustelidae). The skunk is the most notorious species of a family that all share the characteristic of having anal scent glands. Some less odorous members of the family are weasels, ferrets, otters, and minks.

Swamp Azalea continues to bloom by lake dock. The Swamp Dogwood should soon follow. I find more Indian Pipe by the trail.

There are only a few flowers left on the Mountain Laurel. The Dark Green Bulrush is now really big. The Common Elderberry in the swamp area is finally blooming. Whorled Loosestrife also continues to bloom. The fruits of the Wild Sarsparilla are now turning black, completing the process of going from green to purple to black.

There are some red leaves on the Red Chokeberry and some brownish red leaves on the Red Maple. Winterberry only has a few flowers now. I see Common Dodder (Cuscuta gronovii) with its bright orange stems wrapped tightly around the Water Willow plants. This vine is a parasitic plant, absorbing the host's sap through its tiny suckers, called haustoria. The Marsh Mermaidweed (Proserpinaca palustris), a member of the water milfoil family (Haloragaceae), is now rising above the water.

By the root cellar, Wineberry will bloom soon hinting of good things to come. The taste of its red berries is one of the best nature has to offer.

I find a Gray Birch in the Bracken Fern area. I had not noticed it before. It has the black knees underneath the branches along with triangular leaves, assuring the right identification. The wood of this short-lived tree is used for spools and for firewood.

I observe some ants on an Arrowwood attending their aphids. They are busy feeling them with their antennae. Some of the aphids have wings. Aphids are members of the order Homoptera which also contains other plant-eaters, including cicadas, hoppers, whiteflies, and scale insects. Many members of this order are serious plant pests, sometimes even killing the plants. From the anus, aphids discharge a clear watery liquid, called honeydew, to which ants and other insects are attracted. Some ants live even more closely associated with aphids. They gather aphid eggs and keep them over winter in their nest and transport the aphids to a food plant in spring, tending them during the season and transferring them from one food plant to another.

By crooked bridge, Painted Turtles are sunning themselves. They dive in as we approach, but, as we remain quiet, pop their heads up to see if we are gone.

The Meadow at Silver Lake

Just when things start to dull in the forest, the meadow at Silver Lake starts to become really interesting. A common sight in the eastern United States is the flower-filled dry meadow. Its peak of bloom is mid-August through September, when it reaches four to eight feet. At this time plants of the aster family prevail. Meadows result from abandoned farm fields and pastures or constant mowing. The meadow will succeed to the first step in succession, the coming of the annuals. The annuals have to reseed each spring and die with the frost in the fall. After several years, slowly, perennial plants (ones that resprout from the roots every spring) start to take over. This is the meadow stage. If the meadow is not kept up or is not burned repeatedly woody shrubs and trees will invade. These will then shade out the perennials. After hundreds of years forests will take over.

Cranberry Lake gets some butterflies, but not that many. But here at Silver Lake on June 25, 1993 there were myriads of butterflies. What a contrast with Cranberry Lake. This so impressed me that it started to raise many questions. The really interesting question was the timing of the blooming of the flowers in the meadow in relation to the appearance of the butterflies. This large meadow habitat is just not available at Cranberry Lake. But the key factor to examine is the physical limitations or abilities of the butterflies in relation to the physical properties of the meadow. Butterflies are very susceptible to cold. They do not have hives like the honeybees to regulate their temperatures to give them an early start, nor do they have the physical mass of the bumblebees to provide some protection from the cold. So most species of butterfly are limited to warmer periods of the seasons. Meadows and butterflies evolved together with the bloom times of the flowers timed to the appearance of larger numbers of butterflies. Timing is crucial for pollination. Cold winters restrict flower blooms because they restrict the presences of insects to warmer periods. An advantage the meadow has to offer to the butterflies is an absence of shade where temperatures are cooler.

The contrast between the number of butterflies and blooms at Cranberry and Silver Lakes supports the idea that there is cooperation between the different habitats to help keep pollinators alive. Blooming times are coordinated to provide a succession of energy to pollinators. This is also true of the provision of and ripening of fruits, which are coordinated with the major activities of the birds, especially their migrations.

The primary function of the butterfly is to mate and lay eggs. So, like most insects, they do not live very long. Most live between two weeks and ten months depending on whether they hibernate or not. Average for a non-hibernating species of butterfly is between two to six weeks. One of the reasons for their short lives is that they have many enemies, including birds, spiders, robber- and dragonflies, ambush and assassin bugs, lizards, and many other predators (Pyle 1984:130). The chief food of butterflies is flower nectar. They are, however, somewhat choosy. There is some evidence that certain insects may have actual biochemical requirements that restrict them to certain kinds of nectars.

In bloom on this day at Silver Lake were Canada Thistle, Indian Hemp, Butter-and-Eggs, buttercups, Cynthia, Black-eyed Susan, Red Clover, and Yarrow. Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) will soon bloom. It is one of my favorite flowers. It has clusters of showy, orange flowers. Like many other milkweeds, the flowers look like a pulled tooth with its attached roots. It is the only milkweed in eastern North America with alternate leaves and a colorless, instead of a milky, juice. Another common name for the species is Pleurisy Root, so named because Native Americans chewed the tough root as a cure for pleurisy, an inflammation of the serous membrane enveloping the lungs.

More impressive still was a visit to Silver Lake four days later on the 29th. Additional plants blooming included Motherwort, sunflower, Common Milkweed, and Butterfly Weed. Down by the lake, blooming were Swamp Rose, Whorled Loosestrife, and Swamp Dogwood. Here also were the berries of the black berry. There were lots of skippers (skipper family, Hesperiidae) and Cabbage White butterflies. The yellowish-white-with-black-tips Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) is an import that has spread throughout North America after having been introduced accidentally near Montreal in the 1860s. It is considered an important pest. The caterpillars eat cabbage and many other mustard family plants. The Cabbage Whites were especially all over the Canada Thistle, competing with honeybees. Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense Asteraceae) is a pest to humans because of its habit of taking over pastures and waste places due to its creeping underground stems. But it sure is a boon to the butterflies. Growing to a height of three feet, the plant's purple flower heads are small, but numerous. The vast number of flowers of the plants here gives the impression of a massive colony.

Also here is a butterfly the Canadians call "King Billy" because its orange and black colors are the same as those of King William of Orange. This is the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), a member of the milkweed butterflies (Danaidae). This butterfly is famous for its habit of migrating starting in late summer from eastern North America to Mexico and Central America, a distance of more than 2,000 miles. In spring they return to the east. Some mate and lay eggs along their journey north, while others wait until they reach the north. They travel during the day and rest at night amidst the tree leaves. In the east, large roosts of these butterflies can be found along the Atlantic coast, Gulf Coast, and the Great Lakes. Arriving in the mountains of Mexico and Central America, aggregations of millions of these butterflies overwinter in special areas usually of no more than twenty or thirty acres. In the west, the Monarchs winter along the coast of California from San Francisco to Los Angeles. For roosting sites they have a special preference for groves of Monterey Pine and the imported eucalyptus trees.

The Monarchs prefer the plants of the milkweed family (Asclepidaceae). Milkweed contains toxins that repel many pests, but not the Monarch. Its caterpillar feeds on the milkweed and stores the poisons in its body. This gives the Monarch adult and larvae considerable protection against predators. The strong black and orange colors serve as a warning to potential predators that this animal is poisonous. The Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus), a member of the brush-footed family (Nymphalidae), although free of toxins, nevertheless is left alone by many predators because it mimics the colors of the Monarch. The two butterfly species have different habitats. The Viceroy is fond of wet habitats where willow or poplar grow, whereas the Monarch is found wherever milkweeds are found, and this is in meadows, roadsides, and sandy areas. The Viceroy differs from the Monarch by being smaller and having a black bar across the hind wings.

The same day, June 25, I also checked the Bronx River Parkway wet meadow. In bloom were Purple Loosestrife, Moneywort, Canada Thistle, Swamp Dogwood, English Plaintain, Water Hemlock, Wool Grass, blue-eyed grass, Daisy Fleabane, and chickweed. Other plants included cattail, Common Tearthumb, Soft Rush, Field Garlic, Quack Grass, Box-elder, Asiatic Bittersweet, and honeysuckle with its berries.

Back at Silver Lake, with the help of the book Butterflies Through Binoculars, I am able to identify quite a few butterflies. One is the light yellow-orange Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme), a member of the whites and yellows family (Pieridae). Its caterpillar likes to eat plants of the pea family. Prevalent on Butterfly Weed is the brown, tailless Coral Hairstreak (Satyrium titus). The Coral Hairstreak is a member of the hairstreak family (Lycaenidae) and its caterpillars like Black Cherry and other members of the Prunus genus. And, finally, there is the orange- brown and black-spotted Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele), whose caterpillars like violets. The Great Spangled Fritillary is a member of the Brush-footed butterfly family (Nymphalidae). Two days later I find the Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala), a chocolate-brown color with yellow-patched forewings, a member of the satyr family (Satyridae). Its caterpillars feed on grasses.

I also notice a species of milkwort (Polygala sp.) of the milkwort family (Polygalaceae) with three different colors. The base is purple and green with yellow flowers toward the tip of the inflorescence.

July 9, 1993 I find in bloom Tall Nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), White Avens, Motherwort, sunflower, and Yarrow. There are now not as many butterflies since the height of the blooming of Canada thistle and milkweed has passed; I still see some Cabbage Whites on the thistle. I notice the Spring Azure in addition to the Great Spangled Fritillary and Orange Sulphur. New blooms include Chicory, yellow star grass, Seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia), and Queen Anne's lace. Especially pleasing was the finding of Canada Lily (Lilium canadense), the only time I have ever found this species in the wild. The orangish-red nodding flowers have dark spots on the inside of the corolla. Native Americans ate the buds and roots of this plant. There are berries on the honeysuckle. The Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) has honeybees all over it. I always identify this tree by omission. If it does not have the winged stem of the Winged Sumac (Rhus copallina) or the velvety hairs of the Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina), then it must be the Smooth Sumac. From the sour fruits of sumacs, Native Americans made a drink like lemonade. Colonists used the tannin- rich bark and foliage as a source of tannic acid used to tan leather.