by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member Our earliest entry for finding and identifying an American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) is in our first butterfly book, one of those Audubon Society Pocket Guides. This entry is not a happy one: “6/10/91, grill” — car grill, that is — but does remind us of the many ways our modern […] Continue reading "The Vagaries of Vanessa Butterflies"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member At our former home the tops of the screens of the screened-in porch are held in place from the outside by 2 x 4 studs. For years I noticed wasps were boring holes in the underside of these 2 x 4s. Having heard of wood-boring wasps, I never gave it […] Continue reading "An Unusual Pollinator"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member For a long time I did not realize that there are actually two species of moths in our area whose caterpillars spin the easily spotted silken webs in many of our trees. Nor did I realize that one does it in spring and the other in fall. In mid-summer the […] Continue reading "Caterpillars That Spin Webs in Trees"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member Any day that I am presented with a mystery of nature to be solved is a great day. Late May, a few years ago, a friend brought me not only a native plant from her yard but also a caterpillar that was hiding in the soil that she dug up […] Continue reading "Secretive Feeder"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member I know Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) butterflies are not native to the US but when you suffer from CCB (Caterpillar Compulsive Behavior) and Monarchs are all gone for the season, one stoops to even raise Cabbage Whites. Introduced from Europe, it is one of the most abundant butterflies in our […] Continue reading "Some Protein with Your Veggies?"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member One of the most fascinating natural phenomena is the Monarch butterfly migration in the fall. While it was known that Monarchs breeding west of the Rocky Mountains overwinter on the California coast, it was a mystery where the population breeding east of the Rockies overwintered. It took Canadian Zoologist Fred […] Continue reading "Monarch Migration along Lake Michigan"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member Peninsula Point is at the tip of the Stonington Peninsula jutting out into northern Lake Michigan in the central UP. It is part of the Hiawatha National Forest, which at this location protects a couple of miles of shoreline from development. The approach to the point is via a one-lane […] Continue reading "Peninsula Point, A Spot Worth Visiting"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member This question came to my mind a number of years ago when I was raising monarchs from eggs and caterpillars found in the wild for the following two Citizen Science Projects: Monarch Larva Monitoring Project and Project Monarch Health. Milkweeds are the only plants that monarch caterpillars will feed on […] Continue reading "Does Spotted Knapweed Repel Monarch Butterflies?"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member A while back I came across an interesting study on bumblebees. While the study was done in England, the same principles might apply right here in Kalamazoo County. I don’t see much hope for us to influence Big Ag to do much for pollinators. But we do have control over […] Continue reading "All the More Reason to Landscape with Native Plants"
by Ilse Gebhard, KAWO member The recent eclipse provided many scientists an opportunity to study how animal behavior is affected by sudden changes in light. One such study was done at Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas with honeybees. While Lawrence, KS, was not in the path of totality, 89% of the sun was […] Continue reading "The Effect of a Solar Eclipse on Honeybee Foraging"