My first book, The Travel Edition, is now published and ready to be experienced by all ages.
It’s an adult coloring book.
It’s a children’s storybook.
It’s a writer’s and artist’s prompt book.
It’s an adventure book.
It’s available at Amazon.com (USA) and Amazon.co.uk (Europe).
Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) butterflies copulating, July 18, 2015
Little glassywing (Pompeius verna) skippers copulating, July 21, 2015
Threaded within the spread of creatures big and small in one’s backyard, a sticky-toed amphibian may be quite eye-catching. Or maybe not.
When you first see a gray tree frog (Hyla spp.) working its way up your picture window or resting on the side of your swimming pool, its patches of green, gray, and black coloration may seem striking, complex, and beautiful. These frogs may also be various shades of gray and brown, depending on environmental conditions.
The reason for this coloration becomes apparent when the tree frog is among the lichen and bark of trees. In this case it takes a careful eye to spot these camouflaged herpetofauna.
Another, perhaps easier, way to identify the gray tree frog in its natural habitat is to listen for its call, a trill, which can be heard after sunset during their spring mating season.
A few of these photographed individuals were found around a backyard swimming pool at a country farm; others were spotted in the trees while conducting butterfly surveys.
Gray tree frog (Hyla spp.)
Gray tree frog (Hyla spp.)
Gray tree frog (Hyla spp.)
Gray tree frog (Hyla spp.)
Gray tree frog (Hyla spp.)
Among the young oaks, sassafras, and sedges of Michigan’s oak-pine barrens lies a mix of butterfly milkweed, flowering spurge, and horsemint. Of spotted knapweed, sunflowers, and a variety of other nectar sources that create an all-you-can-eat buffet from 9:00 to 6:00 daily (if you’re an insect and into that sort of thing).
With careful steps and keen eyes, it is possible to observe an array of wildlife in these oak-pine barrens, from wild turkeys and their flock of poults to gray tree frogs and mound-building ants. And perhaps most noticeably, butterflies!
For the past week, I have worked with a small team to survey these habitats for the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), which relies on wild lupine (Lupinus perennis) for larval development. For more information on this species, visit this page from the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.
After completing a survey, I sometimes take the opportunity to photograph the butterfly diversity present, including these striking species:
Male Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis)
Female Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) on flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) the length of my thumbnail
Edward’s hairstreak (Satyrium edwardsii) on butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Little glassywing skipper (Pompeius verna)
Coral hairstreak (Satyrium titus)
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus)
Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite)
American copper (Lycaena phleas)
Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite)
This stunningly photogenic individual provides us with an opportunity to see the characteristics that make the poweshiek skipperling stand apart from other skippers, including and especially the white-scaled veins on the underside of the wings. We also see the characteristics that this skipperling shares with other skippers, including the wing angles at rest, compound eyes, and stocky body with modified scales.
More importantly, we have the opportunity to see an individual that is only found in a specific, rare habitat. An individual that is one of only a few remaining on small, disconnected sunny plots of prairie fen in a single county in southern Michigan. We see the slightest sliver of our natural history at risk of extinction, and a reminder of why we keep such wild places wild.
For more information, visit these fact sheets by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek), Oakland County, MI
It has been said that if you do not like the weather in Michigan, wait five minutes. No more aware of the ever-changing weather have I been than while waiting for windows of weather suitable for butterfly activity. It seems that this has been an unusually damp and cool early summer, with clouds ever-present and the temperature hanging just below that dictated by survey protocol. Regardless, we have managed to get out into the field whenever possible, and continue to see additional butterfly species.
Dorcas copper
Common wood satyr
Our focal species hasn’t made its debut yet, but this banded hairstreak offered to pose for the camera today.
Banded hairstreak
The quiet of the writer resembles the patience of the budding leaves. Though silent through winter, life pulses within, awaiting the warmth and the rain and the opportunities that come with spring. And so begins another season of blog writing.
This new field season is one of rain boots and binoculars, as I weave through southern Michigan habitats in search of butterflies. Two species in particular, the poweshiek skipperlings and the Karner blue butterflies, are listed federally endangered due to habitat loss and fragmentation. These are our focal species.
See Poweshiek photos here and Karner blue photos here.
Butterflies, skippers, and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera, meaning “scale wing”. The bodies and wings of Lepidoptera are covered in minute, hair-like scales that create the variety of colors we see. There are approximately 180,000 members of this order, with moths comprising the greatest portion at 160,000 species. Butterflies often have larger wings and straight antennae that are clubbed at the end. At rest, butterflies hold their wings folded up, perpendicular to their slim bodies.
Comma butterfly with wings upright and straight, clubbed antennae
Skippers have a fast, darting flight, larger compound eyes, stocky bodies, and hooked clubbed antennae. At rest, skippers often angle their forewings up while keeping their hindwings flat.
A skipper with forewings angled up and hooked antennae
Moths, in contrast, have varied antennae that are often feathered and they rest with their wings down. The modified scales of moths lends to a hairy appearance on stocky bodies.
A moth with “hairy” legs and body, and feathered antennae
A moth with wings flat at rest
Butterflies and skippers are diurnal (active during the day) and form chrysalises for metamorphosis. Moths are often nocturnal (active at night), and often form cocoons for metamorphosis. Some species of moths are crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn) or diurnal.
A moth cocoon
For this project, visual surveys of butterflies will take place when the weather conditions and hours are suitable for butterfly activity. Teams of two weave across suitable habitats in a calculated manner in an effort to spot, count, and assess the focal species, and to document other butterfly species as well as vegetation. Currently, we are visiting prairie fens in search of the recently-emerged poweshiek skipperlings. These fens support black-eyed Susans, shrubby cinquefoil, and other nectar sources. In a few weeks, we will move to the west side of the state to oak-pine barrens where Karner blue butterflies will be active around their obligate host plant, wild lupine.
Bronze copper
Baltimore checkerspot
Great-spangled fritillary
Across the summer months, the mallets and grids of Loggerhead nesting season gradually morph into boxes and brooms. Dozens of tiny disoriented tracks replace adult turtle tracks and camouflages, and tourists flock to join the commotion. This is August on Kyparissia Bay, otherwise known as hatching season.
The first sign of a hatching nest is a drop in the center after an incubation period of around 45 days. The drop is created by the falling down and compression of sand as the newly hatched turtles begin to climb to the surface.
Two to three days after the initial drop, the first group of hatchlings emerges at night, when the sand and air is cooler and safer. Since each nest contains around 100 eggs, it takes a few to several days for the nest to finish hatching.
Ten or more days after the initial hatch of a nest, we excavate to collect additional data. This includes counting hatched egg shells and opening unhatched eggs to determine their fate. Most unhatched eggs were simply unfertilized, while others ceased embryo development at varying stages due to maggots, bacteria, or nature. Live hatchlings found in the nest may venture to sea, or may be reburied until nightfall.
On the tourist beach of Kalo Nero, the street running parallel to the Loggerhead nesting beach is lined with hotels, restaurants, and street lamps, all creating artificial light which out-competes the reflection of the moon and stars on the sea. This disorients hatchlings, which are phototactic. Disoriented hatchlings may walk very long distances without reaching the sea, instead becoming dehydrated, getting hit by a vehicle, or falling prey to other animals.
In response to the dangers posed by the human activity in Kalo Nero, Archelon volunteers place boxes over hatching nests during the night. This keeps any emerging hatchlings contained until they may be collected and released in a darker area of the same beach. The boxes are checked every hour until they are removed by the morning survey volunteers. Hatchlings that emerge during daylight are less likely to be disoriented, but other considerations must be addressed. Hot sand is brushed aside to offer a cooler path as the hatchlings are shaded to the sea.
Regardless of the protection measures used, it is imperative that the hatchlings make the journey from the sand to the sea. This allows for exercise of the flippers and lungs, and for memorization of the beach so that they may return to the same area in 30 years after reaching sexual maturity.
After reaching the water, hatchlings swim for the next 24 to 48 hours straight to reach their feeding grounds. Little is known about sea turtles during the years that follow, but the need for filling in the missing information drives my interest in the discovery.
The concept of working for a summer in an international environment brought with it the expectation of being challenged both individually and professionally. Independent and introverted, I was uncertain how I would adjust to living closely with many others or speaking with the public. Yet what I have discovered is an appreciation for teamwork and that I thrive in training, leading, and providing public awareness.
My position in the middle ranks offers the opportunity to not only lead and take on many responsibilities, but also to observe and absorb elements of top management. This summer I have been trained and molded by many others with various experience in conservation and leadership, which has resulted in my becoming a Morning Survey Leader, Night Survey Leader and Tagger, A Sector Beach Leader, A Sector Database Manager, Public Awareness Shift Leader, and Driver.
The project relies on me to be knowledgeable, organized, and detail-oriented, but also to be flexible and understanding. The perfectionist portion of my personality has found the former to be rewarding and the latter to be challenging. Dozens of volunteers have come and gone since my arrival, each of them contributing varying strengths and levels of ability. Everyone has made mistakes on the beach, paperwork, and database, and I am no exception. It has been essential for me to not only find ways to train or correct accordingly, but also to simply be understanding of human error and to recognize my own faults.
I am also learning, if ever so slowly, the importance of building relationships. Most of the summer has been dedicated to a strong work ethic, turning in early to rest for morning surveys or staying back at base camp for database entry rather than fraternizing at the taverna. While my work ethic is getting exercise, all work and no play does little for connecting with the people who make the project possible.
With just three days left here in Kyparissia Bay, I would like to thank every single person who has been a part of the Kyp project this summer, as each of you has influenced me in some way, which will be carried on to other projects and in my daily life. You have taught me to be patient, you have taught me to make a proper frappe, you have instigated laughter and provided support. You are quiet warriors, rump shakers, and/or incredible cooks in a very basic kitchen. You have passed the salt and encouraged ice cream consumption. You have volunteered your time on your day off. Thank you for sharing your lives with me and with the turtles. You each are rock stars in your own right and I wish you all the best in your individual endeavors. Chihuahua and barapbop to all of you!
The Travel Edition 