Honeydew Rain

The buzzing of flying insects coming from a clump of willows caused me alter course to investigate.  There were hornets moving in and out of the tree canopy, making me think I may be lucky enough to find an active nest.

Once beneath the tree, I could detect minute drops of moisture hitting my face and arms.  It felt as though I was standing in a cool jungle mist, but I knew what it really was and what was responsible.

I was in a rain of honeydew being discharged by colonies of aphids.  As a byproduct of their feeding, these sap sucking insects expel droplets of sweet liquid.

Large aphid colonies can cause a steady downfall of tiny honeydew droplets.  The branches of this willow were almost completely covered by aphids.

Many aphid predators are attracted by the odor of honeydew.  This small fly larva, aka maggot, is the larva of the Aphid Midge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza.  The adult fly feeds on honeydew and lays its eggs among the aphids.  The larvae then consume the aphids.  The larva’s gut takes on the color of the aphid juices being eaten.  This coloration then shows through the transparent body.

Plants growing beneath the willows have been completely covered by honeydew.  The primary buzzing insects were various species of flies feeding on the sugary droplets.  After a while a black mold begins to grow on the leaf.  Shed aphid exoskeletons, dust and other detritus get caught in the sticky mess.  This can’t be a healthy condition for the plants.  Fortunately, massive aphid colonies are a product of late summer and fall, so the plants have already completed their seed production and energy storage.

A variety of fly species was present.  Leaves that hadn’t molded displayed an unnatural shine.  It reminded me of houseplants that have received a coating of liquid wax to make their leaves glow.

Of course, if there’s a sweet liquid to be had, the Yellowjackets will be there to claim their share.  They constantly skimmed over the leaves searching for fresh droppings.  Even when they found one, they paused for only a second to lap it up.

The Bald-faced Hornets foraged higher in the tree and rarely came down to ground level.

The hornets also took the opportunity to grab a live meal.  This guy is subduing a freshly caught fly.  The blue stripe is part of the pattern on the fly’s abdomen.

Several butterfly species were present, dragging their tongues across the leaf surface, sucking up honeydew.

Red-spotted Purple is one of my favorites.  The blue, black and white pattern is quite reminiscent of the colors in a Blue Jay’s feathers.  Quite appropriate coloration for a resident of Blue Jay Barrens.

Butterflies on Rotting Fruit

When I was in the fifth grade, I was intrigued by butterflies that didn’t seem to ever visit flowers. A neighbor cut some limbs from a tree beside his house and I noticed a swarm of brown butterflies sitting on the sappy stumps. I crawled through the bushes, peeked out at the tree and got my first look at a Question Mark Butterfly. It was a most incredible sight. After chasing me out of the shrubbery several times, the neighbor finally asked me what I was doing. When I explained about the butterflies, he brought out a couple of lawn chairs and we sat quietly watching butterflies drink sap. He also made me promise to stay on the lawn and out of the landscaping.

I was reminded of my youthful adventures when I saw Question Marks feeding on some rotten bananas in the yard. Rotting fruit is a great attractant for many species of butterflies. Question Marks are normally quick to take flight, but an attractive food source makes them less wary.

Several days ago, I put out a bucket of old bananas and apples in order to attract flies to feed to some baby lizards. Opossums and skunks tipped the bucket and scattered the fruit around. Eventually, the fruit got rotten enough that the mammals stopped messing with it. That’s when the butterflies began to take notice. This particular Red-spotted Purple, recognizable by its tattered wing margins, has been here for three days straight. I just wonder if it’s taking time out to mate and get another brood going for next year.

I’ve read about animals getting intoxicated by consuming fermenting fruit. These butterflies might be finding a little hard cider at the center of the rotting apples. They sometimes exhibit some awkward behavior and I watched one fall off its apple.

Red Admirals seem to prefer the nectar of the banana. The skins may be a little bit skunk chewed, but they produce some good tasting juice.

The Hackberry Butterflies seem the most susceptible to the effects of alcohol. This one seems to have temporarily forgotten how to recoil its proboscis. I believe it's the butterfly version of getting stupid.

I hope I haven’t caused these butterflies to become deadbeat members of their species. I know this has been a great year for butterflies, at least here, but we still need every butterfly out there doing its part to make next year even greater.

More Flowers and Insects

Several species of Tick Trefoils are actively producing their sticky seed pods. The pods attach to whatever animal happens to brush against them. As the animal continues its wandering, the clinging pod breaks apart and allows the seed to fall free. In this way the seeds get scattered far from the parent plant. I think the greatest collector of Tick Trefoil seeds is a pair of denim jeans. I may have spent as much time last fall cleaning pods from my clothes as I did actually out walking. This year’s crop of pods looks to be even larger.

Japanese Beetles as strongly attracted to the Tick Trefoils. Most of the heavy predation occurs late in the year after the plant has produced its crop of seeds. Since Japanese Beetles are such a pest on cultivated Roses, I would expect them to vigorously consume the Multiflora Rose. I rarely see this beetle on any of the wild rose species.

Here’s another hairy seed pod, but this one doesn’t stick. This is Hairy Milk Pea, Galactia volubilis, one of the uncommon species found here. The plant will create a long vine that twines its way through the tall prairie grasses.

The yellow spikes of Agrimony flowers are everywhere. These blooms are favored by small bees and flies who do an excellent job of pollination. The little yellow flowers are quite attractive and would be considered a nice landscape plant if viewed at this stage.

This is why most people avoid growing Agrimony in their flower gardens. The seed capsules develop a mass of stiff projections, each tipped with a fish hook type structure that’s designed to hold on to animal fur for a ride to a new growing location. When one seed capsule is snagged by a passing animal, the rest of the willowy plant whips over and leaves long rows of seed capsules attached to, let’s say the animal’s shirt. It’s things like this that cause my clothes to be washed in a separate load. Sometimes it’s hard to find where all of these seeds have hidden and no one in my family appreciates finding things I’ve collected in the field hiding somewhere in their freshly cleaned outfit.

This is a member of the family of Long-legged Flies, most likely a Condylostylus species. There are several species of these flies and most of them can be described as tiny and shiny. Most are predators on even smaller insects and spend their time sitting on the upper surface of leaves as they watch for prey items to fly by. I usually spot them as they sparkle in the sunlight.

I’m still seeing above average numbers of butterflies. I usually only see one or two Red-spotted Purples each year. I’ve seen dozens this year and have witnessed several mating couples.