Spring has finally returned after a particularly stubborn winter. Frogs and birds have resumed command of the airwaves, butterflies and insects are on the wing, and the hillsides and treetops are growing greener by the minute. Fieldwork for the Oak Hairstreak study will commence by next week with an early deployment of burlap bands on oak trees. We were a little late last year, so this spring we plan to band the trees quite early. I decided to take a leisurely trip with a friend to Blue Hills ski area to make some phenological observations of the floral and faunal progress.
White Oak (Quercus alba)
Scrub Oak (Quercus ilicifolia)
Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
The oak trees are slowly leafing out; the reds seem the furthest along in most places. As we walked along, I found a few burlap bands that I missed last year and one of them was hosting an impressive Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar (Hypercompe scribonia) preparing to pupate. I’m amazed at the diversity of caterpillars, insects, and other arthropods that will take refuge under a simple strip of burlap attached to a tree. For any caterpillar aficionados out there, I would highly suggest burlap banding as a simple and fruitful way of observing a good variety of species. Leave it up for a full year and you’ll see suites of different taxa.
Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar (Hypercompe scribonia)
As for butterflies, I saw a good number of Eastern Pine Elfins (Callophrys niphon) on the wing. There is a blossoming apple tree among the pines along one of the trails down the hill (approx.: 42°13’1.62″N, 71° 6’54.48″W) that is a good place to view them. The familiar Juvenal’s Duskywings (Erynnis juvenalis) are also flitting about.
Juvenal’s Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis)
Oak Hairstreak Study 