Aug 23, 2009 - Fox, Wildflowers, and Insects

On a recent outing with the Itasca Birding Club, we came across some playful Red Fox kits. Here is one of them caught in mid-air as it ran across in front of us. I’m always amazed at the big bushy tail they have.

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Indian Pipe is a very interesting forest plant. It is all white and looks like it could be made out of wax. It usually grows only 3–6“ tall. It likes deeply shaded areas of moist woods. One of our books says that it especially likes mature stands of Aspen. This photo was taken in our woods in northern Minnesota. Like mushrooms, it grows on dead organic material so it doesn’t need chlorophyll to make its food. The nodding heads on each stalk are actually the flowers of this plant.

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This moth is called The Beggar. It is one of the moths that appeared when I left our porch light on one night. I haven’t been able to find out much information about it but it is an interesting looking moth.

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We found this Purple Prairie Clover growing along the railroad tracks just north of Bovey, Minnesota, less than 10 miles away from where we live. That’s the only place I’ve seen it in our area. It usually grows in dry prairie areas so it is out of place here in the north woods. Diana and I were speculating that some of the seed may have hitched a ride on the trains that passed through. Notice that the flowers bloom from the bottom to the top of the flower head. This is an adaptation that you can see in quite a few flowers. By opening only a few blossoms at a time they spread out the time when they can be pollinated. That gives them a better chance to perpetuate their species.

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This is a photo of a Striped Hairstreak butterfly. They are found over the entire eastern and central United States and eastern Canada. However, the books I referenced all said this is not an easy butterfly to find. I found this one when I was birding on an unpaved back road in Itasca County, Minnesota.

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Butterfly Weed is a bright orange, very showy wildflower. It is actually in the milkweed family but doesn’t have milky sap like some of the other milkweed plants. It’s usually found in prairie areas, often in sandy soil. I found these in Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton, Minnesota. True to its name, it attracts Gray Hairstreak and Monarch butterflies.

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