01-JUL-2012
Planthopper nymph (Metcalfa pruinosa)
This is a terrible photo as this tiny nymph would not stop moving around. But I add it to show how peculiar the nymph stage of the Metcalfa planthopper is. It looks like a speck of white fluff!
01-JUL-2012
Plant bug (Neurocolpus sp.)on wild parsnip
This is probably one of the Neurocolpus species of plant bug. The wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) has just begun to grow and flower but already the plants bugs are plentiful and the parsnip webworm (a moth) has found them. The latter is a control agent for these plants. Wild parsnip is also favoured by the black swallowtail butterfly for laying its eggs on.
01-JUL-2012
Dog-strangling vine seed pod
This powerfully aggressive invasive plant has now begun producing seedpods which are maturing at a fast rate. At present there are plants still in flower, others with tiny seedpods, and still others with full-size pods. I opened one of the large ones and found 20 seeds inside. Each seed is polyembryonic, meaning it can produce 2 to 6 plants per seed. So, 20 x 2 = 40 new plants, and 20 x 6 =120 new plants. Each plant has multiple seed pods, and there are millions of these plants at FWG, so it doesn't take much figuring out to see why the plants spread so rapidly. Of course, not all seeds are viable, but these amazing plants have at least a 48% success rate in terms of seed survivability.
01-JUL-2012
Dog-strangling vine leaf
As anyone who visits the FWG knows, the dog-strangling vine (DSV) (pale swallowwort) is an abundant and aggressive invasive species. Biologists are looking for bio-control agents as a method of helping control this plant. While not much feeds on the DSV, we have always noticed signs of some herbivory. This particular leaf caught my eye as the leaves were chewed much more so than one usually sees in this plant.