Applegater Summer 2015
13
Winged beauties
of summer
by LINDA kAPPEN
Hoffman’s Checkerspot
The wingspan of a Hoffman’s
Checkerspot (Chlosyne hoffmanni), a
butterfly of the Nymphalidae family, is
usually around one and three-quarters
inches. The closed wing or underside of
the hind wing spots are more of a creamy
off-white color than bright white. Rows of
spots have distinct thicker black outlines.
The Hoffman’s has a narrow range
of distribution in the Cascades through
Oregon, Washington, and British
Columbia. South of Oregon the narrow
range extends through the Sierra Nevada
mountains of California.
This butterfly lives in various
mountain habitats: meadows, streamsides,
and openings at edges of forests, including
old forest roads.
The larvae of Hoffman’s Checkerspot
feed on various native asters; adults feed on
flower nectar. Eggs are laid in groups on
the underside of host plant leaves. Young
larvae overwinter (hibernate).
The butterfly
can be seen in flight
from May through
September with
June and July being
peak months. They
Hoffman’s Checkerspot Butterfly
have been observed
and counted at the summer Cascade- up to 1.8 inches. The Red-winged Wave
Siskiyou National Monument Butterfly moth has a wide distribution in the forests
Count. Last year a group of us saw one on of western North America. It can be seen
a moist old logging road that ran through in flight from April through July.
the forest.
A known larval food plant for this
The photo here was taken in July at moth in the Pacific Northwest is bitter
Lassen Volcanic National Park, where I cherry. Adult food is the nectar of fruit
saw these butterflies on a few trails from trees and ceanothus, as well as puddling.
highest to lower elevations. The butterfly Puddling is a common behavior of moths
pictured allowed me a lengthy and close-up and butterflies to obtain nutrients from
photo shoot on the banks of a creek on a wet or damp areas found on forest roads
very warm but pleasant day. It was a nice or anywhere a puddle of water or dried up
end to a long hike.
puddle may be found.
Red-winged Wave Moth
The adult moth is day-flying (diurnal)
The Red-winged Wave (Dasyfidonia and is not known to come to light, so
avuncularia) is a moth belonging to the the best chances of seeing it may be on a
Geometridae family. Its wingspan reaches sunny part of a forest road. Because it is
Cultivate your sense of wonder
by kATHLEEN PyLE
Ever notice reddish plumes blooming
every April above that blind curve on
Highway 238?* How about the snag that
hosts a flock of sun-worshipping turkey
vultures near Cantrall Buckley Park?**
Our bioregion is full of natural wonders.
Siskiyou Field Institute (SFI) offers a
summer slate of field classes designed
to answer the whats, whys and wheres
underlying those wonders.
Classes exploring our Klamath-
Siskiyou bioregion’s botany, geology,
birds, invertebrates, and watersheds vary
in length from one to three days. Some
include camping; most involve hiking.
Two classes are priced especially for family
budgets. All promise to deliver authentic
learning experiences that expand your
understanding of how our mountains and
valleys formed, what grows here and why,
and how to identify the many birds visiting
our area. We also offer classes that will
build your confidence while embarking on
your own wilderness adventures.
Embraced by mountains
The unusual east-westerly direction of
the Klamath-Siskiyou mountain range and
its lack of glaciation—plus relatively mild
winters—has created protective habitats
for old-growth forests and the animals
and plants that depend on them. Harsher
habitats, on serpentine slopes and canyons,
have fostered rare plants that evolved in
their tolerance for heavy metals and low
nutrition.
Interested in helping to classify
plants in some of these lesser-botanized
areas? Then consider joining two SFI
classes: “Botanizing Poker Flat and Bolan
Peak” and “The Cryptic World of Red
Buttes Wilderness.” In the midsummer
“Botanizing Observation Peak,” we’ll
explore a high-elevation serpentine
ridge with its own unique flora. In
“Exploring Conifer Country in the Russian
Wilderness,” we’ll trek to Little Duck Lake
and see 17 different conifer species in a
granitic area referred to as the bioregion’s
botanical “Miracle Mile.”
How it all happened
The Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion is
a geologist’s delight. From the Josephine
ophiolite showing Illinois Valley geologic
history in a visible layer cake and the
green serpentine slopes of Smith River
Canyon on Highway 199, to the volcanic
splendors eastward in the Cascade-
Siskiyou National Monument, there’s a
lot of rocky terrain to explore. Consider
joining our tour of “Smith River Canyon’s
Serpentine Geology/Ecology,” or hiking
some geological history in “Geology of the
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument,” or
getting the whole-picture view of “Geology
of the Recent Siskiyous” in a van trip from
Selma to Port Orford. There’s fun learning
for the entire family in “Rock Hounding
on Brown Mountain,” Mt. McLoughlin’s
sister peak.
From desert to forest
Speaking of volcanic, SFI sponsors
two 2015 field courses at Lava Beds
National Monument (LBNM). The first, in
early June, focuses on the Monument’s flora
and bird life in varied habitats including
sagebrush steppe, cave, ponderosa pine
forest, and grassland. Botanist Sean Smith
has just published a book on LBNM flora,
and all students in the class will receive a
copy. Frank Lospalluto will guide us on the
birding segment. In July, we’ll return to the
monument to study bats and cave ecology.
Two of our classes will study forests.
“Spirit of the Forest in Words and Photos”
combines photography and nature writing
with coaching by two published artists:
local writer Diana Coogle and Washington
State photographer Mark Turner. As you
learn to capture the spirit of the forest,
you’ll uncover your own creative spirit. In
July, a one-day class on dendrology, the
science of tree rings, will give you clues
for unraveling the mystery of calculating
tree ages.
Skill builders
If you have a summer goal of honing
your outdoor skills, consider the one-day
“Orienteering,” a hands-on guide to using
compasses, navigating by solar position,
and reading maps. Two local herbalists will
teach “A Beginner’s Guide to Medicinal
Plants,” starting with some basic botany
and ending with the formulation of your
own herbal product to take home.
Looking toward fall, our class schedule
offers a birding class that combines visual
identification skills with smartphone apps
for reference.
Siskiyou Field Institute has also
scheduled a professional workshop for
specialized study of plant groups, including
willows, eriogonums (buckwheats),
lichens, and graminoids (rushes, sedges
and grasses).
If you’re a Jackson or Josephine County
teacher or classroom assistant, or nonprofit
outdoor educator, a scholarship could help
subsidize or pay your total tuition. These
are made possible through the Rogue Valley
and Siskiyou Audubon Societies. Contact
SFI’s program coordinator Kathleen Pyle
Red-winged Wave Moth
a day-flying moth, with bright colors and
a wing shape similar to a butterfly’s, it is
often mistaken as a butterfly.
I found the pictured Red-winged
Wave puddling on a forest road with other
day-flying moths and some butterflies. I
have seen this moth only one or two times
in the last five years. This year, however,
there seems to be an abundance of them
throughout the Rogue River-Siskiyou
National Forest.
In spring sunlight, this stunning
moth, with its striated lines and blend of
colors, reminded me of a brightly colored
metallic watercolor painting.
Linda Kappen
humbugkapps@hotmailcom
at programcoord@thesfi.org for more
information.
For more details on our field course
schedule, free Friday Night Learning
events, or youth camps and wilderness
trips, visit www.thesfi.org or call 541-
597-8530.
Kathleen Pyle
programcoord@thesfi.org
* That’s Indian warrior (Pedicularis
densiflora), a hemiparasitic plant that often
parasitizes manzanita roots.
** Turkey vultures migrate from
Northern California in the spring, often
flying north in the thermals along the
Rogue River. Any guess why they roost
(not nest) near the highway?
Two crops for
the price of one
by JONATHAN SPERO
One advantage of smaller scale in
farming is the ability to inter-crop—to
have more than one crop growing in the
same area. This past year I grew both sweet
corn and kale for seed on the same plot.
Corn grows from spring till fall.
Kale, for seed, is planted midsummer and
overwinters to flower in the spring and
make seeds the following summer. Once I
harvest the corn, it is too late to plant the
kale. So I decided to “double-crop”—to
seed the kale in between the corn rows.
I plant my corn using a two-foot/
four-foot spacing by planting two rows
two feet apart followed by a four-foot
space. The four-foot space is weeded with
a rototiller, then seeded with a cover crop
as the corn matures in August. Usually the
two-foot rows I keep weeded with a wheel
hoe, but this time I planted kale down the
middle. Shade from the corn would slow
down the kale, so I seeded in July instead
of August, sprinkling seeds between the
rows of corn.
The corn did indeed keep the kale
suppressed. When I harvested the corn,
the kale plants were small and stunted. But
the corn harvest was in no way diminished
by the kale at its feet. And when I mowed
the corn and weeded and thinned, the kale
jumped back, even though it was already
Siber Frill kale in bloom at the end of April.
October. By December the kale plants had
recovered and were growing. The rows are
six feet apart with corn “stumps” and a strip
of cover crop clover down the middle. If all
goes well, the kale will flower in the spring
and go on to produce seed.
When people claim that
“conventional” agriculture is more
productive than organic methods of
growing, they are only considering one
crop at a time. Maybe the corn is a little
less productive than corn grown with more
chemicals, and maybe the kale quantity
could be a little higher with a monoculture,
but I have both crops at once, on the
same ground, and I do not think any
monoculture can match that.
The stand of Siber Frill kale is about
80 percent full and was in full flower at
the end of April. In a few spots the weeds
overtook the emerging kale. There was
no loss in the corn from combining these
two crops.
Jonathan Spero
spero.jonathan@gmail.com