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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2018)
Applegater Summer 2018 13 BIRD EXPLORER Migrating Neotropical birds BY PETER J. THIEMANN As of May, Bird Month, most winter guests left for breeding grounds up north or inland and the Neotropicals arrived with a splash of exotic colors. As vegetation greens and trees flower, myriads of insects are available for food— bird life is good. Some Neotropicals, such as the Wilson’s and Nashville warblers, will nest in our area. Others will continue moving north. With all the new greenery, colorful birds are easier to see and enjoy. Black-headed grosbeaks, with males in stunning colors, are establishing their breeding territories in big-leaf maple and Pacific madrone trees. They came all the way from Central America, where they spend the winter. Then, in willows near water, there are flashes of bright yellow Wilson’s Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Multiple tails BY LINDA KAPPEN The Two-tailed Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) is in the butterfly family Papilionidae and is Arizona’s official state butterfly. This butterfly ranges throughout the Pacific Northwest and to the south throughout the west. The scientific name, multicaudata, means multiple tails. The Two-tailed Tiger Swallowtail is the second largest butterfly in North America and the largest throughout the Pacific Northwest. It can reach wingspreads of up to five inches. This swallowtail is a brighter, warmer yellow than the similar species, Western Tiger Swallowtail. The wing borders of the two-tailed are black with the tiger stripes noticeably narrower. Tiger Swallowtail ventral view birds: the Wilson’s and Nashville warblers, the yellow warblers, and the secretive yellow-breasted chat. Yellow-rumped warblers are mostly moving on to places farther north, using our area for refueling. Don’t expect these birds to sit still for long, except when singing from a treetop. To capture a photographic image of these small birds, patience and skill is needed. The hind wing has two tails rather than one and a very faint third. On the open wing, the butterfly displays metallic blue patches around posterior orange spots on the hind wing. The Two-tailed Tiger Swallowtail lives and flies in canyons, shrub lands, watercourses, parks, and natural areas. They can be seen on the wing from March to mid-September. Host plants for this swallowtail are mainly western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa). The larvae overwinter. Adults will nectar on larkspurs, thistles, teasel, knapweed, scarlet gilia, to name just a few. The Papilio multicaudata is an amazing butterfly to see flying above dirt roads next to creeks. Its shadow passes over your head quickly, but you may be lucky to get a glimpse of it before it disappears around a corner. We c r e a t e d a Swallowtail Butterfly Garden at Applegate School. Years went by, and our chokecherr y grew larger. One day after school we found eggs of the two-tailed on the chokecherry shrub. We took the eggs inside and reared them in the butterfly lab (aka the art room). Being rewarded this way from our butterfly habitat at the school was a pretty good feeling. It shows that planting native shrubs and other native plants for Tiger Swallowtail dorsal view Peter J. Thiemann But the rewards are many—it will lift your spirits to see these exotic creatures that have come such a long way to enrich your day. Enjoy! Peter J. Thiemann peterjthiemann@yahoo.com Photos courtesy of Peter J. Thiemann flickr photo stream. Warbling Vireo our butterflies and other pollinators is a great thing to consider when planning your garden. Linda Kappen humbugkapps@hotmail.com Photos by Linda Kappen.
