Prescott Farm Biodiversity Project's Journal

This square-headed wasp landed on a flower perhaps looking for food. However, another animal was waiting. Crab spiders camouflage to match the flowers on which they wait for their prey.



Earlier in the summer, another crab spider waiting on a different flower, used its web to pull the petals up giving it shelter in which to wait. The pulled up petals are visible behind the spider in the second photo.

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Wasp and Goldenrod Crab Spider photos are by Derek Hudgins, CC-BY-NC, the license can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode and the images were retrieved from https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/216691975 and https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/216691930 respectively. The photo of the Crab Spider on a daisy is by aspring and is in the public domain.

Last summer, the generation of Monarch Butterflies that hatched in New Hampshire made the long journey south to lay their eggs. All spring they've been migrating north making it a little closer with each generation. Over the past week, we've begun to see adult Monarchs in the fields at Prescott Farm again. By watching the milkweed closely, we'll be able to observe their lifecycle.

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Milkweed



Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed plants and the caterpillars eat the leaves. However, this isn't quite as easy as it sounds. The milkweed plant defends itself.

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Eggs

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Caterpillars



In order to eat milkweed, young caterpillars must first 'mow' the fuzz from the milkweed leaves. Look around the tiny caterpillar in the first photo to see how the leaf has less fuzz near the caterpillar.

Then, they must contend with the sap of the plant as they eat. This sap is poisonous to many animals. If the caterpillars eat too much they will die. Caterpillars strategically cut the veins bringing sap into the leaf they are eating, but ingesting some sap is inevitable as they munch on the leaves. It is the milkweed sap that makes the caterpillars poisonous to their predators and justifies their bright warning stripes.

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Chrysalis



Monarch caterpillars leave their milkweed plant to form their chrysalis somewhere nearby. This can make the chrysalis more difficult to find.

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Adults

Monarchs Butterflies then emerge from their chrysalis, dry their wings, and fly off as adults to continue the cycle.

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All photos are in the public domain. Chrysalis photo by Dan McIntyre (@ab6ro), emerging monarch photos by Diana Foreman (@artemis224), adult Monarch photo by Kathy Daniel (@kdaniel20816), milkweed, egg, and caterpillar photos by aspring. Source for milkweed and caterpillar interactions: Summer Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History by Carol Gracie.

As the summer approaches and the fields are brighter and sunnier, wildflowers are blooming. Many flowers are blooming now. As the summer progresses, they will produce their seeds and their later flowering neighbors, including milkweeds, will take their turns attracting the attention of pollinators.

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Hawkweeds

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Clovers

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Bedstraws

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Vetches

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Daisies

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Black-Eyed Susans

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Whorled Loosestrife

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Milkweed

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All photos are by aspring and in the public domain.

Since the Wood Frogs in early spring, we've been hearing different frogs calling from the water around Prescott Farm as they find mates and lay their eggs. In mid-May, the Spring Peepers were loudest, and now (early June) we are hearing the Gray Treefrogs and Green Frogs.


Spring Peepers

Gray Treefrogs and Green Frogs

The Gray Treefrogs are the trilling sounds and the Green Frogs are the occasional croaks.

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Frogs are well camouflaged, so we've heard more than we've seen, but here are a few of the frogs we've seen around Prescott Farm:

Spring Peeper



Wood Frog



American Toad



Gray Treefrog



Green Frog

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All photos are by aspring and in the public domain.

With the warm weather, wildflowers have returned to Prescott Farm. Here are a few of what's growing on the trails this week:

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Fringed Polygala

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Starflower

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Solomon's Seal

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Canada Mayflower

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Fields and Open Spaces
Grasses

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Other Flowers

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All photos are by aspring and in the public domain.

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The October Observation of the Month at Prescott Farm is this Wild Turkey pelvis observed by @maria_198. Many thanks to @lizardking for identifying this mystery bone and @tfrench for passing on the observation.

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Photo by Maria_198 CC-BY-NC

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The September Observation of the Month at Prescott Farm is this Viscid Violet Cort mushroom photographed by @ashleybarajas. All summer we have been enjoying the amazing variety of fungi that has been springing up with the moisture.

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In addition, to being fascinating to look at mushrooms are the reproductive structures of fungi and produce spores. The spores are released from the gills on the underside of the mushroom. While we see the mushroom above ground, the mycelium of the fungus are at work in the conifer humus. They break down the old pine needles and organic materials for nutrition for the fungus and contribute to soil formation in the process.

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Mushrooms are also a source of food for some animals, and it looks like someone has been nibbling on this one.

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Photos by ashleybarajas CC-BY-NC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Summer has been an exciting season at Prescott Farm with lots of camper eyes helping us find interesting organisms big and small. Here are a few of the highlights:

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Fungus in Many Colors

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A porcupine relaxing in a Walnut Tree

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Frogs and Salamanders

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Monarch Butterfly Life Stages

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All photos are by aspring and in the public domain except American Toad and adult Monarch by @maria_198 CC BY-NC 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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The May Observation of the Month at Prescott Farm are these Canada Mayflowers photographed by @aspring.

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The first signs of Mayflowers appeared in early March when the stems of dried leaves could be followed back to tiny green sprouts.

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In April, the first buds appeared.

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The flowers followed in mid-late May. We'll be watching to see what happens next as these flowers are pollinated.

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The April Observation of the Month at Prescott Farm is this Eastern Newt in the Red Eft stage observed by WildQuest Campers during Spring Camp at Prescott Farm and photographed by @aspring.

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Eastern Newts lay their eggs in water and are aquatic during their larval stage. As larva, they have feathery gills sticking out from the sides of their head and are a green color. Larva can only survive in water. As juveniles, Eastern Newts are terrestrial (live on land) and have a bright orange red color. During this life stage, they are also called Red Efts. Red efts make their homes in leaves on the forest floor and may travel great distances to new bodies of water. Some Eastern Newts remain in the juvenile or eft stage permanently, but most metamorphose into aquatic adults. The aquatic adults lose the bright orange color of the red eft stage and are most likely to be found in water, but they are still able to survive on land.

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