Prescott Farm Biodiversity Project's Journal

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.

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.

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.