Butterfly of the Week

Hoary Edge

Achalarus lyciades (Geyer 1832)

Status: Very rare breeding resident.

Flight: Single brooded in Iowa, with records ranging from middle May to early June. It has been reported to fly until August in other states along the northern margin of its range.

Distinguishing features: The upper wing surface of the Hoary Edge is very reminiscent of the wing of the Silver-spotted Skipper, being brown with a gold band along the upper fore wing. The lower hind wing of the Hoary Edge lacks the central silver patch, however, instead having a hoary white-suffusion along the outer wing margin. Wing-span: 3.8-4.5 cm.

Distribution and habitat: Map 41. The Hoary Edge has only been collected for times in Iowa during the past forty years: three times from Waubonsie State Park in extreme southwestern Iowa and once from Des Moines in Polk County. The most recent reported collection date is 1969. No habitat information is available from these collections. Based on its behavior in nearby states, however, it was probably found in open woods and woodland edges. Judging by its distribution in surrounding states, it may eventually be found to occur rarely across the southern tier of Iowa counties.

Natural history: No information is available on the activities of this species in Iowa. Based on reports from nearby states, it is likely that its larvae eat various tick-trefoils.

Questions: What are the Hoary Edge's favored habitats and host plants? Is it able to survive the coldest Iowa winters, or does it have to recolonize from the south following such years? If global warming occurs, will this species become more common across southern Iowa?

The Butterflies of Iowa, by Dennis W. Schlicht, John C. Downey, and Jeffrey C. Nekola

Sandy Dyas at the Englert

You are cordially invited to the Englert Theatre Gallery Reception tonight from 6-7 pm, in the theater's 2nd floor Douglas and Linda Paul Gallery prior to Greg Brown's performance, honoring local photographer Sandra Dyas. The gallery show will feature some rarely seen pieces from the project that lead to her beloved collection of photos featured in the University of Iowa Press publication Down to the River. Ms. Dyas will be at the reception and the music of those featured in the book will be playing. Hors d'oeuvres will be served, with a cash bar. Free and open to the public.

If you're interested in seeing more of Sandy's work, check out Down to the River. It documents the area’s vibrant live music scene, with its distinctive combination of folk, blues, roots/Americana, and rock sounds. The sixty photos in Down to the River capture her twenty years of photographing live music venues and shooting portraits of musicians in and around the city, resulting in a collection of images as compassionate and honest as the music itself.

Tree of the Week

Austrian Pine, Pinus nigra Arnold

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: Leaves in bundles of 2, stout, 4 to 6 inches long, rather stiff but resisting breakage when bent in two. Buds coated with a white waxy substance. Cones 2 to 3 inches long, falling intact (i.e., basal scales not missing); scales with tiny deciduous prickles. Bark divided into large, dark gray plates, more or less covered with lighter-colored scales.

SIMILAR TREES: Red pine and ponderosa pine are the only other pines planted in Iowa that regularly have leaves more than 4 inches long. Red pine has brown buds and, when mature, reddish bark. Ponderosa pine has at least some bundles with 3 needles. Fallen cones of both species have missing basal scales. (Small Austrian pines sometimes have needles that are shorter than 4 inches. These trees might be mistaken for Scots pine, but Austrian pine has fat whitened buds and Scots pine has slim red-brown buds.)

IOWA DISTRIBUTION: Planted throughout the state.

Forest and Shade Trees of Iowa (Third Edition), by Peter J. van der Linden and Donald R. Farrar

Gardening in November

Monday, November 13

I've been sorting through my two plastic cartons of CURRENT VEGETABLE SEEDS -- A - O and P - Z. From Arugula to Zucchini, looking first for the sure keepers, the ones that did so well this year and before (if I've grown them before) that I plan to grow them again. Like standard arugula. Greencrop, Jade, and Rocdor beans. Green Comet broccoli. Cashmere cauliflower. Cross Country picklers. Ichiban eggplants. Tres Fin endive. Buttercrunch, Simpson Elite, and purple oak leaf lettuce. Ace and Biscayne peppers. German Giant radishes. Sunburst pattypen. Space flat-leaf spinach. Ruby Swiss chard. Big Beef, Brandywine, and Enchantment tomatoes. Tokyo turnips. Burpee zucchini. Also though I didn't grow it this year, Ambrosia cantaloupe. For taste, abundance, hardiness, and beauty, those are the best I've seen. As for the rest, the sure losers and the possible keeps, it's time to consult the Vegetable Review Committee. For in just a few months, the time will come to be ordering and starting seeds for the spring garden.

Carl H. Klaus, My Vegetable Love: A Journal of a Growing Season

This Week in Iowa Nature

November 16—19: Away from city lights, scan the eastern horizon for the annual Leonid meteor shower, bits of cosmic debris streaking through the night sky.

The Iowa Nature Calendar, by Jean Prior and James Sandrock

Tree of the Week

For the months of November and December, we'll be showcasing pine trees in hopes that you'll see one you might want to help you celebrate the holiday season. Enjoy!

Red Pine, Pinus resinosa Ait.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: Leaves in bundles of 2, slender, 4 to 6 inches long, fairly flexible but breaking readily when bent in two. Cones 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 inches long; basal scales remaining on the twig when the cone falls, leaving a small depression in the base of the cone; scales without prickles. Bark divided into flat plates separated by shallow furrows and covered with red-orange scales.

SIMILAR TREES: Austrian pine has strongly whitened buds and larger cones that retain their basal scales when falling from the twigs. Ponderosa pine has some bundles with 3 needles and much larger cones with sharp prickles.

IOWA DISTRIBUTION: Planted throughout the state but not commonly so in the west.

Forest and Shade Trees of Iowa (Third Edition), by Peter J. van der Linden and Donald R. Farrar

Gardening in November

Wednesday, November 8

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree: where Alph, the sacred river, ran through caverns measureless to man, down to a sunless sea." No wonder we got up early this morning and drove two hours west through rolling fields of pale dried corn and lush green winter wheat, the Black Angus feeding on hillsides in the middle distance, the steely farm ponds nestled in below, the flocks of crows circling overhead in the bright blue sky, scattered with mauve and white clouds. The clouds and the crows and the ponds and the cattle and the corn were still there on the way home, and so were the hillsides of evergreens and the browning oaks and the red-berried hawthorns -- but looking it seemed just then, like fields of chrysanthemums. Maybe it was that we were heading east and the sun was at our back. Or that we were tired and the light was playing tricks with our eyes. But somehow I don't think so.

Carl H. Klaus, My Vegetable Love: A Journal of a Growing Season