Butterfly of the Week

Hayhurst's Scallopwing

Staphylus hayhurstii (Edwards 1870)

Status: Infrequent to rare breeding resident.

Flight: Double brooded, with adults flying from late May to mid June and from mid July to early August. Rarely a partial third brood will occur in early September.

Distinguishing features: This small dark brown skipper has scalloped wing edges in fresh specimens. The fore wing below appears to have a checkered fringe. Unlike its close look-alike the Common Sootywing, Pholisora catyllus, S. hayhurstii rests with wings outspread against the surface of the substrate, which is reminiscent of some moths and metalmarks. It is also a lighter brown than P. catullus. Wingspan: 2.3-2.5 cm.

Distribution and habitat: Map 70. The Hayhurst's Scallopwing appears limited to the southern half of the state. It is most often encountered in sandy floodplain forests of river birch. It has also been sighted in Loess Hills forests and wooded groves adjacent to sand prairies.

Natural history: Most recent sightings of this species are of single individuals. Although its larvae have been reported to eat various members of the goosefoot family, including lamb's quarters, the actual host plants in Iowa remain undocumented. The Scallopwing's scattered occurrence and relatively high level of habitat fidelity suggest that it consumes a related species, which is less ubiquitous in the modern landscape.

Questions: What adaptive benefits are provided by resting with wings open and flat? What host plans are actually utilized by this species in the state? Do populations reside in floodplain forests or simple use these habitats as migrational corridors?

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

Rain Garden Update

Update from the Kuhl House gardens

Plants in our rain garden and prairie garden are making themselves visible above ground right now, thanks to Iowa’s unusually early spring. Everything seems to have survived the mild winter conditions. In fact, the cup plants seedlings runneth over, and we have had to be merciless about digging them up; we also thinned the many new brown-eyed Susan seedlings. Wild geranium and golden Alexander are blooming and the Indigo bush is getting ready to bloom. University Facilities Management staff added fresh compost to the rain garden’s berm, and we weeded and trimmed both gardens while making plans to add a few new grasses and wildflowers.

Plant of the Week

Buffalo grass
Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.
other common names: early mesquite
Buchloe: from Greek bous, meaning “cow,” and cloe, meaning “grass,” a Greek rendition of buffalo grass
Dactyloides: from Greek dactylos, meaning “finger,” and oid, meaning “like,” perhaps for the appearance of the leaves or for a resemblance to Dactylis, the genus of orchardgrass. (This is the only species in the genus.)
Grass family: Poaceae (Gramineae)

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

Butterfly of the Week

Northern Cloudywing

Thorybes pylades (Scudder 1870)

Status: Common breeding resident

Flight: Essentially single brooded, with adults flying from early May to mid August. Most individuals have been collected from the last few days of May through the first week of July.

Distinguishing features: Like T. bathyllus, this species is dark brown, with white spots on the fore wing above and darker brown bands on the hind wings below. It differs by having narrow, oblong fore-wing white spots, darker wing fringes, and hollow (rather than solid) dark brown hind-wing bands. Males possess a costal fold. Wingspan: 3.4-4 cm.

Distribution and habitat: Map 48. This species is relatively frequent in the southern two-thirds of the state. It occurs in a variety of dry, open habitats, including prairies and old fields.

Natural history: The larvae of the Northern Cloudywing have been reported to feed on a variety of legumes, including clover, bush clover, and tick-trefoil. These plants are more common in Iowa than those used by T. bathyllus, so it is not surprising that T. pylades is more common.

Questions: Is the apparent higher frequency of T. pylades populations, compared to T. bathyllus, due to the higher frequency of its larval host plants? How variable are the hyaline fore-wing spot patterns within and between populations?

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

Chris Helzer to speak at Loess Hills Prairie Seminar

Chris Helzer, the author of The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States, will be speaking at the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar on June 2. The attendees at the LHPS include many people who do not attend prairie conferences or the Iowa Prairie Network winter meeting. It includes teachers, natural resource people, community members, landowners, and generally people from western Iowa, but it also draws people from MN, IL, SD, and NE as well as the rest of Iowa.

Susanne Hickey as well as MJ Hatfield will speak on Friday. Saturday evening will include a short talk regarding the Missouri River floods and ecological impacts. The session will end with children joining the adults for a program by Douglas Wood, an environmental musician, who will also do a program at the campfire later that evening. 

For more information about the seminar, please see the NWAEA website: http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/programs_and_services/loess_hills_prairie_seminar/ 

Plant of the Week

Tuberous Indian plantain
Cacalia tuberosa Nutt.
scientific name, 2008: Arnoglossum plantagineum Raf.
other common names: Indian plantain, prairie Indian plantain
Cacalia: from an ancient name, the meaning of which was lost
in antiquity
Tuberosa: from Latin, meaning “tuberous,” referring to the thickened roots
Daisy family: Asteraceae (Compositae)

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

Butterfly of the Week

Southern Cloudywing

Thorybes bathyllus (Smith 1797)
Status: Infrequent breeding resident
Flight: Most likely three broods, with adults flying from early May to mid August. It appears to be most often encountered in early May, from mid June to early July, and in mid August.
Distinguishing features: This species and T. pylades are quite similar. Both are brown with white spots on the upper fore wing and have a series of dark brown markings on the lower hind wing. In T. bathyllus, the dorsal white spots are larger and shaped like an hourglass, the wing fringes tend to be paler, and the dark brown hind-wings bands appear solid rather than hollow. Additionally, males lack the costal fold. Wingspan: 3.5-4 cm.
Distribution and habitat: Map 47. The Southern Cloudywing has been observed sporadically across the southern two-thirds of Iowa, with outlying populations also occurring in the Paleozoic Plateau. It is most frequently encountered in xeric grasslands, including Loess Hills prairies, sand prairies, limestone and sandstone glades, and occasionally in old fields.
Natural history: The larvae of this species favor wild beans and goat's rue, which are most often found in dry, open, and sandy places. One of the most impressive Southern Cloudywing populations occurs on the state's largest goat's-rue population at the Big Sand Preserve in Louisa County. Goat's-rue is quite uncommon in the state and essentially limited to the southeast so it is likely that wild bean constitutes the more frequent larval host.
Questions: How often do T. bathyllus and T. pylades coexist? When both wild bean and goat's-rue are present, which is the preferred larval host?

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