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

Plant of the Week

Swamp milkweed
Asclepias incarnata L.
other common names: rose milkweed, silkweed, water nerve root, white Indian hemp
Asclepias: from the name of the Greek god of healing and medicine
Incarnata: from Latin, for “flesh,” referring to the flesh-colored flowers
Milkweed family: Asclepiadaceae

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

Finding Projectile Points

Collecting artifacts is an enjoyable hobby; follow these common-sense guidelines provided by the Office of the State Archeologist at the University of Iowa. Always get landowner permission before collecting. It is illegal to collect on public lands without a permit. Surface collect; do not try to excavate a site. Identify, catalog, and label your finds and record site locations with the OSA. The OSA can help you document, process, manage, and care for your collection. DO not collect human remains. All prehistoric and modern cemeteries and burial sites in Iowa are protected by state and federal law. Report any human remains or burial sites you encounter with the OSA. Avoid buying and selling artifacts. This activity encourages looting and the loss of our nonrenewable cultural heritage. Many items on the market today are recently made copies.

A Guide to Projectile Points of Iowa

Part 2: Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, Woodland, and Late Prehistoric Points

by Joseph Tiffany, photographs by Christian A. Driver

Tree of the Week

American Plum, Prunus Americana Marsh.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: Leaves simple, alternate, oval to oblong-oval, 2 to 4 inches long with petioles ½ to ¾ inch long, sharply toothed; petioles with or without glands; veins forming a network near the margins. Winter tqigs slender to moderate, often thorny, gray or red-brown; leaf scars small, half-round, with 3 bundle scars. Buds ovoid, 1/16 to ¼ (usually about 1/8) inch long, the terminal absent, often paired (side by side) above the lead scares; scales about 6, glabrous, red or reddish brown. Flowers perfect, regular, showy, in umbellike cluster of 2 to 5, appearing with or shortly before the leaves in spring; petals 5, white, nearly round. Fruit a drupe about 1 inch in diameter, red or light purple when ripe. Bark brown or dark gray, scaly.

SIMILAR TREES: Cherries have nonthorny twigs, terminal buds, flowers in racemes, and much smaller fruits. In winter, distinguished from other small, thorny trees by its lack of a terminal bud and its frequently paired lateral buds.

IOWA DISTRIBUTION: Native throughout the state.

Forest and Shade Trees of Iowa by Peter J. van der Linden and Donald R. Farrar