April: Butterfly Afternoons At Scull Shoals

During April, we were treated to a number of different butterflies along a road in the Scull Shoals Experimental Forest in Greene County, Georgia.

The road runs beside a deciduous forest above a swamp. The butterflies feed along the edge of the woods or find minerals in the gravel road.

Eastern Tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas). Superficially, Eastern Tailed-blues look like Spring or Summer Azures. However, they have tiny tails on their wings. After landing, they will open their wings rather than keeping them closed like the Azures do.

Pipevine Swallowtails (Battus philenor). The upper butterfly arrived first; the lower one arrived later. They were getting minerals from the gravel. They danced around each other for a while before the upper one flew off.We don't see these butterflies very often and it was a treat to see two at the same time.

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos). We saw a lot of these this Spring.

Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta). At first I thought this was a Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) but a close inspection of the photograph confirmed that it was a Summer Azure. The azures sit with wings folded and rarely open them for any length of time. The markings on the underside of the wings are lighter on the Summer Azure than on the Spring Azure.

Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus). This was a fortunate catch. I’d photographed a zebra in the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge a few months ago but most have been continuously on the move and rarely settling long enough to photograph. This zebra settled on a muscadine leaf for several minutes before it flew off into the woods.

Most of the butterflies were looking for moisture on leaves and ignoring the…

Hawthorne (Crataegus sp.) bush

American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis). This American Lady worked the hawthorne flowers for quite a while.

We’re beginning to see new butterflies in late April-May. More of these later…
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Identification resources:
Michael Beohm, West Central Georgia Butterflies:
- Eastern Tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas)
- Pipevine Swallowtails (Battus philenor)
- Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)
- Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta)
- Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus)
- American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

Related posts:
- Eastern Tailed-Blue (Cupido comyntas)
- Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)
- Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: Late Winter Surprises (Part 1)
- Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon)

Dragonfly: Spangled Skimmer (Libellula cyanea)

We’ve seen quite a few Spangled Skimmers (Libellula cyanea) this Spring. More than usual it seems. The females appeared first followed, it seemed, a couple of weeks later by the males. The Spangled Skimmers are easy to recognize because of the white cells on leading edge of the front wings.

Females

Greene County, 2012

From a distance

Greene County, 2012

From a slightly different angle

Greene County, 2012

Greene County, 2012

Wilkes County, 2010

Closer views are possible when they become a little more comfortable with our presence. I like the last one for the detail on the eye.

Greene County, 2012

A close-up view of the veining in the wing.

Males

Jasper County, 2011

From a distance, moving...

Greene County, 2012

closer, and…

Greene County, 2012

closer.

Note: Please check out this site: Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of Georgia
I discovered it just recently and it’s my primary reference site now. Great photographs with distribution maps.
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Identification resources:
- Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of Georgia: Spangled Skimmer (Libellula_cyanea)
- BugGuide: Spangled Skimmer (Libellula_cyanea) [Male] [Female]

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)

April 20th, 2012. We were driving back from Hancock County when we encountered this...

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) in the middle of the road. Since we’re among the legions of people who move turtles off the road and out of danger, I walked over to pick it up. Most turtles retreat into their shells.

This turtle didn’t. It seemed more curious than concerned.

It didn’t retreat but watched me.

Even when I picked it up and walked it over to the edge of the road, it kept watching me. I put it down to make its way off into the bush. An interesting encounter compared with most.
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Identification resource:
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory: Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)

First Angularfruit Milkvine (Matelea gonocarpos) Flowers Of The Season

May 5th, 2012. After we’d completed our run from Saxon to Broad yesterday, we headed down to Clark Hill Wildlife Management Area in McDuffie County to look for wildflowers in general and for milkvines (Matelea sp.). We didn’t see many on our run to the end of the road, but spotted a number on the way back out. The leaves on one of the vines we saw had slightly ‘frilled’ margin (which I forgot to photograph) so I walked over to take a closer look. The vines were matelea vines and as I looked more closely I spotted…

a cluster of buds. The buds of the Angularfruit Milkvine are glossy and concave in profile compared with those of the…

Buds. Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis)

Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis). It’s easy to identify Angularfruit Milkvine plants in this area when buds begin to develop.

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Clusters of flowers. We have always found green flowers with purple centers. In some areas, flowers are green with no purple color.

A closer view of one of the flowers. These flowers have a matte surface. Newly opened flowers we have found in Greene County…

have a glossy surface.

Matelea gonocarpos seed pod. If a flower is pollinated, a seed pod will develop in 4 to 5 months.

The seed pod gradually develops a wrinkled surface as the seeds ripen

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A ripe seed pod has split open to release seeds.

The seeds - enlarged many times here – are about ¼-inch in diameter.

An empty seed pod we spotted in the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in April. The ribs of the angularfruit pod are clearly visible. It’s easy to distinguish these pods from the spiny pods of milkvines like the Maroon Carolina Milkweed (Matelea carolinensis).

Matelea gonocarpos is known as the Angularfruit Milkvine or Eastern Anglepod. It is native to the United States where it may be found from Maryland to Illinois, west to Kansas and south to Texas. In Georgia, it has been documented in several counties not including Greene or Jones counties where we have found it; it occurs in several sites in the Piedmont NWR.

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) lists Matelea gonocarpos and Matelea gonocarpa as accepted names but lists Matelea gonocarpos with the common name Angularfruit Milkvine. Both names appear in different plant lists.
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Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Matelea gonocarpa (Angularfruit milkvine)
- Name that Plant. Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Matalea gonocarpos (Eastern Anglepod)
- Missouri plants: Matelea gonocarpa

Distribution:
- USDA Plants Database: Matelea gonocarpos (Angularfruit Milkvine)

Related Posts:
- Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis)
- Zen: Angularfruit milkvine (Matelea gonocarpa)

Oldfield Milkvine (Matelea decipiens)

May 5th, 2012. We made another run from Saxon to Broad yesterday. We were on the lookout for milkvines (Matalea sp.). We saw a lot of vines but only one with maroon flowers and another, an Angularfruit Milkvine (Matalea gonocarpos) setting buds.

It was the former plant that really caught out attention. Unfortunately, this plant had almost finished blooming; there were only a couple of unopened buds on each cluster. Although the flowers were not at their best, they are worth documenting. Since most of the flowers were in the shade we had to use artificial light or flash to photograph them.

A cluster of blooms photographed with flash. The petals appear brown under this light; in reality they are deep maroon. The petals of these flowers were longer than those of the…

Maroon Carolina Milkweed (Matelea carolinensis): Jones County, Georgia

Maroon Carolina MIlkvine (Matelea carolinensis) that we photographed in the Piedmont NWR in Jones County, Georgia a few weeks ago.

A closer view of one of the flowers. The flowers were ‘cup-shaped’ - the petals curved upwards rather than laterally from the center as do the Maroon Carolina Milkvine flowers above.

Another cluster of flowers photographed with artificial light.

A closer view of one of these flowers. In addition to having long petals, the petals show some twisting.

A cluster of three flowers showing both the long petals and some twisting.

A view from the side showing the ‘cupping’ of the petals and a bud.

A close-up view of an individual flower.

These photographs were taken of plants by the roadside. W walked back into the woods and found more plants that had finished blooming. We plan to return next year during the optimal blooming period to photograph these plants again.

We have identified this vine as Matalea decipiens which is known as the Oldfield Milkvine, Deceptive Spinypod, Climbing Milkweed, Angle-pod, or Climbing Red Milkweed. It is native to the United States where it may be found from Maryland to Illinois and Kansas and south to Texas. It hasn’t been documented in Mississippi, Alabama or Florida. In Georgia, it has only been officially documented in Banks and Clarke counties. Clearly, Alan Cressler has documented it in Catoosa County, Georgia. As with Matalea flavidula, this species is distributed more widely than officially documented.
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Identification resources:
Name that Plant. Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia:
- Matelea decipiens (Deceptive Spinypod)
- Matelea carolinensis (Carolina Spinypod, Climbing Milkweed)
- Comparison. M. gonocarpos, M. decipiens, M. carolinensis, M. flavidula
Missouri plants: Matelea decipiens
Alan Cressler: Matelea decipiens
J. Pippen, Duke University: Matelea decipiens (Oldfield Milkvine, Deceptive Spinypod)

Distribution:
- USDA Plants Database: Matelea decipiens (Oldfield Milkvine)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Matelea decipiens

Related Post:
- Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis)

It’s That Time Of Year Again: Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

He turns up every year at about this time. Perched above a window by the patio. He arrives a couple of weeks before the breeding season. Then, about now, the breeding season starts. It’s not unusual to find him, and his friends, at various locations around…

Water container garden on the patio. Just revving up for the evening. Then…

at full throttle. Luckily you can’t hear him. He’s a raucous little fellow; you can hear his call here. (In this, and the preceding photo, you can just see the bright yellow color on the inside of the hind leg that is a diagnostic characteristic for identifying Hyla chrysoscelis).

Sometimes he calls from above the window too.

They breed roughly from May to July. It’s not unusual to find 1 to 2 dozen on the patio at the height of the breeding season. A loud chorus e-v-e-r-y night. Even more so, and louder, after it rains. They like shallow water. We like to joke that they’d be happy with a saucer of water. After the breeding season, you’re lucky to even see them again until the next breeding season. I was lucky enough to find one in September…

in his normal pose on a leaf stem but also...

spread-eagle on a leaf.

There are two gray treefrogs in the United States, the Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) and Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis). Hyla chrysoscelis is distributed more widely in the eastern United States than is Hyla versicolor; Hyla versicolor is not found in Georgia. An interesting piece of trivia about these frogs is the fact that Hyla versicolor has twice the number of chromosomes than does Hyla chrysoscelis.

Hyla chrysoscelis may cross-breed with another treefrog, Hyla avivoca (Birdvoice Treefrog), in Georgia. The call of the H. crysoscelis x H. avivoca frog is similar to, but softer than that of Hyla chrysoscelis. We’ve had the good fortune to have seen and heard all of these frogs.
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Identification resources:
W. W. Knapp: Frogs and Toads of Georgia
- Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope’s Gray Treefrog)
- Hyla avivoca (Birdvoice Treefrog)

Distribution:
Amphibiaweb:
- Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope’s Gray Treefrog)
- Hyla versicolor (Eastern Gray Treefrog)
- Hyla avivoca (Birdvoice Treefrog)

Related post:
- Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Matelea carolinensis: Nonpigmented Flowers

April 20th – April 27th, 2012. We found Matelea carolinensis (Maroon Carolina Milkvine) and Matelea flavidula (Yellow Carolina Milkvine) in both Hancock and Jones counties within a day of each other.

At each location, it was uncanny that the petals of M. flavidula resembled those of M. carolinensis in shape and size. In addition, we found vines of M. flavidula, climbing the same stems intertwined with vines of M. carolinensis in both locations. At one point, I actually became a little paranoid – like you do when you have a find that’s too good to be true - that the M. flavidula flowers might just be a nonpigmented variant of M. carolinensis. Particularly since the ‘Name that Plant’ website shows a photograph of a non-pigmented variant. I actually unwound a couple of vines a short way to verify that the maroon and green flowers weren’t on the same vine; they weren’t.

Among the matelea vines at the first Hancock County site, we stumbled across a single vine with green flowers that were quite different from those of the M. flavidula plants we’d found.

The vine, with a cluster of flowers

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Closer views of the flower clusters

A close view of the cluster of flowers. Even at this distance it’s clear that the petals have tinges of purple on the upper side and look distinctly more opaque than those of M. flavidula. In addition the corona (center) of the flower is clearly deep purple like that of M. carolinensis and not yellow like M. flavidula.

The under side of the petals. The purple color is quite clear.

A close up of an individual flower. There is some suggestion of a reticular pattern on the petals but the petals of these flowers are quite distinct from those of M. flavidula.

Based on all of these observations, we have now found pigmented and non-pigmented M. carolinensis plants as well as plants of M. flavidula plants. The only thing we haven’t seen yet is a hybrid M. carolinensis x M. flavidula flower. We’ll be on the lookout for one of these.
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Identification resources:
Alan Cressler: Matelea flavidula
- Houston county: Short petal and long petal
- Cook County
Alan Cressler: Hybrid: M. carolinensis x M. flavidula
- Houston County
Name that Plant. Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia:
- Matelea carolinensis (Carolina Spinypod, Climbing Milkweed)
- Matelea carolinensis (Carolina Spinypod, Climbing Milkweed) - nonpigmented flowers
- Matelea flavidula (Yellow Spinypod)

Distribution:
USDA Plants Database:
- Matelea carolinensis (Maroon Carolina Milkvine)
- Matelea flavidula (Yellow Carolina Milkvine)
University of North Carolina Herbarium:
- Matelea flavidula

Related Posts:
- Matelea flavidula: Fact, Not Fiction
- Jones County, Georgia: Yellow Carolina Milkvine (Matelea flavidula)
- Hancock County, Georgia: Yellow Carolina Milkvine (Matelea flavidula)
- Maroon Carolina Milkvine (Matelea carolinensis)