May 4th – 12th. We spotted Indian Pinks first on a rural road in Hancock County and then the following day in the Clarks Hill Wildlife Management Area in McDuffie County. The following weekend we found them again in the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in Jones County. I had seen photographs of this wildflower but had never encountered it in person.
It’s just a fleeting glimpse of red that grabs your attention.
A single stem with opposite leaves and a cluster of flowers at the top.
The arrangement of the flowers from the side, and…
from the top.
The showiest plants were in the Piedmont NWR near Allison Creek.
This plant had branched to produce two flower heads, from the side, and…
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from the top.
A close view of the flower.
It will be interesting to try and follow a couple of plants. According to ‘Name that plant,’ the plant produces ‘irregularly angled’ black seeds with that are catapulted before the seed capsules appear fully ripe.’
Spigelia marilandica (Indian Pink, Woodland Pinkroot, Wormgrass) is native of the United States where it’s found in states southeast of a line from Maryland to Indiana and Illinois and southwest to Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. In Georgia, it’s found in many counties throughout the state but more frequently in north Georgia and in southern counties.
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Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Spigelia marilandica (Indian Pink)
- Name that Plant: Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia
: Spigelia marilandica (Indian Pink, Woodland Pinkroot, Wormgrass)
- Missouri Plants: Spigelia marilandica
Distribution:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Spigelia marilandica (Woodland Pinkroot)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Spigelia marilandica
April 21st, 2012. Continued from here. Just south of GA-83, Starrs Road - the road into the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge – jogs slightly before it continues south the NWR. For some reason, butterflies are attracted to this specific section of road. Some gather here in large numbers. In addition to an American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), a Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis), and many Question Marks (Polygonia interrogationis), there was new butterfly for me, the American Snout (Libytheana carinenta).
There were about 20 t0 30 American Snouts at the jog in Starrs Road. When they flew we could see splashes of brilliant, deep orange. However, as soon as they landed…
they folded their wings so that the orange was no longer visible – replaced by a camouflage of various shades of brown.
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Occasionally some of the orange on the top of the wing was visible if they didn’t fold their wings completely. In each of the previous three photos, the butterflies proboscis may be seen ‘sipping’ minerals from the gravel.
We drove on down to Tribble Fields in the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. There weren’t many here and most behaved like the snouts we’d seen earlier. And then there was one…
that perched on vertical objects like this grass blade rather than on the ground. It flew over to the…
stem of a Venus’ Looking Glass (Triodanis perfoliata) plant where, occasionally, it would flex its wings. Then it was possible to see the pattern on the top of the wing.
Since this sighting, I’ve seen a couple of American Snouts as far north as the boat launch at Dyar Pasture and the Sculls Shoals Experimental Forest in Greene County. This is probably close to the northern end of its range in this part of Georgia. I've never seen this butterfly at home.
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Identification resources: Michael Beohm, West Central Georgia Butterflies:-
Libytheana carinenta (American Snout)
Butterflies and Moths of North America:
- Libytheana carinenta (American Snout)
BugGuide:
- Libytheana carinenta (American Snout) [Wings open] [Wings closed]
Related posts:
- A Gathering Of Butterflies
April 21st, 2012. Just south of GA-83, Starrs Road - the road from GA-83 through the Oconee National Forest into the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge – jogs to the right before it continues south the NWR. (On Google Maps, the road on the left marked Starr Road is the road; the ‘road’ that looks like it continues directly from GA-83 is a power line right-of-way.) For some reason, butterflies are attracted to this specific section of road. Some gather here in large numbers. This day was no different. We found four different butterflies: an American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), a Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis), and many Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) and, a new butterfly for me, the American Snout (Libytheana carinenta) 
American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis). We saw one American Lady also known as American Painted Lady or Painted Beauty.
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Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis). We don’t see Hackberry Emperors very often – although I’ve seen several this year - so it is always a treat to see this one.
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), wings open. By a rough count there were probably 20 to 30 of these. Of course, the challenge is to get a look at the underside of the wing to see if it’s a…
Question Mark or an Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma). Clearly this one is a Question Mark. And then there was the new kid on the block…
Next: American Snout (Libytheana carinenta)
Click on an image to view a closer image
Identification resources:
Michael Beohm, West Central Georgia Butterflies:
- Polygonia interrogationis (Question Mark)
- Vanessa virginiensis (American Lady)
- Asterocampa celtis (Hackberry Emperor)
BugGuide:
- Polygonia interrogationis (Question Mark):
[Wings open] [Wings closed]
- Vanessa virginiensis (American Lady):
[Wings open] [Wings closed]
- Asterocampa celtis (Hackberry Emperor): [Wings open] [Wings closed]
Related posts:
- April: Butterfly Afternoons At Scull Shoals
- Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)
May 11th, 2012. We were happily making our way back down the Oconee River towards the dock at Dyar Pasture when we noticed a number of dark red flowers drifting down the river. They weren’t there when we went up so we came around and went back to take a closer look. They were Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans) flowers. We hadn’t seen them on the way up either. After poking around, finding the vines and a hummingbird that wasn’t posing for photographs today thank you very much, we continued our way downstream.
It was then we saw a flash of bright yellow streak from a snag in the river to a tree on shore. There is only one bird in this area that is as yellow as that - the Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea). So, although it was really getting too dark to take good photographs, we had to turn around for another look.
We settled in upstream of the snag, turned off the motor and drifted. Fortunately, the current was almost nonexistent near this shore. And we watched.
Approaching the snag from the south. This photo was taken on our way up river. The snag in question is just a little to right of the center of the photo. This location is not readily accessible from land; there are no roads in the immediate area.
The snag. From its northern side.
A closer view of the snag. The male is building the nest in the bottom cavity. According to the Cornell ornithology lab, ‘… trees used for nesting and cavities tend to be in trees located near or over standing water.’
The nesting material is visible in the lower section. If you look closely you can see moss.
Then the action began…
The male is entering the cavity.
Having deposited the nesting material, he exited through another hole further up the snag. There must be another hole a little further around the snag because he exited out of sight on one of his passes to the nest. Thankfully though, he used this hole most of the time.
W caught him harvesting moss from the trunk of this tree at the edge of the river.
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Returning to the nest with more material (W got the lower photo). He would land here directly above the nest hole before entering, and then...
hop down to the side of the hole before entering to deposit another load of nest material. He repeated this process several times while we watched.
I've read posts in which the authors have raved about the return or sightings of the Prothonotory warbler. It looked striking but it wasn’t until I saw this bird that I realized why these authors were so excited. Now I ‘get it.’ This bird would look striking at any time, but even more so in the fading daylight.
According to the Cornell Lab of Orthithology, the Prothonotary Warbler is one of only two warblers that build nests in cavities. They may raise 2 to 3 broods each year. We were particularly fortunate to happen upon this nesting site. Know that we know that Prothonotary warblers use this site, we’ll check here from time to time.
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Identification resources:
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotarea citreaRelated post:
- Running The Oconee River: North from Dyar Pasture
Last year, we spotted a Pink Queen (Cleome hassleriana) plant in bloom across Fishing Creek from a trail off the end of Forest Service road FS1245B. W managed to get a reasonable photograph but there was no way that we could get across to get close-up photos. Incidentally, this was probably the final straw contributing to our decision to get a small, shallow draft boat to allow us to get access to remote areas from the water. Anyway. We were making our way up the Oconee River when we spotted plants that were starting to bloom. A couple were at a spot where we could step out of the boat to get closer views.
From a distance. We spotted plants on the shore but couldn't reach them.
A closer view.
The plants we could reach.
In profile. Before going ashore. We still didn’t know if the river bottom was solid or if we’d sink knee-deep in mud as is often the case along these rivers.
It has a compound leaf.
A flower head with no flowers open
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Flower heads with a couple of opened flowers.
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Individual opened flowers. I focused on the petals but it is possible to make out the stamen and stigma in each of the photos.
Cleome hassleriana (Pink Queen) is a native of South America, from Argentina to Brazil. In the United States, it’s found in states east of a line from Wisconsin, Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas with the exception of the New England state. It may also been found in Ontario, Canada.
It’s an unusual find. According to the USDA Plant Database, this plant has been documented in only three counties in Georgia - White, Harris, and Lowndes counties. It hasn’t been officially documented in Greene County The most probable explanation for finding it here was that it was planted in a garden upstream - the Oconee River flows through Athens, Georgia, and seeds floated downstream and took root on this shore line. Although it’s an intriguing flower, I hate to see non-native plants take a hold beyond the domestic garden.
Click on an image to view a larger imageIdentification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Pink Queen (Cleome hassleriana)
Distribution:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Cleome hassleriana (Pink Queen)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Cleome hassleriana
Related post:
- A Lonely Traveler: Pink Queen (Cleome hassleriana)
The flowers usually look like this when we see them during the day.
In the early morning, we might be lucky enough to see them open, but not fully open. Then I stumbled on them... 
