Night and Day on the Tallgrass Prairie

“It is that range of biodiversity we must care for—the whole thing—rather than just one or two stars.” —David Attenborough

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Good morning from the tallgrass prairie!

Red admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) on purple coneflower (Echinacea pupurea), Ware Field, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Look around you.

Blue-form female blue-fronted dancer (Argia apicalis), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Look closer.

Halloween pennant (Celithemis eponina) on Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Listen.

American goldfinch (Spinis tristis), Crosby’s backyard, Glen Ellyn, IL.

The insect chorus tells you. August has arrived.

Ware Field prairie planting, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Figwort buzzes with activity.

Bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) on late figwort (Scrophularia marilandica), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

The backyard garden hums.

Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) on cut-and-come-again zinnia (Zinnia elegans), Crosby’s backyard, Glen Ellyn, IL.

Summer’s rollercoaster hits the top of the seasonal track. Pauses.

Cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) and Indian hemp/dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), Ware Field, The Morton Arboretum, Wheaton, IL.

Hold your breath. Here we go.

Familiar bluet female damselfly (Enallagama civile) munching an unknown insect, Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Time begins its gradual descent toward autumn.

Rattlesnake master (Erynguim yuccafolium) with blazing star (Liatris sp.), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

The first New England asters are in bloom. Already?

New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae),Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Early goldenrod paints the spaces between white wild indigo, twined with river grapevine.

Early goldenrod (Solidago juncea) and white wild indigo (Baptisia alba) with river grape (Vitis riparia), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

It’s the height of summer.

Great St. John’s wort (Hypericum ascyron), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Let’s hang on to these moments as long as we can.

Stream bluet damselfly (Enallagma exsulans), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Enjoy any day that opens with clean air. Sunshine. Low humidity. We’ll not take them for granted again.

Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Sooner than we think, summer will be behind us.

Halloween pennant (Celithemis epipona), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Seize the day. While summer lasts.

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Sunset arrives on the tallgrass prairie. Most of us head for home.

Springbrook Prairie, Naperville, IL.(2020)

But last week, I spent a few hours on the prairie after dark. Each summer, our band of prairie volunteers sets up a sheet and special lights to join “National Moth Week” in learning what moth species are out and about. “Moths!” you might say. “Aren’t those the bugs that eat our wool sweaters and damage our crops?”

Well, yes, some moth species might. However, moths are much more than pests. Moths are important pollinators. Each moth species may have different host plants, coloration, and lifestyle habits.

Peppered moth (Iridopsis larvaria), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

A few bats flapped around our moth set-up, then flew off into the savanna as darkness descended. The sheet began to ping with tiny insects. Then, an unexpected arrival. Two Vesper Bluet damselflies!

Vesper bluet damselfly (Enallagma vesperum), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Because we monitor and keep data on dragonflies and damselflies during the daylight hours, I had never seen this crepuscular species. It flies in the late afternoons into the evenings, and may mate and oviposit after dark. For this dragonfly chaser, it was like Christmas in July.

And then came the moths.

Some with unusual-shaped wings.

Honest Pero Moth (Pero honestaria), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Pink ones.

Raspberry pyrausta moth (Pyrausta signatalis), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Moths apparently wearing fur ruffs.

One of the grass tubeworm moths (Acrolophus sp.), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Moths like stained glass.

Oak besma moth (Besma quercivoraria), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Moths with racing stripes.

Pink-barred pseudeustrotia moth (Pseudeustrotia carneola), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

So many diverse moths! Each one a work of art. I was reminded of how little we know of the prairie—and the world we live in—as it is after dark.

Mothapalooza on the Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

After a few hours, the moth action was just getting started. But we were bushed. We shook out our sheets, packed our gear and headed home, feeling a little more astonished about the natural world. So much variety! So much to learn. And that’s just moths. Think of all the wildflowers, grasses, insects, birds, lichen, fungi, mosses, and other members of the prairie community out there, waiting for us to discover more about them.

Calico pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

It would take several lifetimes to explore a single prairie—or even—our backyards.

Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

I don’t know how anyone could ever be bored. Do you?

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Sir David Frederick Attenborough (1926-), whose quote opens this blog today, is the host of numerous nature documentaries, including Planet Earth, and the winner of three Emmy Awards for documentary narration. He’s also the author of many books, including A Life on our Planet. He also has approximately 30 species named for him, including a Namibian lizard (Playtisaurus attenboroughi).

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Join Cindy for a Class or Program in late July and August

August 3 — Dragonflies and Daiquiris, hosted by the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. (SOLD OUT) 6:30-8:30 p.m. Call and ask to be put on a waiting list.

August 5 — Nature and Art Retreat, hosted by The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Founders Room, Thornhill Education Center. Cindy will be leading the writing section. There are only a few spots left!  Register here.

August 9 — Interpretation for Master Naturalists, hosted by the Illinois Extension and The Morton Arboretum (via Zoom). (SOLD OUT)

August 11 — The Tallgrass Prairie for Master Naturalists, hosted by the Illinois Extension and The Morton Arboretum (in person). (SOLD OUT)

August 14 — Dragonflies and Damselflies, hosted by MAPS– The Morton Arboretum Photographic Society, Lisle, IL. Free for MAPS members and their guests. Blended online and in-person program. 7-8:30 p.m. For more information and details, visit here.

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A note to my awesome readers: Jeff and I are celebrating our 40th anniversary by visiting 40 natural areas over the summer and fall this year. Please let us know where you think we should head to next. Thanks to everyone who has sent ideas! We’re almost halfway there. So far, we’ve enjoyed hiking, bison viewing, and/or kayaking at the following:

Kayaking at #1 Rock Cut State Park (Rockford, IL); hiking at #2 James “Pate” Philip State Park (Bartlett, IL); #3 Potato Creek State Park (North Liberty, IN); #4 Indiana Dunes State Park (Porter County, IN); #5 Indiana Dunes National Park (Beverly Shores, IN); kayaking Silver Lake at #6 Blackwell Forest Preserve (Wheaton/Warrenville, IL); hiking #7 Belmont Prairie Nature Preserve (Downers Grove, IL), #8 Winfield Mounds Forest Preserve (Winfield, IL), #9 Bluff Spring Fen (Elgin, IL), #10 Herrick Lake Forest Preserve (Wheaton, IL); Jeff’s family reunion at #11 Hawthorn Park (Terre Haute, IN); hiking #12 Turkey Run State Park, Marshall, IN) and at #13 Shades State Park, Waveland, IN; hiking and bison viewing at #14 Kankakee Sands, Morocco, IN; hiking at #15 Hidden Lake Forest Preserve (Downers Grove, IL), #16 Peck Farm Park (Geneva, IL), #17 Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL); and #18 Busse Woods Forest Preserve, Elk Grove, IL.

Tallgrass Prairie Family Ties

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”—William Shakespeare

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June, we hardly knew ya. And now you’re almost over.

White wild indigo (Baptisia alba), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

A sprinkle of droplets. Clouds overhead. Smoke in the air.

Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL.

Not nearly enough rain to replenish the prairies. The prairie hunkers down, conserving its water and its strength. It may be a shorter tallgrass this season.

Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL.

Despite the severe drought, the prairie is full of new beginnings. Flowering spurge blooms.

Flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata), Schulenberg Prairie, Lisle, IL.

Would you believe this prairie wildflower is related to the Christmas poinsettia? Both are in the genus Euphorbia. Who would have thought?

Flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL (2018)

Plants are full of interesting relationships.

Wild petunia springs up in mowed grass paths through the prairie.

Wild petunia (Ruellia humilis) , Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Despite its common name, it’s not really related to the petunias we use as bedding plants. Prairie Moon Nursery tells us that the hanging basket type petunias we buy at the hardware store in the spring are related to tomatoes! Different families. Go figure. But, as Prairie Moon goes on to say of common petunias and wild petunias, “the resemblance is striking!” It sure is. When it comes to who is related to who, I guess we should take it all in stride.

Common water strider (Family Gerridae), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Even the milkweeds, all part of the same family Asclepiadaceae—and many of them coming into bloom this week here—have a lot of different looks. Purple milkweed.

Purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Butterflyweed, or butterfly milkweed as it is sometimes called, is just beginning to carpet the prairies with eye-popping orange.

Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Or, consider the unusual clasping milkweed.

Clasping milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis), Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL.

Looks like it came from outer space, doesn’t it?

Common milkweed is a tough customer. It springs up in unexpected places in my garden, and also, about anywhere it can, including this gravel construction site.

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Sterling, IL.

On the prairies, the whorled milkweed won’t bloom until August. But I can close my eyes and imagine it.

Whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) Nachusa Grasslands, Franklin Grove, IL. (2020)

Anticipation.

Milkweeds are so diverse—and yet similar in some ways. Kissing cousins.

Prairie milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.(2022)

The summer prairie is a family reunion of sorts, with so many fascinating members of the prairie community coming together for a celebration of the season.

Four-lined plant bug (possibly Poecilocapsus lineatus) Schulenber Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

July is on the way. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the prairie.

Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

Who knows who else will show up?

Four-spotted skimmer dragonfly (Libellula quadrimaculata –having a population explosion this year), Schulenberg Prairie, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

But for now, I’m going to soak up these last days of June.

Woodland sunflower (probably Helianthus divaricatus), Schulenberg Prairie Savanna, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL.

It’s been a month full of wonder.

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The opening quote is from William Shakespeare’s play, “Troilus and Cressida” (1602). The line was spoken by the character Ulysses. Shakespeare (1564-1616), an English playwright often known simply as “the Bard,” is responsible for many common phrases and quotes we use in everyday language— without recognizing him as the source. Among the works attributed to him are 39 plays, several narrative poems, and more than 150 sonnets.

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Join Cindy for a program or a class!

Hello Wonderful Readers: I’ll still be blogging, but I’m taking most of the month of July off from teaching and giving programs to continue my adventures with Jeff, visiting 40 natural areas for our 40th anniversary this year. Look for classes and programs to resume at the end of July (see http://www.cindycrosby.com for details), and please let us know where you think we should go next. Thanks to everyone who has sent ideas! So far, we’ve enjoyed hiking and/or kayaking at the following:

#1 Rock Cut State Park (Rockford, IL); #2 James “Pate” Philip State Park (Bartlett, IL); #3 Potato Creek State Park (North Liberty, IN); #4 Indiana Dunes State Park (Porter County, IN); #5 Indiana Dunes National Park (Beverly Shores, IN); and this week –kayaking Silver Lake at #6 Blackwell Forest Preserve (Wheaton/Warrenville, IL). Only 34 to go!