Moth fun Facts

By Beth Burke | Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 10:13 AM

The female Queen Alexandra butterfly, from Papua New Guinea is the largest in the world with a wing span of 26cm.

The Atlas moth, which is a silk moth is often mistaken for a bat when it is flying.

The Sphinx moth is the fastest moth in the world at speeds of 30 miles per hour. the Monarch is the fastest butterfly, with speeds of 17 miles per hour.

A moth heats up its flight muscles by vibrating their wings.

Cecropia moths have the ability to smell his mate up to 7 mile away by using its feathery antennae.

The Morgan’s Sphinx Moth from Madagascar has a proboscis of 14 inches long.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment More: Butterflies

Butterflies, Moths and Skippers

By Beth Burke | Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 11:06 AM

The insects butterflies, moths and skippers belong to the Order Lepidoptera, derived from the Greek words meaning scale-winged, this refers to the thousands of scales that create the distinctive patterns and colors on the insect’s wing. There are approximately 170,000 known species of Lepidoptera; 17,000 of these species are the butterflies, 4,000 are skippers and the rest are moths. There are 700 species native to North America and 130 species in Ohio.

How do you know the difference between the three? Butterflies have antennae with club like ends, most fly during the day, hold their wings upright at rest and the pupa is often called a chrysalis. Moths have feathery antennae, most fly at might the rest with their wings flat and the pupa stage is called a cocoon. The skippers are often considered an intermediate between butterflies and moths. They have hairy bodies like a moth but a hooked antennae that is similar to a butterfly. The pupa stage is often called a chrysalis.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment More: Butterflies

Butterflies in Winter

By Beth Burke | Tuesday, December 23, 2008, 10:47 AM

What will the winter weather mean to a butterfly? Like most animals the butterfly is capable of withstanding the winter cold. It is amazing how nature protects these little creatures. The real trouble happens when the weather has great shifts in temperature. All the butterflies that overwinter in our area will find places to protect themselves from the cold. The butterflies that migrate are the ones that sometimes have difficultly. When temperatures are extremely cold or wet in the areas they spend the winter they may suffer some population losses. Several years ago the over wintering locations in Mexico had freezing temperatures. This caused several thousand butterflies to be killed. The over all population was greatly decreased for the next few seasons. The Monarchs have come back from that decrease. What is really vital for the butterflies is to have a good habitat to come back to. Nature will keep populations in check and as long as the summer homes are still available nature will be sure to provide a means for the populations to regain ground. As humans it’s our responsibility to care for these habitats

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment More: Butterflies

CBC Adventure in the Upper Twin Creek Conservation Area

By Doug Horvath | Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 10:54 AM

On the 16th we helped out with the Audubon Miami Valley’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) which is an effort to count as many birds within a 15 mile diameter circle by various groups in one day. The day started out early, 8 AM and cold 18 degrees Fahrenheit with a bit of wind. As we walked into our part of the count circle from the sledding hill at Germantown MetroPark, we began seeing lots of tree sparrows hiding in the tall prairie grasses along Manning Rd. Many of them fluttered up and down in the tall Indian Grass making identification and counting numbers tricky. We did what we could and moved on across Anthony Rd Bridge over the Twin Creek and then along the last gravel road left in Montgomery County past the mouth of Tom’s Run and into the Upper Twin Creek Conservation Area. Along the way we passed through a large flock of Robins eating hackberries and sitting along the creek We picked up a fox sparrow and various woodpeckers. We kept an eye out to the far farm field horizons to see if a flock of turkey could be seen but no luck. As we finished our 4 hr 2.5 mile walk we passed a last mixed flock of chickadees who brought along a brown creeper and several golden crowned kinglets and then we spotted a flock of cedar waxwings who cooperated nicely by have more join their group in twos and threes for easy counting. The hike was enjoyed by all and Daryl Michael will tally all the counts in this circle for reporting to this Audubon’s citizen science effort. We will list our sightings 12 canada goose, 4 red-tailed hawk, 50 morning dove, 2 belted kingfisher,; 3 red bellied, 5 downy, and 2 pileated woodpeckers; 7 blue jay, 4 crow, 29 carolina chickadee, 16 tufted titmouse, 7 white breasted nuthatch, 1 brown creeper, 1carolina wren, 5 golden crowned kinglet, 112 robin, 23 cedar waxwing, 15 cardinal, 1 eastern towhee; 11 tree, 1 fox, 8 song and 1 white crowned sparrows; 6 dark eyed junco, 1 purple finch, and 11 goldfinch. We saw 26 species in total even missing some common ones on that cold day.

You can still join in a CBC this year, it is fun. The local Dayton Audubon Society will hold their 84th DAS Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, December 28. http://www.dayton.net/audubon or Contact for more information Southwest Ohio Rare Bird Alert 937-640-BIRD (2473) Includes updated information on DAS activities. To report unusual sightings, call Betty Berry at 937-836-3022, or Ralph Dennler at 937-294-5086

Photos of Bobbi and Doug Loman and Jerry Lamb conducting our count and then warming up at the Germantown MetroPark Nature Center with a cup of hot coco.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment More: Birds

Color of a Wing

By Beth Burke | Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 01:37 PM

The color of a butterfly wing may have several different purposes. The color may serve as an advertisement to other butterflies. This color helps them identify their own species. This is very useful when looking for a mate. The bright colors may also serve as a warning to predators. It could be telling the predator that this butterfly is bad tasting. Some butterflies may use the color to mimic the bad tasting butterflies to help protect themselves. Of color can also serve as a way to camouflage the butterfly and help it to blend in to its surroundings.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment More: Butterflies

Butterfly Books

By Beth Burke | Friday, December 12, 2008, 09:08 AM

Still looking for some last minute gifts? Butterfly Books make great holiday gifts. Here are some suggestions for the nature lovers on your list. “The Lifecycle of Butterflies” by Judi Burris and Judi Burris. This is a great book for children as well as adults. The photos are wonderful. A nice field guide would be Jaret Daniel’s “Butterflies of Ohio”. “Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America” is very extensive. “Caterpillars of Eastern North America” by David L. Wagner would be a great field guide as well. There are many to choose from so have fun looking.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment More: Butterflies

Why do People Like Butterflies?

By Beth Burke | Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 11:23 AM

I wonder why people are so drawn to butterflies. I guess there are many reasons but I wonder what you readers think. Why do you like butterflies? Is there just one reason or are there many? Let me know what you think.

Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment More: Butterflies