Eliza Howell Nature Walk

This week I spotted the 35th butterfly species of 2022 in Eliza Howell Park, a little orange and brown/black skipper that I did not recognize immediately. It was nectaring on Chicory. The many species of small skippers are often hard to distinguish (for me), so I photographed it to help with later identification. It was…

While I check to see if there are any migrating warblers present first thing in the morning these days (there are!), most of my focus is on the colorful insects now active in Eliza Howell Park in Detroit. A good place to look is in a patch of flowering Goldenrod. It is a challenge to…

All season long, as long as there are flowers blooming, I can watch bumblebees on any nature walk in Eliza Howell Park. They take both nectar and pollen from a wide variety of flowers. This week many of them are visiting goldenrods, which are beginning to produce abundant blooms.. I am also seeing them on…

By the time butterflies become flying adults, they have already gone through three previous stages: egg, larva/caterpillar, and pupa. In most butterfly species, adult lifespan is short, perhaps two to four weeks. There are exceptions, such as Monarchs that migrate in the fall and Mourning Cloaks that spend the winter in hibernation as adults, but…

Following the intense nature watching months of May, June, and July here in Elza Howell Park, it can be tempting to take a break. And I do in the sense of scheduling very few group nature walks at this time of the year. But the annual cycle does not slow down  and August has its…

Insects are amazing. Some are able to stimulate plants to grow a shelter for their developing larvae. These growths on plants known as galls. After the eggs that are laid on the plant hatch, the larvae start to eat. The chemical compounds they secrete stimulate the unusual plant growth. Since discovering an additional type of…

After more than 2000 nature walks in Eliza Howell Park, I have learned what to expect at various times of the year. It has been both exciting and sarisfying this past week to observe many the same colorful wildflower and butterfly species that I usually see in mid to late July.  It is also true, though,…