Somewhere in this photo is a Polygonia comma butterfly - an Eastern Comma. You might be thinking 'but it's too cold out for butterflies, there's snow on the ground', and generally you'd be right but the Eastern Comma is one of the unique species that can hibernate through winter and wake up to feed on the earliest of the spring wildflowers!
"Overwintered adults fly and lay eggs in the spring until the end of April. The summer form emerges and flies from May-September, laying eggs that develop into the winter form. These adults appear in September or October and soon seek shelter in which to overwinter."
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The past two months the local fungi has emerged in all it splendor. It's nearing the end of the season and I'd say this year's turn out was pretty great.
Enjoy the gallery of some of the ones I've found then scroll to the bottom to learn more about one of the most common types of fungi and then one of the most unique types I've found this year. Can you even believe it's already been a month? Today's trek was nice, the smell of freshly fallen leaves, the sounds of the crunching underfoot, the birds flitting about as if it were springtime again.
At this point on the Trillium hill, most of the plants have withered away, receeding into their winter home under a blanket of leaves. The majority of the remaining green (besides the evergreen 'christmas' ferns) can be found in the waterleaf, holding on as best it can, and the blue stemmed goldenrod or wand goldenrod which has gone to seed. Once more the pines in the distance are quite visible, as are the fallen trees. What an interesting experiment this has been!
Migration map courtesy of All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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AboutSince 2015 we have been exploring and sharing all the amazing things we’ve found in nature. AuthorEmily is an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist who is most often found out in the woods. Archives
December 2020
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