Orchids, Trumpets, Passion Fruit, Sawflies, and Oakworms

Thanks to Richard Stickney (Butterfly House Conservatory) I was able to get a look at, and a few photos of, an orchid growing here at the Museum. Richard spotted the leaves of the orchid last winter and had been waiting for the flowers to appear. It’s now in bloom. The orchid is a crane-fly orchid (Tipularia discolor). These orchids show leaves on the forest floor in fall and winter. The leaves disappear as the flowers emerge the following summer. It’s not aRead more
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Oakworms!

One could hardly miss the frass surrounding the willow oak tree next to the vending area in Catch the Wind, it was everywhere. Of course, if you don’t know what frass is then you may not have noticed it, thinking it mulch that had been blown onto the sidewalk by the wind. Well, it wasn’t mulch, it was caterpillar poop, or frass, a sure sign that there are caterpillars above. With this much frass there must be many caterpillars feedingRead more