Check Yourself

... for ticks, that is. Just because it is almost November doesn't mean that the ticks are done for the season. I had become complacent and had stopped routinely checking for ticks after being outside, until recently when we found a few engorged ticks on Bootypants.

This tick is in the genus Ixodes, and I'm pretty sure it is a Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis). Deer Ticks (also called Black-legged Ticks) are notorious for spreading Lyme disease. After finding several of these, I have found a few unengorged adults as well.

The photograph above is an adult female, while that below is an adult male. I found the adult female crawling up my pants just yesterday after walking our trails.

You may recall two posts (here and here) earlier this season on the tick count contest that Lindsay, Bootypants, and I were having this year. I will provide an update once I'm pretty sure we are done with ticks for the year.

Birding at Indiana Dunes State Park

It had been a while since Lindsay and I had gone birding. We both get so busy during the summer that most of our birding is done from Fall to Spring. This past Saturday, the South Bend-Elkhart Audubon Society took a birding field trip to Indiana Dunes State Park.


The photograph above shows part of the group on the beach looking at gulls on Lake Michigan. Our first birds of the day were seen here, including a Winter Wren hanging out on excavating equipment. We also saw Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls at this location.


Here, the group is on a platform overlooking a buttonbush marsh near the Wilson Shelter. We saw an Eastern Phoebe perched and continuously pumping its tail, Ruby-crowned Kinglets hunkered down in the buttonbush, and Red-headed Woodpeckers flying back and forth over the marsh. I also heard an Eastern Bluebird at this location.

We also did some birding in the oak savanna and forested dunes. Red-headed Woodpeckers were present in abundance. Other birds of note in the wooded portions include Brown Creepers, a Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Eastern Towhees, and White-throated Sparrows.

Below is our list for the day.

Canada Goose
Wood Duck

Mallard

Red-shouldered Hawk

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Eastern Phoebe

Blue Jay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Winter Wren

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Eastern Bluebird

American Robin

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Eastern Towhee

White-throated Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Northern Cardinal

Red-winged Blackbird

Purple Finch

American Goldfinch

It's A Dirty Job, But Someone's Got To Do It

Lindsay and I let the weeds in our vegetable garden get a little out of control this year. I'm amazed at how productive our garden was, given that Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium album), Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), and Giant Foxtail (Setaria faberi) were more prevalent than the broccoli, corn, tomatoes, etc. that we planted. This is a bit embarrassing, but below is a photo of how our garden looked as of yesterday.


Somebody has got to clean up this mess. That's why we've called on the goats from Prairie Winds Farm to help us out.

Here they are... three Fainting Goats and two Nigerian Dwarf Goats. We are borrowing these gluttonous grazers and plan to keep them for about a month, until the water in their trough begins to freeze. Hopefully by that time they will have devoured our weeds and fertilized the garden so that it's ready to go for next year. They really seem to enjoy broccoli; they arrived yesterday in the late afternoon, and by this morning, only the stems remained.

Be sure to check out the Prairie Winds Farm blog by clicking here.

A Late Season Caterpillar

Last week at a site in Lake County, Indiana, Tony Troche and I observed a very interesting caterpillar climbing on a stem of Flat-topped Aster (Aster umbellatus). I actually thought that the caterpillar was moving up the stem, but in fact, it is moving down. The humped eighth abdominal segment is one of the identifying characters for this colorful caterpillar.


This is the larval stage of a Brown-hooded Owlet (Cucullia convexipennis), also known as the Brown-bordered Owlet and the Brown-bordered Cucullia. An excellent description of this caterpillar can be found in Caterpillars of Eastern North America: "Each individual appears as if it were hand-painted and then glazed." Brown-hooded Owlets are found from Nova Scotia south to Georgia, and west to Minnesota and Missouri. Host plants for this species include asters (Aster spp.) and goldenrods (Solidago spp.).

A photo and description of the Brown-hooded Owlet moth can be found at nearctica.com.

Our New Pet

Don't worry... Bootypants is still doing just fine...

But now, we've got another furry friend at our house. For at least the past week, this Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia, = Ecpantheria scribonia) caterpillar has been in and around our garage. Giant Leopard Moths are also known as Great Leopard Moths and Eyed Tiger Moths. This species is found in forests throughout the eastern half of the United States and into southern Canada. Giant Leopard Moth larvae overwinter as caterpillars, often hidden under loose bark on a tree, under a log, or in leaf litter. They are polyphagous, meaning that they will eat a variety of food; they are known to feed on oak, willow, banana, orange, cherry, cabbage, dandelion, sunflower, plantain, and violet. They typically stay hidden during the day and feed at night.

At first glance, this caterpillar looks like a large woolly bear caterpillar lacking the brown central section. Its body is mostly black, covered by stiff, black bristles. However, when threatened, the Giant Leopard Moth caterpillar rolls into a ball, exposing red intersegmental rings and spiracles (small openings on the body of the caterpillar that allow air to enter the trachea). This red color warns potential predators that this caterpillar may be poisonous. While its bristles are prickly, this species supposedly does not sting.

While the caterpillar is interesting, take a look at the moth it will become...

This Giant Leopard Moth photograph is from Wikipedia. What a gorgeous moth! With a wingspan of up to 9cm, this is a large moth. We haven't seen this moth on our property, but will definitely watch for them next year.

Old Man's Beard

Check out this crazy fungus species that I photographed at Miller Woods in Lake County, Indiana...


This edible mushroom is called Old Man's Beard (Hericium erinaceus), and is also known as Lion's Mane, Tooth Fungus, Hedgehog Mushroom, and Pom Pom Mushroom. For more information and a couple of additional photos, visit my post at Get Your Botany On!.

Thanks to Dr. Don Ruch for verification of my identification of this odd fungus.

Best Wishes, Commander

For the past nine years, I have had the privelege of working with one of the most dedicated and respectful coworkers that anyone could ever ask for. Today marked the official last day for Andrew (The Commander) Blackburn at JFNew, as Andrew has decided to move on to the next phase of his career by working for the Regulatory Branch of the Chicago District Corps of Engineers.


Andrew worked in our Illinois office, so we didn't get to work together on projects as much as I would have liked (probably up to 10 times per year), but I always looked forward to the chance to work with him. Andrew would work tirelessly through unbearable heat and humidity that would have most biologists retreating to the air conditioned office, and downpoors that would cause some people to start building arks. Often times when we would have fieldwork together, Andrew would have already put in an hour or two in the office before we met up in the field. Amazingly, Andrew never complained. He will truly be missed.

Good luck, Andrew, as you begin your career with the Corps!

A Rare Find At Houghton Lake

In 2006, The Nature Conservancy of Indiana acquired a fantastic property in Marshall County. The property, known as Houghton Lake, consists of a fen surrounding a lake that has become alkaline as a result of the calcareous groundwater flowing through the surrounding soil and into a basin. I had visited this property in the past, before it was purchased by TNC, and had assisted with compiling a plant species list that boasts over 180 vascular plant species.

Houghton Lake and surrounding fen

The soil in the fen consists of marl, which is a mix of clay and calcium carbonate that is gray in color and often speckled with remnants of shells. Surrounding this marly substrate at a slightly higher elevation is alkaline peat soil. Typical fen species can be found growing in both of these soils, but the fen itself was likely historically found mostly in the mucky soils surrounding the marl. The marl footprint most likely outlines the historical area of Houghton Lake. As the land was drained for agricultural use, the lake level dropped, exposing marl soils that were then colonized by the encroaching fen species.

Marl

In addition to the existing 100+ acres of lake and fen, approximately 90 acres of lower quality natural land and 180 acres of agricultural fields surrounding the fen were purchased by TNC. Stuart Orr, North Central Indiana Land Steward for TNC, is tasked with restoring the degraded and agricultural lands to a more natural state. This past Saturday, Stuart held a work day at Houghton Lake to collect seed to be installed in the area now in agicultural production after subsurface drainage tiles have been removed and ditches have been plugged or filled and a more natural hydrologic regime has been restored. The goal is to restore sedge meadow, wet prairie, and even fen in this area where these communities were present prior to being drained for agricultural use. On Saturday, our target species for collection was Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata). This member of the Asteraceae has a dense terminal spike of discoid flower heads (there are no ray flowers). It is most commonly found in wet prairies, mesic prairies, and sedge meadows throughout eastern North America.

Dense Blazing Star in bloom in a Marshall County, Indiana fen, July 2004

Given my busy schedule, I don't get to attend many work days (in fact, I think this was my first TNC work day), but helping out with these is something that I feel strongly that everyone who visits and enjoys our natural areas should make time to do. I am involved with several local conservation organizations who all hold numerous work days of their own throughout the year, and I try to attend at least one or two of these events per year. This isn't much, but every little bit helps. Site stewards have very limited staff and rely heavily on volunteer work to accomplish their enormous management goals, and they should be commended for the grueling work that they do. It isn't fair to them or to our natural areas to simply visit these sites for pure enjoyment without giving a little back. I encourage everyone to assist these conservation organizations with their management objectives as much as possible. This is also a great way to have a chance to see these preserves and learn more about the plants and animals that call them home.

Dense Blazing Star in seed

In the four or so hours that we were at the site, our small group collected what Stuart thought would amount to 5 pounds of Dense Blazing Star seed once the seed was dried and separated from the stems, involucres, and chaff.

Seed collecting

Near the end of the work day, I had some time to take a few photos of plants and insects at the preserve. A species that used to be dominant in the fen but that has been reduced a bit by management burns is Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda). As populations of this low shrub, which is in the family Rosaceae, were thinned by fire, habitat for herbaceous fen species that don't deal well with competition was restored. White Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium candidum) in particular has responded well to the prescribed burns. While Shrubby Cinquefoil is a native and desirable fen species, it can suppress the growth of other desirable fen species in the absence of periodic disturbances such as fire or flooding.

Shrubby Cinquefoil

Another characteristic shrubby fen species is Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix). Along with dogwoods (Cornus spp.) and willows (Salix spp.), this native shrub can often encroach on fens, leading to shrub-carr communities when fire or flooding is removed from the system. In the fall, the drooping white berries contrast sharply with the compound crimson leaves, making this member of the Anacardiaceae far more beautiful than it is ever given credit. For some reason, and I assume that it is the dermititis caused by contact with Poison Sumac, this species is considered a noxious weed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

Poison Sumac

Many people pigeonhole Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) as a tallgrass prairie species. While this member of the Poaceae is a dominant component of mesic prairies, Big Bluestem is also a characteristic species of alkaline fens. It can be found throughout most of the eastern two-thirds of North America, growing up to 8 feet tall.

Big Bluestem

Swamp Thistle (Cirsium muticum) is a member of the Asteraceae that is found throughout the eastern half of North America in wet prairies, fens, bogs, marshes, and swamps. With appressed phyllaries that sometimes have short apical spines, this is a thistle that does not poke you when you attempt to touch the sticky involucre. The specific epithet muticum means blunt and without a point, referring to the shape of the phyllaries.

Swamp Thistle

An easily overlooked composite (Asteraceae) of fens, wet prairies, tallgrass prairies, and streambanks is Purple Rattlesnakeroot (Prenanthes racemosa). Found in southern Canada and the northern half of the United States (except the northwest), Purple Rattlesnakeroot has smooth stems from the base to the middle of the plant (but the stems are pubescent above). The similar Rough Rattlesnakeroot (Prenanthes aspera) is found in drier habitats, has stems that are pubescent throughout, and has cream to yellow-colored ray corollas.

Purple Rattlesnakeroot

In a recent post about another TNC fen property, I included photographs of Lesser Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis procera). The similar Greater Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) grows at Houghton Lake in the drier portions of the fen. This member of the Gentianaceae has wider leaves than Lesser Fringed Gentian, and the petals are fringed both along the sides and along the apex. The flowers of Greater Fringed Gentian also seem to be a deeper blue than those of Lesser Fringed Gentian. Greater Fringed Gentian is found mostly in states and provinces surrounding the Great Lakes, but it is also known from the northeastern and southeastern United States, North Dakota, Quebec, and Manitoba.

Greater Fringed Gentian

Meadow Spikemoss (Selaginella apoda) and Hidden Spikemoss (Selaginella eclipes) are two very similar species in the Selaginellaceae. Both are easily overlooked in wet areas, as they often are well hidden beneath dense herbaceous vegetation. They also look a lot like mosses in the genus Mnium. Meadow Spikemoss is found in swamps, meadows, marshes, pastures, damp lawns, open woods, and streambanks, in basic to acidic conditions. Hidden Spikemoss is found in moist to wet calcareous areas, swamps, meadows, pastures, and open woods, but rarely on rock. I believe that the plant in the photograph below, taken at Houghton Lake, shows Hidden Spikemoss, which has median leaves with long acuminate tips (versus acute tips in Meadow Spikemoss).

Hidden Spikemoss

The best I can tell, the meadow katydid in the photograph below is a Short-winged Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus brevipennis), a common species of the eastern United States. This species usually has short wings (as the common name suggests) and has a dark brown band that runs from the top of the head down the back. This individual is a female, as evidenced by the long ovipositor.

Short-winged Meadow Katydid

The singing insect below is what I believe to be a Round-tipped Conehead (Neoconocephalus retusus). This species has a shorter, rounder cone than most other members of this genus, and there is a narrow black line across the front of the cone (that can be seen if you click on the photograph to enlarge it). The song of the Round-tipped Conehead is very intriguing, as it consists of a long, raspy buzz that sounds like an electric short.

Round-tipped Conehead

Finally, at the end of the day, we happened upon a very interesting moth hanging out on one of the blazing star inflorescences we had collected. Stuart guessed that maybe it was a Blazing Star Borer Moth (Papaipema beeriana). When I got home and downloaded my photos, I compared this photograph with those in my books and online, and it appeared that Stuart's guess was correct. We've sent several photos to moth and Papaipema experts, and they agree that in fact this is the fairly rare Blazing Star Borer Moth. If you only ever click on one photo on our blog, you have to click on this one and look at the eyes of this moth. Amazing! As the common name suggests, the Blazing Star Borer Moth is dependent upon blazing star for survival of the species. Females deposit eggs in the soil at the base of a blazing star plant in the fall. When the eggs hatch in the spring, the larvae climb to the base of the blazing star plant and bore into the stem to feed. In late summer, the larvae burrow into the soil and pupate prior to metamorphosis into an adult moth.

Blazing Star Borer Moth

So there you have it... if I hadn't attended this work day, I wouldn't have had the chance to see these interesting plants and insects or to learn about this rare moth. This is incentive enough for me to attend more work days.

Such Gracious Hosts

The milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) are an astonishing group of plants. The eighty-some species, varieties, and subspecies known to occur within the United States have flowers of nearly every color of the rainbow, ranging from magenta to red to pink to orange to yellow to green to white to cream. The genus is widespread, as at least one member of the genus is known from the flora of 49 of the 50 United States (there are no species of Asclepias in Alaska). The flower structure is quite unique, with horns and hoods in addition to petals and sepals. A few of our favorite milkweed photos from our collection are shown below.

Prairie Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii), Chicago, Illinois

Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), Boulder, Colorado

Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens), LaPorte, Indiana

Fewflower Milkweed (Asclepias lanceolata), Orlando, Florida

Largeflower Milkweed (Asclepias connivens), Orlando, Florida

In addition to their beauty and botanical intrigue, milkweeds also play a very important ecological role. Most people are familiar with the link between milkweed and the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). A female Monarch lays eggs only on milkweed plants. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed exclusively on milkweed. Once they are adults, Monarch butterflies feed on nectar from plants in a variety of genera, one of those being, you guessed it, Asclepias. Because the milky sap of milkweed plants is toxic and bitter, the caterpillars that eat the foliage of milkweed plants are also toxic and bitter. In fact, the cardiac glycosides present in milkweed sap actually bioaccumulate in the caterpillar, causing the toxicity levels in the caterpillar to be greater than those in the milkweed leaves. The toxins and bad taste acquired as a caterpillar carries into the adult stage of the insect. Therefore, milkweed does not only nourish the Monarch caterpillars, but it also helps to protect them as they go through their entire life cycle.

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) on Field Thistle (Cirsium discolor)

Monarch caterpillar feeding on Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

But that's nothing. The Monarch is the charismatic "poster child" for the ecological value of milkweeds (and host plants in general), but Patrick Dailey of Lewis and Clark Community College did a study in which he found 456 other insect species using milkweed plants! With all of the attention given to Monarchs, the rest of these species can easily be overlooked and underappreciated. Below are five insects that rely on milkweeds to the point that they even have "milkweed" in their common names.

Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar (Euchaetes egle) on Common Milkweed

The Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar (Euchaetes egle) is the larval stage of the Milkweed Tussock Moth. Groups of individuals of this caterpillar, which are found throughout the eastern half of North America, have been known to defoliate milkweed and dogbane (Apocynum spp.) plants late in the year. Bats, which are able to consume Milkweed Tussock Moths without experiencing a bitter taste, are a major predator of this species. To avoid being eaten by these bats, Milkweed Tussock Moths have evolved to be able to mimic the high-pitched clicking sound made by moths that do taste bad to bats.

Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) on Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Another insect that can be found on milkweed is the Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus), which ranges in size from 10-18 mm. This species, which is known from the eastern and southwestern United States as well as Ontario, feeds on the seeds of milkweed, and thus can often be found on the pods. As a result, Large Milkweed Beetles acquire the bitter taste and toxic qualities of the milkweed sap. Large Milkweed Bugs are also known to feed on flower nectar.

Small Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii) on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

The Small Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii) ranges in size from 10-12 mm, and is found throughout most of the United States and southern Canada. This insect feeds on flower nectar and milkweed seeds, but also has been known to scavenge and hunt other insects when there isn't a lot of milkweed seed or nectar plants available. Like many other insects that feed on milkweeds, Small Milkweed Bugs are toxic to many potential predators.

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis) on Common Milkweed

The Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle, or Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis) is found in the eastern two-thirds of the United States, as well as in northern Mexico, where it feeds on leaves and flowers of plants in the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae). This 8-12 mm long beetle overwinters as an adult on the ground, often hidden in leaves of mullein (Verbascum spp.).

Milkweed Aphids (Aphis sp.) on Swamp Milkweed

Milkweed Aphids (Aphis spp.), also known as Oleander Aphids, feed only on plants in the Asclepiadaceae and Apocynaceae. Specifically, they feed on the milky sap, causing them to be poisonous to would-be predators. Milkweed Aphids are introduced in North America. All of the individuals in the photograph above are female. In fact, males aren't necessary for reproduction, as these aphids reproduce assexually. I believe that these aphids are either Aphis nerii or Aphis lutescens.

You will notice that none of these insects are very well camouflaged with their surroundings; in fact, they are all brightly colored. Bright colors in nature are often indicative of an organism that will taste bad or cause harm if eaten, which is the case for all of these milkweed-feeding insects. This is a form of aposematism, which is a condition in which an organism is colored or constructed in a way that indicates special capabilities for defense. It's no wonder that milkweeds are so popular amongst the arthropod world!

Swamp Angel Nature Preserve

The Nature Conservancy held a "member hike" at one of their premier northeastern Indiana preserves on September 13, 2009, and I was fortunate enough to have a free day so that I could attend. The preserve is known as Swamp Angel. It was named after the love interest of the main character in the novel Freckles, written in 1904 by Indiana wildlife photographer, amateur naturalist, and author Gene Stratton-Porter. In the novel, Swamp Angel disapproved of deforestation for agriculture and other development.

TNC Land Steward Beth Mizell led a brief but informative two-hour hike through a variety of plant communities, discussing the active management that is taking place at the property while we walked. While I would have loved to spend more time botanizing the entire 92-acre property, I very much enjoyed scratching the surface in the savanna and fen communities of this outstanding preserve. The photograph directly below shows a Black Oak (Quercus velutina), White Oak (Quercus alba), and Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) -dominated savanna located on a kame (a gravelly mound deposited by a glacier). This community is characterized by large, open-growth trees and an open understory, and it is dependent upon fire to maintain this structure.

Below is a photograph typical of the fen community. Fens are generally grassy and sedgy communites. This time of the year, grasses and sedges such as Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Bluejoint Grass (Calamagrostis canadensis), Twig Rush (Cladium mariscoides), and Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) are obvious, as are composites including Bristly Aster (Aster puniceus), Flat-topped Aster (Aster umbellatus), Swamp Thistle (Cirsium muticum), Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatoriadelphus maculatus), Giant Sunflower (Helianthus giganteus), Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata), Riddell's Goldenrod (Oligoneuron riddellii), and Swamp Goldenrod (Solidago patula). Fens are amazing, particularly because it seems that there is something different in bloom every week of the growing season. They are particularly exciting for me in the early summer, when the sedges (Carex spp.) are in fruit.

Without active management including selective shrub removal and burning, this fen would undergo natural succession and become a shrub-dominated (often called shrub-carr) system. We saw evidence of this succession in pockets of shrubs including Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron radicans), Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa), Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), Pussy Willow (Salix discolor), and Sageleaf Willow (Salix candida).

One of the most charismatic fen species this time of the year is Lesser Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis procera), shown directly above and below. There aren't many flowering plants that can match the gorgeous blue of this four-petaled crowd-pleaser. To see my post at Get Your Botany On! on the differences between this species and the very similar Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita), click here.

Another late-flowering fen species is Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia glauca), shown in the photograph below. Contrary to what the common name suggests, this species is traditionally placed in the Saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae), or sometimes in the Grass of Parnassus family (Parnassiaceae). The egg-shaped leaves and mesmerizing pattern of venation on the petals make this quite an attractive plant. I have to believe that the green veins on the white petals, coupled with the golden false nectaries inside the flower, have evolved for the sole purpose of guiding insects to the center of the flower, where they then collect and disperse pollen.

A less conspicuous but regular component of fens in northern Indiana is Kalm's Lobelia (Lobelia kalmii), which is treated as a member of the Bellflower family (Campanulaceae) and sometimes of the Lobelia familiy (Lobeliaceae). Pictured below, this species has narrow stem leaves and slightly broader, spatulate basal leaves. The two upper petals remind me of the ears of a jackrabbit.

What makes a wetland a fen is the fact that it is a groundwater-driven system; this groundwater has often become calcareous after flowing through adjacent uplands with limestone substrate. Many scientists consider a fen a system with neutral to alkaline water chemistry, as opposed to a bog, which is acidic. However, I have also read scientific papers that define a fen as a groundwater fed wetland, regardless of chemistry, and a bog as a former kettle lake with no groundwater influence. Using the latter definition, a fen can be a rich fen (neutral to alkaline, nutrient rich) or a poor fen (acidic, nutrient poor). I tend to use the second definition, and Swamp Angel seems to be a good example of a fen with both rich and poor components. While much of the area we saw at Swamp Angel was dominated by fen plants that grow in neutral to alkaline conditions, Beth also took us to a portion of the fen where plants that grow in soils with lower pH values were dominant. This area still was groundwater fed, and was not located in a depression. There are, however, also kettle lakes at Swamp Angel, which muddies the waters a bit, so to speak. The photograph below shows one of these acidic areas bordering a kettle lake.

Within this area, we were rewarded with three parasitic plants: Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), Flatleaf Bladderwort (Utricularia intermedia), and Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea). That's right, these species actually get most of their nutrients from insects that they capture! They have adapted this method of attaining nutrients because they live in nutrient poor habitats. All three of these species have different mechanisms for capturing prey.

Round-leaved Sundew has small green leaves with tiny sugary mucilaginous glands on short red stalks. The bright color and tasty glands attract insects, which then become stuck to the leaf. The plant then uses enzymes to digest its prey. That just doesn't seem fair.

Flatleaf Bladderwort has tiny bladders attached to its leaves. These bladders have miniscule hairs surrounding a trap door that is triggered when the hairs are touched. Because of negative pressure within the bladder, when the trap door opens, water and prey rush into the bladder, and the opening quickly slams shut, trapping the prey within the bladder in the blink of an eye. The prey is then digested. This is the black hole of the plant world, I guess.

Purple Pitcher Plant, pictured below, has leaves that are modified into pitchers that collect rainwater. These pitchers are showy and have a sweet smell, and nectar is secreted around the opening, all serving to attract potential prey. Nectar trails also line the outside of the pitcher, getting stronger towards the opening, luring ground insects up the leaf and to the trap as well. The strongest concentration of nectar, however, is beneath the lid at the back of the leaf. Without being able to resist these sweet juices, an unsuspecting insect has to traverse along the waxy inner surface of the pitcher. This results in most falling into the pitcher. They are unable to escape the trenches of the pitcher in part because of the downward-pointing hairs lining the inside of the pitcher, and they eventually drown or die from exhaustion. The prey is then digested, in part as a result of enzymes in the leaves, and in part by mosquito and midge larvae, and the plant then absorbs the nutrients. This all reminds me of the scene from Batman when the Joker falls into the vat of acid.

Because Purple Pitcher Plant flowers from May to July, we weren't able to see its bloom during our field trip. Below is a photograph of the intriguing purple-red flower that I took at another site in northern Indiana in May 2006.

In the brief time that we were at the site, I recorded 68 plant species within the fen, and another 30 on the kames. Nutrient rich fens are typically also very rich floristically.

This field trip made quite an impact on all who attended. You can read an account from another of the trip participants by clicking here. To see a slideshow of the trip from yet another participant, click here.