Queen Honeybee

Check out the queen honeybee amidst the workers. She's a bit bigger and frequently dips her abdomen into a honeycomb cell to deposit an egg. The hive is busy with winter preparations at Nixon County Park, York, PA.

Mile-a-Minute Berries

Mile-a-Minute is a non-native invasive plant in PA originating from India, China, Japan and other parts of Asia.  Mile-a-Minute was introduced from a York County, PA nursery when a seed accidentally shipped with holly seeds from Japan in the 1930's.  Since then, the vine has spread over 300 miles.  

The stems and leaves of Mile-a-Minute vine are covered in recurved barbs, making them physically harmful to humans and wildlife.  As the vine quickly grows, it easily covers understory plant life stealing sunlight and other resources from native plants (environmentally harmful).  The blue berries are eaten and dispersed by birds, ants, chipmunks, squirrels and deer.  

The light green triangular shaped leaves, bright blue berries, and recurved barbs make it easy to identify.  Remove Mile-a-Minute when you see it in your community!  

Read more about Mile-a-Minute: Here

Virginia Creeper Fall Colors

Virginia Creeper has five palmate leaflets which turn beautiful colors and fall off in autumn.  Beautiful blue berries grow in clusters where flowers once bloomed.  Berries are a winter food source for wildlife like overwintering birds.  

Monarch Update!

This year we tagged 100 Monarchs as they passed through Lancaster, PA!

On our top day we tagged 81 monarchs in 2 hours!  They came through an abandoned lot so fast we had to put them in a holding container because we couldn't work fast enough! 

Holding the butterfly gently near the body.  When it's wings are closed it calms down.  The tag (sticker) is placed precisely where recommended by Monarch Watch (monarchwatch.org).  Then the butterfly is released to continue on its way!  

  

Monarch Butterflies

You’ve probably heard that Monarch butterflies travel all the way to Mexico in the fall.  Did you know everyday citizens are tagging the monarchs to help scientists research this magnificent journey?  Do you know how to tell a male from a female Monarch or how to spot a Monarch look-alike?  
Monarch butterflies have adapted a remarkable and complicated life cycle.  Just like many migratory birds, Monarchs complete part of their life stages in the Eastern United States, and part of their life stages in Mexico.  Why would they evolve to travel so far?
Monarchs begin to migrate south as soon as the weather starts to get cold, usually in October.  In Mexico each year the new generation of Monarchs finds Oyamel Fir Trees to rest on all winter long.  In the Spring, they have to return to the Eastern United States (as far North as Canada!) to lay eggs where their larval host plant, milkweed, is plentiful.  Here a new crop of caterpillars turns into butterflies and prepares to migrate south once again.

If you’re paying special attention to the butterflies in your yard, attempt to differentiate the Viceroy, a Monarch mimic, from a real Monarch.  Monarchs are poisonous to birds because the caterpillars feast on poisonous milkweeds.  Their orange and black coloration serves as a warning to predators.  Once birds taste one Monarch, they remember that coloration and never go near it again.  Other butterfly species take advantage of their fellow butterfly’s defenses by evolving a very similar coloration.  A careful observer can tell the difference between a Viceroy and a Monarch butterfly by looking for a black line across the bottom of the lower two wings.  If it has a line, it’s a Viceroy.  Other orange and black butterflies that are found on the east coast include the Baltimore Checkerspot, the Queen, and the Red Admiral- of which the Queen is also poisonous.  

You can follow the migration of Monarch butterflies back to the Eastern United States on the website MonarchWatch.org, where citizens send reports when they spot their first Monarch of the season.  

Black-Crowned Night Heron

York, PA

Doug Tallamy June 19th!

Come hear Doug Tallamy on June 19th in York!  Get tickets and learn more: here.