BLOG 7: Flutterbys

Grab a cup of coffee and a snack or 2 and plan for a long read. This runs on a bit longer than I originally planned!

This is the hardest nature blog I’ve written so far! Why? Because the day I got the bright idea to do a photographic survey of the butterflies that come through our yard we were hit by a punishing heat wave with temperatures in the upper 90s! So lately I’ve been running around in the blazing sun like a mental patient with my $1.27 butterfly net (thank you local Odd Lot) chasing down anything the flutters!

The problem is that although we have a plethora of dragonflies we really only get 5 or 6 butterflies passing though each day. Many of the critters I saw flitting around the flora and foliage turned out to be this moth!

What kind it is I have no idea but they are everywhere and near impossible to swoop up! (and kinda ugly) The few really attractive butterflies that zig-zag by only get within reach for a few seconds and then head up over the house and then deep into the tree line. But I kept trying! After almost collapsing one day from heatstroke (seriously) I was able to grab this photo of a very elusive species!

Behold Fictus papilio!  Um…anyone buying this? No?

OK…it was worth a shot!

Father: Does anyone know where the butter is?

Son: I needed it for my blog!

Father: What!??

Son: Never mind.

OK, that’s enough with the shenanigans! Luckily I was able to snare a one or two specimens to share with you here! (for real) Once I netted them I was able to very gently place them down somewhere in the shade and snap a picture or two before they flew off!

This sort of mothy looking fellow (butterfly purists would kill me for saying that) is the “Cabbage White” (Pieris rapae.)

male

They are found throughout North America and are only about 30-50mm across.  This one’s entire wingspan is just a bit larger than a quarter. Admittedly, he looks a little ragged but that’s not my fault! I was very gently with him! And he is a “him” by the way, the female’s forewing has two black spots and the male, like this one, has only one.

male

Here is a female (below) that I was lucky enough to spot while I was sitting out on my front porch doing the spellcheck on this blog!

female

The Cabbage White’s caterpillars favor cabbage (imagine that!) but eat many other crucifers and related plants.  And to be clear,  “crucifers” are plants belonging to the mustard family . . . didn’t want any of you thinking I was getting all religious on you all of the sudden! 

I also found this tidbit on-line, “Introduced accidentally near Montreal in the 1860s, this species has become an important pest.” 

Wow! OK…I guess we’ve all had enough of Mr. Cabbage then! Moving right along!

Now this even tinier fellow, just over an inch,  is the Eastern Tailed-Blue (Cupido comyntas) which is found throughout southern Canada and most of United States except in Stroudsburg where I see 1 like every 6 days if I’m lucky!

By the way, Does that flow, “Eastern Tailed-Blue ?”  Shouldn’t they have called the thing “The Blue-Tailed Eastern?”  Maybe it’s like “The Surgeon General” instead of “General Surgeon?” Now I’m just confusing myself. Skip it!

So, I’m pretty sure this is a male because there is only one orange spot on each wing (females have 2-3) but he certainly wasn’t a looker! Some of this species are a bright, brilliant blue but this one was more subdued with a goodly amount of gray and brown mixed in. Hey, I photograph what I can get!

He was actually reluctant to leave the net once I set him free! I think he was actually beginning to tame out towards the end!

I have read on-line that in its caterpillar stage this butterfly feeds on Cow Vetch but I found him perched on Crown Vetch so I think it’s probably safe to assume they are able to make do with whatever’s available. And after all, remember what mother butterfly always said, “Eat your vetches!”  (Couldn’t resist…sorry!)

Seeing them all together like this really makes it look like I live in butterfly country but it’s been several days between each one I netted and photographed…not to mention the ones I netted that took off before I could even get my cheapo camera to focus! Grrrr...

Now, this beautiful creature is, I’m pretty sure, (Vanessa virginiensis), the “American Painted Lady” or just “American Lady” or “Painted Beauty” or   “Hunter's Butterfly” (don’t know how that last name fits in!) 

It's found in most of North America south to Columbia and Venzuela favoring higher elevations. It has even established itself on the Canaries (um...the Spanish islands off the coast of Africa, not the birds) and in Hawaii.

In my field guide from 1992 it says it was “Formally assigned to the genus Vanessa” and they call it “Cynthia virginiensis” but on most modern websites, including Wikipedia, it is STILL assigned the genus “Vanessa.”  Hunter, Beauty, Painted, Not painted, Cynthia, Vanessa…this name stuff just makes me nutty! Who knew a study in butterflies could become so befuddling…butterfuddling even! “Butterfuddling?” That doesn’t sound good.

Here is the one shot I was able to grab when it (he? She?) opened up for just a second before taking flight! I’d say from wing tip to wing tip was about 2”.  

It may look dangerous, by the way, but if you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you!  Huh? Oh…that’s from an upcoming snake blog…sorry! My desk is such a mess…notes all over the place!

This, without doubt, was the most difficult butterfly to scoop up. I mean this thing was erratic and zany fast! I was literally out there cooking in the heat for almost 2 days before I chased one into the woods and snatched it when it whirled ‘round to speed past me again! This is the Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) the most common fritillary throughout most of the eastern United States.

I love that name “Fritillary” which the dictionary says is derived from 

“ fritinnire "to twitter," Imitative of the rattle of dice. The butterfly is so called perhaps from resemblance of its markings to those of dice…” 

Hey, there’s your chance folks! TWITTER is huge, right? Someone needs to come along now with “FRITINNIRE.”  You're welcome!

Great Spangleds have a wingspan of 2 1/2 - 4 inches.  I’d say this one was about 3”. 

Adults eat nectar from many species of flowers including milkweeds, thistles, mountain laurel, and, you guessed it, vetch! We’re like Vetch Central around here…I’m surprised we don’t get more of them!

And now for some more butterfly naming weirdness. This yellow gem is called the Orange Sulphur or the Alfalfa Butterfly (Colias eurytheme).

These small butterflies, 1 3/8 – 2 ¾ inches, are one of the most widespread and common  in North America except in Florida where, for whatever reason, they don’t exist!  The orange parts are on the upper wings and you can sort of see it here if you squint your eyes while you look at the picture. 

Mike Reese notes on his excellent site “Wisconsin Butterflies” that the,

 “orange on the top of the wing of the Orange Sulphur is very evident in flight, especially in summer individuals which seem to have more orange.”  

He also states, 

“It was very difficult to get a photo that clearly shows the orange on the upper wings. After years of trying, I finally found one that was so dark orange on top that it was very evident from below.” 

Not sure I entirely understand that remark except that it illustrates how dominant the yellow is and that I’m probably lucky to have even slightly captured that subtle coloring  in my first attempt!

And check out this photograph!  This is cool because you can see the Sulphur’s tongue! (Actually called its Proboscis)  That’s the coiled, spirally looking thing hanging in front that it uses to sip nectar from flowers.

OK, have you had enough of the butterflies? More than enough? Yeah, well this went a little longer than I anticipated.  Like I suggested I hope you made coffee and had a few snacks on hand!

To reward you for your stick-to-it-ive-ness I present you lastly and finally with (Papilio polyxenes asterius) the Eastern Black Swallowtail or Black Swallowtail (sans the Eastern) or Parsely Swallowtail or American Swallowtail. Well you just knew by now there’d be way to many names, didn’t you!??

This is the only one of its kind I’ve seen on our spit of property here in the Poconos. I didn’t even have to chase this one down! It just drifted down on some Bull Thistles near our porch! This was a large 3 ½” butterfly. I’m guessing because of the small size of its yellow spots and the large patches of iridescent blue that this was a female. 

And yes, those spots were a vibrant pale yellow. (as vibrant as a pale color can be) My bargain-bin digital camera in no way does its true colors justice. 

OK, guess what? You survived! You made it to the end of the longest blog I’ll probably ever subject you too! Please forgive me and I promise our next outing together will be a much briefer experience!  

Any questions, comments, suggestions or maps to buried treasure are always welcomed! 

Thanks a bunch for stopping by and be sure to check back soon for the next installment of Kieran’s Critters!

BLOG 6: Slow Down!

I cannot emphasize enough that I have NO intention of making this a dead critters blog replete with dead critter photographs. This is supposed to be places where we celebrate wildlife not lament its loss. I am going to make an exception just this on time, however. The reason is because this was so sad to me and the victim was so unusual…at least is was to me! I haven’t seen any of these around here at all!

I was travelling down rout 611 in the Poconos the other day near Tannersville when I saw this lifeless lump of prickers in the center lane.  I stopped the car and ran back to take a few pictures nearly ending up a casualty myself for my efforts!

Such a tragic way to present it to you, my friends, but here lays Erethizon dorsatum known to you and me as the Porcupine!

Now, to those of you who have these critters roaming everywhere around your home and gardens this is like a big “so what?” But for people like myself who have never even gotten within 5 feet of one (not to my knowledge anyway) this is quite an encounter (although I wish it were under very different circumstances)

Before this, the closest I ever got to one of these critters was this guy!

Any Pogo fans in the audience?  Huh? What?? OK…moving right along…

The porcupine’s generic name means “one who rises in anger.” This refers to the roughly 30,000 quills that cover its body and spring up, but do not shoot out, if it’s attacked or if an SUV decides to plow over it! They are solitary and active year round, resting in rock cavities by day or during periods of extremely cold weather. 

Pocono naturalist John Serrao describes them as “Our second largest rodent—up to 35 lbs” and he adds “They may stay up in [the same] tree for days.”  

Hey, what's  our first largest rodent? I'm assuming the beaver which can get to be over 60 lbs but that's just a guess. Anyone know?

Anyway, porcupines are strict vegetarians eating leaves, twigs, skunk cabbage (does that bother the skunks?) , clovers, conifer needles, apples and a variety of other greens including the inner bark of trees. They live 7-8 years unless they try to cross rout 611 in Pennsylvania where the speed limit isn’t enforced and people go as fast as they damn well please. 

They also are mad for salt apparently.  I came across this in John O. Whitaker, Jr.’s “Audubon Field Guide to North American Mammals,”  

“…the porcupine has a great appetite for wooden tool handles that have absorbed human perspiration through use.” 

That is absolutely fascinating and revolting! Oh lord I need a minute now…YECH!

OK…wow, that really skeeved me out! Do people still use that expression? Am I permanently stuck in the 80s?

OK, I'm over it! Now  here are some more interesting notes from Whitaker on porcupine warfare,

“If the [porcupine’s]  tail strikes the enemy, the loosely rooted quills detach easily and are driven forcefully into the victim, whose body heat causes the microscopic barblets on the end of the quill to expand and become ever more firmly embedded.” “Cutting the end of the hollow quill releases air pressure and allows it to be more easily withdrawn.”

Image from Dreamstime.com

YIKES! Remind me not to start any arguments with a porcupine!

Well that’s all I have for now.  I leave you with this short rhyme I scrawled  today over my morning cup of coffee. It’s a little rough in places but I think it gets its point across . . .  or its quill!

To The Forgotten

Will anybody eulogize

Our friends struck down each year?

The fox that met with cruel demise

Or the blithely prancing deer?

The lethargic crawling tortoise

Or the ill-fated raccoon

Lying now in rigor-mortis

‘Neeth the coldly glowing moon?

Will an epitaph be written?

To show we care and feel?

Are there flowers for these smitten,

Hapless victims of the wheel?

Creatures crushed upon our highways

As the fled to their abodes

Both the wild and the strays

Perish on our nation’s roads!

Armadillos and alley cats

And opossums and lost pups

And squirrels who are squashed out flat

And are never getting up!

Where’s the vigils of candlelight?

Where’s our calls to the divine,

To usher through the pearly gates

The woodchuck or porcupine?

For those souls who no one weeps for

For those sad, forsaken beasts

With this elegy let spirits soar

And may those fallen rest in peace.

******************************

Thanks again for reading and check back sometime soon for my next blog! :)

BLOG 5: Dragons!

I’d like to start my blog today with a short, spooky rhyme of unknown origin because I get the feeling the author was playing on the word “Dragonfly.” 

Dragging Flies

Don’t wonder down the Rib Rock Path  

Where it traverses Demon’s Glen  

For the dragging flies will grab you

And then you’ll not be seen again!

They’ll swarm upon you, hundreds strong 

Tangling snuggly within your hair

And then they’ll screech and buzz their wings

And you’ll be dragged off through the air.

I don’t know where it came from or who composed it but I thought it would be a neat way to kick this off!

Or maybe it wasn’t? Who knows!?? Anyway…onward to today’s blog!

For some reason our backyard is heavily populated with dragonflies! I have always known them to exist near ponds or lakes but we have no water near my house whatsoever!  It’s just dry, rocky, mountainous woodlands.  So why all the dragonflies? It’s crazy!  I thought it might be interesting to stroll around the grounds today and see if I could get close enough to any of these critters to get some decent shots.  It wasn’t easy! Chasing after these little speed demons on a 90 degree day in the blazing sun is a kind of self-imposed torture! I’ll do anything for my blog though!  Is that devotion or insanity? Maybe a bit of both?

Anyway, I was able to identify 3 different species.  Actually I was able to identify 4 but I just couldn’t manage to get close enough to the reddish ones! They were just too wary and fast. If I can manage to grab a photograph of one I’ll update this blog and add it at the end.

Out of the ones I did get pictures of, this is the most common. I’m pretty sure this is the “Black-faced” or “Spangled” Skimmer (Libellula cyanea).  

It’s about 2” long and according to “The Audubon Society Field Guide To North American Insects And Spiders” (gee, could they make that title any longer!?)  They are found near ponds and slow streams.  What ponds or slow streams? We have none of that! Not even nearby! Maybe they like my music? I listen to my CDs near an open window so you never know! Yeah, not MP3s…CDs!  I must sound like I’m 110 to anyone under 25.

After doing some reading around the ol’ Interweb I also learned that the females are yellow and black like that one above and mature males are uniformly blue. I haven’t seen any blue ones so now that makes me wonder why the land in back of our house is occupied by hordes of female skimmers. What’s up with that?

They especially like swarming around the invasive Bull Thistles that seem to be everywhere in the Poconos! 

I don’t think dragonflies really care much about flowers so I’m assuming they hang out there to pick off small flying bugs that are attracted to these purple flowers. Yes folks, dragonflies ARE predatory!  Meat eaters! Hope I haven’t upset too many of you!

The second type I see scooting around through the hot air are The Common Whitetail or Long-tailed Skimmer Dragonflies (Plathemis lydia).  I’m pretty sure this is a female:

And this ones the male!

And check this out from Wikipedia, “The Common Whitetail can be seen hawking for mosquitoes and other small flying insects over ponds, marshes, and slow-moving rivers in most regions except the higher mountain regions…” 

Again we don’t have any marshes or ponds around here and how much higher can you get then the Poconos?  OK, I mean you have things like the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina at 6,643 ft  and The White Mountains in New Hampshire at 6,288 ft but we’re The Pocono Mountains at a respectable 2,693 ft! And if you don’t think that’s very high consider what it’s like to a 2” long dragonfly! SO what’s going on here? Who knows!

Yes, I know comparing all those elevation was just riveting and you probably want more but I want to get to the last, and my favorite dragonfly! I only saw one of these beauties and was lucky to approach close enough to take this shot!

This is (Erythemis simpliciollis) the Green Clearwing or Eastern Pondhawk or The Common Pondhawk, (or the bug with too many damn names!)   The females are bright green and the adult males are blue and green.  Young males are green with square blackish spots on the abdomen so I’m guessing this was a young male...

but if you have an ID to the contrary please let me know! I’m the furthest thing from an entomologist…and I don’t know much about insects either. 

Here’s another befuddling tidbit I came across on-line about where green clearwing common pondhawks live, “Habitat: Most quiet waters…including slightly brackish waters but not bogs. Usually associated with mats of algae, duckweed, water lilies, or other flat, floating plants.”  

I don’t get it! This scrub land is my back yard! Where are the mats of algae and duckweed?

Well I can’t leave you with that! It looks like vacant lot (and we like it that way!)  So here are some interesting dragonfly factoids to impress your friends tonight in case there isn’t anything good on TV:

Did you know?

- People used to believe that sleeping outside put you at risk of having your eyes sewn shut by the dragonfly or "darning needle."

- Some Dragonflies can fly at nearly 60 miles per hour!

- Dragonflies cannot walk.

- All dragonflies have excellent vision. They can see colors that are beyond human visual capabilities, such as ultraviolet and infrared!

- And finally…I wrote the poem at the beginning! I admit it! I’m guilty!

OK, that’s enough of that!  Thanks for reading and be sure to check back in a few days when I’m sure to post yet another confounding installment of Kieran’s Critters! And feel free to leave any comments, questions, corrections or fanciful bits of nonsense! 

BLOG 4: Not Finding Snakes

Just a few days ago after a tremendous thunderstorm I decided to go with my friend to Tobyhanna State Park to see if we could find and photograph a ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus) which John Serrao (a big time Poconos naturalist) describes as “The most common snake in our region, but not often seen because of its secretive nature.”

We made our way to an area that seemed like prime snake habitat and started hunting around. We didn’t find any ring-necks but we did spot this beautiful little jewel!

Undeterred we continued to hike further along the trail to a location I was certain would produce one of these small, gentle serpents. We didn’t find any there either but we did run into this fellow! 

I could have sworn he reminded me of I guy I just met like 5 minutes ago!

After 2 failed attempts to track down Mr. D. punctatus I knew we would be successful at a secret spot along the woodland path that never let me down. Sure enough upon a very thorough investigation we finally turned up….

Yeah, one of these.

So…um…you know what, let’s just make this blog about this critter, OK? Honest, I’m not cutting any corners here or coping out. I’ll tell you some cool things about it, OK?

These are one of my all-time favorite salamanders in the Poconos. I posted one on my MySpace page years ago (anyone remember MySpace?) and friends thought I had used some fancy schmancy computer program to enhance its color.  That wasn’t the case then or now. This bright orange is completely natural and in the animal kingdom it warns other creatures “watch out I’m highly toxic!”  It’s a good system too because can you imagine the FDA going around trying to label each individual newt? I mean it’s a “newt” when it matures but the juveniles are salamanders. It’s a little complicated. All newts are salamanders but not all salamanders are newts and newts are semi- aquatic but don’t have gills but sometimes they do.  See? Clear as mud!

Let’s try this again. This radiant creature is a Red Eft. Red efts can be vermillion but are more often orange but are never called Orange efts for some reason. SO much for clarity!  

The eft is one of the three stages in the life the Eastern Red-Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens).  Adult red-spotteds are olive green above and yellow bellow with small red spots (what else!?) running down their sides. They are typically about 4 inches long.  N. viridescens is probably one of the most common amphibians in this region of North America and are the ones most seen in pet shops along with African Clawed Frogs and Fire-bellied toads and all those other cool things they don’t usually tell you enough about caring for.

Here’s a wild red-spotted newt I photographed back in April at Slateford Pond in Mt. Bethel PA.

Red efts are the juvenile, terrestrial, form of the red-spotted newts. After two or three years, the eft returns to the water and morphs into a green and yellow adult. James Petranka notes in “Salamanders of the United States and Canada” that, “Efts in coastal populations are less brightly colored than those in mountainous areas. “ That could be why the ones we uncounted were so vivid! Hey, It IS the Pocono Mountains and Tobyhanna’s at 1,568 ft (478 m).

There is also a larval stage to the Red-spotteds that lasts about 3 months.  (“Larval” doesn’t that sound endearing? Note the sarcasm) These hatchlings are yellowish green,  grow to an inch and a half in length, have gills, and I have never photographed one so don’t bother searching for the picture.

I personally prefer to describe all these stages as “baby newt”  “Teen Eft” and “Adult Newt.” Simple right? But what do I know…I’m just some guy in PA writing a BLOG.

So what else can I tell you about red efts won’t bore you into a coma?  You can Google these things to your heart’s content so I rather not post a bunch of information here you can find anywhere else. I just wanted to show you how attractive and cool these things were!

And I do want to stress  to you and him and even her, these creatures are absolutely harmless! Unless you’re planning to go all Asian food market on one and pop it down the hatch (and I seriously recommend you don’t) they are no threat to anyone whatsoever.  If you see a red-eft take some pics, write a corny blog maybe and let it go on its merry way.

Well that’s all I have for now! Thanks again for reading Keiran’s Critters! Tell your friends about this blog for some reason and as always I welcome any and all feedback questions comments and effusive accolades.

See you next time!

BLOG 3: Who Made This?

Before we get into all the nature stuff I just have to show off this new acquisition to my vintage Star Wars toy collection. This is Kenner’s Teebo, the Ewok from 1984. What’s so unusual about this find is that it comes with his ceremonial flask of Endorian Potions that you can see him holding in his left hand. This accessory was deemed a choking hazard for little children and was discontinued after only a very limited production run.

Oh my gosh! I just made that all up! That thing Teebo is holding isn’t a flask at all and had nothing to do with any toys or Star Wars or any like that! My ridiculous sense of humor kicks in when I get curious about things and I became extremely curious about this piece miniature clay pottery I found in the woods. How miniature? It fits comfortably on dime!

My best guess was that it was made by some sort of insect so I dove into some books (like the Internet but you lick your fingers before you go from page to page) and discovered it was the handy work of the Potter wasp (Eumenes fraternus). This artisan is found in eastern North America and the eastern United States, occurring as far west as Ontario in Canada, and Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas in the United States.

The mud pots or domes are actually nurseries that house the juveniles. Fertilized eggs are laid in these spherical nests and once they hatch the larvae grow and develop eating paralyzed caterpillars that the mother provides for sustenance. Can anyone say “ALIEN?” Ripley!!!!! (Forgive the additional sci-fi reference)

Elsewhere I read that each dome is designed for just one larva meaning that the female must build a separate one for each single egg she lays. I’m not sure if this fact is accurate but it makes sense when you consider how tiny a construction it is.

The trumpet like opening is typically sealed shut once it’s fully stocked with ‘pillars so the fact that the one I found was open most likely means the female perished before she had a chance to lay her eggs. I have to admit that’s fine by me! Although I admire the delicate intricacy of these earthen vessels I despise stinging insects! I would never go out of my way to hurt one in the wild but I’m certainly not going to lose any Zs over one meeting an untimely demise!

Now, if anyone doubts my ID on this nest let me know! A few things don’t add up. For example I read that they “ are found on shrubs, bushy plants, and various overhangs that are anywhere from less than 1 meter off the ground to about 5 meters high in the tree line.” Well mine was found under a rock! And here’s a pic of two more, not as aesthetically appealing and somewhat crushed but also not on any shrubs!

And one last thought.  So many human inventions are just our versions of things nature came up with first.  Helicopters move like hummingbirds, sonar came from whales and dolphins and bats, armored tanks came from snails and turtles, phosphorescence came from lightning bugs and could it be that early pottery came from insects?

Look at this ancient Indian pot I found on an antiques site. See a resemblance? Kind of makes you think!

OK, that’s all I have for now! Hey, we went from Star Wars to Insects to Native Americans! What else can you expect from one BLOG?

Thanks for reading and, as always, I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions or large amounts of money.

Please be sure to check back for the next exciting installment of Kieran’s Critters!

BLOG 2: Turtle Eggs

The best kind of plans are the ones that are made at a good diner over a fresh cup of coffee while you’re watching a tremendous downpour through the window and chatting with an old friend about nothing in particular. That’s the sort of rainy morning it was yesterday when, somewhere between my 2^nd and 3^rd French vanilla I decided it would be a good idea, for some reason, to take a short drive to Tobyhanna State Park in Coolbaugh Township about 15 minutes from where we were. Tobyhanna is actually an old Indian word meaning, “Tree Climbing Buffalo Waxer.”

OK, it doesn’t mean that at all. It’s an Indian word meaning "a stream whose banks are fringed with alder". I just toss stuff like that out now and again to keep things interesting.

So, by the time we reached the park the weather was just starting to clear up but we didn’t have any tick repellent with us so we decided we couldn’t take a lengthy walk around the lake.  That was fine by me! I love losing myself in nature…as long as I have a car with some cold cokes and air conditioning a few feet away. Losing yourself in very close proximity to finding yourself is always the best option.

So in a park spanning 5,440 acres we journeyed about 5 minutes from the parking lot and then 5 minutes back. That’s why our discovery was all the more incredible!

And here she is! This is a nesting Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)!

 

This is the most widespread native turtle of North America. They live in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. If you’ve seen turtles sunning on a log in a nearby pond or swamp in NJ or PA you can be pretty darn sure they were painteds or at least some of them were! Painteds peacefully bask with sliders and musks and even snappers. They are a very racially inclusive species. Ah, if only turtles ran the world...

Oh, back to the description! Eastern Painteds are very colorful water turtles but not quite as striking as the western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii) which have much prettier plastrons (bottom shell). They are normally impossible to get near diving off their resting spot on a rock or log as soon as they see any danger (that would be you) approaching.  For an impoverished nature buff like myself who can’t afford a fancy schmancy camera with a super zoom lens, getting good shots of these timid chelonians is a real trick.  This one was so involved in her egg laying though that my friend and I were able to get close enough to take some pretty decent photographs!

 

Painteds usually date in March and mate in April. From May to July they dig a 4” deep whole in damp soil and lay 2 to 20 elliptical eggs.  In 2 ½ to 3 months if the eggs aren’t dug up and  eaten by a raccoon or a skunk or some other predator  the new born turtles emerge and are ready to take on the world (or well, at least take on the pond  where they were born.)

 

 Unfortunately, not too far from this female we found a bunch of nests that had been discovered and ransacked by some hungry beast. If you look carefully at the shot below you can see the torn fragments of  shells in and around the excavated incubation chamber.

 

So sad! I can only hope her clutch will remain undiscovered and her offspring will find their way to the warm light of a waiting day and a new life and enjoy many years in the lake “whose banks are fringed with alder.”

See? Isn’t that nice the way I wrapped it all up? And I have NO idea when painteds date, I just made that bit up.  Is there a Match.com for turtles? Hey, it's all out there...somewhere. I know they are active from March to November but several naturalists have reported even seeing them in January and February swimming under the ice so they have plenty of time to meet with each other and make plans.  . .  maybe over turtle coffee in some sort of turtle diner? Who knows!

If you have any questions or comments about Painted Turtles or ANY kind of turtles or even how to hit on a turtle post it below!

Check back often for future additions of Kieran’s Critters and thanks again for reading!