More Springtime but Almost Summer LIFE!

Scanning for larvae among the thousands of potted plants....

An update from last week's post on the Black Swallowtail caterpillar that came with us to the Des Moines Farmers' Market on Saturday. I brought him home on a plant specially chosen for him. It was the largest 38 cell available at the time, and although it was a downgrade from the mature Zizia aurea from which I snagged him, I expected the plant would satisfy it for the entire market day. I was incorrect. By 9am the plant had been fully harvested, and the caterpillar was ready to move on to the next. Yes, he kept eating(and I thought I LOVED MY GREENS!). After the downtown show, it was moved safely back to the blooming prairie. Thanks little buddy...  Here's another little guy. It's the same species of butterfly at a smaller larval stage!

Not quite as cute in this recently hatched stage as the more matured larva, but still, it's a keeper! I found a large hatching of Black Swallowtail caterpillars on the youngest of the Zizia aurea. WHAT A DAY!

Now for more fungal life

Mutinus elegans 

the

Elegant Stinkhorn   

Pituophis catenifer sayi BULLSNAKE

Bullsnakes roam the prairie. It's Iowa's largest snake species who coincidentally has a large appetite for small mammals and other small reptiles, amphibians and birds. This species is protected by Iowa law as it has little remaining habitat. One can imagine how much space this snakes requires! Bullsnakes are nonvenomous by the way.

Click HERE for more information on Bullsnakes from HerpNet.net, a Field Guide to Iowa Reptiles and Amphibians

Iowa DNR Bullsnake habitat creation and protection

Swallowtail Larva Video

Watch the Swallowtail larva chow down. Get your Zizia aurea plants and watch it happen in your own garden, too! I took this big guy home. He's coming to the market with us tomorrow for entertainment. This is better than tv!

                                                  

Late Spring 2013 Inventory

	Late Spring 2013 Inventory
Native Forbs(Wildflowers)
Common Name	Scientific Name	Potted Plant Size
		Flat of 38	Gallon
Anise Hyssop	Agastache foeniculum	x	x
Nodding Onion	Allium cernuum
Prairie Onion	Allium stellatum	x
Canada Anemone	Anemone canadensis	x	x
Pasque Flower	Anemone patens wolfgangiana
Columbine	Aquilegia canadensis	x	x
Jack-in-the-Pulpit	Arisaema triphyllum
Swamp Milkweed	Asclepias incarnata	x	x
Butterfly Weed	Asclepias tuberosa	x	x
Sky Blue Aster	Aster azureus	x
Smooth Blue Aster	Aster laevis	x
New England Aster	Aster novae-angliae	x	x
Silky Aster	Aster sericeus	x	x
Wild Blue Indigo	Baptisia australis	x	x
White Wild Indigo	Baptisia leucantha
Cream Wild Indigo	Baptisia leucophaea	x	x
False Aster	Boltonia asteroides
Wild Hyacinth	Camassia scilloides	x	x
Harebell	Campanula rotundifolia	x	x
Turtlehead	Chelone glabra	x	x
Prairie Coreopsis	Coreopsis palmata	x	x
White Prairie Clover	Dalea candida	x
Purple Prairie Clover	Dalea purpurea	x	x
Amethyst Shooting Star	Dodecatheon amethystinum		x
Midland Shooting Star	Dodecatheon meadia		x
Narrow-leaved Coneflower	Echinacea angustifolia	x
Pale Purple Coneflower	Echinacea pallida	x
Purple Coneflower	Echinacea purpurea	x	x
Rattlesnake Master	Eryngium yuccifolium	x	x
Joe Pye Weed	Eupatorium maculatum	x
Boneset	Eupatorium perfoliatum	x	x
Sweet Joe Pye Weed	Eupatorium purpureum	x
Flowering Spurge	Euphorbia corollata	x
Queen of the Prairie	Filipendula rubra		x
Bottle Gentian	Gentiana andrewsii	x	x
Cream Gentian	Gentiana flavida
Wild Geranium	Geranium maculatum	x	x
Prairie Smoke	Geum triflorum	x	x
Sneezeweed	Helenium autumnale	x	x
Rose Mallow	Hibiscus laevis
Hairy Rose Mallow	Hibiscus lasiocarpos	x
Southern Blue Flag	Iris virginica shrevei	x	x
Button Blazingstar	Liatris aspera	x	x
Meadow Blazingstar	Liatris ligulistylis	x	x
Dotted Blazingstar	Liatris punctata	x
Prairie Blazingstar	Liatris pycnostachya	x	x
Cardinal Flower	Lobelia cardinalis	x	x
Great Blue Lobelia	Lobelia siphilitica	x
Virginia Bluebells	Mertensia virginica		x
Monkey Flower	Mimulus ringens	x	x
Wild Bergamot	Monarda fistulosa	x	x
Wild Quinine	Parthenium integrifolium	x	x
Foxglove Beardtongue	Penstemon digitalis	x	x
Wild Blue Phlox	Phlox divaricata		x
Marsh Phlox	Phlox glaberrima interior		x
Wild Sweet William	Phlox maculata	x	x
Prairie Phlox	Phlox pilosa	x	x
Obedient Plant	Physostegia virginiana	x	x
Jacob's Ladder	Polemonium reptans	x	x
Prairie Cinquefoil	Potentilla arguta	x	x
Hairy Mountain Mint	Pycnanthemum pilosum	x	x
Mountain Mint	Pycnanthemum virginianum		x
Coneflower, Yellow	Ratibida pinnata	x
Sweet Blackeyed Susan	Rudbeckia subtomentosa	x	x
Brown Eyed Susan	Rudbeckia triloba	x
Wild Petunia	Ruellia humilis	x	x
Royal Catchfly	Silene regia	x	x
Rosin Weed	Silphium integrifolium		x
Compass Plant	Silphium laciniatum	x	x
Cup Plant	Silphium perfoliatum		x
Prairie Dock	Silphium terebinthinaceum		x
Stout Blue-eyed Grass	Sisyrinchium angustifolium	x
Stiff Goldenrod	Solidago rigida	x	x
Showy Goldenrod	Solidago speciosa	x	x
Spiderwort, Prairie	Tradescantia bracteata	x	x
Spiderwort, Ohio	Tradescantia ohiensis	x	x
Blue Vervain	Verbena hastata	x
Hoary Vervain	Verbena stricta	x
Common Ironweed	Vernonia fasciculata	x	x
Culver's Root	Veronicastrum virginicum	x	x
Golden Alexander	Zizia aurea	x	x
Native Grasses
Big Blue Stem	Andropogon gerardii	x	x
Side-oats	Bouteloua curtipendula	x
Blue Grama	Bouteloua gracilis	x	x
Hairy Wood Chess	Bromus pubescens	x
Prairie Brome	Bromus kalmii
Canada Wild Rye	Elymus canadensis	x
Bottlebrush Grass	Elymus hystrix	x
June Grass	Koeleria macrantha	x	x
Little Blue Stem	Schizachyrium scoparium	x	x
Indian Grass	Sorghastrum nutans	x	x
Prairie Dropseed	Sporobulus hereolepis	x	x
Native Shrubs
Lead Plant	Amorpha canescens		x
New Jersey Tea	Ceanothus americanus
Cultivars
Common Name	Scientific Name	Potted Plant Size
		Tray of 38	Gallon
Daylily	Hemerocallis 'Happy Returns'		x
Daylily	Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro'		x
Russian Sage	Perovskia atriplicifolia
Blue Catmint	Nepeta recemosa 'Walker's Low'		x
Showy Stonecrop	Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy'		x
Ornamental Grasses
Feather Reed Grass	Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'		x
Fountain Grass	Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'