Continuing on with the barrens from yesterday’s outing.
The back side of Two-leaf Senna (Senna roemeriana)! There were only a couple still in bloom.
Whitlow Wort (Paronychia virginica) preparing for the fall to bloom! And the cool fall won’t be here soon enough!
Often overlooked, Ratany (Krameria lanceolata). It trails along the ground mostly.
Its seeds remind me of a WWII mine. They can’t be quite painful if stuck in a dog’s (Gracie’s) foot. Furthermore, it is painful for me when I remove one from Gracie’s foot. However Gracie was not with me that day.
Several plants had Dodder (Cuscuta) like in this example of a skullcap (Scutellaria). Cuscuta species are parasitic and some are host specific.
The flowers are very small. And this dodder had white stems. Usually I see orangey colored stems.
The close up of the flower is quite beautiful!
Next stop was the White Compass Plant (Silphium albiflorum)!
The Blow Flies (Calliphoridae) were really buzzing the White Compass Plant! I eliminated it being a Flesh Fly (Sarcophagidae). Here is why. So in the Kaufman Field Guide – Insects to North America said that Sarcophaga are recognized by their scarlet eyes and “tail”. No red tail. And furthermore, in BugGuide, it says Flesh Flies never have metallic thoracic stripes.
The flies seemed to be attracted to the orange droplets on the disk flowers of the White Compass Plant. I can’t say I had ever looked that closely at one before. And now that I spent time at the plant, the flies accompanied me for quite awhile afterwards. I guess I was attractive too. Don’t say what you are thinking LOL. It was hot and I was probably getting stinky. 😉 Some species of Blow flies are occasional pollinators. But they mostly are attracted to carrion and excrement. Wikipedia also says there is little doubt that these flies use nectar as a source of carbohydrates to fuel flight. But just how and when this happens is unknown. Maybe I just got a hint of the how!
Keep looking!
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know.
8 Comments
The dodder really is pretty up close. Interesting about the flies and compass plant. Is Edgar gone?
Love me some barrens! The orange dots are the rosin/resin excretions that give white rosinweed its common name. Its inflorescence is quite short this year with the drought.
The dodder really is pretty up close. Interesting about the flies and compass plant. Is Edgar gone?
Edgar is still nearby. I will do a post in a few days about Edgar. I need to view and edit my movies.
The barrens are my favorite. Really interesting about flies.
One of my favorites too…the barrens!
Love me some barrens! The orange dots are the rosin/resin excretions that give white rosinweed its common name. Its inflorescence is quite short this year with the drought.
Do you know if the resin is sweet or nutritious in some way for insects?
I don’t know for sure but I’ve presumed it is.
I guess someone has researched it 🤞🏼