Seasoned wet meadow habitats are usually a tangle of shrubs and herbaceous plants in a mosaic of thickets and openings. They’re transitional habitats, evolving from grassy, weedy meadows to woodlands. A dominant, overstory tree canopy is absent, although increasing numbers of young trees forecast a very different landscape in the decades to come. Wet meadows are places where one is likely to get wet or muddy feet, even when it hasn’t rained for awhile. They’re also places that support rich wetland communities of plant and animal life, all begging to be observed and photographed!
These images were all captured last week while exploring just a few acres of wet meadow habitats.
Baltimore Checkerspot on Birdsfoot Trefoil; the primary host plant for caterpillars is Turtlehead, a wetland wildflower
Virginia Ctenuchid moth on dogwood; Silky and Red-osier Dogwood are dominant shrubs in aging wet meadows and important wildlife habitat
The Browns or Satyrs are signature butterfly species in wetlands; adults feed at bird droppings and sap flows – not flowers
Twelve-spotted Skimmer, a common hunter in open habitats
Swamp Milkweed, a popular source of nectar in wetlands
Northern Pearly-eye, resting on a favorite tree in the transitional zone between wet meadow and forested swamp.
Baltimore Checkerspot
Photos by NB Hunter. © All Rights Reserved.
Nick's Nature Pics 