Butterfly Gardener
Volume 23, Issue 4
Winter 2018
Distinctly Different Milkweeds
From Septic Field to Butterfy Garden: An Interview with Joyce Koch
Wanted Alive in Your Garden: Goatweed Leafwing Caterpillar
editor's notes
During the past year, Volume 23 of Butterfy Gardener has featured a number of new writers as well as many familiar ones. A heartfelt thanks to Allison Snopek Barta, Mary Anne Borge, Ken Carman, Pamm Cooper, Laura Darnell, Jan Dixon, Joe Falconi, Jennifer Lamkin, Lenora Larson, Julie O’Donald, Al Schirmacher, and Lynne and Jim Weber for sharing their talented writing and beautiful photographs with our readers. Photographer Jeff Worthington also shared his work.
Profound gratitude also goes to Associate Editor Mary Anne Borge for her untiring efforts to get each issue off the ground and into print. Butterfy Gardener also shines due to the efforts of Sharon Wander who copy edits each article with precision and skill.
The past year has seen Wanted Alive in Your Garden become a regular feature of the magazine and each two page spread is posted on the NABA website (at www. naba.org under the publications tab). This light-hearted look at common garden caterpillars emphasizes the importance of providing food and shelter for caterpillars throughout the year. We would like to feature as many butterfy caterpillars as possible so please consider sharing information about your favorite garden caterpillar. Contact Mary Anne Borge at borge@naba.org to fnd out how to submit information and/or photos. It’s easy!
And thanks as always to the NABA Board of Directors and Offcers for their continued efforts of preserving and promoting butterfy habitats and gardens in North America.
—Jane Hurwitz, Editor
Butterfy Gardener is published quarterly by the North American Butterfy Association, Inc. (NABA). © 2018 by the North American Butterfy Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Views of contributors do not necessarily refect the views of NABA.
Editor: Jane Hurwitz
Associate Editor: Mary Anne Borge
We want to hear from you! Please send Butterfy Gardener correspondence and submissions to: Jane Hurwitz, Editor, NABA, 4 Delaware Road, Morristown, NJ 07960; hurwitz@naba.org
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For questions concerning membership issues, magazines, or changes of address, please write to NABA Membership Services, 4 Delaware Road, Morristown, NJ 07960. Occasionally, members send membership dues in twice. Our policy in such cases, unless instructed otherwise, is to extend membership for an additional year.
Text
From Septic Field to Butterfly Garden: An Interview with Joyce Koch
by Mary Anne Borge, Photos by Jeff Worthington
One morning in early August, my husband, Jeff Worthington, and I visited Joyce Koch at her home in northwestern Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Joyce and I had become friends as a result of our volunteer work at Bowman’s Hill Wildfower Preserve, near New Hope, Pennsylvania. We share a love of native plants because of their value to wildlife, especially butterfies, moths, other pollinators, and birds. (Think caterpillar food!) When Joyce told me about the project she undertook to landscape over her septic system—using all native plants instead of the usual turf grass—I had to see it! The results of her efforts were too gorgeous not to share with others, and inspired this article.
You recently did a complete replacement of your septic system. What did this area look like before the renovation?
My lot is in a wooded area on the side of a mountain. Steep slopes and rocks defne the terrain. The house at the top of the lot was built at least two centuries ago but was renovated in the 1950’s, which also dates the septic arrangements. At the rear of the house there is a driveway, and beyond that the lot slopes sharply downhill. The property outside of the building envelope had been neglected for decades before I moved here in 1994, and so predictably had grown up in thickets of non-native invasive species, such as Multifora Rose (Rosa multifora). I couldn’t even locate the septic-tank opening for two years. The septic tank and feld were on the sloped part of the property. I began clearing the Multifora Rose and other invasive plants and eventually located the tank opening—a hole covered by a slate—so we were able to have the tank pumped at the recommended threeyear intervals. I also began introducing native trees and shrubs but few survived because of extreme deer pressure. As a result, the area grew back mostly in Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum).
Looking down at the septic feld.
What made you decide to landscape over your septic tanks and septic feld, instead of using the more typical turf grass?
Updating the septic system resulted in complete disturbance of the area below my house on the slope. The normal restoration cover for septic renewals is turf grass, but obviously mowing grass would be impossible on a slope that steep. Turf grass is also contrary to my aesthetic sense, not to mention boring. My devotion to native plants and their place in the environment naturally led me to consider alternatives such as a meadow or garden.
How was designing and implementing this garden different from any other garden?
There were three primary challenges: the steep slope, sensitivity to the septic system, and deer pressure.
The potential for erosion on such a steep slope is a concern. We therefore decided on a terraced design with a path that allows access to the septic tank at the mid-level of the garden, and another path that partially covers the septic feld below. Species that help prevent erosion were important, and are planted throughout the rest of the garden. It was necessary that the garden be planted primarily all at the same time to promote root growth and to stabilize the soil. Also, the driveway was regraded to direct drainage to undisturbed areas.
How did you select the plants you wanted to use? Were there any restrictions on what species could be planted because of the septic system?
Native plants, of course! We gave the usual consideration to drainage patterns, number of sunlight hours, and height of plants. For the septic feld we only used native perennials, including Joe Pye Weed, asters, Eastern Purple Conefower, Orange Conefower, Purple Giant Hyssop, Wood Anemone, Tall Thimbleweed, Coreopsis, New York Ironweed, Blue Wild Indigo, Whorled Tickseed, and several shorter grasses and sedges. Because the roots of trees and shrubs could eventually interfere with the operation of the feld, they were not used near the septic-system components.
Was a permit required? Were there issues getting it?
No special permits were required. The engineer and excavator were aware from the beginning of what I wanted to do with the space and informed the municipal inspectors along the way. The inspectors were extremely patient, because none of the plants were installed until many months after the completion of the system. Of course, no Certifcate of Occupancy was granted until much of the planting was done.
Access to the septic tank.
Is there anything else that should be considered when undertaking a project like yours?
It is important that you make your desires clear to your engineer and excavator. They are your link with the inspectors and they can accommodate your requirements. The excavator saved the trees I marked, moved a tree, and built a wall with large rocks that prevented a lot of erosion. He also removed soil from the site so that the stockpile wouldn’t damage the surrounding vegetation.
Also, one key to the sustainability of the garden is an 8-foot deer fence. Deer pressure in our area is extremely high, so without this protection any investment in vulnerable plants would be wasted. Most importantly, any project that results in disturbance of a landscape should be viewed as an opportunity to create a habitat other than lawn, which to me is a sterile space.
You’re still adding to the garden, but the work was basically completed by early spring of 2017. How do you feel about the success of the project?
I am very happy with the results. When I’m in the garden with butterfies fying all around me, I feel like I’m in a Disney movie!
Access to the septic tank is at the other end of this path.
A Tawny Emperor in Joyce’s garden–my frst sighting of this species!
Notes from Mary Anne
1. Landscaping over a septic field or mound can be beneficial if done with care. Plants can help remove excess moisture and nutrients from the soil, while preventing erosion. Using plants that prefer drier soils works best, as their roots will not be attracted to or continue to grow into the wet substrate of the septic field. As Joyce noted, trees and shrubs should be avoided. If you are considering landscaping an existing septic field, minimize tilling of the soil. For more information, a good reference is Landscaping Septic Systems by Mary H. Meyer, Brad Pedersen, Marguerite Jaster, James Anderson, Kenneth M. Olson, and David M. Gustafson (http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/pdf/ww/septic/landscaping_sfqf02.pdf ), published by the University of Minnesota College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences.
2. When I visited Joyce’s garden, in addition to many other butterflies I saw my first Tawny Emperor! It was basking in the sun, probably drawn to the area because of the presence of its caterpillar food, Common Hackberry, in the surrounding woods.
A view of the garden from the driveway at the top. The septic tank is at the level where a path is visible and the septic feld is below it.
Joyce Koch considers herself as a “professional weeder.” She volunteers for invasive plant control duty with Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, the Hunterdon Land Trust, the Native Plant Society of New Jersey, and the New York-New Jersey Trails Conference.
Mary Anne Borge is an Associate Editor of Butterfly Gardener, an instructor at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, and a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist. She enjoys sharing her love of nature through her writing and photography at her blog, www.the-natural-web.org.
Goatweed Leafwing Caterpillar
Text and Photos by
Lenora Larson
Known disguises: This caterpillar’s greenish-gray mottled color is an efective camoufage against the leaves and especially the stems of its preferred food plants.
Known Food Preferences: A likely hangout is near their preferred caterpillar food, members of the Croton genus in the Spurge (Euphorbiaceae)
Family, including Hogwort (Croton capitatus), Texas Croton (C. texensis), and Prairie Tea (C. monanthogynus). Goatweed is another common name for some of the Crotons.
When they aren’t actively feeding, the caterpillars use their food plants’ foliage as a disguise, spinning silk to roll or fold a leaf to form a shelter that hides them from predators. And if a hungry bird peers down into the entrance of the leaf shelter, it will see the caterpillar’s face-like markings “looking” back. The array of orange horns and small raised protuberances on the back of the cat’s head look fearsome enough to deter many predators.
Special weaponry: Very young caterpillars sit on the midrib of their food-plant leaves, often depositing fecal pellets along the midrib and on their own backs. This tactic most likely helps to confuse and repel predators, especially ants.
Winter hide-out: Spends the winter as an adult hidden in crevices such as under the loose bark of trees.
If capture is avoided: Continues to disguise itself as it pupates in a leaf-like chrysalis, usually attached to its food plant. As an adult, this butterfly often perches in trees, hiding in plain view disguised as dead leaves. This appearance and behavior explain the butterfly’s common name, Goatweed Leafwing.
These butterflies frequent dry, open woods, scrub, and other open or disturbed habitats. They are in flight from March through October in much of their range, and are easily identified by the flutter of brilliant orange, three-inch wings. Because they overwinter as adults, Goatweed Leafwings may occasionally be seen flying on warm winter days. They do not search for flowers; instead their beverage choices include oozing tree sap, moisture from fresh scat, and other rotting material. They will readily come to overripe fruit.
Lenora Larson is a Marais des Cygnes Extension Master Gardener and a member of the Idalia Butterfly and Kansas Native Plant Societies. She loves to garden and host butterflies in the cruel winds and clay soils of Paola, Kansas. She may be contacted at lenora.longlips@ gmail.com
Distinctly Different Milkweeds
Text and photos by Lynne and Jim Weber
Much ado has been made of the more common and widespread milkweed species in Texas, but a handful of milkweed vines also grow here that are less common and quite different in appearance from the erect species, and just as useful as other native host plants for Monarchs and related butterflies.
Above: Netted Milkvine. Right: Netted Milkvine fowers showing their reticulate patterns and pearl-like centers.
A fairly robust, twining vine 6 to 12 feet long that grows in dry, light shade in thickets on rocky hillsides and woodland edges, Netted, or Pearl, Milkvine (Matelea reticulata) is best known for its heart-shaped leaves and flat, greenish-white flowers that are ½ to ¾ inch across with pearly, iridescent centers. On the curious flowers of this plant (also called Green Milkweed Vine and Net Vein Milkvine), tiny white veins form an intricate pattern on the surface of the petals, adding to their unusual look. In fact, ‘reticulata,’
Above: Plateau Milkvine. Right: Plateau Milkvine fowers have a less reticulated pattern with fower petals that are curved rather than fat.
which means “resembling a net or network,” refers to this pattern. It blooms from April to July, especially in full sun, and develops fairly large, interesting, warty seed pods filled with seeds attached to silky threads. Netted Milkvine is found in Central, West, and South Texas.
Often mistaken for Netted Milkvine is Plateau Milkvine (M. edwardsensis), which is endemic to the Edwards Plateau of Central to North Texas. This relatively uncommon vine shares the same twining habit of Netted Milkvine, and even has similar leaves, but its flower petals are curved rather than flat. Additionally, its greenish-white flowers lack the pearly center, and their petals have parallel veins in the inner halves and centers, and reticulate or networked veins only on the edges or margins. Blooming in April and May, Plateau Milkvine grows on gravelly soils in open woodlands, often climbing on other plants.
Scattered about the western twothirds of Texas, and growing in a number of other western and southwestern states as well, Fringed Twinevine (Funastrum cynanchoides) is a smooth vine up to 6 feet long, with opposite, lance-shaped to linear, untoothed leaves, and is often found climbing on fences and on other plants. It bears umbrellashaped clusters of 5 to 30 small, star-shaped, delicately fringed flowers that are white tinged with purplish-pink, and blooms from April to August. Also called Twining, or Climbing, Milkweed, this vine prefers part shade, normally grows in desert washes, on canyon slopes, and along floodplains.
Above: Fringed Twinevine.
Right: Fringed Twinevine fowers occur in umbrellashaped clusters and have fnely fringed edges.
Named for a small town in Chihuahua, Mexico, Talayote, or Milkweed Vine (Cynanchum racemosum), is a climber that grows to 15 to 20 feet in full sun to part shade, and is a native host plant for both Queen and Soldier butterflies. Talayote produces loose clusters of small, cream-and-green flowers that are held both above and among the heart-shaped leaves, blooming in the hotter months from summer into fall, and attracting a host of other small but beneficial pollinators. Growing only in Central, South, and West Texas, this vine produces plump, smooth pods 3 inches long, filled with silk-topped seeds, that often remain on the vine well into winter.
Left: Talayote fowers are tiny, but favored by many different pollinators.
Above: Talayote.
These lesser-known members of the Milkweed Family are prized as host and nectar plants by Monarchs, Queens, and Soldiers, as well as being beautifully and distinctly different from non-vining milkweeds!
Take the time to seek out some of these (and other) less-common Milkweed Family members that are native where you live. The USDA/NRCS PLANTS Database lists 72 Asclepias species native to some part of North America, 25 Matelea, 5 Funastrum, and 13 Cynanchum Some of these species are very localized, while others are native to large areas. Check the PLANTS Database (https://www.usda.gov/) or your local native plant society for information about what Milkweed Family members are native in your area. Your local native plant society may also have information about which of these species you might be able to buy to add more milkweed interest (for both you and the butterflies!) to your own garden.
Jim & Lynne Weber are certified Texas Master Naturalists, published authors, and nature photographers residing in Austin, Texas. Their recent retirements from long careers in the tech industry have enabled them to focus more fully on their life-long interest in several aspects of natural history. The Webers blog can be found at https:// naturewatchaustin.blogspot.com and their third book, Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies: A Field Guide, was recently published by Texas A&M University Press.
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