Summer of Roses

A blooming rose in Florida's summer heat that's not a Knockout Rose? That's why we love Belinda's Dream. Given enough rain (something that hasn't been much of an issue lately), it will bloom pretty much 12 months a year. It doesn't suffer from disease or fungus either. And the pink blooms are even prettier than these photos show.

My Florida Backyard is in the middle of the summer doldrums, where we start to lose sight of the flowers due to the weeds. It's nice to have a bloom like Belinda's Dream to distract us from the jungle!

What's My Name?

A year ago, we would have told you that this little water bird that's recently started making appearances in My Florida Backyard was known as the Common Moorhen (Gallinula cholorpus). In July 2011, though, the American Ornithologists' Union voted to split the American population of the bird into its own separate species, the Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata). And so that's how we introduce it to you today.

The Common Gallinule and its relative, the Common Moorhen, are the most commonly seen members of the Rail family (Rallidae) around much of the world. Here in the U.S., it's found year-round in the south, including Florida, and spreads throughout the eastern half of the country in the summer breeding season. The red face patch and bill tipped with yellow make it easily identifiable. NOTE: Despite the new name, don't confuse the Common Gallinule with its arguably more gorgeous relative, the Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica). 

It's a small bird, compared to companion ducks and other water birds, as you can see below when compared with female mallards. It eats mostly vegetation, but supplements its diet with small snails it finds among the floating leaves. It has very cool feet, with extremely long toes, and despite the lack of webbing, it's an excellent swimmer. Click here to see a photo of Common Gallinule feet.

You might be wondering, who gets to decide what to call a bird, and how do they make that decision? Well, according to its website, the American Ornithologists' Union is "one of the oldest organizations in the world dedicated to the scientific study of birds". As such, it commands a great deal of respect from ornithologists worldwide, and the research it sponsors and produces greatly increases our understanding of the bird world. In a nutshell, if these folks say the American gallinules are a different species than those found in other parts of the world, then there's an awfully good chance they are.

Science is a search for answers, and what we think we know today can be turned on its head tomorrow. So we're willing to be fluid with the names and classifications of plants and animals as new discoveries are made. After all, none of that takes away from the delight of watching these creatures as they pass through My Florida Backyard, and in the end, that's what matters most to us.

Wordless Wednesday: Rest Stop

Born on the Fourth of July

In the sweltering heat of this sultry Independence Day, we managed to get some very good pictures of a Zebra Longwing butterfly ovipositing, or laying eggs, on our passionvine.

A close-up of the eggs reveals the ridges and pointed oval shape. This egg shape is common to the three heliconian species (Zebra Longwing, Gulf Fritillary, and Julia Longwing) that lay on passionvine, though the colors and laying habits differ among species.

In the photo below, note the butterfly's proboscis - it's completely covered in pollen. Zebra Longwings are among the very few species of butterflies that can digest pollen in addition to nectar. (They digest it externally, on their proboscis.) The extra energy from this pollen protein extends their lifespan dramatically - most butterflies live about two weeks as adults, but Zebra Longwings can live as long as six to nine months. As I tell kids at the museum where I work, imagine if you only drank soda all day long - how long would you live? Then imagine adding daily steak to your diet - now you have the extra nutrients you need to live a much longer life.

Zebra Longwings seem to be a fairly permanent fixture in My Florida Backyard these days, for the first time since we moved in nearly five years ago. It's fun to have Florida's State Butterfly hanging around as we celebrate our national holiday!

Stormy Weather

This weekend has been a bit of a case of "be careful what you wish for". After watching TS Beryl dump all its rain on the north and east side of Florida a few weeks ago, we watched with glee as forecasts called for TS Debby to bring us lots of rain here in Tampa. And bring us rain it did... our latest estimate puts us at about 8 inches since Friday here in My Florida Backyard, bringing our stormwater drainage pond up and over its banks.

Note that poor little young cypress tree, which just a couple of days ago was right at the edge of the pond. It's now many feet into the water, and more than one duck has looked a little surprised to find it there.

Other than some gusty winds, Debby has mostly been a rainmaker in our area. We hope that if you're feeling Debby's effects, they're only beneficial to you too!

Wordless Wednesday: Funny Face

Differences

After discovering our first Zebra Longwing caterpillars ever in My Florida Backyard a few weeks ago, we're now noticing clutches of eggs on the passionvine too. Passionvine (Passiflora spp.) is a popular host plant. In Central Florida, it's used by Gulf Fritillaries and Zebra Longwings. Further south, it's used by Julia Longwings, and to the north by Variegated Fritillaries. (Learn more about all these butterflies and caterpillars here.)

The eggs of Zebra Longwings and Gulf Fritillaries look very similar, but due to the laying habits of the butterflies, you can actually tell them apart pretty easily. Zebra Longwings lay eggs in clusters at the ends of vines, while Gulf Fritillaries lay their eggs singly, often on the upper sides of leaves. (The pictures below aren't of the greatest quality, but they help explain the point.)

Zebra Longwing Eggs

Gulf Fritillary Egg

Once hatched, the caterpillars have similar feeding habits. It takes them about two weeks to grow full-size and pupate to chrysalis. They then spend about two weeks hanging in chrysalis before emerging as butterflies. Gulf Fritillaries round out the life cycle by spending about two weeks feeding and mating before they die, but Zebra Longwings are actually much longer lived as adults. They are one of the few butterflies that possess the ability to digest pollen in addition to nectar, allowing them to expand their lives as butterflies to as much as six months or more. The pollen collects on their proboscis and is digested externally (click here to see a picture of a Zebra Longwing with collected pollen) - a cool and unusual process in the insect world.

We love nature of all sizes in My Florida Backyard, but we're especially fond of it on a small scale. It's endlessly fascinating to flip a leaf and see what's beneath!