Spring 2023: Plums Provide!

In early spring, when creatures emerge that need pollen and nectar at the same time that  early shrubs start to blossom--all seems right with the world!  If humans pay attention, they can feel the rush of energy and a surge of well-being as the prairie ecosystem comes visibly and audibly alive.   

Wild Plums--Prunus americana--flourish in the seeps and on the edges of the tallgrass prairie.   They are among the first to bloom in the spring and are there to welcome butterflies migrating north from overwintering grounds further south.   Two of those migrant species are the Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) and the American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis).

Red Admirals enjoy the abundant nectar in the blossoms of American Plums.  April 14, 2023.  

American Ladies take in the rich nectar of wild plums.  April 17, 2023.

Tiny light-colored butterflies that overwinter here, as pupae, are among the first to emerge in the spring--and nectar-rich native shrubs can help them thrive.  

The Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) may metamorphose as early as mid-March.  This one came to plums along the Creek Field on April 11, 2023:

Spring Azure.

I thought the next tiny butterfly to arrive on the plums, also on April 11, 2023, was also a Spring Azure until I magnified the photos.  It was a Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)!   The two species look similar from afar.  But Spring Azures have a different underwing pattern, and they have no "tails" or orange spots.  

Possibly threatened by my presence, this Gray Hairstreak 

flared out hind wing tips, perhaps in an effort to intimidate me.  

  Combined with the "tails," the flaring creates the appearance 

of a formidable second "face."

Here the "tails" are visible.

In this rare glimpse of the Hairstreak's upperside, the red spot is visible.  

Here are the two species in action.  The video shows what the photos do not--early spring butterflies have to cope with high winds!