august 2009 along the boardwalk newsletter corkscrew swamp sanctuary

8/9/2019 August 2009 Along the Boardwalk Newsletter Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

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When do birds sleep?If Barred Owls are active day and

night, and if Mockinbirds forage dur-ing the day and sing at night, when dothey all sleep?

No one has ever actually proventhat sleep is physiologically necessaryfor birds because sleep patterns in birdsare challenging to measure scientifi-cally. Laboratory experiments can’t du-plicate the varied conditions birds mustface in their natural environments, andeven the smallest sound or movementin a lab would disrupt the natural pat-terns the scientists are trying to study.But there are theories.

Odds & Ends

July Sightings

Eight blooms opened on the Ghost Orchid blate July with more buds appearing(July 21).

A black bear cub lounges in a cypress limbalong the observation platform spur (July 14).

Pig Frogs quickly repopulated the two lakes.Juveniles appeared in late July (July 17).

How do mosquitoes bite?Mosquitoes don’t really bite, nor do

they really sting in the sense of a hypo-dermic needle piercing the skin.

Females saw their way in. The fe-male mosquito proboscis (long tubularmouth parts used for feeding) consistsof six different shafts. Four are cuttingand piercing tools; a fifth transportssaliva to the host; the sixth transportsblood from the host.

When a female mosquito piercesthe skin, she injects a small amount of saliva into the wound before drawingblood. The saliva makes penetrationeasier, acts as somewhat of an anes-thetic on the host, and prevents theblood from clotting in her food canal.

In Case a Visitor Asks

Would you believe… Mosquitoes do not bite, sting, or feed on blood

A main benefit of sleep/rest forbirds may be that standing still helpsconserve energy. Resting motionless,during day or night, with eyes open orclosed, reduces the need to be 24-hourfeeding machines in order to maintaina high metabolism.

So birds will nap lightly off and onday and night rather than sleep soundly.There are advantages to that strategy.

Smaller birds must be concernedwith predators both during the day andduring the night. If they’re soundasleep, they can’t hear or see a poten-tial predator hovering above or lurkingbelow, and they can’t do anything aboutit. Not good for the bird!

Birds have two sleep phases: quietsleep when they open their eyes andpeek every three to six seconds, andactive sleep when their eyes stay shut.

Birds that are most active duringthe day nap more frequently at night;birds that are most active at night napmore frequently during the day.

Communal roosting increases theamount of time available for activesleep because at any time there will al-ways be some peekers on the alert forpossible predators.

Younger, less dominant birds thatmust roost at the edges of the colonyhave less active sleep because their lo-cation makes them more vulnerable.

Why do mosquitoes bite?Both male and female mosquitoes

feed on plant nectar, fruit juices and liq-uids that ooze from plants. The sugaris burned as fuel for flight and is re-plenished on a daily basis. Mosquitoesdon’t feed on warm-blooded hosts.

Mosquitoes belong to a group of insects that requires a protein in bloodto develop fertile eggs. Since males donot lay eggs, male mosquitoes do notbite. Females are the blood-seeking eggproducers.

Female mosquitoes lay multiplebatches of eggs and require a freshblood meal for each batch. Blood is re-served for egg production and is im-bibed less frequently.

What causes the welt and itch?It isn’t the bite or loss of blood. It’s

an allergic reaction to the saliva, whichis why some people are more affectedby mosquito bites than others.

Four mosquito myths1.Bug zappers are effective against

mosquitoes. Bug zappers do not con-trol mosquitoes and can reduce thepopulations of beneficial insects.

2.Electronic repellers keep mosquitoesaway. They don’t; save your money.

3.Some mosquitoes can be two incheslong. They don’t get that big; it wasprobably a crane fly.

4.Mosquitoes nest in vegetation. Mos-quitoes do not nest.

©Ralph Arwood



The Ruddy Daggerwing is one of Corkscrew’s most common and mostcolorful summer butterflies. Also called

the Southern Daggertail, and in the WestIndies the Tailed Flambeau, its range isfrom Brazil north through CentralAmerica and Mexico, and from the WestIndies north to southern Florida. Occa-sionally some stray north to a few statesin the Southwest and the Great Plains.

The Ruddy Daggerwing flies inFlorida for most of the year but is mostcommonly seen from May through July.It is in the brush-footed family and itsclosest relatives are the Admirals.

Although in flight it might be mis-taken for a Julia, the Ruddy Daggerwingis easily identifiable: its wingspread isabout three inches, the tip of its fore-wing is elongated, the hindwing has longdagger-like tails, its topside is bright or-ange with three thin black lines, and itsunderside is mottled brown and black.When perched with wings closed, itclosely resembles a dead leaf.

It inhabits tropical lowland forestsand edges and hardwood hammocks. Itslarval (caterpillar) host plant in Cork-screw is the Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea),so from the boardwalk it is most fre-quently seen in the cypress forest. Else-where, it will also use the Common Fig

ProfileRuddy Daggerwing

(F. carica) andwild Banyantree (F. citri-

folia) .Althoughthe caterpillarsfeed almostexclusively onfig leaves, adult butterflies are more gen-eralist feeders, nectaring at milkweed,Climbing Hempweed, and CabbagePalm and feeding on rotting figs andother fruits.

When it’s time for mating, maleRuddy Daggerwings perch in sunlit treesabout 15-30 feet above ground level andwatch for passing females. During thistime, males are territorial and frequentlyfly down from their perches to investi-gate anything that is bright orange.

After mating, females search forsuitable Strangler Figs on which to layeggs. The initial contact is usually vi-sual, based on leaf shape or other cluessuch as the presence of figs.

The female lands on the plant andtastes or smells it with the chemical sen-sors on her feet. If she finds the plantsuitable, she will lay single eggs onstems near emerging leaves or on youngfruit. Eggs typically hatch within a fewdays after being laid and the small larva

Marpesia petreus

begin to feed. In South Florida, there areusually three broods a year.

New Ruddy Daggerwing caterpil-lars lack the bright triangular patches of older caterpillars and are well camou-flaged on leaf stems and twigs. Theyhave enormous appetites and grow rap-idly. To accommodate their rapidgrowth, each larva sheds its skin sev-eral times, and the appearance of thelarva changes slightly after each molt.

When fully grown, larva seek a shel-tered place on a Strangler Fig, attach toa leaf or twig, and molt into the pupa.When the butterfly emerges, it unfoldsand dries its wings and is ready to beginthe cycle anew.

Life Cycle of the Ruddy Daggerwing Butterfly(1) egg laid on young Strangler Fig fruit, (2) emergent caterpillar, (3) caterpillar after intermediate molt,

(4) final stage of caterpillar, (5) pupa on underside of Thalia leaf, (6) butterfly emerging from cocoon

1

2

3

4 5 6

RANGE MAP

©2008 Alan Chin-Lee

©2008 Alan Chin-Lee©2008 Alan Chin-Lee

©2008 Alan Chin-Lee

august 2009 along the boardwalk newsletter corkscrew swamp sanctuary

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