Corkscrew

Swamp Sanctuary
Along the
Boardwalk
June, 2010 www.corkscrew.audubon.org

Audubon field guides come to iPhone Butterfly count set

The authoritative National Audu- The apps are compatible with Corkscrew is participating the an-
bon Society Field Guides have gone iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. They re- nual July North American Butterfly
mobile. Now nature is at quire iPhone OS 3.0 or Association Butterfly Count on Tues-
one’s fingertips with these later. day, July 20, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
new apps for iPhone, State-of-the-Art search Teams of volunteers and staff will
iPad, and iPod Touch. functions include browse be surveying butterflies in various lo-
Powerful and easy to by first name, last name, cations in the Sanctuary.
use, the apps put thou- and scientific name of ev- Volunteers are again needed to help
sands of photographs and ery species, by family, or with the survey. There is no need to be
illustrative content in the by species shape/type; or, an expert, and it is a great way to learn
palm of the hand. search by multiple “ad- more about butterflies from fellow ob-
Current Audubon vanced search” variables servers.
guide apps now available including size, shape and In 2009, a total of 38 species and
are the Audubon Guides color. There are also com- 963 individual butterflies were counted.
to North American Birds, parisons to similar spe- Tallies from counts from 1994 to 2009
Wildflowers, Trees, and cies. are on the Corkscrew web page at
Mammals. Newly re- Electronic field guides www.corkscrew.audubon.org/Wildlife/
leased is the Guide to Florida Birds. are a cost effective and green way for a Butterfly_Count.html.
Audubon guide apps to come in- new generation to be introduced to the Interested volunteers should con-
clude Insects & Spiders, Butterflies, natural world. Prices are $9.99 for all tact Sally Stein if they wish to partici-
Reptiles & Amphibians, Fish, Seashells of the guides except birds, which is pate at sstein@audubon.org or 348-
& Seashore Creatures, Mushrooms, $19.99. They can be ordered from Au- 9151 ext. 112. A $3 fee is required
Whales & Dolphins, and others. dubon or found in the iTunes store. from each field observer in the count.

Quick ID Guide: Two wild grape vines growing near the boardwalk
Two species of wild grapes grow
naturally in the boardwalk area: Sum-
mer Grapes (Vitis aestivalis) and Mus-
cadine (Vitis rotundifolia).
Both are very resistant to disease
and insects, but they do not produce
what could be considered wine or table
grapes. They develop high sugar con-
tents, but those are always accompa-
nied by high acid levels, often five to
ten times higher than cultivated grapes.
However, fruits from both provide
nutritious food for wildlife.
They can most easily be identified
by leaf size and shape and by the ten-
drils (the part that holds on to things).
Summer Grapes have large leaves,
with from one to five lobes. The ten-
drils are branched (divided).
Muscadine have small leaves with
sharply toothed margins and are the
only grape species with unbranched
tendrils.
Once established, both are rigorous
climbers, are difficult to eradicate, and
make a lot of shade which can smother
plants below them.
The Summer Grape leaf is on the
right and the Muscadine is to the left.

KEEPING UP WITH EVENTS…

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 Odds & Ends
Research team finds that songbirds prefer not to eat organic seed
Humans foraging in supermar-
kets increasingly select organically
grown food, although there is no
scientific evidence that organic
food is better.
Not so with wild songbirds
foraging in gardens.
Given a choice between or-
ganically and conventionally
grown wheat, the birds chose the
conventional stuff.
A team based at the school of biol-
ogy at Newcastle University in England
conducted three separate trials over a
period of a year and a half to arrive at
White Bachelor’s Button blooms in the wet prairie
along the exit trail (May 11).
Clash of the Kingdoms
Carnivorous plant, animal adapt when competing for same insect meals
A study has shown how two spe-
cies from different taxonomic king-
doms – animal and plant – directly com-
pete for the same food.
Researchers found examples where
there was a high dietary overlap be-
tween Pink Sundews, a carnivorous
plant, and Wolf Spiders.
When food was scarce, the team
found that the spiders built larger webs
to improve their chances of catching
prey, but at the expense of the plants.
“It does seem that the spiders can
adapt quicker to the changes in food
resources, ensuring that they maximize
their chances of capturing prey,” said
coauthor David Jennings, a researcher
at the University of South Florida.
their conclusion. Each trial lasted six
to eight weeks.
Two feeders, one with organic and
another with conventionally grown
May Sightings
A Red-shouldered Hawk that fledged from the
nest between the lakes rests nearby (May 25).
“All the results that we have seen
in the fieldwork were consistent with
the idea that the spiders were changing
different traits that they have in re-
sponse to the presence of sundews. The
field findings, combined with the lab
study, all seem to indicate that compe-
tition is going on.”
The fieldwork was carried out in
wetlands habitats in Florida where both
Pink Sundews, a small plant with a ro-
sette of leaves with a sticky substance
at the end to trap prey, and funnel-web-
building Wolf Spiders were found.
Both plants and spiders have simi-
lar passive systems: traps that relied on
sticky substances to capture their prey
such as springtails, small flies, and ants.
wheat, were placed near each
other. The amount of wheat eaten
was checked every two days.
The researchers concluded that
the higher protein count of con-
ventional wheat, about 10%
greater than organic wheat, “most
likely” accounted for the birds’
preferences.
Conventionally grown crops
are treated with fertilizers that de-
liver higher levels of nitrogen to plants
than do organic fertilizers, in a form that
can be processed more quickly. Plants
use the nitrogen to produce protein.
Glades Morning Glory bloom in the wet prairie
past the Plume Hunter spur (May 25).
To support the fieldwork, the re-
searchers carried out a laboratory ex-
periment involving 40 glass tanks, each
containing six sundew plants from soil
collected from a nearby bog.
The team equally divided the tanks
into five scenarios: spider–high food
supply; spider–low food supply; no
spider–high food supply; no spider–low
food supply, and no spider–no food.
Laboratory results supported the
prediction that spider presence reduced
sundew fitness, depriving them of nu-
trients normally obtained from prey.
The adverse effects on the plants
included a reduction in flower stalks
and in the number of seeds being pro-
duced.

Wax Myrtle
Morella cerifera
Southern Wax Myrtle, also called
Southern Bayberry and Candleberry, is
a wispy, six to twelve foot multi-trunked
evergreen shrub. But under the right con-
ditions, it can reach 20 feet in height.
The light olive-green foliage has a spicy
fragrance. Pale blue berries occur on fe-
male plants in the winter.
It is native from New Jersey west to
eastern Oklahoma and east Texas, south
through Mexico to Central America as
well as through much of the Caribbean.
It is used ornamentally for screens,
hedges, landscaping, wetland gardens,
and habitat restoration.
With separate male and female
plants, only the female plant has berries.
So if berries are desired, there must be
male plants close enough to the berry-
producing female plants for pollination
to occur. The leaves are aromatic, with
an appealing fragrance when crushed.
Like legumes, Wax Myrtle utilizes
atmospheric nitrogen and so is able to
thrive in infertile soils. Specimens grow-
ing in drier and sandier areas are shrub-
like, have rhizomes and smaller leaves
than usual. Specimens in wetter areas are
more tree-like with bigger leaves. There
are many intermediate forms.
The tree’s distinctive fragrant scent
comes from volatile oils contained in
tiny glands on the leaves. These oils
cause Wax Myrtle to easily and quickly
ignite in a fire, making Wax Myrtle a
very flammable plant. Its shoot, cannot
handle wildfires well. Because the
leaves, stem, and branches contain flam-
mable compounds, it is a fire hazard.
A wildfire will often kill the shoot.
Only a very small or quick-moving fire
will do less. Usually only the most re-
cent primary growth may be incinerated.
In contrast to the weakness of its shoot,
Wax Myrtle’s root system is fire-resis-
tant; no known fire has killed this plant’s
roots. However, Wax Myrtle will not
survive shoot destruction indefinitely.
Three consecutive years of shoot de-
struction may kill all plants affected. If
Profile
this does not happen, this spe-
cies will regrow a shoot.
This growth is most rapid
in the first season after a fire.
Wax Myrtle is often one of the
first plants to colonize an area.
The scientific epithet
cerifera means “wax-bear- A Pine Warbler feeds on Wax Myrtle berries during
ing.” Four pounds of berries January’s cold when insects were hard to find.
yield about one pound of wax.
Wax Myrtle’s fruits were a tradi- One species of bird was originally
tional source of the wax for those old- named for its strong association with
fashioned decorations called bayberry Wax Myrtle on its wintering grounds —
candles. The wax was extracted by boil- the Myrtle Warbler. It is now known as
ing the berries and skimming off the the Yellow-rumped Warbler.
floating hydrocarbons. The fats were Medicinal use of Wax Myrtle has
then boiled again and strained, and the declined since its peak in popularity in
liquid was usable in candle making, both the 19th century.
by dipping and molding. The plant may still be used today in
Southern Wax Myrtle was not the the treatment of fever, diarrhea, and a
only plant used for making bayberry few other ailments. The chemical
candles. Its close relatives were also us- myricitrin has anti-fever properties. That
able. Bayberry candles were usually chemical, along with the tannins, also
made from the larger-fruited, Northern has anti-diarrheal properties. The
Wax Myrtle (M. pennsylvanica). myricitrin works as an antibiotic, while
Southern Wax Myrtle and its rela- the tannins have astringent properties.
tives have largely been supplanted in It made a useful body for surgeon’s
candle making by paraffin substitutes. soap plasters, and an aromatic and soft-
The substitutes have artificial colors and ening shaving lather. It has also been
scents that create candles that look and used for making sealing-wax.
smell similar to natural ones. The bark of the stem and root con-
Aromatic compounds present in tain starch, lignin, gum, albumen, tan-
wax myrtle foliage seem to repel insects, nic and gallic acids, acrid and astringent
particularly fleas. It was traditionally resins, and a red coloring substance. The
planted around southern homes to help wax consists of glycerides of stearic,
keep living spaces pest free. A sprig of palmitic and myristic acids, and a small
wax myrtle in a closet or drawer was quantity of oleaic acid.
reputed to keep cockroaches out. Externally, the powdered bark was
Wax Myrtle fruit is an important used as a stimulant to indolent ulcers,
high energy food for wildlife, provid- though in poultices it had to be combined
ing fat and fiber in winter diets. Turkey, with elm.
Bobwhite, various waterfowl, Catbirds, The decoction was good as a gargle
thrashers, Bluebirds, vireos, and war- and injection in chronic inflammation of
blers are frequent visitors to Wax Myrtle the throat and was used as a wash for
thickets. The berries are the main food the gums. Water in which the wax had
for wintering Tree Swallows in Florida. been boiled to an extract was regarded
Wildlife is the primary disperser of as a certain cure for dysentery, and the
Wax Myrtle seeds. Birds digestive sys- wax itself, being astringent and slightly
tems’ remove the wax from the fruit, narcotic, was valuable in severe dysen-
which a prerequisite for germination. tery and internal ulcerations.