What Is It? Twinberry

What is it?
Twinberry
Where did you see it?
On the Eagle Scout trail between the Beginning School and Vermont (aka The Story Forest or the Helicopter-Mushroom Trail)
What did you notice?
Beautiful wine color (late June).  When rubbed on paper, ink stains are produced.
Measurements:  None taken.
Is it native?
Yes.
Interesting:  A variety of honeysuckle. Parts of the plant are poisonous if eaten.  Attracts butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.
Quileute, Haida and Kwakwaka’wakw people use/d the plant for its dyes.
More info:
http://www.wnps.org/landscaping/documents/Twinberry.pdf 
http://www.pnwplants.wsu.edu/PlantDisplay.aspx?PlantID=454
http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_loin5.pdf

What Is It? is a suggested type of post you might consider adding to this site on your own or with students, to help all of us increase our wetlands vocabulary.  Copy and paste this format into your own post, or email photo and info. to one of our blog editors to post for you. Consider photos, student drawings, measurements, observations, questions...anything you think would be useful to other visitors to the wetlands!  Use the tags in the righthand sidebar to search for What Is It? posts. 

What Is It? Cinnabar Moth Larvae

What is it?
The larvae of the Cinnabar moth
Where did you see it?
On the Eagle Scout trail between the Beginning School and Vermont (aka The Story Forest or the Helicopter-Mushroom Trail)
What did you notice?
There are a lot of them!  (late June).  They were in clusters all along the trail (see photo).
Measurements:  None taken.
Is it native?
No.  Cinnabar moths were introduced in North America to control ragwort.
What does it eat?
Tansy ragwort and groundsel.
Interesting:  As moths they are black and red. Females lay clusters of 30-60 eggs at a time. Larvae feed near the area of their old eggs. Moths are day-flying.  Few predators because of toxins. Look for reddish-brown chrysalids/pupae on the ground.  Moths emerge in spring.
More info:
http://www.almostdailynews.com/2012/06/03/the-heroic-cinnabar-moth-evil-tansy-ragworts-natural-enemy/

What Is It? is a suggested type of post you might consider adding to this site on your own or with students, to help all of us increase our wetlands vocabulary.  Copy and paste this format into your own post, or email photo and info. to one of our blog editors to post for you. Consider photos, student drawings, measurements, observations, questions...anything you think would be useful to other visitors to the wetlands!  Use the tags in the righthand sidebar to search for What Is It? posts.