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| Tiger Swallowtail & Wild Radish |
I've been passing this joyful wild radish patch between the Bison Paddock and North Lake for weeks without seeing any butterfly action, so I was glad to hit the brakes this morning when I spotted a tiger swallowtail feeding on them (and picking up a nice dusting of pollen). If you ever wondered how a butterfly sucks nectar all the way up that long, unfurled proboscis, they do it partly by capillary action and also with a muscular pump inside their head.
Although the butterflies are happy to imbibe wild radish nectar, they do not lay their eggs on these plants, using various tree species instead. I can empathize, as I personally consider the peppery taste of wild radish to be an acquired taste (that I have not acquired). The plants defend themselves against caterpillar herbivory by producing bristly trichomes and toxic mustard oil, and doing so by epigenetic means just as they are being attacked. As a side effect, plants that have been attacked by caterpillars are more likely to produce pink or purple flowers.
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| Tiger Swallowtail With Unfurled Proboscis |
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| All those blue wrack lines of by-the-wind sailors are gone now, but you can still see a few of the little cnidarians floating around. I watched this group of whimbrels for any sign that they were eating the sailors. They ignored them completely, even when they floated right past the birds. |
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