Hidden in Plain Sight

If it’s not a leaf and it’s not a grasshopper, what is it?

This conical-faced insect is a sword-bearing conehead (Neoconocephalus ensiger). Coneheads belong to the katydid (Tettigoniidae) family, can come in green or brown forms, and resemble vegetation as a means of camouflage. In the photos below, notice how the wings and head resemble grass while the long hind legs resemble twigs or dead stalks. Green color variants are a fresh, unmarked leafy green while brown color variants are speckled with black like decaying vegetation.

Sword-bearing coneheads are so named for their females’ long, sword-shaped ovipositor, which extends far beyond her wings. This particular individual is a male, whose song is produced by rubbing his right forewing (plectrum) across a set of teeth on the underside of his left forewing. Males can be heard singing through the night from July to September. On cooler nights, males synchronize their singing.

Different conehead species can be distinguished by their songs as well as the black markings on the tip of their cones. Sword-bearing coneheads sing a raspy tst-tst-tst song at 10 notes per second and don a moustache-like black stripe across the tip of their cone.

Coneheads can be found in the tall grasses of moist meadows, and their unique mouthparts are suitable for feeding on the seeds of these grasses. During the day, coneheads remain still in a head-down position in the vegetation and can be very difficult to spot.

Keep an eye - and an ear - out for awe-inspiring things that may be hidden in plain sight all around you!

Green color variant of the male sword-bearing conehead.

The black stripe across the tip of his cone signifies that this is a sword-bearing conehead.

The berry-colored mouthparts of these coneheads are designed for eating seeds of grasses.

During the day, coneheads remain still in a head-down position.

2019 Species T-shirts Now Available!

Each year, Blue Ridge Discovery Center designs stylish graphic tees featuring a collection of species that are unique to our region. This year’s collection includes:

• Northern saw-whet owl

• Gray’s lily

• Northern pygmy salamander

• Spruce-fir moss spider

The 2019 Species Shirt Collection is now available in our online shop. Adult and youth options are available. Continue reading for full descriptions!

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The 2019 Species Shirt Collection

The second smallest native owl species, the northern saw-whet owl generally remains deep within the Canadian taiga, but its breeding range extends down through the Appalachian Mountains, where it ends in the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest. Feeding on insects, small rodents and birds, northern saw-whet owls scoop up their prey with one fatal blow, swooping down to the forest floor with silent wings. Superior eyesight allows them to both hone in on prey as well as avoid predators, which often come in the form of larger owls. These are named for their monotonous whistle; the squeaking sound resembles the raspy creaking of an old crosscut saw being sharpened. Northern saw-whet owls spend the winter in the lowlands, migrating back to northern and clinal subalpine forests in the spring, where they will raise a brood of bizarre, exotic-looking fledglings. Look in thick, coniferous cover and you might catch a glimpse of this rare bird of prey.

Northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus)

The blossoms of Gray’s lily are bright red and they shine like beacons through foggy waves of grass in their characteristic montane habitats during the summer. The Gray’s or Roan lily, Lilium grayi, is a threatened, endemic species first discovered by legendary nineteenth century botanist Asa Gray, who wrote notes on the unusual features of these beautiful flowers, but humbly refrained from immediately attempting to describe the plant. Later, it was discovered to indeed be a new species, and was named in Gray’s honor. A truly unique lily, the Gray’s lily illustrates the beauty associated with biodiversity, and as a result, it is an important testimony of the Blue Ridge’s botanical significance. Now, an introduced fungal pathogen is wreaking havoc on this species, but they may still be found fighting to bloom in the scenic natural grasslands of the mountains.

Gray’s lily (Lilium grayi)

Named Desmognathus organi after herpetologist James Organ who laid a foundation for salamander research in the Mt. Rogers area, this Lilliputian salamander is truly a sight to behold. Pygmy salamanders have a characteristic herringbone pattern which resembles pinecone scales, and a beautiful golden coloration. A terrestrial species of dusky salamander, northern pygmy salamanders forage for small insects atop the leaf litter on cool, moist spring and summer nights. In fact, pygmy salamanders are excellent climbers and have been found foraging several feet above the ground on the bark or vegetation of trees. Unlike most amphibians, they will even lay their eggs outside of the water and the female will fiercely guard her brood from predators and infections. As a testament to their name and size, an adult female coiled around her eggs could fit easily atop a quarter.

Northern pygmy salamander (Desmognathus organi)

Spruce fir moss spiders, Microhexura montivaga, are often affectionately referred to as the “tiny tarantulas of the mountains” because of their resemblance and relation to the giant tarantulas of tropical regions. This species is a critically endangered spider restricted to the rare Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest habitat on a few mountaintops of the Blue Ridge. These spiders are certainly tiny; adults seldom grow larger than one eighth of an inch. These spiders construct thick tubes of silk amongst the rhizomes of hair cap mosses such as Dicranodontium and Polytrichum. Their webs resemble those of the also related trapdoor spiders, and mainly hunt tiny soil microfauna detected crossing above. Few have seen this spider, and it remains one of the more mysterious denizens of southern boreal forests.

Spruce-fir moss spider (Microhexura montivaga); Photo by Marshal Hedin

With your purchase you are supporting Blue Ridge Discovery Center's mission to inspire creativity, discovery, and critical thinking through interest-driven and hands-on activities focused on the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Secret Life of Butterflies

Meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona)

With such striking coloration, this meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona) easily stands out against its floral backdrop when feeding and in flight. However, it needs to be a little more inconspicuous at times of rest. By situating itself on a dead plant and closing up its wings, this butterfly’s drab underwing (cryptic) coloration allows it to blend in with the dead flower buds. This camouflage, in addition to lack of movement, makes the meadow fritillary very difficult for predators to detect.   

Meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona) with cryptic coloration

Meadow fritillaries belong to the family Nymphalidae, or brushfoots, for the long brush-like scales on their reduced forelegs, as seen below. The brushfoots use these modified appendages for chemoreception (taste and smell), leaving only four legs for walking. Other brushfoots include monarchs, admirals, commas, and pearl crescents, to name a few. Together they make up the largest family of butterflies with over 6,000 species worldwide. Like the meadow fritillary, many butterflies in the Nymphalidae family are brightly colored above with cryptic coloration below.

Meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona) with brush-like forelegs

Life history strategies on display!

This most recent BRDC visitor, a pipevine swallowtail caterpillar, gets its name from its obligate host plant, pipevine. The pipevine (or Dutchman’s pipe) is so named for its unusual lobed flowers that resemble Dutch smoking pipes. While the flowers’ shape makes them an unsuitable food source for adult pipevine swallowtail butterflies, the rest of the plant is essential for this butterfly’s life cycle.  

These reddish-black, orange-spotted larvae feed exclusively on plants within the genus Aristolochia, which contain aristolochia acid, a toxin that the larvae ingest, making them distasteful and poisonous to potential predators. This toxin remains in the caterpillar’s body throughout metamorphosis and adulthood as a defense mechanism. Even the eggs retain this toxin when they are oviposited on the leaves and stems of the pipevine plant, ready to hatch out the next, hungry generation.

Here at BRDC we can currently see three different instars of the pipevine swallowtail caterpillar around the property!