Saturday, May 16, 2020

Why beech tree at Gwc really magical?

As I suspected ( and since I'm currently reading Doug Tallamys book Natures Best Hope) the Greenwood Beech tree  at Cypress and Vine Avenues whether American or European is magical  due to this info :

According to Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy, American Beech provides food for the caterpillars of over 100 species of butterflies and moths.  Among them is the Early Hairstreak butterfly, a rare species found in deciduous or mixed woodlands from the maritime provinces of Canada to northern Michigan and Wisconsin through the Appalachians to Tennessee and North Carolina.  Early Hairstreak caterpillars can only eat the leaves of American Beech and Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta).  The presence of caterpillars attracts predatory insects and arachnids to feed on them, including many species of spiders, wasps, ants and flies.  These insects are beneficial to the trees, because they help keep the caterpillar population in check.


It's the soft digestible caterpillars the warblers pursue mostly.

Check out the link 

https://the-natural-web.org/2015/01/09/american-beech/


A late update, 20 species warbler between 330-530 in the magical tree ,observed by Julian Hough.