Early Spring Butterflies Thanks to a Hard Working Sapsucker

By mid-summer it is hard to miss the butterflies. Whether it is the large and familiar monarchs and swallowtails or the abundant white ones known as cabbage whites, they are sure to be seen flitting from flower to flower in our gardens and neighborhoods. For most people, summer is surely the season to see butterflies.

So I have to wonder how many people would have been surprised one recent morning when, while walking one of my favorite woodland trails, I encountered not one, but half a dozen butterflies flitting around beneath the canopy. Closer investigation revealed that this flurry of activity represented not only one, but three different species!

The largest and most distinctive of the three species and the only one we are sure hibernates through our long cold winters was a Mourning Cloak. In autumn they squeeze their way behind loose bark, into a crack or crevice in a tree or building, or crawl beneath a rock or log where they will winter as an adult. Come the warm days of spring, they emerge from their sleep and are one of the first species seen.

Less is known about the wintering habits of the other two species, the Red Admiral and the American Lady. Both are common here in summer, but where the first ones of spring come from has only recently begun to be understood. The current thinking is that these early season records represent migrants that wintered further south, but until recently they weren’t entirely sure. They continue to gather data in an effort to better understand their migration and wintering habits. In either case, the American Lady pictured quite possibly represents the earliest Wisconsin record.

The main attraction for this group of butterflies was sap running down a maple tree beneath a series of holes drilled by a yellow-bellied sapsucker. The sapsucker is an expert at drilling holes that produce sap, so good in fact, that one theory suggests that the saliva of the sapsucker produces an anticoagulant that allows the sap to flow more freely. These important feeding stations created by the sapsucker have been found in 250 different types of trees and provide early season nutrition to insects of all kinds, as well as bats, squirrels and multiple bird species such as the brown creeper I saw feeding on flies attracted to the sap.

Sunshine and warmth is never guaranteed in spring, yet nature always takes care of its own through important species like the sapsucker. I was fortunate to get a chance to witness this example where multiple species demonstrated their dependency on the actions of the sapsucker.

In all of nature, species depending on each other is the norm. During this time when nature is in transition, I encourage you to get out and explore our wild world, and see if you can witness some of these fascinating relationships yourself.