Field Class Stories from our Summer Interns!

Butterfly Excursion to Harts Pass

by Morgan Tate, 

Methow Conservancy Summer Intern and rising Liberty Bell High School Junior

A group of butterfly-lovers joined together on July 11^th to search out as many butterfly species as possible. Harts Pass had a bluebird sky and a warm breeze; the perfect day to be skipping along with a butterfly net. On this excursion, I was surrounded by many people who knew a lot about butterflies. They were able to snatch up a Northern Checkerspot and identify it with a swish and a glance. I, on the other hand, struggled to capture anything with my camera lens. I eventually had to settle with the grounded butterflies.

David James, the leader of the group, was able to help us “newbies” notice the slight differences between the insects as well as catch them. The differences could be in antenna color; white vs. black and white stripes, or perhaps a different number of spots on the wings. Anything could be a sign, and there I was attempting to take it all in during one trip.

Northern Checkerspot

We traveled up the road towards Harts Pass and then back down, stopping at four main places, with a couple of random stops too. We tried to find the most open areas because butterflies enjoy the sunshine. In total, we found 19 species of butterflies. I feel that the most common were the Northern Checkerspots (Chlosyne palla) and Northern Crescents (Phyciodes cocyta), but my favorite was the Lilac-Bordered Copper (Lycaena nivalis); the ends of its wings were tinted lavender. 

Northern Crescent

At some point, we all noticed that most of the butterflies were smaller that average. David James said that the caterpillars probably had less food the previous fall before hibernation.  Once, the "hatch" as butterflies, they are the size they are going to be - they don't grow.  He also mentioned something I never knew but was completely realistic; however big the caterpillar was, is how big the body of the butterfly will be. Butterflies don't grow after being in the chrysalis. Fun fact!

The Clodius Parnassian was big and beautiful

In the second spot, we were surrounded by forget-me-nots and lupine. There, we found a great deal more of Northern Checkerspots and Northern Crecents. At the end of the road (we were stopped because of snow between Harts Pass and Slate Peak) we ate lunch and had a stunning view of the Cascades, and we all looked around in amazement at the spring flowers. It was as if we were in a time warp, sitting in a field of glacier lilies and spring beauties. Our last spot granted us with the 19^th species: the Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides).

After this experience, I will never be able to look at a butterfly the same way again. I will begin to search for certain spots or markings that define who they are. Thank you David James for broadening the horizons of my young mind!

Me at Harts Pass enjoying the glacier lily and amazing views!

 

What's in the Water?

by Taylor Curtiss, 

Methow Conservancy Summer Intern and rising Liberty Bell High School Junior

Last Saturday I attended a Stream Ecology and Aquatic Macroinvertebrate class. I arrived hoping to learn more about the waterways in our valley, and be able to recognize certain macroinvertebrates. When I left the class I took away much more information than I expected. I learned about the food chain in the rivers and that if too many nutrients are being produced, which could be a result from a septic tank leaking, there will be more nitrogen in the water. I’m also able to identify a stone fly, caddisfly, a mayfly, and the differences between these three macro invertebrates. The teachers of the class, Rick Haley and Tim Hall taught us some new biology terms such as thalweg, which mean the main channel of the creek/river, which is usually also the deepest part. Another new term is imago which is the name for the adult winged form of an aquatic insect.

Here is a picture of a stonefly. You can tell that it is a stonefly because of its two tails, whereas most mayflies have three. The antennas on stoneflies are also much longer than the ones found on a mayfly, and stoneflies don't have external gills whereas mayflies do.

In this picture, our leader, Rick, shows the group how to record the data that we took with his provided instruments. We measured the temperature of the water, the percent of oxygen in the water, the salinity (salt level) which was 0, and conductivity. Rick told us that the conductivity is directly linked to the total amount of dissolved solids in the water. This means that, in a way, we were measuring the amount of suspended solids (sediment/debris) in the water. The lower the number the better.  Some macroinvertebrates such as stoneflies and mayflies require a high level of dissolved oxygen and their abundance is an indication of good water quality.

After examining the river near the suspension bridge in Mazama, we made our way to Early Winters campground and learned how to examine a site to determine the well being of the area. We were each given a short report to fill out.  We had to describe the site visually, draw a sketch of it, and then answer a lot of questions.  Some were specific, such as, “What the water temperature?”, which we could answer from having taken the measurement, and some were more subjective, such as, “What percentage of vegetation shades the stream?”.  We then gathered into a group to talk about our answers and compare with the “pro’s.”

Being in this class has given me a lot more knowledge about the place we live in, and the river behind my house. I also feel better prepared for next year’s science classes in school.

Here are some fun facts that I learned:

•  When the water in the creeks/rivers gets warmer, the cold blooded animals need more oxygen because their “motor” is running faster but there is less oxygen available to them.

•  Salmon laying areas need fresh oxygen from moving water. It’s important that there is moving water because it provides oxygen and if there is any dirt in the water; chances are that the eggs will die