Hunting for White Tubular Flowers

Saturday was warm and sunny (mid 70's F) in the Woods. I went on a hunt for Lonicera maackii, Amur honeysuckle. This invasive shrub has quietly launched an invasion of the eastern Woods and has a reputation of producing impenetrable thickets which out compete native vegetation. The Lonicera shrubs are between 3 and 10 feet tall. Early April is the best time to pick them out with their bright array of white, tubular, half-inch to inch long honeysuckle flowers. I cut and treated the stems of a dozen or more stem clusters. I also cut the unique trifoliate orange, and the re-sprouts from the largest Albizia mimosa. I was selective and did not cut any of the common Ligustrum privet or Elaeagnus autumn olive invasive shrubs. Another time maybe.
  Along the west facing slope of the Wash, north of the Elm Bridge, there were quite a few of the larger Lonicera in places that were steep and difficult to access.
  The same slope was the warmest location in the Woods. I saw a goatweed nymphalid butterfly, a couple of checkerspots, a couple of the common orange skippers, a couple of big bumble bees and the first tiger swallowtail of the year. The swallowtails along with monarchs and others are usually abundant on the blooming Elaeagnus.

Down along the Main Southwest trail, the route was not flooded for the first time in weeks. The ground is still soft and wet. There were clouds of mosquitoes resting on the wet soil but when I disturbed them, they only flew a foot or two up and none were biting. I think they may have all been early hatched males waiting for adult females to emerge.

This is the time in the spring when the green island of the slightly-raised sand dune stands out. Like a bathtub ring, everything a cm or two lower is subject to inundation and has little or no herbaceous greenery. This was also evident walking northeast from Heather's physiology plots towards the junction  at Tall Stump. Lots of deer tracks but I did not see deer. A few dog tracks in the soft mud. I'll have to watch for those. One tiny tick.  Frogs leaping into the ponds but I saw no sign of turtles.
The small white borage is blooming (Pl???) and leaves of Polygonum are getting going. Also blooms on Stellaria chickweed, lots of scattered Viola,  and both Lamium's amplexicaulae and purpureum.