SILVER NAME: Rachel Creager Ireland
LOCATION: Strong City, Kansas, USA
AWARD DATE: April 1, 2006

ANIMALS

ARTHROPODS

VERTEBRATE ANIMALS

FLOWERING PLANTS

HERBACEOUS FLOWERING PLANTS

  1. dayflower: Commelina communis
  2. daisy fleabane: Erigeron annuus
  3. butterfly milkweed: Asclepias tuberosa
  4. broomweed: Amphiachyris dracunculoides
  5. white clover: Trifolium repens
  6. sweet clover: Melilotus alba
  7. dandelion: Taraxacum officinale
  8. coneflower: Ratibida columnifera
  9. bindweed: convolvulus arvensis
  10. Illinois bundleweed: Desmanthus illinoensis
  11. buffalo grass: Buchloe dactyloides
  12. plantain: Plantago major
  13. plantain: Plantago lanceolata
  14. crabgrass: Digitaria ischaemum

WOODY FLOWERING PLANTS

  1. poison ivy: Rhus toxicodendron
  2. cottonwood: Populus deltoides
  3. redbud: Cercis canadensis
  4. elm: Ulmus pumila
  5. willow: Salix x sepulcralis
  6. crabapple: Malus huphensis
  7. hedgeapple: Maclura pomifera
  8. sumac: Rhus glabra
  9. Sugar maple: Acer saccharum
  10. Silver maple: Acer saccharinum
  11. honey locust: Gleditsia triacanthos
  12. common juniper: Juniperus communis
  13. Western juniper: Juniperus occidentalis
  14. castor aralia: Kalopanax pictus
  15. bur oak: Quercus macrocarpa

*****

REMARKS ON THE THREE SPECIES
OF MOST INTEREST TO RACHEL:

At first glance, this list might seem improbable, but I'm sure it will all check out. I live in a very small town, just a couple miles south of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Most of Chase County is still unbroken prairie, which allows a wonderful diversity of species. In a few cases it might be a very small stretch to say they were in my neighborhood. Several of the species were at the Preserve when I saw them, including the black-capped chickadee, the Swainson's hawk, and the collared lizard. The beaver was about two miles from where I live, on the other side of the Cottonwood River. The eagle was several miles to the east, but I included it because, well, I was excited to see it, and one of our motel customers told me he saw one fly right over our place. Also, they are reported to be in other places throughout the county.

In the beginning, I focused on native species. Then I started looking at trees and realized that nearly all of them are imports. So I made exceptions in that category. But I've intentionally left off many species I could have identified, because they seem to be intruders, in my probably misguided ideal of what the prairie is about. E.g., cats and dogs, cultivated flowers such as honeysuckle, peonies and roses; humans, cattle, etc. On the other hand, some non-native species are so annoying to me that I wanted to name them. Asian dayflowers, bindweed; and sparrows, mostly annoying because I can't identify them for the life of me.

*****

OTHER SPECIES IDENTIFIED BUT NO LATIN NAME PROVIDED:

Other insects, not identified by species:

  1. another hawk moth, possibly Hyles galii
  2. lightning bug
  3. june bug
  4. house fly
  5. horse fly: Tabanus family
  6. drain fly: Psychoda family
  7. robber fly: Asilidae family
  8. honeybee
  9. bumblebee
  10. ladybug
  11. aphid
  12. wasp
  13. potter wasp
  14. damselfly: Agrionida family
  15. dragonfly

Other arachnids:

  1. wolf spider (2 species)

Other reptiles:

  1. collared lizard
  2. tree frog
  3. snake (2 species)

Other mammals:

  1. field mouse
  2. possum

Other birds:

  1. sparrow
  2. other hawks, Buteo family

Other flowering plants:

  1. sensitive plant: Senna family
  2. sunflower: Aster family, several sp.