Maine Legacy, August 1990 Soft Blizzard: the Moths and Butterflies of the Pine Barrens

Library Use Only AUGUST 1990 —Maine 1 J V/ THE NATURE CONSERVANCY JLn the heart of York County lies an Top: scrub oaks flank expanse of wild and strangely beau- EK Z towering pitch pine trees tiful woodlands, where pitch pines & at Waterboro Barrens; reach to the horizon in every direc- I left: pitch pine needles; tion. For the past 8,000 years, with I bottom: scrub oak acorns the exception of periodic fires, little Lp>' has changed within this sandy, silent landscape. Deer and other wildlife pass the seasons reliable surface water to resident and vis quietly among the shrubs and tall, gnarled iting wildlife. conifers. Countless butterflies and moths, But thousands of years of evolution are including many rare species, add cyclical now threatened, and until recently it was bursts of life to the dry hillsides. unclear whether this extraordinary area Natural fires, a critical component of the pine bar would survive into the next decade. rens, periodically halt the encroachment of young hard Located only 25 miles southwest of Portland, and wood trees and rejuvenate the surviving plants. near Maine’s rapidly-developing southern coastal area, Underlying the vegetation, a natural aquifer collects the land surrounding this serene pine barrens wilderness pure water filtrated through layer upon layer of sand is under increasing pressure. Five miles north of the and gravel. Pristine ponds, streams, and bogs provide property is Lake Arrowhead, a development of over - Continued on page 2 - MAINE STATE LIBRARY SPP 9 0 1990 Fire and the Pine Barrens eriodic fires are a critical com ponent of the pine barrens eco Psystem and, in conjunction with topography, soils, and climate, have shaped the vegetative communities we see today. The leaves of many pine barrens plants contain particularly flammable resins and oils, and leaf lit ter and other plant material are slow to decompose on the extremely well- drained, acidic soils. This results in the accumulation of a deep organic mat, or duff layer, that readily bums. All dominant plants found on the pine barrens are tolerant of, and dependent on, fire. Pitch pine, for example, has fireproof bark, and, unlike white pine, can resprout from its trunk following crown damage. Scrub oak produces a burst of new growth after fire; according to John McPhee’s The Pine Barrens, “scrub oaks put out so many acoms after a fire they look like over-decorated Christmas trees.” Without fire, north ern hardwood forest species would invade, eventually replacing the pine barren species. The major stewardship challenge of the pine barrens is first to prevent and control the unintentional-but sometimes inevitable-wildfires that may threaten lives and property, and second to introduce controlled fires under carefully prescribed conditions in order to replicate the beneficial thousands of acres of pitch pine/scrub Waterboro Barrens effects of natural fires. oak vegetation scattered throughout Continued from page 1 An essential first step is to collect New York and New England. precise information on the area’s veg 2,000 residents recently described by the Most barrens are seemingly ideal places etation, resident wildlife, current fuel Portland Press Herald as “one of Maine’s for human settlement-occurring on load, fire history, and potential fire largest and fastest growing subdivisions.” deep, well drained soils with abundant breaks. The information will then In addition, active mining operations water reserves, and located in lowlands serve as the basis for a wildfire con have already altered a portion of the near coasts, harbors, rivers, and lakes. In tainment plan. It will also be the northern barrens, which overlie substan addition, they invariably occur on valu foundation for monitoring the effects tial sand and gravel deposits. able sand and gravel deposits. of both wildfire suppression and wild fires on the flora and fauna of this Realizing that southern Maine’s grow A Threatened Natural System complex forest ecosystem. ing populations could impair the Water In addition, the Maine Chapter boro pine barrens, The Nature Outright habitat destruction by land Science and Stewardship staff will Conservancy has secured an option to clearing, mining, and development, design an overall stewardship man purchase 1,100 acres of this endangered mostly during this century, has claimed agement plan for the future Water natural community from a developer, over half of the original pine barrens boro Barrens preserve that will who had envisioned a large recreational acreage. Remnant pine barrens are now include provisions to guide and residential complex. scattered in small and isolated pockets encourage compatible recreational In the mid 1600s, at the time of early use of this beautiful wildland. European settlement, there were tens of Continued on page 7 2-Maine Legacy, August 1990 Soft Blizzard: The Moths and Butterflies of the Pine Barrens By John Albright, director, Maine Natural Heritage Program icture in your mind a quiet, remote in spring. These will hatch in summer, Plandscape with parklike stands of and the larvae will transform to adults pitch pines, and ridge after ridge of pure in late fall in time to overwinter until scrub oak thickets covering thousands of here. Other species may use host plants spring to complete the cycle. acres. Picture dusk descending on this that are common elsewhere, such as One of the earliest flying moths in landscape in early spring when the blueberries or other heaths, but barrens Waterboro Barrens is the Twilight moth, evening air is full of the rich cool earthy remain one of the few habitats in Maine a species more commonly of central scent of frost rising out of the thawing that have been spared the destructive Canada and upper midwest, and one ground. And picture these pines alive use of pesticides or other effects of that is sometimes collected in driving with thousands of moths, fluttering in human intervention. Thus, barrens are snowstorms. the invisible night like a soft blizzard, a “last stronghold” for many Lepidopter Other species adopt a more conven and you have pictured the Waterboro an species. (By the same reasoning, we tional approach, carrying out their life Barrens. can expect that additional work on cycle in the course of one calendar year. “Barrens” of course is an entirely inap other pine barrens invertebrates will Some are insignificant in size and color. propriate appellation, because pine bar reveal many rarities restricted to or char Others are notable exceptions. The bril rens are as diverse and productive in acteristic of barrens.) liant Underwings, or Catacola species their component species as other habi Some of these species, especially the sport brightly colored hindwings that tats in Maine. The Waterboro Barrens ones dependent on bear oak for food, flash in the beam of light of the collec likely harbors more rare species than any are rare now because barrens have tor. other Nature Conservancy preserve in become so fragmented from destruction Perhaps the most sought after moth of Maine. or alteration that only a few viable bar the barrens is the buckmoth, a large, hir The single group of animals that gives rens habitats remain. The general per sute species with bold black, red and the barrens this distinction is the Lep- ception among entomologists currently white colors. The buckmoth flies for just idoptera, or butterflies and moths. At is that a barren must be on the order of a couple of weeks in late September least 45 species of butterflies and moths five hundred or more acres in size to sup before laying eggs and disappearing. The in Maine are dependent enough on pine port the full complement of expected name was given to the species because barrens habitats to be considered char barrens’ Lepidoptera. its flight period coincides with the time acteristic of barrens. Of these, 34 have The earliest moths to fly are the Noc- of year for hunting deer that frequent been recently documented in Maine, tuids. Moths in this family overwinter as the rich, acorn- laden ridge tops of scrub and of these, 25 are rare species either adults hidden under tree bark. As the oak. globally or in Maine. Many of these barrens thaw in early April, they emerge The Lepidoptera is just one group of have already been documented in at dusk for a brief flight period, looking interesting species that make their home Waterboro Barrens, and all can be for nectar from willow and maple buds, in the pine barrens. As we look at other expected with continuing survey work. and looking for mates. These species, groups, we will undoubtedly find just as Most of the rare Lepidoptera require such as the Acadian swordgrass moth many rare species—pointing to the either pitch pine (Pinus rigida) or scrub and Thaxter’s pinion moth will lay eggs value of protecting unusual natural sys oak (Quercus ilicifolia) as food for their tems like the Waterboro Barrens. larvae. Because these plants are domi nant in the pine barrens, it makes sense that we find these Lepidopteran species Maine Legacy, August 1990-3 STEWARDSHIP NEWS Seawall Beach Update: Piping Plover and Least Tern Management Continues by Jacquelyn M. Howard, Seawall Beach Warden iping plover and least terns continue to be rare and ever more endangered Pcoastal bird species in Maine. The birds’ need for broad sandy beaches for nesting is in direct competition with beach goers, who use these same areas for recreation Above: a piping plover and relaxation. chick seems to embody the In Maine, piping plovers and least word “vulnerable," even terns nest in only six locations. With when in the caring hands of increased development and recreational a Conservancy steward; use of the beaches, habitat for these right: Jacquelyn Howard birds has decreased dramatically over (Conservancy intern) and the past decades, contributing to low Justine Logan (Maine population numbers throughout the Audubon staff) put up fence state.

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