Geek out with me about critters and plants on a mountaintop in Virginia. I’ll share what I’m learning as I try to bring native plants back on 200 acres of old farmland and tell stories from my encounters on the mountain.

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In this issue

• Field notes: Meadow in bloom

• Signs of life: Beetlemania

• Recommended reading

• Book news

• The Official Mountain Poodle

Field notes

Meadow in bloom!

In some ways, this is my favorite time of year on the mountain. Then again, I say that almost every time of year…but I get excited about mid-July because the wild bergamot are in bloom, and they attract all sorts of bees, butterflies, and even bumble bee moths.

Back in early March, I pulled three dozen young autumn olive shrubs that were trying to grow in one meadow patch. The reward for that work is apparent now: where those invasive shrubs tried to gain a foothold, instead there are plentiful blooming wild bergamot, yarrow, and daisy fleabane, as well as a few types of goldenrod that will flower later in the season. None of it was planted intentionally—it all just grew here.

This is a good reminder that meadows are not neat and manicured like tended gardens. They’re wild and messy, a mix of plants mingling in an unplanned fashion but following its own logic. There are a ton of native plants here, and I consider this field a success. That doesn’t mean there are no undesirable plants in this meadow, but the native plants dominate. I’ll have to keep an eye on things to make sure it stays that way.

Newcomers

Pulling large patches of invasive spotted knapweed* when it’s 95 degrees and humid is not fun, but discovering native plants I haven’t seen here before that might otherwise have been shaded out and smothered by the giant weeds make it more than worthwhile. One of these plants is a small purple flower called clasping Venus’s looking glass. The flower is named for the appearance of its seeds, which are translucent and said to resemble a hand mirror. It attracts a variety of pollinators, but what I like best about it is that it held its own amid the weeds—this tiny flower, persisting.

Once again out pulling spotted knapweed (destined to be a never-ending task, apparently), I discovered an abundance of spotted St. John’s wort. (So many spotted plants!) The difference between the “spotted” and unspotted species of St. John’s wort is apparently most apparent in the leaves, which are spattered with either light or dark spots.

The yellow flowers attract short and long-tongued bees, but the flower produces no nectar. The plant does produce a chemical that causes photosensitivity, so wear gloves if you handle it. (There are so many plants that can cause skin rashes that at this point I don’t touch any plant without gloves on.)

*In case you’re wondering, as a family, we filled more than thirty 45-gallon bags with spotted knapweed. And there was still more.

Signs of life

Beetlemania!

I often tell people that my interest in nature started with insects. What you might not know is that I still get excited when I see a cool creepy crawler. My kids, who are young adults now, point out interesting insects to me, and I’m not sure who is more excited about these discoveries, to be honest. (No, I am sure, and it’s me.)

What follows is a sample of what I’ve seen on the mountain lately. Only one of these insects is a beetle, but I couldn’t resist the play on words, for those of you who remember the Broadway musical Beatlemania. When can I ever resist a play on words?

I was preparing to check on the occupants of one of our bluebird nest boxes,** when I noticed a lot of bees buzzing and flying around a few inches above the grass near the nest box. At first I wondered if there was a nest of ground bees nearby, but when I got closer I realized what I tend to forget every year around this time—it’s green June beetle time!

Green June beetles are large—the width of my thumb—and iridescent green. They fly in a slow, ungainly, snaking trajectory, and they make a sound in flight like loudly buzzing bees. This time of year, they probably have just reached maturity, and once they’ve mated, they fly around above the grass searching for a perfect spot to lay their eggs. While I was crouched down watching them buzz around me, one of them flew directly into my head with an actual thunk. (We both have hard heads, I guess.)

The beetle’s larvae over-winter in the soil. When they’re developing underground, they sometimes leave an opening to their tunnel, which looks like a depression in the dirt. Remember the mysterious holes I was seeing everywhere? They were made by June beetles. Mystery solved! The reason I didn’t notice these holes before is that there were probably fewer of them, or they were in out of the way places.

June beetle larvae eat rotting organic matter in the soil and other insects, a welcome endeavor; they also sometimes eat fruit on trees. No one’s perfect.

**There are at least two new nests of bluebird fledglings in the nest boxes right now.

Also, flies

You know that I’m seriously into bugs if I’m even intrigued by the incredible variety of flies I’m seeing around the mountain. (And to be clear, I know that not all insects are true bugs; I hope I’m not bugging anyone by calling them bugs.) There is a family of flies called robber flies that hunt other insects, usually catching them in flight. Robber flies have bristly faces that protect them when they’re attacking, and they have a sharp proboscis, which they use like a handy combo of bayonet and straw—they stab their victims with it and then suck out their insides. Yum!

This robber fly has a name that’s the envy of Dr. Seuss: the yellow-thighed bentbristle.

Robber flies are important predators that help control insect populations. I hope they like to eat spotted lanternflies.

That spider

This is my first time seeing this gal in the wild. She emerged from a crevice in a stone wall when I was watering some sedge that was recently planted near the house. The water must have hit her web, and she thought she’d snared some dinner.

The bite of a black widow is irrationally scarier to me than a rattlesnake bite. The spider’s venom is 15 times as potent, but it also delivers a lot less of it. Black widows are reluctant to bite, but so are rattlesnakes (otherwise why would the snake bother warning us?). In a meadow full of rattlesnakes, I still have yet to see one—I hope that is not tempting fate. I have heard one, and that was close enough! I feel like I could more readily encounter a black widow because they’re so small and, according to one source, they tend to hide under rocks or, occasionally, “in seldom-worn shoes,” which reminds me of my uncle who pulled on a boot and got bitten by a scorpion (he was allergic).

Even though the literature says the spider is nocturnal, my experience shows otherwise. It was broad daylight when I shot this photo. I realize the spider here is a little blurry. It was moving. And let’s be honest, I wasn’t getting any closer.

How many black widows are waiting in crevices in this wall? I already avoid leaning on stone walls this time of year because of snakes, and now that seems like a wise practice in general.

Recommended Reading

Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration by Rebecca Heisman

Ever wonder how scientists worked to uncover the secrets of bird migration? This is the story Heisman relates in Flight Paths. Kenn Kaufman, author of the Kaufman series of field guides, says the book “reads like a cross between a great detective story and riveting science fiction, except that the science here is all fact.” And Kirkus Reviews calls it “a fascinating treat for avid bird-watchers.”

This book is on my to-read list in part because I’ve been enjoying Heisman’s free monthly newsletter, Birds of Passage, about (you guessed it) birding, and other nature-related topics.

Book news

Last month I had the honor of giving the keynote talk at the 30th anniversary annual meeting of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. If you want to be inspired, take a look at their website. They do a remarkable range of work, and they run an especially impressive education program.

Podcasts!

Native Plants/Healthy Planet, E269 - a fun and fascinating conversation with native plant mavens Fran Chismar and Tom Knezick who run the Pinelands nursery in Columbus, NJ.

Some Things Considered - “In the Weeds: Writing, Identity, and Belonging,” Season 3, E10. I talk with host Sean Murphy, literary citizen extraordinaire and founder of the Center for Story at Shenandoah University, about the story behind the story, the craft of writing, the solace of nature, and a lot more. This one is also available on video.

Constant Wonder Kids: “How to Grow a Naturalist” Season 3, E10 - A few months ago I shared the original Constant Wonder podcast here. Now, the folks who run that program have made a pretty cool kids’ edition of our conversation! (They took at all the cursing!)

Bad Naturalist is available wherever books are sold in stores and online, in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook formats. You can sample the audiobook here.

You can find these links and more on my website news/event page.

Upcoming Events

If you’re in the area, come out and say hello! Or tune into a remote event!

Missouri Botanical Gardens, featured speaker, St. Louis, Missouri. Tuesday, July 22, 2025 (registration required)

Wild Virginia, a remote conversation followed by Q&A. Monday, August 4, 6:30pm (details to come)

Land Ethic Live! Aldo Leopold Foundation, remote conversation and Q&A. Thursday, September 11, 2025 (details to come)

New events and the latest details can be found on my website. If you don’t see your city or town on this list yet, please reach out, and I’ll see what I can do to get there!

Check my website event page, or my Instagram or Bluesky feeds for details about events, and for more interviews, podcasts, and features.

A special request

If you read the book in any format (and if you enjoyed it!), please post a review on the Amazon book page! It helps!

Tell me where you are and what you see this month in a park near where you live, or in your own yard or window box. Send me a photo if you like.

And don’t forget to tell me about your favorite nature-related book or podcast.

The Official Mountain Poodle

Stargazing poodle

Now’s a good time to subscribe for more mountain discoveries, book news, and the requisite poodle photos.

Thanks for joining me on the mountain!

Until next month—

Paula W.

P.S. The cover photo this month is a margined leatherwing beetle on daisy fleabane.

Bad Naturalist: One Woman’s Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop

Now available in hardcover, audiobook, and e-book everywhere books are sold!

You can also…