YOUR MONTHLY FIELD GUIDE
May
The Woods Fill In
Southern Blue Ridge • Western North Carolina
Fresh leaves spread quickly through the canopy, transforming once-open woods into layers of green. As sunlight fades from the forest floor, spring wildflowers give way to ferns and foliage while birdsong, insects, and new life fill the branches above.
Meet This Month's Species
Flame Azalea
Rhododendron calendulaceum
A native deciduous azalea whose vivid orange-to-yellow flowers brighten woodland edges and mountain slopes in late spring.
Eastern Bluebird
Sialia sialis
A familiar cavity-nesting songbird whose adults make repeated spring feeding trips to deliver insects and caterpillars to hungry nestlings.
Aggyrolemnoixytes, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Blue Ghost Firefly
Phausis reticulata
Males drift low through dark woods with a sustained blue-green glow rather than the brief flashes typical of many other fireflies.
Phausis reticulata
Eastern Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina carolina
A long-lived forest turtle that becomes more visible on warm, damp days as it moves slowly through woodland habitat.
Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia
An evergreen mountain shrub whose clusters of pale, intricate flowers brighten woodland edges as late spring moves toward summer.
Wood Thrush
Hylocichla mustelina
A forest songbird known for its rich, flute-like song, often heard from shaded woods as the canopy fills in.
May Small Wonders
Praying Mantises
Stagmomantis carolina
As late spring warms, tiny praying mantises begin emerging from overwintered egg cases, dispersing into leaves and stems as miniature hunters.
Blue Ghost Firefly
Phausis reticulata
On warm nights, male blue ghost fireflies drift low through the woods with a sustained glow as they search for tiny, wingless females on the forest floor. Unlike most fireflies, their light lingers rather than flashes, creating an eerie glow in the dark understory.
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