EAST KENTUCKY POWER COOPERATIVE

JUNE:
The Smallest Frog in North America

Welcome to Nature Notes, the newest feature in the Shelby Energy Newsletter. Each month we will showcase unusual plants and animals for your reading and viewing pleasure.

This weeks feature is the Little Grass Frog. A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of being invited to South Carolina to hunt salamanders, frogs and snakes (biologists do things like that, you know). While driving the backroads around the backwaters of the Savannah River I heard a very unusual chirping noise. It was a sound that I had previously heard only on tape: the mating call of the Little Grass Frog, Pseudacris ocularis .

Sounding more like an insect than a frog, we followed the tinkling sound deep into the flooded grasslands in the middle of the night (biologists do things like that, you know). Each nervous step taken to ensure that no Cottonmouths or Alligators were disturbed in the process just to catch a glimpse of the tiniest frog in North America.

What an amazing site it was to witness a frog no bigger than a housefly perched on blades of grass at the waters edge chirping to its little heart’s content.

The Little Grass Frog ranges in length from 7/16 to 5/8 inches. It is a member of the group known as the chorus frogs. Chorus frogs are most often seen and not heard, but during the mating season they are quite vocal. In the South, these frogs call year-round, but are most active during the cool rains that begin in November.

Although not found in Kentucky, this frog is found throughout the South. Can you identify the frog perch in the picture above? A little hint: This Little Grass Frog seemed a tad teed off while posing for the picture.

JULY:
The Orchid of the Commonwealth

If I was in charge of the state of Kentucky ( and you can thank your lucky stars that I’m not), the Kentucky Lady’s Slipper Orchid would be the state flower. Not that I have anything against the many species of Goldenrods found in the meadows and along the roadsides of Kentucky, but this incredible botanical wonder is in a class by itself.

The scientific name is Cypripedium kentuckiense and, although named after our fair Commonwealth, it is a very rare occurrence. A few years ago, I was studying a proposed powerline corridor in Rowan County and encountered ten or eleven small patches of the Kentucky Lady’s Slipper. Although the orchid is not protected by law, the proposed route was moved to a site where no rare species occurred.

First scientifically described in the 1970s, the Kentucky Lady’s Slipper is one of our most handsome orchids. Because of its height and color, it was originally thought to be a robust form of the Yellow Lady’s Slipper Orchid. You may have encountered another more common relative, the Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchid, in shaded woods throughout Eastern Kentucky. Like both of its cousins, the Kentucky Lady’s Slipper blooms in May. What sets this Kentucky orchid apart is the huge cream color bowl and long purple petals. Also this orchid seems to favor seasonally flooded sandy shoals along wooded stream corridors.

If you happen upon one of these botanical marvels, take a moment to celebrate the creative force that brought it into existence, and then call your congressman and politely request that it be named as the state flower of Kentucky. The crusade has begun!

SEPTEMBER:
The Virginia Big-eared Bat

My, what big ears you have! Well, this isn’t the Big Bad Wolf but the Big-eared Bat.

Formally known in the scientific community as Corynhorinus townsendii virginianus, this mammalian master of flight is on the endangered species list. In Kentucky, there is only one known hibernating colony in Lee County.

In summer, the mother bats tend their young in small limestone caves and sandstone shelters throughout eastern Kentucky.

Incredibly, while hibernating, this bat folds its ears over its head somewhat like a tiny bat afghan. This species is not very tolerant of human disturbance and will abandon a cave if bothered. Rarely is it found in caves that contain a treasure trove of Ale-8-One bottles or spray painted graffiti. Surely we can find a more creative way to express our affection for one another than vandalizing a bat cave.

Among the many myths about these creatures are that they are blind (they have eyes), they nest in your hair (my personal favorite) and they suck your blood (they eat insects).

In reality, this species is so beneficial and unique that it certainly merits the protective status it has received. This bat eats moths by the jillions, and moths eat crops. The big-eared bat’s hearing is so acute that, reportedly, it can hear a moth walking up a tree.

A recent quote in the latest Nature Conservancy Magazine states "clearly the bat has always captured the human imagination, and that may be because it seems triply oxymoronic: a flying mammal that sees in the dark by listening to its own silent screams."

So hail to the bat, one of the most persecuted, least understood of all creatures. Long may they swoop.

OCTOBER:
A Box of Chocolates

When it comes to matters of biodiversity, I am Forrest Gump. Although I am trained as a biologist, I consider myself an idiot savant when explaining to others what the word even means.

Fortunately, I am blessed to live in a state where the most incredible experiences are waiting to be shared. I don’t worship nature, but it is fragrant, and I breathe deeply. Biodiversity really is like a box of chocolates. Enjoy it, and share with your kids.