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Turtles in the watershed

by | Jul 1, 2026 | Wildlife

By Monica Backs

painted turtle on a log

Painted turtle

The Olentangy River watershed is home to a fascinating diversity of native turtles that play an important role in supporting healthy aquatic ecosystems. From sunbathing on logs to gliding along the streambed, these reptiles are a familiar sight to those who spend time along central Ohio’s waterways.

Among the most recognizable species are painted turtles and snapping turtles, which inhabit slower-moving sections of the river, wetlands, and ponds. Painted turtles are often seen basking in groups, soaking up heat to regulate their body temperature, while snapping turtles tend to remain more elusive, relying on camouflage and stillness. In contrast, map turtles are true river specialists and are more commonly seen in flowing water systems like the Olentangy and nearby tributaries.

map turtle

Map turtle by Mike Graziano

Map turtles are particularly adapted for life in streams. Their flattened shells and pronounced central ridge, known as a keel, give them a streamlined profile, allowing them to move efficiently through currents. They are also much more cautious than other turtles, often slipping quickly into the water at the first sign of disturbance. Unlike more herbivorous species, map turtles are active predators, feeding on snails, mussels, insects, and crayfish along the river bottom.

Another notable inhabitant of the watershed is the spiny softshell turtle, a uniquely adapted species that looks dramatically different from its hard-shelled relatives. Softshell turtles have flat, leathery shells, long necks, and snorkel-like noses, allowing them to breathe while mostly submerged. They are agile swimmers and often bury themselves in sandy substrates, lying in wait for prey or avoiding detection. Their presence is closely tied to clean, well-oxygenated streams with sandy or soft bottoms, making them an important indicator of good water quality.

Spiny softshell turtle

Spiny softshell turtle by Mike Graziano

Despite their resilience, turtles in the Olentangy watershed face ongoing challenges. Habitat loss, water pollution, and reduced populations of native mussels—an important food source for species like map turtles—can limit their survival. Additionally, riverbank disturbance and human activity can affect nesting success, as female turtles must leave the water to lay eggs in suitable soils.

Protecting and restoring river health directly benefits these turtles and the broader ecosystem they support. By preserving riparian corridors, improving water quality, and maintaining natural stream processes, we can help turtles continue to thrive in the Lower Olentangy Watershed for generations to come!

snapping turtle

Snapping turtle by Mike Graziano

Sources:
https://columbusaudubon.org/creature-feature-map-turtles-graptemys-species/

http://atlas.ohparc.org/group/turtles

https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/ohiodnr.gov/documents/wildlife/backyard-wildlife/Pub%205354_Reptiles%20of%20Ohio%20Field%20Guide.pdf

 

 

 

Cast your vote!

by | Jun 22, 2026 | Events, Wildlife

 

mural designs

Cast Your Vote for the next mural in the Columbus Water & Power/FLOW “One Water” series of public art installations!

We’ve got five amazing designs from talented local artists, and your voice matters. This time, we’re keeping the artists’ identities under wraps. Take a moment to explore the concept designs and their stories. Let us know which mural you’d love to see brought to life. Your top pick will be a key part of our decision!

 
To look at the previous years’ murals and cast your vote for this year’s project, head over to columbus.gov/onewaterart
 

The bees of Spring

by | Jun 1, 2026 | Backyard Conservation, Pollinators, Wildlife

The bees of Spring

By Jamie Strange and Dante Centouri

As the snow disappears and the first flowers of spring are starting to push through the soil of Clintonville, you are likely seeing some bloom in your gardens or around the neighborhoods and parks.

And where you see flowers blooming, bees are never far behind. At this point you may be envisioning a European honey bee, which are certainly present in town, but Ohio is home to more than just honey bees.  More than 400 species of native bees can be found in Ohio. Each species contributes the vital ecosystem service of pollination, critical for the health of our gardens, farms, and wildlands.

miner bee on spring beauty

Spring beauty miner bee

While many of our bee friends are welcome guests on flowers, like our human friends, some arrive with… baggage. Every summer our lab gets numerous calls asking for help with carpenter bees that are nesting in structures, so we understand the balance between preserving biodiversity and maintaining property.

Early spring sees the emergence of several species of ground nesting bees that some people find problematic. Why? Because they build their nests in our lawns and gardens and this can be alarming.

The two types of early spring bees you are likely to see in Clintonville in the next few weeks are mining bees (genus Andrena) and polyester bees (genus Colletes) both of which can form large aggregations of nests in the right conditions.

ground nesting cellophane bee

Ground nesting cellophane bee

There is no need to panic, though, because most ground nesting bees are extremely docile, won’t hurt your landscape, and won’t bother you for long. These bees make solitary nests, not colonies. Each nest is composed of a small cavity in the soil lined with plant material, leaves, or a polyester secretion. The bee will then fill it with pollen for its larvae, lay an egg, and close up the cavity before digging a new hole and repeating the process. A single female may raise a half dozen or more offspring in this way. After three or four weeks of filling the nest with larvae, the adult bee will die leaving the larvae to develop under the ground for the next year.

The bees are not interested in you, only in raising their babies and collecting pollen. While the aggregations of some mining and polyester bees seem like a threat, most solitary native bees only sting if you force them to do so, by grabbing them or kneeling on them. Even when they do sting, they have only a fraction of the venom that honeybees do so the pain and risk of a severe reaction is much less.

cellophane bee on winter aconite

Cellophane bee on winter aconite

There is no need to kill or relocate these bees because even the busiest aggregations are active for only a few weeks each spring. The benefits they bring to your garden and wildflowers far outstrip the risk they pose to you, your children, or your pets.

Whenever possible avoid disturbing the area but feel free to get up close and watch them work. You can learn more about these and other fascinating native bees here https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/ent-85.

 

Dr. Jamie Strange is professor at the Ohio State University in the Department of Entomology and directs the Bumble Bee Health and Genetics Lab and Dante Centouri is a PhD student in the lab working on bumble bee and solitary bee population conservation.

Bugs of the Watershed

by | Apr 29, 2026 | Backyard Conservation, Wildlife

Bugs of the Watershed

By Robin Brick

Bugs may be small, but did you know that arthropods make up 42% of all animal biomass? To put that into perspective, humans make up 2.5%, wild mammals only 0.3%, and wild birds only 0.1% (Bar-On et al, 2018.) What I’m saying is that the world gets a whole lot bigger with an appreciation of the bugs around you! 

But what is a “bug?” Some use it to refer to insects, a class of animals known for their three segmented bodies and 6 legs. Yet many also refer to animals like spiders or centipedes as bugs, animals that certainly do not fit this definition. Some however, may not go broader, but narrower, using “bug” to refer to the “true bugs” of the order Hemiptera, insects united by their piercing mouthparts. Personally, because “bug” is not a scientific group akin to “insect,” I believe any arthropod to be fair game to count as a “bug.”

Beauty is often associated with butterflies, but moths deserve credit too! Some of the best examples are those in the family Saturniidae, more commonly known as the “giant silk moths” or “emperor moths.” They live up to their names, the Cecropia moth is North America’s largest native moth, and has five to seven inches (13 to 18 centimeters). They’re about as big as an adult human hand! (NWF, nd.) 

These moths have quite the interesting life cycle. Most caterpillars will pupate in the fall, and won’t emerge until spring. (Coleman, 2012.) When the adult moths emerge, they have no mouth! Their only goal is to mate, and they will do so using only energy stored from their larval stage. Females that have not yet mated will release pheromones, and males can pick them up up to 7 miles away using organs in their antennae called sensilla. Because of the importance of antennae to pheromone detection, males will have larger antennae. (Chathuranga, 2013.)

A cecropia moth perched on a human hand. Photographed by Elizabeth Sellers on June 19, 2011, on Flickr.

A cecropia moth perched on a human hand. Photographed by Elizabeth Sellers on June 19, 2011, on Flickr.

 

A list with images of all Saturniidae species observed in Ohio on iNaturalist, including quantities of observations.

A list with images of all Saturniidae species observed in Ohio on iNaturalist, including quantities of observations.

Our next bug may be a “natural enemy,” but don’t let that name fool you, they could be your friend! They’re the jumping spiders! These spiders have very large, distinctive eyes. Perhaps what is more distinctive, however, is that unlike other spiders, they do not spin webs to capture their prey. Instead, they stalk and pounce, being able to go 29 times their body weight! (Griffith & Gardiner, 2016.)

Jumping spiders have also become popular pets recently. Personally, I think they’re adorable, so it’s easy for me to see why. However, interestingly, many owners began as arachnophobes, and adopted these creatures in an attempt to overcome their fear of spiders. These attempts are often successful, as owners, and viewers of their social media videos, see their cuteness and become acquainted with their personalities. (Hartounian, 2025.)

A bold jumping spider, photographed by Harlem S. on iNaturalist

A bold jumping spider, photographed by Harlem S. on iNaturalist

This last bug may be a favorite of gardeners, horror movie fans, or both. It’s the lacewings! You may also know of these bugs as “aphid lions,” a name given to their larval stage due to their predation habits. These bugs will pierce aphids and other insects with their sharp mandibles, and then suck out all the liquid inside of them. One larva can eat 200 insects a day, leading many gardeners to purchase eggs for their gardens. As adults, they may remain predatory, or begin feeding on pollen, nectar and honeydew, depending on species. (Griffith & Gardiner, 2016.)

Chrysopa_oculata

An image of a green lacewing adult, photographed by Robert Webster on the Wikimedia Commons.

 

Lacewing_Larva

An image of a lacewing larva, or “aphid lion,” photographed by Katja Schulz on the Wikimedia Commons.

The bugs featured here are just a tiny, tiny fraction of what the watershed has to offer! If you’d like to learn about more bugs the Watershed has to offer, you can explore iNaturalist, or just simply keep your eyes open when you go outside, and maybe snap a few photos of the bugs you see! If you’d like to see a sequel to this article, do let us know, I certainly have plenty more to say!

The Black Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio polyxenes)

by | Mar 31, 2026 | Backyard Conservation, Pollinators, Wildlife

by Olive Deja

What insect shoots orange horns out of its head like a dragon, stakes its territory like a wolf, and pollinates like a bee? The black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) of course!  This marvelous butterfly in the Papilionidae (swallowtail) family is an important member of ecosystems in Ohio and beyond, pollinating wildflowers, providing food for birds and other predators, and attracting curious eyes to the beauty of the outdoors. It is also called the parsley worm, carrot worm, and celery worm (particularly in the larval stage, for its larval host plants.) Read on to learn more about host plants and other interesting black swallowtail facts.

Range and Habitat
The extensive range of the black swallowtail encompasses much of North and Central America, found from southern parts of Canada to northern parts of South America. In the United States, it ranges from the East Coast all the way to the Rocky Mountains. You’re likely to find it in open areas such as meadows, fields, parks, wetlands, and prairies.

swallowtail eggLife Cycle and Description
Black swallowtail eggs are tiny, and pale yellow in color. They will turn a blackish brown just before hatching, and once hatched, the larva (caterpillar) is very small, and colored black and white. At this point, they can be easily mistaken for bird poop. As larvae molt and develop, they go through five stages, called instars. Once the larva reaches the fifth instar, it is around 2 inches (5 centimeters) in length, and has the characteristic black and green bands along its abdomen, with orange spots. In every instar, the larva is hiding a secret weapon against predators, the aforementioned orange “horns.” This is an organ called an osmeterium. When disturbed, the larva rears up and temporarily extends its osmeterium out of an opening in its head, accompanied by a foul odor to deter predators.

Black swallowtail caterpillarThe chrysalis (pupa) can either be brown or green in color. In Ohio, it is very common for them to overwinter in this pupa stage, where they enter a period of dormancy during the harsh winter months, specifically when they develop their chrysalis in the fall. Otherwise, they will emerge from their chrysalis in just a few weeks. Once the butterfly emerges, its wings will be damp and very fragile, so it sits perched just outside the chrysalis for a few hours to dry. By the time it’s ready, it will fly away to find its mate and continue the cycle.

The adult (butterfly) stage is, like its name suggests, mostly a dark, black color. It has a wingspan of about 3–4 inches (8–10 centimeters.) Its abdomen is lined with yellow pinprick dots, and its scaly wings have two rows of yellow spots along the bottom edge, with a dusting of iridescent blue in between. Also found on the inside corners of the wings are two orange “bullseye” spots with black dots in the center. The underside of the wings are similar, but with rows of prominent orange spots on its hindwings. Females typically are larger than males and have more pronounced blue “dust” patches, while males tend to have more pronounced rows of yellow spots. This difference is called sexual dimorphism, which can be observed across the natural world.

Many other swallowtail species look quite similar to the black swallowtail, and can be confused for one another at first glance. Some examples of visually similar species you may come across in Ohio include the spicebush swallowtail, eastern tiger swallowtail, and the pipevine swallowtail.

black swallowtailDiet and Host Plants
Like other butterflies, adult black swallowtails feed on nectar from the flowers of plants such as thistles, milkweed, purple coneflower, clover, phlox, zinnias, and many other pollinator plants. They also seek out shallow puddles and moist ground to get salts into their bodies. Host plants are plants that specific  insect species have selectively chosen as most suitable for raising their young. For example, female black swallowtail butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves and flowers of plant species in the carrot family (Apiaceae,) with parsley, dill, carrot leaves, and fennel being common garden hosts. Also some species in the citrus family (Rutaceae,) most notably common rue (Ruta graveolens.) These are good host plants for the black swallowtail since they provide food to the larvae and shelter them from weather, predators, and other dangers.

swallowtail after eclosingWith over 122,000 total observations of the black swallowtail alone, this species falls within the top 150 for most observed species on iNaturalist as of 2026. Out of a total of 558,000 species recorded in the global online database, that puts the butterfly high on the charts of recognition, which is a great way that this attractive species supports efforts in habitat conservation.

Want to see some black swallowtails in action? Plant one of its host plants or an Ohio native wildflower to attract them to your area!

Sources

Mahr, Susan. “Black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes.” University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension, Wisconsin Horticulture, https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/black-swallowtail-papilio-polyxenes/.

“Black Swallowtail Butterfly – Papilio polyxenes.” New Hampshire PBS, https://nhpbs.org/wild/karnerblackswallowtail.asp

Leahy, Chris. “Black Swallowtail.” Mass Audubon, https://www.massaudubon.org/nature-wildlife/insects-arachnids/butterfly-atlas/find-a-butterfly?id=15

“Black Swallowtail Butterfly.” Gardenia, https://www.gardenia.net/guide/black-swallowtail-butterfly

“Black Swallowtail.” iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/58523-Papilio-polyxenes

Borgmann, Kathi and Rodewald, Amanda. “Extension Fact Sheet: Butterfly Gardens.”
The Ohio State University Extension, https://woodlandstewards.osu.edu/sites/woodlands/files/imce/0012.pdf