Wildflowers and Flower-visiting Insects of the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest
(Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana)

Jessica E. Fultz1 and Kevin M. O'Neill2
Departments of 1Animal & Range Sciences and 2Land Resources and Envirnomenal Sciences, Montana State University

Matthew Lavin
Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University

Overview

Our overall objective is to examine the effect of shelterwood management and prescribed burning on pollinators and flower resources on the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest in central Montana. Research from the summers of 2001-2002 have begun to provide an extensive data base on flower resources and associated insect communities to help assess the impact of future prescribed burns on the lodgepole forest ecosystem. The study area, which is split between the north and south sides of the Tenderfoot Creek watershed in Lewis and Clark National Forest. The 23 sampling areas include 19 that fall within three logging treatments: unlogged (3), evenly spaced shelterwood (8), and grouped shelterwood (8). Two of the unlogged treatment areas and half of each shelterwood types are slated for prescribed burning prior to the summer of 2003. We have also sampled within four meadows adjacent to the treatment areas that harbor a high diversity of flowers and flower-visiting insects.

Our specific objectives in this ongoing project are to 1) Survey biological diversity of potential pollinators, including Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and sawflies), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Diptera (flies), and Coleoptera (beetles) before and after the prescribed burns (although these are large groups of insects, only a certain subset are potential pollinators); 2) Determine the types of pollen carried by flower visiting insects to assess their important as pollinators; 3) Survey flower abundance and diversity to determine the availability of floral resources; and 4) Collect seasonal samples of prey and pollen used by the trap-nesting wasp species.

Cooperators in this study include Dr. George Markin and Dr. Ward McCaughey (U.S. Forest Service).


Wildflowers of Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest
with images of flowers1 and pollen2

Family
Species
Common name
Images
Apiaceae
Heracleum maximum
cow-parsnip
flower
pollen

Lomatium cous
biscuitroot
flower
pollen

Perideridia gairdneri
yampah or indian carrot
flower
pollen
Asteraceae
Achillea millefolium
yarrow
flower
pollen

Agoseris glauca
short-beaked agoseris
flower
pollen

Anaphalis margaritacea pearly everlasting
flower
pollen

Antennaria microphylla
rosy pussytoes
flower
pollen

Antennaria racemosa
racemose pussytoes
flower
pollen

Arnica mollis
hairy arnica
flower
pollen

Aster foliaceus
leafy aster
flower
pollen

Aster integrifolius
thick-stemmed aster
flower
pollen

Cirsium scariosum
elk thistle
flower
pollen

Erigeron sp.
fleabane
flower
pollen

Hieracium albiflorum
white hawkweed
flower
pollen

Hieracium gracile
slender hawkweed
flower
pollen

Senecio dimorphophyllus

flower
pollen

Senecio sphaerocephalus

flower
pollen

Senecio triangularis
arrow-leafed groundsel
flower
pollen

Solidago canadensis
Canada goldenrod
flower
pollen
Boraginaceae
Mertensia ciliata
mountain bluebells
flower
pollen

Mertensia lanceolata
"lance-leafed" bluebells
flower
pollen
Brassicaceae
Arabis drummondi
Drummond's rockcress
flower
pollen

Thlaspi montanum
pennycress
flower
pollen
Campanulaceae
Campanula rotundifolia
roundleaf harebell
flower
pollen
Caryophyllaceae
Arenaria congesta
ballhead sandwort
flower
pollen

Cerastium arvense
field chickweed
flower
pollen
Ericaceae
Vaccinium myrtillus
low bilberry
flower
pollen
Fabaceae
Astralagus alpinus
alpine milkvetch
flower
pollen

Lupinus argenteus
silvery lupine
flower
pollen

Trifolium longipes
long-stalked clover
flower
pollen
Gentianaceae
Gentiana calycosa
mountain bog gentian
flower
pollen
Geraniaceae
Geranium bicknellii
Bicknell's geranium
flower
pollen

Geranium richardsonii
white geranium
flower
pollen

Geranium viscosissimum
sticky geranium
flower
pollen
Lamiaceae
Prunella vulgaris
self-heal
flower
pollen
Liliaceae
Allium brevistylum
nodding onion
flower
pollen

Allium schoenoprasum
wild chives
flower
pollen

Camassia quamash
common camas
flower
pollen

Fritillaria pudica
yellowbells
flower
pollen

Erythronium grandiflorum
glacier lily
flower
pollen

Xerophyllum tenax
beargrass
flower
pollen

Zigadenus elegans
showy death-camas
flower
pollen
Onagraceae
Epilobium anagallidifolium
alpine willowherb
flower
pollen

Epilobium angustifolium
fireweed
flower
pollen
Orchidaceae
Platanthera dilitata
tall white rein orchid
flower
pollen

Platanthera hyperborea
northern green rein-orchid
flower
pollen
Polygonaceae
Eriogonum flavum
yellow buckwheat
flower
pollen

Polygonum bistortoides
American bistort
flower
pollen

Rumex paucifolius
alpine sorrel
flower
pollen
Portulacaceae
Claytonia lanceolata
western spring-beauty
flower
pollen
Primulaceae
Dodecantheon pulchellum
pretty shooting-star
flower
pollen
Pyrolaceae
Chimaphila umbellata
Prince's pine
flower
pollen
Ranunculaceae
Delphinium bicolor
lowland larkspur
flower
pollen

Ranunculus macounii
Macoun's buttercup
flower
pollen

Trollius laxus
globeflower
flower
pollen
Rosaceae
Fragaria virginiana
wild strawberry
flower
pollen

Geum macrophylum
large-leafed avens
flower
pollen

Potentilla diversifolia
diverse-leafed cinquefoil
fllower
pollen

Potentilla gracilis
graceful cinquefoil
flower
pollen

Rubus ideaus
raspberry
flower
pollen
Rubiaceae
Galium boreale
bedstraw
flower
pollen
Saxifragaceae
Lithophragma parviflorum small-flowered woodland star
flower
pollen

Parnassia fimbriata
fringed grass-of-Parnassus
flower
pollen

Saxifraga sp.
saxifrage
flower
pollen
Scrophulariaceae
Castilleja miniata
scarlet paintbrush
flower
pollen

Castilleja occidentalis
western yellow paintbrush
flower
pollen

Collinsia parviflora
blue-eyed Mary
flower
pollen

Mimulus guttatus
yellow monkey-flower
flower
pollen

Pedicularis groenlandica
elephant's head
flower
pollen

Veronica cusickii
Cusick's speedwell
flower
pollen

Veronica wormskjoldii
alpine speedwell
flower
pollen
Valerianaceae
Valeriana dioica
marsh valerian
flower
pollen

Valeriana sitchensis
Sitka valerian
flower
pollen
Violaceae
Viola orbiculata
round-leafed yellow violet
flower
pollen
1 all flower photos taken by Kevin M. O'Neill in Lewis and Clark National Forest with a Nikon CoolPix 995.
2 all pollen photos taken by Jessica E. Fultz, using a phase contrast microscope at 100x oil immersion objective and a Kodak DC290 Zoom digital camera in combination with Adobe Photoshop 5.5 software; pollen processed using safranin staining protocol; note that photos of pollen taken in a slightly different plane of focus make look different than the photos presented here
; thanks to Dr. Donald Burgess (Department of Molecular Biology, Montana State University) for use of his microscope.


Contacts

Jessica Fultz
Department of Animal & Range Sciences
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59715
jef@montana.edu

Dr. Kevin M. O'Neill
Department of Land Resources and Environmental Science
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717
koneill@montana.edu

Dr. Matthew Lavin
Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology
Montana State University

Bozeman, MT 59717
mlavin@montana.edu