Bladderworts, Planthoppers, and Other Wonders!

What is so rare as a day in . . . September! For then, if ever, come perfect days for paddling a quiet little Adirondack Lake like Fourth Lake.  Summer's crowds and summer's oppressive heat are behind us now, and on this lovely day my friends Sue and Ruth and I had this lake, just a bit north of Lake Luzerne in Warren County, all to ourselves. And if not for the ripples caused by our own moving canoes, this impressive view of Potash Mountain would have been perfectly reflected in the still water.  Lovely!

We could have chosen several other beautiful little lakes to paddle, but this is the closest one we knew of where we were certain to find extravagant numbers of Purple Bladderwort (Utricularia purpurea). The masses of brown-colored underwater structures were certainly visible earlier in the summer, but it's not until later in the blooming season that the flower stalks lift their tiny purple blooms above the water.

Here's a closer view of those pretty purple flowers. Note that these stems bear no leaves at all, for this is a plant that does not depend on chlorophyll for its nutrients.  As is the case with other plants called "bladderworts," those masses of thready underwater parts are full of tiny bladders that suck in even tinier organisms that the plant digests to fill its nutritional needs.

Fragrant Water Lilies (Nymphaea odorata) also bloom abundantly on the surface of this lake.  We were impressed by how pristinely beautiful the floating flowers remained, even though their leaves were looking quite ragged and worn and yellowed with age.  

But then, it's nearly impossible to find a Fragrant Water Lily bloom that is not perfect.  For as soon as the flower is pollinated, its retractable stem recoils and pulls the now-fertilized flower down into the lake-bottom mud to produce a new plant.

I have often seen poking above the water's surface the spent flowers of Yellow Pond Lilies (Nuphar variegata) that produce an attractive fruit, but not a sign of them did I see today, despite acres of their large heart-shaped leaves floating on the lake.  Their flower stalks still protruded, but every single one was missing its flower or fruit, for some aquatic critter (maybe Muskrats?) had devoured every single one.  But I did see other critters availing themselves of the Pond Lily leaves. As we passed through masses of them, I noticed swarms of tiny light-colored bugs hopping all over the leaves, as well as the surface of the water.

I managed to get a close-up view of these tiny bugs, despite their constant motion. These wee little flea-like insects are Water Lily Planthoppers (Megamelus davisi) -- a most appropriate name, since they certainly perform enormous hops and they feed almost exclusively on the leaves of Water Lilies and Pond Lilies. Despite marring the pristine appearance of these plants' floating leaves, these planthoppers are a most beneficial insect, especially to Cricket Frogs, who feed on  Megamelus davisi almost exclusively.  

Usually, when my friends and I visit Fourth Lake, we paddle some distance up a small creek at the north end of the lake.  We did not get far up the creek this day, due to trees fallen across it, but we were rewarded by the splendor of the masses of Water Willow (Decadon verticillatus) at the mouth of the creek.  There are very few waterside shrubs that can rival the color of Water Willow leaves in the fall.

Earlier in the summer, the Water Willows sport long arching branches of beautiful purple flowers.  A close look now reveals developing seedpods that are the equal in beauty to any flower.