When Red Fox pups are born, they weigh less than a stick of butter and have charcoal gray fur (with the characteristic white-tipped tail). Eventually eyes open, fur grows more dense and teeth begin to come in. For their first month the pups remain in their den, and then, cautiously at first, emerge into the great outdoors.
Around the time they are leaving the safety of their den the pups are engaged in another important process – that of establishing a strict dominance hierarchy. The largest member of the litter, male or female, usually becomes the alpha pup. This position allows it to steal food from its litter mates. Each pup steals food from litter mates below it in the hierarchy. Should food become scarce, the dominant pups get a larger portion of the food and have the best chance of surviving while smaller and more submissive pups may die. By the time the pups are spending enough time outside the den to be noticed by humans, the hierarchy has been established, and we are witness to the less aggressive, playful, puppy-like behavior we associate with fox pups.
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When a Painted Turtle crawls out of the roughly 39° F. degree mud at the bottom of a pond in early spring, it immediately heads to the nearest log or rock to bask and raise its body temperature. Turtles are ectothermic (cold-blooded) and must rely on external sources for the regulation of their body temperature. Thermoregulation is achieved both physically and behaviorally. A dark carapace (top shell) absorbs the sun’s heat, warming up the turtle’s internal temperature and the turtle regulates its temperature by shuffling in and out of the sun. It is imperative for the core body temperature of male Painted Turtles to reach 63° F., for only then can they start to produce sperm.
Butterflies that remain in New England during the winter spend it in one of many stages – some as eggs, others as larvae or pupae, and a few as adults. Mourning Cloaks, Compton Tortoiseshells, Milbert’s Tortoiseshells, Question Marks, Gray Commas and Eastern Commas all overwinter as adult butterflies. They store fat in their bodies in the fall and replace a portion of the water in their blood with an antifreeze agent, which prevents the lethal formation of ice crystals in their bodies. These butterflies then slip into cracks, behind loose bark, in a hollow tree or some other sheltered spot where they enter a stage referred to as winter diapause. Metabolic and respiratory rates are greatly reduced, and the butterflies remain inactive until the warming, lengthening days of March and April, when they emerge to mate and lay eggs. They often look rather tattered, as they put many miles on their wings the previous summer. Unlike most adult butterflies which live only a few weeks, butterflies that overwinter as adults have a lifespan of eight to ten months. (Photo: Eastern Comma – note white “comma” on under side of hindwing)
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