Spotted lanternfly adult at Herrs Island backchannel, 25 July 2025 (pohto by Kate St. John)
29 July 2026
This week usually begins the peak of Pittsburgh’s spotted lanternfly season but I’ve seen only two red nymphs and two winged adults despite actively looking for them. What a relief that the invasion we experienced in 2023 is gone!
In fact spotted lanternflies (Lycorma delicatula, SLF) have moved on to new territory where they are horrifying a whole new set of people. This summer the frontlines are in Connecticut/Rhode Island/Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Atlanta area, northern Kentucky + Cincinnati and Tennessee.
At the height of their invasion in Pittsburgh we thought they’d never go away, but they do. In August 2023 I looked into the invasion experience in eastern Pennsylvania where they were first found in North America. People were amazed that the surge ended after a year or two. My guess at the time was that our experience would be a bell curve.
Spotted lanternfly invasion appeared to be a bell curve with maximum at 2-3 years (guesstimate by Kate St. John in August 2023)
The reality was even better than that, at least in Pittsburgh.
We first noted spotted lanternflies around 2020 and they took a few years to ramp up. The huge invasion year was 2023, then they tapered in 2024. Last summer they were hardly noticeable. This summer they’re hard to find so far.
Spotted lanternfly invasion appears to be a bell curve with maximum at 2-3 years (guesstimate by Kate St. John in Aug 2023)
So take heart if you’re on an SLF frontline this summer. Their invasion will not last forever. You’ll have one, maybe two summers of this nonsense and life will return to normal.
p.s. I don’t know about the year-upon-year experience of spotted lanternflies in vineyards where they are truly a pest. Do they ebb and flow? If you know, please leave a comment.
False sunflower in Schenley Park, 24 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
28 July 2026
July and August are the best time of year to see sunflowers in western Pennsylvania. Most of them are true. One is false. Why?
Characteristic that helps ID
True Sunflowers
False Sunflower
Rays are just decorations
True. Rays are just decorations, no fertile parts
False! Rays are flowers with stamen or pistil
Deer eat them
Yes. 🙁
No. These taste bitter & their leaves have rough, coarse texture
Here’s a sunflower ray that is not simply a decoration. It is a flower in its own right.
False sunflower ray-flower (photo by Kate St. John)
Let’s look more closely.
Super closeup of a false sunflower ray-flower (photo by Kate St. John)
Can you tell which sunflowers are true and false in these closeups? Remember about the rays: True=decoration, False=flower.
(closeup photos by Kate St. John)
What about these two? Tricky! The important part is hidden.
True or false (photo by Kate St. John)True or false? (photo by Kate St. John)
False sunflowers are prolific in Schenley Park because deer don’t eat them but there are no other sunflowers. If you want some practice comparing true and false, visit Jennings Prairie in Butler County where you’ll see:
p.s. Every year I get confused about sunflowers because I ask the question backwards: “Does the ray have a fertile part?” Yes means false, no means true sunflower. Aaacck! … It’s better to think of it as “False=flower-ray”
Pokeweed flowers opening, Duck Hollow, 26 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
27 July 2026
Yesterday the river was a running high and the birds were subdued when three of us joined up for the Duck Hollow outing. Even so we had some good sightings.
Best Bird was a surprise –> a singing yellow-throated warbler (Setophaga dominica) which we could hear but not see in the thick leaves. We were amazed it was singing at the end of July.
From a distance I saw splashes in the river that looked like a school of fish surfacing. It was a flock of chimney swifts drinking from the river and perhaps bathing in flight by splashing their bellies in the water.
We noticed that some Canada geese have completed their wing molt and are able to fly. The flightless geese called to them from Duck Hollow.
Pokeweed eaten by deer, Duck Hollow, 26 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Common burdock (Arctium minus), nature’s velcro, is blooming now. The intricate flowers attract bees and other pollinators.
Burdock flowers not quite open and full flower, Duck Hollow, 26 July 2026 (photos by Kate St. John)
Spotted lanternflies have not reached the pest stage (yet?). Yesterday we saw just two red instars and one winged adult. It’s been three years since we were plagued with them in 2023.
Spotted lanternfly last instar, Duck Hollow, 26 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Look at this! A voracious bug has been eating Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) leaves. Does anyone know what bug this might be?
Japanese knotweed leaves eaten by insect, Duck Hollow, 26 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
In 90 minutes we tallied 20 species. The day was warming up so we went home.
Swamp milkweed, Frick Park, 21 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
26 July 2026
Late July is the perfect time for late summer wildflowers. Fortunately the excessive heat and wildfire smoke earlier this month did not suppress them. Be on the lookout for:
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Just a single stem of flowers at Aspinwall’s Allegheny RiverTrail, probably brought down the river. Native to Eurasia, northern Africa and eastern Australia, this plant is invasive in North America but it is beautiful.
Orange jewelweed, Schenley, 24 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Purple loosestrife, Aspinwall Riverfront Park (Allegheny RiverTrail Park), 22 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Indian tobacco, Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve, 18 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Wingstem, Schenley, 24 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Apple mint, Allegheny RiverTrail, 22 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)Wild bergamot, Frick Park, 21 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Pearl crescent butterfly, Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve, 18 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
25 July 2026
July is Bug Season. This week they took center stage at Raccoon Wildflower Reserve, Frick Park and Aspinwall Riverfront Park (a.k.a. Allegheny RiverTrail Park).
Butterflies are hard to photograph with my cellphone but I managed to capture images of a pearl crescent at Raccoon Wildflower Reserve.
Pearl crescent butterfly, Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve, 18 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Looks like a bee but this is a fly — a bee-fly on Queen Anne’s lace at Aspinwall.
Bee-fly on Queen Anne’s lace, Aspinwall Riverfront Park, 22 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
I also found evidence of tiny wasps and chased a Great-sized wasp from flower to flower.
At Frick Park we found a red misshapen gall on a blackberry stem. Not only did the gall look like an infection but the stem looked like it had broken at the site of the gall. This is evidence of a blackberry knot gall wasp (Diastrophus nebulosus).
Evidence of the blackberry knot gall wasp, Frick Park, 21 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
The wasp is a blackberry stem specialist. It doesn’t use other plants.
Evidence of the blackberry knot gall wasp, Frick Park, 21 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Inside the gall are the tiny larvae of Diastrophus nebulosus that irritate the plant so much that it produces a big gall. The adults are tiny too — a little smaller than a sesame seed.
Blackberry know gall wasp, Diastrophus nebulosus (photo from Wikimedia)
On the high end of the size spectrum are great digger wasps. I found a great black digger wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus) at Aspinwall Riverfront Park. Though “Pennsylvania” is in their name these wasps have a wide range in North America.
Great black digger wasp on slender mountain mint, Aspinwall Riverfront Park, 22 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
Like most wasps, great black digger wasps are solitary. The female makes her nest by digging a hole with lateral chambers. To provision the chambers she captures and paralyzes a katydid or grasshopper and then lays an egg on it. When the egg hatches the larva feasts on the paralyzed (live) insect and emerges as a wasp. Read more about it here.
Great black digger wasp on slender mountain mint, Aspinwall Riverfront Park, 22 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John
There are other colors of digger wasp. I saw a great golden digger wasp 13 years ago at the Montour Trail. Late July seems to be their favorite time in southwestern PA.
Great golden digger wasp, Montour Trail, 21 July 2013 (photo by Kate St. John)
It’s been my experience that, if you stand still and are downwind, wild animals might not notice you until you speak.
I would not have been brave enough to stand still for this one.
Who stood still for this bear? The video is by Dave Bonta. Self-described as “a multimedia poet from the sticks” he lives in Plummers Hollow in northern Blair County, Pennsylvania and is much more familiar with the woods than I am.
Serpentine Drive in Schenley Park, today, 23 July 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
23 July 2026: A look back 7 years, 2019-2026
Seven years ago this month I was walking through Schenley Park to the Squirrel Hill business district when my pedestrian plans were detoured because a huge paving truck had fallen off the Serpentine Road(**) and overturned on the hillside. Everything was blocked off.
The presence of a huge paving truck in early July was normal. The City typically repaved the Serpentine just ahead of the Vintage Grand Prix (VGP) that uses this route in Schenley Park. But something had gone radically wrong.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The driver of a tri-axle truck has been rescued after the vehicle plunged over a hillside late Wednesday morning [July 10, 2019] in Squirrel Hill.
The truck crashed around 10:45 a.m. at the intersection of Serpentine Drive and Bartlett Street, and dropped about 50 feet over a hillside. It happened in the Panther Hollow area of Schenley Park. …
“From initial reports, it appears part of the hillside gave way, and again, they’re doing work on the roadway. They’re milling it and repaving it,” Pittsburgh Police spokesperson Chris Togneri said. “We’re not sure what caused the vehicle to go over. We’re not even sure if it was moving or stationary at this point, but it was fully loaded with asphalt.” …
The road was closed while crews worked to clear the scene. Park rangers also closed a trail below the hillside to prevent hikers from entering the area.
No word on when Serpentine Drive will reopen to traffic as the road is still unsafe, according to police.
Here’s the Serpentine where it happened, highlighted in purple on Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s Schenley Park map. **NOTE: I call it Serpentine Road (it’s a ‘Burgh thing) but its real name is Serpentine Drive.
The road closed on 10 July 2019 and it took seven years to restore the wall, mostly due to funding. The slideshow below chronicles the Serpentine from 2019 to 2026, beginning with a Google StreetView snapshot of Serpentine Drive in June 2019. That’s the only photo I could find of the old road. The last seven photos were taken this morning.
Serpentine Drive: The hole in the wall 2019 to 2026
Google StreetView of Serpentine Road before the accident, June 2019
Pittsburgh Public Safety Dept photo of the accident 10 July 2019
The hole where the truck fell in as seen on 13 July 2019
The hole in the wall, 13 July 2019
Serpentine landslide and debris from accident, 13 July 2019
Serpentine Drive in 2012 divided for both cars and pedestrians. Not well received
New retaining wall in progress, 20 Feb 2026
Retaining wall completed as seen 23 July 2026
The "join" where old meets new
Former landslide and debris area below the road
Serpentine Drive with skid marks from Vintage Grand Prix 2026
Serpentine Drive today 23 July 2026
In 2021, pictured in the slideshow, the City opened one lane for cars and one lane for everyone else, divided by a jersey barrier. Neither cars nor humans liked this compromise.
So for seven years we all got used to not driving on the Serpentine. What a lovely thing to walk or bicycle on this scenic road without having to worry about cars.
The City held a public input process, before the wall was done, to find out whether people wanted to open it to cars or leave it bike-pedestrian only. The overwhelming answer was Bike-Pedestrian Only.
Meanwhile cars have been very unhappy since the Panther Hollow Bridge closed in Fall 2024 (it is slated to reopen next month). As soon as the Serpentine wall was done, cars argued that they should be allowed to use the Serpentine. City Council held a public hearing. My Council representative Erika Strassburger was quoted at TribLive:
Strassburger said the issue seems to be a microcosm of a broader debate around who has the right to use certain spaces and how people move through the city. She acknowledged “valid concerns on both sides of the issue” but said the majority of people who have voiced their opinions expressed a desire to keep the road closed to traffic.
“I believe it’s time to put this to bed and move on,” she said, explaining the city has other issues to tackle. “This is a decision that has already been made.”
Cars will start to get happy as soon as the Panther Hollow Bridge reopens and will be ecstatic when the Anderson Bridge reopens. Hang on, cars. Good things are coming even though it feels like forever.
p.s. The Anderson Bridge closure is the worst. It prohibits everything — cars, bicycles, pedestrians, etc.
In June I had no mosquito bites and was congratulating myself for being careful, but in fact there must have been fewer mosquitoes. Yesterday at Nine Mile Run they whined around my head and turned my hands into itchy pincushions.
At 1 meter, 3.2 ft, mosquitoes can smell your skin and are attracted to a combination of lactic acid, ammonia and other substances in human sweat. They like sucrose (sugars) and salt but not bitter.
At close range — swatting distance — mosquitoes are attracted to heat. Long pants and long sleeves deter them. An exposed hand will attract them. Here’s a thermal image.
Water willow at Duck Hollow with (possibly) Tripudia flavofasciata moth feeding, 27 July 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
21 July 2026
Join me this coming Sunday for a bird and nature walk at Duck Hollow and the Lower Nine Mile Run Trail — 26 July 2026, 8:30am to 10:30am.
Monongahela River at Duck Hollow Trail, 8 August 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
A year ago at Duck Hollow, Charity Kheshgi and I found water willow blooming on the mudbar with an unusual moth feeding on it (photo at top). Our checklist included 24 species with these highlights: common mergansers in eclipse plumage, a ruby-throated hummingbird chasing a swallow, spotted sandpipers, and two indigo buntings.
We’ll find the same or more this year if the Monongahela River is at a normal level and the mudbar is exposed.
Duck Hollow mudbar has water willow growing on it, Monongahela River, 23 July 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)
But you never know. If there’s a flash flood before next Sunday we’ll see muddy water and no shorebirds.
Fisherman near flooded mouth of Nine Mile Run, 29 July 2017 (photo by Kate St. John)
Dress for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Bring binoculars, field guides and a scope for river watching if you have them. Don’t forget to bring water, sunscreen and a hat.
Hope to see you there.
p.s. As of this moment, the 26 July forecast has temperatures in the 70s with a tiny chance of showers. But that could change so check the Events page before you come in case the outing is canceled for the sort of extreme weather that has plagued Pittsburgh this summer: excessive heat, wildfire smoke, thunder or heavy downpours.
Flock of white doves (photo from Shutterstock, 2012)
20 July 2026
Rock doves (Columba livia) were domesticated 5,000 to 10,000 years ago and are still kept today worldwide for a variety of reasons including food or fancy show breeds, and especially for their homing instinct.
Homing pigeons (yes Columba livia) are specially bred for navigation and speed and can fly home from a place they’ve never seen up to 600 miles away. This makes them valuable for carrying messages, taking part in races and in white “dove” releases at weddings and funerals.
For a wedding dove release the pigeons are transported in cages to the launch point. When released they circle up, form a flock, figure out their current location and the direction of home … and they’re off!
This dovecote is at Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario. When we visited the park in early July I immediately noticed the tiny dormers on the roof. Aha! Pigeons used to live here. Built in 1835 by Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet, he kept pigeons as messengers.
