Written by Isabelle Molitor | August 2025
This summer, I practiced species identification with the app iNaturalist. Starting in May, I aimed to identify three plants, insects, or animals each day. I also kept track of different plants blooming throughout the campus and prairie with our What’s Blooming exhibit. While I expanded my own plant identification knowledge, I simultaneously contributed to the community science project. iNaturalist allows users to interact with other users’ identifications, and verify or suggest a new identification. This also helps to create a catalog of different species found at Nature At The Confluence.
Green frog
In late May, one of my first identifications was spiderworts (Tradescantia virginiana). This plant is very recognizable when in bloom with vivid purple flowers. Later in the summer, I also had the opportunity to collect spiderwort seed pods with the Natural Land Institute. Another of the early plants I learned about was dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis). This species also blooms in the early summer months, making it an easy identify with my inexperienced skills. Dame’s rocket is invasive at Nature At The Confluence; at the first volunteer work day I attended we worked on removing it from the trails. Another invasive I quickly learned is bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis). Characterized by thin, tangling vines, and whitish pink flowers, this invasive species has a strong presence in our area. Our volunteers took a field trip to Merrill Community Sharing Garden in Beloit, and I focused on removing Bindweed from their gardens.
Nursery web spider
Soapwort
In mid-June, I started the What’s Blooming board and display with the goal of highlighting the different plants growing around the site, as well as documenting the prairie’s progression throughout the summer. The first display included spiderwort, dame’s rocket, bindweed, and pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida). The purple coneflower is also commonly known as Echinacea, and is a great native resource for pollinators. The first week of July, I identified and displayed soapwort, named for its historical use in soapmaking. I also saw lots of beebalm (Monarda didyma), which are part of the mint family and can be used in tea. Another native species I displayed was hoary vervain (Verbena stricta). This flowering plant has a long bloom time, and bloomed throughout most of the summer. I noticed false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) was in bloom through June and July as well. I concluded What’s Blooming for that week with more pale purple coneflower.
While the flowers in bloom add bright bursts of color to the prairie, prairie grasses are an often unconsidered but significant part of the ecosystem. At Nature At The Confluence, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and big bluestem grass (Andropogon gerardii) are very common. Prairie grasses have deep root systems that assist with carbon sequestration and contribute to their resilience. In the final week of July, I spotted the grey headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), characterized by drooping yellow petals. Throughout the summer, I also developed the useful skill of identifying stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) and poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans).
In addition to the numerous plant species identified, I logged several frogs, butterflies, and spiders. I found a bold jumping spider (Phidippus audax); once I even saw one carrying a small fly. In Kelly creek, I discovered a green frog (Lithobates clamitans). My first encounter with an american nursery web spider (Pisaurina mira) was after attempting to empty a trash bucket. I was immediately interested in its peculiar shape and perfectly camouflaged hiding space. Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) fluttered around the pollinator gardens all summer, and I observed a grayish fan-foot moth (Zanclognatha pedipilalis). Overall, I definitely learned the names and appearance of many new species, and gained valuable insight into the native and invasive species found in our area.
False sunflower
