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Floracliff Nature Sanctuary is a nonprofit nature preserve located along the Kentucky River in Fayette County.
Our mission is to promote conservation and appreciation of nature through education, shared experiences, and stewardship of the sanctuary.

Floracliff is only open for guided hikes and scheduled events. We offer a variety of nature-based programs, seminars, workshops, and volunteer opportunities. Please see our Events page to register for an upcoming hike or program.

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Guided hikes available via scheduled programs or private tours by appointment; Please send messages to info@floracliff.org

Discoveries from the field: Yellow-bellied sapsuck

Discoveries from the field: Yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

The yellow-bellied sapsuckers are back, proving that nature brings us gifts in every season. The only woodpecker in the eastern U.S. that is migratory, the sapsucker spends its summer breeding in the northern U.S. and Canada. When the days grow shorter, sapsuckers turn their thoughts to Kentucky and parts south, often as far as Panama. One of the ways to determine the presence of these woodpeckers are the precise rows of holes they leave behind in a tree trunk. Clinging to the bark, they will circle a tree, drilling every half-inch or so. Their tongue, with its brush tip, is specially adapted to capture sap and insects. Look for signs of them on their favorite maples and birches, though they also will drill as many as 1,000 other species. Ruby-throated hummingbirds, bats, and porcupines will feed from sapsucker sapwells – another illustration of why biodiversity is so important. Females have a white throat, while males sport a red one. Both genders have a showy red cap.

“Discoveries from the Field” highlights the wildlife that calls Floracliff home. Written by Carol Lea Spence. Photos by Dan Patrick, Ward Ransdell and Mary P. Carney.

While Tree Week has wrapped up, the benefits of tr

While Tree Week has wrapped up, the benefits of trees keeps going. This time of year, their leaves are more noticeable than ever. Even on the ground, these leaves provide habitat – in both wild areas and urban spaces. They improve soil health and moisture retention in the forest and the garden. They provide shelter for salamanders and box turtles.They insulate plant roots and overwintering insects, including butterflies, moths, fireflies, and bumblebees. They also provide nesting material and foraging sites for birds and other animals. We encourage leaving the leaves where they fall or moving them into garden beds or around trees.

On top of all of that, there is also a lot of diversity and beauty in Kentucky’s tree leaves, Here are some you may encounter:

1. Sassafras
2. Sugar maple
3. Chinquapin oak
4. White oak
5. Shagbark hickory
6. Shumard oak
7. Flowering dogwood

Happy Tree Week! Did you know that Floracliff is h

Happy Tree Week! Did you know that Floracliff is home to some of the oldest known trees in Kentucky? In 2008, twenty chinquapin oaks were part of a dendrochronology research project led by Dr. Neil Pederson. Through tree ring analysis, 10 of them were determined to date to the 1600s. From left to right, the chinquapin oaks pictured here date to 1611, 1660, 1695, 1637, 1637.

How do we measure success? In caterpillars and bum

How do we measure success? In caterpillars and bumblebees! We are always thrilled to see wildlife feeding on regenerating native plants in our habitat restoration sites.

Of course, we also monitor for invasive plants seeding in, such as the ornamental Callery (aka Bradford) pear. Our stewardship team will remove this soon!

1. giant swallowtail caterpillar feeding on wafer ash
2. wafer ash (aka common hoptree), a host plant for the giant swallowtail
3. common eastern bumblebee feeding on short’s aster
4. fragrant sumac (hostplant for red banded hairstreak and luna moth)
5. white snakeroot, a great late season nectar source for butterflies
6. common buckeye sunning
7. invasive Callery pear seedling, which spreads into greenspaces and natural areas from the seed of cultivated ornamental varieties such as Bradford pear

The October events listed here still have some tic

On September 18th, Floracliff was awarded Gold by

It’s not everyday that a family of river otters

It’s not everyday that a family of river otters is captured by our trail cameras. We’re happy the Elk Lick watershed supports these otters and thousands of other species.

Did you know that Kentucky’s land snails vary th

Registration is now open for the Bluegrass Land an

On July 13th, we hosted and organized the 8th annu

On July 13th, we hosted and organized the 8th annual Central Bluegrass Butterfly Count at various locations within Lexington. Throughout the day, 45 participants recorded over 2,000 butterflies representing 47 species. In 8 years, it ended up being our best count for butterfly diversity, but the fourth best count for butterfly abundance. The Eastern tailed blues, Kentucky’s smallest butterfly, were particularly abundant this year, with 385 individuals counted. This is more than the previous seven years combined! On the other hand, numbers were significantly lower for one of our most abundant butterflies, the meadow fritillary. We typically see hundred of them, but only counted 66 this year. Thanks to our volunteers and partners for making this a successful community science project and helping us expand count efforts over the years: @naba_centralky @ukarboretum @lexkyparks @shakervillageky @kyfishwildlife @kentucky_nature_preserves

All of this data is submitted to the North American Butterfly Association’s Butterfly Count Program to monitor changes in butterfly populations. Here are a few highlights from the day:

1. American lady at the Arboretum (Ward Ransdell)
2. Eastern tailed blues at Floracliff (David Lang)
3. Monarch at Floracliff (David Lang)
4. Red-banded hairstreak at Waveland (Sydney Penner)
5. Viceroy at Hisle Farm Park (Karen Michul)
6. American snout at Raven Run (Kathleen Ratliff)
7. Silver-spotted skippers at Floracliff (David Lang)
8. Red-spotted purple at the Arboretum (Ward Ransdell)
9. Eastern tiger swallowtail at McConnell Springs (Isabel Cochran)
10. Count circle

Discoveries from the Field: It’s National Moth W

Discoveries from the Field:
It’s National Moth Week! At Floracliff, it’s one of our favorite weeks because we love Lepidoptera, the order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. We also love saying “Lepidoptera.” Say it aloud; it’s fun. While moths are often thought of as nocturnal, there are day-flying species, too, like this gorgeous Eight-spotted Forester moth, Alypia octomaculata. Frequently mistaken for a butterfly, this moth drinks nectar to supplement its energy needs and serves as a pollinator in the process. Primarily, though, the adult, like all moths, focuses its short life on reproduction. Its larvae can be found in forest edges dining on leaves in the grape family, such as Virginia creeper, peppervine, and porcelain berry.

Parasa chloris, the Smaller Parasa moth, is nocturnal. The adult has a wingspan of about ¾” – 1” but despite being petite, its striking green and brown coloration and puppy dog-like furriness make it a real cutie. (That’s scientific terminology for delightful.) It is theorized that fur on a moth captures the clicks sent out from echolocating bats, serving as “acoustic camouflage.” Bat avoidance isn’t the only interesting thing about the Smaller Parasa. It is in the family Limacodidae or slug moths. Their caterpillars’ movement and the shape of their prolegs, which have suckers, resemble slugs. They feed on the leaves of oaks, elms, and dogwoods.

"Discoveries from the Field" highlights the wildlife that calls Floracliff home. Written by Carol Lea Spence. Photos by Colby Grant and Ward Ransdell

Discoveries From the Field: These critters make yo

Discoveries From the Field: These critters make you wonder if you’re hanging with the wrong crowd, but unsavory names or not, we’re happy to have them in a balanced ecosystem at Floracliff. Besides, sometimes names say more about the namer than the namee. Take for example the bad-wing moth, Dyspteris abortivaria. This delicate, mint-green moth got its name because collectors had a hard time pulling its small hindwings into the right position for pinning. Humans got frustrated, so this pretty moth got a tough-sounding name. Bad-wing moths fly from April to August and are commonly found at forest edges and where their host plants, Virginia creeper and grapevine, grow.

The plain-tailed hanging thief, Diogmites neoternatus, is one of many robber flies found in Kentucky. Robber flies are predators, preying on both pests and beneficial insects. Heck, they even prey on each other. In a balanced ecosystem they also become food for birds, spiders, and other insects.

The twice-stabbed stink bug, Cosmopeple lintneriana, sounds like it’s living a dangerous life, but its name is derived from two red spots on the thorax. It’s also, less violently called the two-spotted stink bug, though another stink bug, Perillus bioculatus, shares that name, which is why common names can be misleading. They’re found widely throughout North America and feed on mint seeds as well as oats and asparagus. They’re tough little insects and can overwinter as adults in leaf litter.

The eastern bee assassin, Apiomerus crassipes, is an ambush hunter, waiting on plants for their prey to approach and then pouncing on them. Despite their name, bees are only part of their diet. This species has a mostly black body with orange or reddish margins that are believed to warn off potential predators. “I can bite!” the colors say.

“Discoveries From the Field” highlights the wildlife that calls Floracliff home. Written by Carol Lea Spence; photos by Laura Baird (1), Ward Ransdell (2 and 3), and Debbie Wakeman (4).

Our next Bluegrass Biodiversity Seminar is schedul

Discoveries from the Field: One-flowered Cancer-Ro

Discoveries from the Field: One-flowered Cancer-Root (Aphyllon uniflorum)

This unique woodland flower is Aphyllon uniflorum, a native, parasitic annual in the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae). It can be found throughout North America in woodlands and along stream banks wherever you find its favorite hosts. Its common names are one-flowered cancer-root, one-flowered broomrape, ghost pipe or naked broomrape. For the sake of ease and word-count, we’ll call it ghost pipe here.

As you can see, ghost pipe is pale, with yellowish-white scapes looking a bit like a mushroom or a... let’s just state the obvious— a ghostly pipe. But it’s neither fungal nor paranormal; it just lacks chlorophyll. Without that green pigment, it’s not only a tad colorless, but it can’t make its own carbohydrates from sunlight. Instead, it depends on the industry of nearby green plants, drawing nutrients from the roots of its preferred hosts, namely sedums and members of the aster and saxifrage families.

Ghostpipes are considered a spring ephemeral, disappearing after they set seed in May. The tiny plant, no more than 3 to 10 cm high with a single white or pale-lavender flower at the end of each scape, is easily missed by hikers in the spring woods. A sharp eye, though, can pick them out on the forest floor, especially in a patch of their favorite food providers.

“Discoveries from the Field" highlights the wildlife that calls Floracliff home. Written by Carol Lea Spence. Photo 1 of Aphyllon uniflorum by Dani Fauzi on April 11,2024; photo 2 by Josie Miller on May 3, 2021

Did you know that a breeding pair of chickadees fe

Have you heard the buzz? Today is Kentucky Gives D

Have you noticed this flower popping up in your ya

Have you noticed this flower popping up in your yard or community greenspaces? A native plant in Europe and northern Africa, star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum), is an invasive plant in North America. Although the bloom is pretty, this poisonous plant crowds out the native plants that are more nutritious for our local wildlife.
In early spring, star-of-Bethlehem emerges as tufts of grooved linear leaves, but at this time of year, the leaves begin to die back and are replaced by star-shaped white flowers on a 4-12” stem. Left alone, the plant will spread aggressively by bulblets and form dense colonies. The blooms signal our last opportunity to remove the plants before they hide away underground until next year.
At Floracliff, we use soil knives to dig these deep-rooted bulbs, then dispose of the entire plant in the trash. When digging from your own yard, you may find you have to wait for some mid-day sunshine to find them. That is because they are slow to open in the morning and close their petals completely on cloudy days and at night.
1. blooming star-of-Bethlehem with grooved linear leaves still evident in April
2. plants on their way to a proper disposal, hand-dug by Terri in February
3. closed flowers and large bulblets on a plant removed by Dani on a cloudy May morning

An exciting find by Dani along the trail today - m

An exciting find by Dani along the trail today - mating cecropia moths! The cecropia is North America’s largest native moth. With one generation a year, the best time to find them is mid-late spring. The female will soon lay eggs on a hostplant. For this species, the caterpillars can feed on a variety of hosts, including cherries, maples, oaks, ashes, and more.

Video and photo by Beverly James

Today is the first day of the City Nature Challeng

Today is the first day of the City Nature Challenge. From April 26 through April 29, iNaturalist observations of wild plants, animals, and fungi in Fayette County will contribute to Lexington’s participation in one of the largest community science events in the world. City Nature Challenge observations provide data about our biodiversity and help us better understand – and therefore, take care of – nature that lives in and around urban areas.

Lexington’s City Nature Challenge is hosted by Floracliff. Other Kentucky counties/regions participating: Jefferson County (Louisville), Franklin County (Frankfort), and Bowling Green & South Central Kentucky

More info: citynaturechallenge.org

Photo: green heron, taken at Jacobson Park by Ward Ransdell during the 2021 City Nature Challenge

Discoveries from the Field: Red-necked false blist

Discoveries from the Field: Red-necked false blister beetle (Ischnomera ruficollis)

The red-necked false blister beetle (Ischnomera ruficollis) illustrates why biodiversity is so important. This striking beetle with its red neck-scarf, frequents a wide variety of woodland flowers for sustenance. While some pollinators love to sip nectar, these beetles eat pollen. This one, shown lunching at the twinleaf deli, is playing its part in wildflower reproduction by carrying pollen on its legs and torso from flower to flower.

Pollen serves as an attractant for both males and females and a flowerhead is both a food source and a "dating site.” Food first, though. The female has to fill her gut with pollen before she’ll accept the male’s advances. She stores the pollen in a sack in her intestines, where an enzyme will cause the indigestible cover on the grains to rupture. This frees up the contents for digestion. It’s then used to produce eggs, which she lays under tree bark. Both beetles and plants benefit reproductively.

In nature, bright colors like this creature’s red often warn predators to stay away, but if that warning is ignored, the beetle will release cantharidin, a chemical blistering agent used for defense. If we humans squash the beetle or brush it away, we could end up with a nasty blister the next day. Any predator who attempts to eat it will likely spit it out pretty fast. Cantharidin is quite poisonous in large doses – larger than a single beetle can produce, but we still recommend giving it some space. We also recommend enjoying the sight of a beautiful beetle having lunch (or making more beetles) on a spring wildflower.

"Discoveries from the Field" highlights the wildlife that calls Floracliff home. Written by Carol Lea Spence. Photo of red-necked false blister beetle on twinleaf taken by Patty Pennington on April 1, 2024. Photo of red-necked false blister beetles congregating on yellow trout lily taken by Elizabeth Hench on March 13, 2024

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