Bicentennial Tree

This White Oak is a Bicentennial Tree -- it was growing here when the City of Columbia was founded in 1821.

According to the Missouri Dept. of Conservation, there are 22 oak tree species in Missouri - some of them are not native to the state. Eight species are in the White Oak group which can be recognized by the lack of acorns retained on the tree during the winter. Acorns on Red and Black Oaks remain on the tree for one winter because they take 2 years to mature.

According to Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy, oak trees are the host plant for over 500 species of butterflies and moths in North America.

Caterpillars are a great food source for both migrating and nesting birds. Most songbirds, even those that eat seeds, feed insects to nestlings.

Northern Parulas can be found in Missouri from April to September. During the fall and winter they are found in Central America, the Caribbean and the northern edge of South America. They focus on hunting caterpillars although they eat many types of insects.

photo credits: tree, caterpillar: Donna Brunet. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Northern Parula: Shenandoah National Park from Virginia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

sources:

Edie Parnum, Valley Forge Audubon Society. https://backyardsfornature.org/?tag=insects-and-oaks

All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Parula/lifehistory#