Birches

The importance of birches to wildlife is considerable though confined largely to the northern states, where it is most abundant.  The river birch is relatively common in Virginia, but has little recognizable value for wildlife. Yellow and black birches are native to the mountains of western Virginia. On schoolyards, gray and paper birch are often planted. When birch catkins ripen in summer, goldfinch can often be seen and heard feeding on the seeds. A typical insect feeder is the birch borer, which feeds on the inner bark. Adults lay eggs in cracks in the bark, and the larvae bore directly through the bark to feed.

Producers Paper birch Gray birch River birch Herbivores Birch borer larva (inner bark) Birch leaf miner Goldfinch (seeds) Omnivores Fox sparrow (seeds and insects) Carnivores Carnivorous insects, spiders, birds, reptiles and mammals Decomposers Generalist fungi, bacteria, and leaf litter critters Artist conk (heartwood)

birch (producer) => goldfinch (herbivore) => housecat (carnivore)   (click on organism to see more)