The Rabbit and the Hare
I’ve always been so intrigued by all rodent and lagomorph species, even as a little girl. When I was younger, my mom and I bred guinea pigs, and always had several rabbits as well. I currently have a lionhead rabbit named Moonflower, and she has been truly the best pet I’ve ever had. Rabbits are so emotionally intelligent. I really wanted this series to show some of the lovely, cute and wonderful qualities of rabbits and hares. Unfortunately, I think rabbits can be viewed by many as pests due to their nature to eat all the garden flowers and plants. As small animals that are common prey species, humans might think of them as more expendable, or not very vital, but they play huge roles in their ecosystems. All the pieces in this series explore unique characteristics of rabbits and hares native to North America. In many of the pieces, the rabbits are pictured with other species of flora and fauna that coexist in the same habitats as the rabbits, portraying small glimpses into their complex ecosystems. Rabbits are considered to be symbolic of the cyclical nature of life - life, death, rebirth, fertility. In most of my pieces in this series I chose to add small moments of color via the butterflies and moths connected to the ecosystems illustrated. Since moths and butterflies are often associated with death, life and transformation, I wanted to draw attention to them through the use of color as a small nod to the symbolism the moths and butterflies share with rabbits and hares.
Swamp Rabbit
Unlike most rabbits, the swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) likes to swim. They do so to avoid predators and to travel. They have been known to hide underwater with just their noses exposed. Swamp rabbits are a specialist species that evolved in bottomland hardwood forest ecosystems, and they can be sensitive to deviations of the composition, structure and function of the ecosystem. As a result, they serve as important indicators of the overall ecosystem integrity. If the swamp rabbit population is healthy, that can be a really good indicator that its ecosystem is not faltering. In this piece, a swamp rabbit swims amongst 3 species of fish; the bluntface shiner (Cyprinella camura), the Mississippi silvery minnow (Hybognathus nuchalis), and the skipjack herring (Alosa chrysochloris). The plant, saw greenbrier (Smilax bona-nox), is a preferred food source for the swamp rabbit. The at-risk prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) perches on the swamp rabbit’s head, and a small harvester butterfly (Feniseca tarquinius) perches on the swamp rabbit's nose. The harvester butterfly is the only carnivorous butterfly in North America. All the species in this piece coexist amongst each other in swampy areas, wetlands, and bottomland hardwood forests within the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
Graphite, watercolor & colored pencil
16” x 12”
Young Pygmy Rabbit
A young pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) rests inside the nest of a sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), as the thrasher stands watch above. A small Hera buckmoth (Hemileuca maia), which uses sagebrush as its sole host plant, perches on the side of the nest. The pygmy rabbit is an endangered species of rabbit native to the western United States. It relies on sagebrush ecosystems for food and shelter. Sagebrush ecosystems support hundreds of plant and animal species, and as these ecosystems become more and more threatened, many reliant species are at-risk. Pygmy rabbits are one of the most affected species, their numbers declining rabidly.
Graphite, watercolor & colored pencil
12” x 16”
New England Cottontail
The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) is an at-risk species of rabbit that lives within early successional forest habitat on the east coast. Due to development, young forests are becoming less and less common. Creating habitat to save this native rabbit will also help more than 60 species of birds and animals that rely on young forest habitat to thrive as well. In this piece, a New England cottontail reaches up on hind legs to sniff Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis). A preferred food for the cottontail, Canada goldenrod is also one of many flowers that is pollinated by the frosted elfin butterfly (Callophrys irus). This butterfly, along with the illustrated New England buckmoth (Hemileuca lucina) and the golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera), all rely on young forest habitats during some if not all of their stages of life. The at-risk golden-winged warbler holds a small branch of smooth alder (Alnus serrulata) in its beak. Alder thickets provide particularly good habitat for New England cottontails, and also serve as a common food source for them.
Graphite, watercolor & colored pencil
12” x 16”
Predator & Prey
A mountain cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii) grooms while perched atop the skull of a common predator, the cougar (Puma concolor). The skull of a great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) is nearby, a frequent hunter of smaller young rabbits. The grass behind, Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides), is one of many species of grass the mountain cottontail relies on for food. These cottontails will also eat wildflowers, including several species of clover. Longstalk clover (Trifolium longipes) (illustrated) is one of many species of clovers that is frequently pollinated by the Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). This piece explores the way in which every species within an ecosystem plays an important role and no single species is above relying on other species of flora and fauna for survival. In many ecosystems, rabbits and hares heavily contribute to plant species composition and vegetation structure through feeding and seed dispersal, which creates open areas and preserves plant species diversity. If rabbit populations are affected, plant species previously regulated by rabbits can become overgrown, possibly to the detriment of ecosystems. In contrast, predator populations would decline rapidly without the proper food supply.
Graphite, watercolor & colored pencil
12” x 16”
Crepuscular Species of the Sonoran Desert
Most rabbit species are crepuscular - meaning they are most active during dusk and dawn instead of diurnal or nocturnal. I really love that a whole host of species of both flora and fauna choose this fleeting time of day to emerge. It makes it feel all the more special to witness a crepuscular species out in nature. In this piece, a black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) and a desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) are illustrated with two of their common food sources; Engelmann’s prickly pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii), and bottlebrush squirreltail grass (Elymus elymoides). Other crepuscular species shown are the cactus mouse (Peromyscus eremicus), the common poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii), the white lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) pollinating tufted evening primrose (Oenothera caespitosa), and the five spotted hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) pollinating sacred datura (Datura wrightii).
Graphite, watercolor & colored pencil
24” x 18”
Coat Change
There are four species of hares in North America that will change the color of their coats from white to brown between the winter and summer months: the white-tailed jackrabbit and the snowshoe hare (pictured), and the Arctic and Alaskan hares (not pictured). This is a trait developed to camouflage better in their environments. Unfortunately as the temperatures rise and snow melt occurs earlier in the year often now, there are many white hares existing in brown and green environments. These hares are at an increased risk of being hunted and killed because they are no longer camouflaged. These pieces explore the summer and winter versions of each hare interacting with each other, blurring the lines of which season they belong in, mirroring that which is occurring in nature.
White-tailed Jackrabbit
(Lepus townsendii)
Graphite
18” x 18”
Snowshoe Hare
(Lepus americanus)
Graphite
14” x 18”
Diptych: Life & Death
1 of 2: The skull of an Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is surrounded by purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), a common food source for the rabbit. The butterfly, a silvery checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis), uses the purple coneflower as an important host plant.
2 of 2: A baby mountain cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii) nestles amongst the foliage of Western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), a common food source for this species of cottontail. The moth, a Columbia silk moth (Hyalophora columbia), uses Western chokecherry as a caterpillar host plant.
Graphite, watercolor & colored pencil
20” x 10”
