Michelin Americas Research Center (MARC) has been providing wildlife habitat and supporting SCWF through the Wildlife and Industry Together (WAIT) partnership for 15 years! Recently, Jay Keck, SCWF’s Industry Habitat Manager conducted a flora and fauna survey at the MARC facility in the upstate.

Among several species of birds, native plants, and a few reptiles, Jay found what he would consider the “holy grail” of caterpillars; the curve-lined owlet moth, which was found on a large patch of native greenbrier, a vine that many homeowners and businesses remove because of its thicket-forming nature. Without this patch of greenbrier, however, this caterpillar would not have been spotted. Within the 196 acres of wildlife habitat at MARC, there is a healthy population of native persimmon, oaks, black cherry, black locust, and maple trees, which support many of our silk moth caterpillars like the polyphemus, imperial, and luna moths – all of which have been spotted and recorded by Michelin employees using the iNaturalist app for this property.

In addition to many moths recorded by employees, 56 bird species have been recorded, including a yellow-crowned night heron, as well as several frog species, many reptiles, beetles, and mushrooms. Vines such as trumpet vine, passionflower, crossvine and greenbrier were abundant, providing food for both larva and adult moths and butterflies. Late summer and fall blooming flowers like common boneset, goldenrod, and aster were abundant in the prairie area near the retention pond, increasing the variety of food provided to wildlife on the property. It is a wonderful thing for companies to provide habitat for wildlife on their property, but in addition to that, the employees at MARC are recording and documenting the species they are seeing on their property, contributing to citizen science and connecting to the world around them. We applaud MARC and its employees for their conservation and education efforts at and around their property!