Some New Finds:
This member of the Dragonfly family, Flag-tailed Spinyleg, was a new species for me! They prefer small, clear, sandy or mud bottomed streams with a steady current. It was photographed along the Sydenham River in South Lambton. odonata.tacc,utexas.edu/index
American Pelecinid Wasp: In North America, male American Pelecinid wasps are extremely rare. Almost all of these wasps are females so they resort to reproduction through parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis means the eggs don't have be to be fertilized to develop. I watched this female land on the leaf in front of me. She then began crawling across the grass and I have since learned she was searching for June beetle grubs located under the ground. Once a grub is detected, she will insert her abdomen into the ground, up to 2 inches deep and lay a single egg on the grub. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva immediately chews through the beetle grub's exoskeleton and begins eating the grub alive. When the grub has been consumed, the wasp will pupate underground before emerging as an adult.
I may have witnessed this juvenile Eastern Bluebird's first flight! From a distance, I could see it poking its head out of the nesting cavity. When 2 dogs (on leashes) walked nearby, it flew directly at me and landed on the tree above my head. The parents immediately began dive bombing me so I took a quick picture and moved away. I soon saw 3 Bluebirds in flight among the trees and believe this fellow had a successful first flight!
Snowberry Clearwing Moth nectaring on Knapweed.
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