Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Clear Creek Butterfly Count!

I participated in the Clear Creek Butterfly Count again this year. With 2 friends, we covered a section at the edge of the count circle for Clear Creek Forest Provincial Park. We had a slow start at a usually productive site. The butterflies seemed to take awhile to wake up. The first species that we saw was an Eastern-tailed Blue.

A Mossy Rose Gall with a resting geometer moth, caught my attention. The female wasp that lays her eggs on wild rose plants is only 4mm in length. A week after the eggs are laid, the larvae hatch and begin to feed on the leaf bud tissue. This activity stimulates the development by the host plant of enlarged cells in the area around the growing larvae. The larvae continue to grow through the summer and the adults will emerge the following May to repeat the cycle.

I found the medicinal uses for this gall to be interesting! Dried and powdered, the gall was used to treat colic, and was used as a remedy for toothaches. The powder mixed with honey and applied to the scalp, was thought to prevent baldness. It was also valued an an astringent and for its ability to control fluid loss: placed beneath a pillow, it was thought to induce sleep!

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/205320-Diplolepis-rosae

One member of our group is a member of the Thames Talbot Land Trust so we were able to walk along one of the properties.

Dense Blazing Star

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, "twinkling" on Common Teasel!

Meadow view

Back end of a bee with very large pollen baskets!

We were under the watchful eyes of a few Turkey Vultures. Although it was hot and humid, we managed to appear active enough as to not be bothered by them. 😉

Orange Sulphur on clover.

We saw several Swallowtail species including 2 Spicebush Swallowtails. When totaling all 4 Swallowtail species, we saw 20 individuals!

Thistle seed fluff attracted American Goldfinches who didn't want to have their pictures taken.

I still keep my eye on any movement and found a female Calico Pennant during a roadside stop.

Sunday, July 28, 2024

Life on a Teasel Flower!

Common Teasel is native to Europe but has likely been in North American since the 1700's. The dried flower heads were used to tease and clean sheep wool in preparation for spinning. It grows well in sunny, open sites such as riparian areas, meadows, grasslands, savannas, forest openings and disturbed sites. Each flower head contains 250-1,500 flowers that are packed into dense, cone-shaped heads. Each flower blooms for only one day! The following pictures show butterflies recently spotted on Teasel.

https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/common-teasel

Many pollinators drink nectar from Common Teasel. I have noticed larger butterflies such as Eastern Tiger Swallowtails enjoying the nectar. Perhaps they choose the plant because they can rest their wings while sipping. The sturdy stems don't bend under the weight of their bodies like softer stemmed plants will.

Giant Swallowtail

Great Spangled Fritillary

Red Admiral

Orange Sulphur

(The spread wings of the Clearwing Moth remind me of 'cat' glasses sitting on a face.)

Snowberry Clearwing

Friday, July 26, 2024

An Osprey Dive!

While walking around Lake Chipican I had the good fortune to observe an Osprey hunting for its next meal! He made several overlapping circles as he searched for just the right spot to dive. It took 4 attempts before he had any success. The photos below show one of his fails, but it was the dive that was closest to where I was sitting.

Ospreys are unusual among hawks in possessing a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind. Barbed pads on the soles of the birds' feet help them grip slippery fish.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/osprey/overview

There are many other fish hunters that frequent the park including Great Blue Herons. This one was taking a break in a dead tree high above the water.

Another Great Blue Heron searched recently for a meal along the shoreline.

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

A Bit of This and That!

As a follow-up to my recent dragonfly post, I found an exuviae (shed skin) of a dragonfly nymph hanging from a bush adjacent to the small pond in Canatara this week. (Perhaps its the exuviae of the nymph I photographed at the pond surface last week.) Adult dragonflies will emerge from the final moult with wings developed. Once the wings dry, they are ready for flight.

While waiting for moths to visit the hanging sheet, a tour of the backyard, flashlight in hand, led me to a Common Candy-stripe spider hiding under a leaf.

Crab Spider on a prickly Teasel Stem

Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars!! We live at the extreme north end of the range for this species. They aren't necessarily expected in our area but I'll be now watching for the adults in flight! Dutchman's Pipe is the food plant for the larva.

Young Praying Mantis. It was almost 2 inches long. I usually don't notice them until they are fully grown, closer to the fall.

Primrose Moth sleeping inside the flowerhead of an Evening Primrose bloom.

"Lifeguard Mom" supervising her 3 Mallard ducklings. She was likely watching for the resident Snapping Turtle and other predators of her young.

Giant Swallowtail on Swamp Milkweed

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Wild Wings on a Rural Farm!

A friend and her husband have done a lot of naturalization on their farm. We enjoyed a "wet" walk while viewing beautiful native plants and the "winged things" that are attracted to the flora!

Purple Cone Flower along a fence.

We were warned to bring rain boots!

A very fresh male Black Swallowtail that recently emerged from the chrysalis!

Finding 4 Common Buckeye was a real treat! I only saw one individual in 2023. This species doesn't overwinter in Ontario but migrates north from Mexico and the southern United States.