Clear Creek Butterfly Count!

The Clear Creek Butterfly Count was held July 27th. It was a beautiful, but hot day. The first critters we found were a family of Bobolinks. They were perched on bushes and goldenrod in a meadow. Eventually all five flew away.

A few butterflies were found in the Bobolink meadow, but a Hackberry Emperor was on the gravel shoulder of the road. We later learned it was the first time this species had been spotted on the Clear Creek Count!

Newport Woods, Thames Talbot Trust property. This property is always good for finding several species. We counted 19 Monarchs, but I neglected to take photos of any of them.

Common Ringlet - the first I’ve seen in a few months. Probably a second generation for this summer.

Giant Swallowtail, enjoying Teasel nectar.

Tawny Emperor

Grey Comma; another first for the Clear Creek count!

Spicebush Swallowtail on clover along the side of the road.

Northern Broken-dash - one of only 2 skipper species that we found.

Summer Azure, blending in with gravel on the road!

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Carrot Seed Moth, on Queen Anne's Lace, which is also known as Wild Carrot. If you rub the leaves, they smell like carrots!

Blue Dasher, performing a hand stand! On hot days, this position helps reduce the surface area where sunshine will touch the dragonfly.

Ebony Jewelwing

Halloween Pennant

Red Milkweed Beetle, on Common Milkweed

In total, we found 21 species of butterflies! The highlight of our day was finding an American Snout, which was a lifer species for some of our group members. American Snouts have very long mouth parts which make it look like they have a huge nose. The species is the only Snout found in North America. Various Hackberry trees are the host plant for the species.

https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/american-snout

 Miscellaneous  Wings!

Birds tend to be harder to find in the summer when they can hide behind tree leaves. Although I spend a lot of my time searching for insects, I do find the occasional bird. 😉 The local Coopers Hawk nest successfully hatched 4 young hawks this year. They are all out on the prowl. They sometimes call back and forth to one another, which makes it easier to locate them!

American Goldfinch use thistle fluff in the construction of their nests.

An Eastern Kingbird hovered over the water as he waited to find "just the right bug" for his next snack!

Ruby-throated Hummingbird babies! The little cuties are getting bigger and I can now see more than just their beaks. The beaks are short but will lengthen as the babies grow. (It would be rather dangerous for Mom, and her young, to be in that nest if her babies had adult length beaks!) (Note: They fledged on or before July 25th.)

Indigo Bunting, male, soaking up the sunshine as he looks for food.

Female Common Yellowthroat warbler.

I was being watched as this Red-winged Blackbird cleaned his feathers!

Pied-billed Grebe: The mottled colouring on the throat indicates the bird hatched this year.

Blinded Sphinx caterpillar, almost 3 inches long! It crawled across the path in front of me! Once it reaches the adult stage, its wingspan will reach up to 50mm.

Four-spotted Forester Moth! I have seen this species several times but have never seen it in the sunshine before. Usually it is in the shade, hiding on the underside of a leaf.

Mottled Tortoise Beetle: They are about the size of a Lady Beetle and it shone like gold in the morning sun!

Nessus Sphinx Moth - a day flying moth.

Peck's Skipper, sitting in its food dish!

Wild Backyard!!

A few years ago, friends inspired me to remove a section of lawn and plant a native garden. I'm always amazed at the life that now comes to the yard!!

The first two photos are from the backyard garden of one of those friends. Annie has been closely watching her New Jersey Tea (Shrub) for Summer Azure caterpillars these past few years. (New Jersey Tea is the host plant for the caterpillar species.) This year, she struck gold! After watching ants on her shrub, she realized that they were standing on well camouflaged caterpillars! (top photo) Summer Azure caterpillars have a symbiotic relationship with ants. The caterpillars excrete honeydew for the ants. In exchange for this sweet treat, the ants protect the caterpillars from predators! The caterpillars have an interesting, flattish appearance at the edges.

Summer Azure, adult (23-29mm across)

Spending time in my own garden reveals lots of life in the summer months!

Peck's Skipper on Dense Blazing Star.

Western Honeybee on Purple Coneflower.

Tiny Grasshopper

Rhyssella nitida: (no common name given). Notice the very long ovipositor extending beyond the abdomen which is used for laying eggs!

Margined calligrapher on Dense Blazing Star

Redbud has been the choice plant species of Leaf-cutter bees in my yard this year. In past years, the leaf circles were cut from Sugar Maple Tree leaves. The cut leaf circles are used to protect the egg and eventual emerging larvae.

Leaf-cutter Bees gather pollen on the lower abdomen, instead of on the legs like most bees. 

A circular green leaf has capped the hole in a piece of wood. The leaf was placed at the hole's edge to keep the egg of the Leaf-cutter Bee safe and dry.

Monarch caterpillar tucked into the flower head of Swamp Milkweed.

Telamona excelsa - a species of Treehopper

Clearwing Moth sp.

Red-banded Leafhopper

Elm Spanworm Moth

 Dragonflies and Butterflies!

Look closely at the Blue Dasher, and you will see many red spots all along the underside. They are likely parasitic mites. It is unclear how much this affects the infested dragonfly, although it will certainly add weight, possibly making flight more difficult.

http://www.dragonfliesnva.com/My%20Documents/KevinPDF/pdf/dragons%20101/Parasites.pdf

Black Saddlebags! One of my favourite dragonflies, and it actually landed to have it's picture taken! Saddlebags perch more vertically than most skimmers. This positioning minimizes the amount of sun that hits the abdomen, avoiding overheating. Black Saddlebags are migrators that join Common Green Darners as they drift along the Atlantic coast and Great Lakes in the spring and fall.

https://uwm.edu/field-station/bug-of-the-week/black-saddlebags-dragonfly-family-libellulidae/

Ruby Meadowhawk

Unlike other dragonfly species, male Widow Skimmers leave the female alone by herself as she lays her eggs; thus making her a "widow" in the process! Another reference to the name 'widow' suggests that the dark basal portion of the wings looks like a widow's black shawl.

https://www.lifeoncsgpond.com/widow-skimmer

A Slaty Skimmer rested in the cattails. Tiny leg hairs are visible which are used in flight like a net, to help catch prey.

Butterflies: Lots of colours and sizes at this time of year!

A Dukes Skipper landed on the sweaty hand of a friend recently. When a butterfly lands on you, it is attracted to your sweat which provides minerals and salt to supplement the nectar diet. The black proboscis is visible under the abdomen. While we watched, the butterfly released a drop of liquid from the abdomen, than appeared to lap it up. Perhaps the added liquid made it easier to access the salt.

https://www.hummingbirdsplus.org/nature-blog-network/why-do-butterflies-land-on-you-answered/

The Banded Hairstreak tends to be one of the more common Hairstreaks found in Southern Ontario, but numbers have been quite low in recent years. Most hairstreaks have a short, hair-like "tail" on their hindwing which may play a role in deterring predators or distracting them away from the butterfly's vital body parts.

https://www.worldsfacts.com/35-interesting-facts-about-hairstreak-butterfly/

Eastern-tailed Blue

The Giant Swallowtail is the largest butterfly found in Canada!

Northern Broken-dash

Pearl Crescent

Question Mark - 2 white marks on the underwing form the "loose" shape of a question mark.

Appalachian Brown

Silver-spotted Skipper