Northern Things, No Wings!

We spent a few days in the Kawarthas and Peterborough County last week looking for butterfly and dragonfly species that we don't typically see in SW Ontario. I couldn't pass by critters that didn't fit into those categories. Following are a few of the wingless things we saw. 

Goldenrod Crab spiders have the ability to change colour. It can take a few days to blend into their location and the colour change is accomplished through moulting. They sit in place waiting for unsuspecting insects to land on the flower and grab the prey with their 2 long front legs. They are named for their ability to run sideways.

https://spideridentifications.com/goldenrod-crab-spider.html

Goldenrod Crab Spider on clover

A yellow form of the Goldenrod Crab Spider.

Young Groundhog at the road edge as we drove past.

Field of flowers

Wood Lily

Wetland

Blandings Turtle

Northern Watersnake basking on a bridge.

Common Garter Snake hanging out at edge of a rock pile

 South-east Lambton!

We participated in a breeding bird survey on a 300 acre property in SE Lambton County on June 6th. It was a mostly rainy morning and bird species and numbers were down this year, but I was very happy to find a Gray Tree Frog sitting in an Ash Tree. They are able to camouflage with their surroundings and this individual was just beginning to get a green tinge around the face. Had it already been green, I probably would not have noticed it.

One of the Green Frogs that didn't jump when I approached a pond.

This Green Frog jumped into the water and surfaced with a muddy face!

Larva of a Mourning Cloak butterfly. If it survives the summer and fall, it will overwinter as an adult. They are one of the first species of butterflies that we find in the early spring.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

A pair of Hairy Woodpeckers chattered noisily. We think something was bothering them (other than us). I spent time scanning the trunk and branches with my binoculars. I eventually found the birds, but no predators.

 Goderich and Port Elgin:

We walked a short portion of the 132 km G2G rail trail. (Goderich to Guelph). It gave us a chance to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenery on our way to the Port Elgin area.

Salt Mine Elevators at Goderich.

Pedestrian Bridge over the Maitland River

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Dames Rocket

A Green Frog made 2 giant leaps from the trail edge, stopped in the middle and dared me to pass!

We visited with friends near Port Elgin and walked their property where we saw Yellow Lady's Slippers.

Painted-cup Paintbrush

Meadow Buttercup

Beautiful sunset over Lake Huron

A Monarch laid an egg on Common Milkweed at McGregor Point Provincial Park! We should be seeing Monarch caterpillars soon!

We participated in a guided birding tour at MacGregor Point P.P. Birds were hard to photograph, but we had some nice views of the wetlands. An osprey nest was at the far side of the photo. The trail was closed to keep people from getting too close to the Osprey family.

 Canatara Wings and Things!

Here is a collection of some of the amazing things I have recently found in beautiful Canatara Park!

Eastern Forktail, orange form - May 28

Golden Tortoise Beetle - June 5. They are able to change colour and don't always show gold. I like the transparent "shield" that surrounds it!

Painted Turtle - May 25, Taking a break on a lily pad.

Blue Dasher, rescued from the water by a young girl - June 1.

It walked onto my hand and I let it dry its wings on my finger.

Beautiful Wood-nymph - June 5. A moth that resembles bird droppings which helps to keep it from getting eaten by birds!

Snowberry Clearwing - May 31

Dog Vomit Slime Mold - May 31

Dark-spotted Palthis Moth - June 4

Common Ringlets, on Fleabane, June 1

Many young birds have fledged from the nest this spring. On the right is a young Red-winged Blackbird, opening its mouth to let Mom know its hungry. (June 8)

Contact has been made! The youngster gets some food!

 Moth Night: May 30

Warm weather continues to bring out the moths and I have been staying up way past my bedtime to see some of these beauties. Over 12,000 species of Moths have been recorded in North America. They outnumber butterflies approximately 15:1. By shining a bright light on a hanging sheet, we are able to photograph the moths. 

The following photos show a few of the many species we have seen in the past few weeks.

Bad-winged Moth: It would be interesting to know how such a pretty moth was given such a "negative" name.

Common Looper Moth

Crocus Geometer

Hickory Tussock Moth

Lettered Sphinx

Olive Angle

Pale Beauty

Fragile White Carpet

Dark-banded Owlet

 Eat Or Be Eaten!!

It's a tough, tough world in nature! Survival is dependent on many things, including food! An Eastern Forktail captured a fly for lunch in Canatara Park!

I had a crazy experience at Henderson Conservation Area on June 3rd. While watching a live teneral damselfly species, an Eastern Forktail approached, grabbed the prey and severed the wings and abdomen from the rest of the body. It carried the abdomen to another leaf where it discarded the wings and proceeded to eat it. The following sequence of pictures shows the story.

Incredible!

A (probable) Fork-tailed Bush Katydid uses its long proboscis to slurp up nutrients from bird guano deposited on a leaf.

Some ants found an unidentified insect and started carrying the parts back to their home.

A female Northern Cardinal and her mate continue to dine (or should I say, 'gorge') on the American Lady caterpillars in the garden. She is sitting in the Pearly Everlasting, which is the host plant for the butterfly.