A Rainbow of Coloured Wings!

All insects in this post were photographed in my yard this week!

I was most delighted to find a Coral Hairstreak on the Orange Butterfly Weed! As my friend Anne says, "If you plant it they will come!" I have heard that the caterpillars will eat cherry and I have lots of Dwarf Sand Cherry nearby. I will keep my eyes open for larva.

On one visit to check on the hairstreak, I found it sitting on the roof of my car!!

Two tiny Raspberry Pyrausta Moths (8-11 mm) sat in the sun on my Pearly Everlasting. They aren't always viewed with their wings spread. I guess I was lucky that we had 3.5 inches of rain the night before. The poor thing was probably trying to dry off!

While waiting out front for a friend, I noticed something sparkling in the garden. It was a Golden Tortoise Beetle!! Size was similar to a small Lady Bird Beetle. 

Katydid (sp.)

Red-banded Leaf Hoppers mating in backyard! A nickname for this species is Candy Striped Leafhopper. Leafhoppers feed on plant sap with the aid of specialized mouth parts. 
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/56925-Graphocephala-coccinea

Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle

 Rondeau Critters:

While on the Rondeau Butterfly Count, we saw lots of things that weren't 6-legged!

A White-tailed Deer fawn frolicked in front of us while we stood and watched.

A pair of Prothonotary Warblers busied themselves taking food to their young in the nest.

Dad even took away one of the "baby diapers". Birds will remove and carry fecal sacks away from the nesting area to reduce the chances of predators finding the nestlings.

Michigan Lily

Maidenhair Fern

 Rondeau Butterfly Count, July 9th:

A friend and I participated in the Rondeau Butterfly Count again this year. In 4 hours of walking, we found 16 species and a total of 87 individual butterflies. The numbers were definitely down. Some leaking sap along the Tulip Trail attracted several species and individuals!

Dun Skipper

Little Wood-satyr (the most abundant species of the day)

Red Admiral, 2nd most abundant species.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail getting minerals from the Visitor Centre parking lot.

Appalachian Brown

 Dragonflies in Canatara:

I found two male Calico Pennants in Canatara today! Such a beautiful dragonfly with those red hearts lining the abdomen! I don't see the males every year.

Both Calico Pennants made frequent short flights, always returning to their little patch of property on Hawk Watch Hill.

I regularly see Common Green Darners, but often only while they are flying in search of their next meal. I was delighted today when one landed close by for photos! This species is one of 16 migratory dragonflies in North America. Like Monarchs, they embark on a multi-generational migration, where the generation that returns to Canada are the grandchildren of the ones that left in the autumn. Common Green Darners have been recorded flying 122 km in a single day, clocking speeds upward of 58 km/hour during migration!

https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-we-do/resource-centre/featured-species/insects-and-spiders/common-green-darner.html

Another pair of Common Green Darners landed in a mating wheel!

The Slender Spreadwing always looks so dainty.

Although Spreadwings appear dainty, this individual had a mishap, perhaps with a potential predator. (Notice the bent abdomen.)

Slaty Skimmers can be found around any water source, especially in the sun. I usually find them around the edges of Lake Chipican.

 "Non-moths" from Moth Night

Moths weren't the only creatures viewed at our recent Moth Night. In addition to a few bats (for which no pictures were taken) insects including a beautiful Common Green Lacewing were lured by the light.

A hand was placed against the sheet to show the large size of this Common Crane Fly.

It was too bright for the Common Eastern Firefly to bother flashing his internal light while hanging on the sheet.

I haven't been able to find a common name for the Enicospilus purgatus. This nocturnal wasp does not sting humans. Their size and shape means they may be mistaken for crane flies. They parasitize the larvae of various large moths.

https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/16660/enicospilus_purgatus.html

More Midnight Moths:

More than 11,000 species of moths are recognized in North America!  A few thousand can be found in NE North America. Some more of the cool finds we made last Friday are included below. I have done my best to identify these species using iNaturalist and the Peterson Field Guide.

(Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America, David Beadle, Seabrooke Leckie. 2012)

Banded Tussock Moth

Pale Phalaenostola 

Snowy Geometer

Splendid Palpita Moth

Streaked Orange Moth

White Satin Moth

Aproned Cenopis Moth

Another view of my favourite with the wings partially opened.

Green Leuconycta Moth

Midnight Moth Madness!

Many thanks to our friend Allanah, for setting up a moth viewing station at her farm! With the use of a UV light, LED light and a white sheet hung in the bush, we saw over 50 species of moths on Friday evening! Many of them were "lifers" including this beautiful Green Leuconycta Moth. It is sometimes called a Green Owlet.

There is also a less common white form of the Green Leuconycta Moth. 

Beautiful Wood-Nymph

Common Lytrosis Moth

Horned Spanworm

Large Yellow Underwing

Yellow Slant-Line (top left) and Large Maple Spanworm (bottom)

Two Sphynx moths came to the light. On the left is an Elm Sphynx which has a total length between 50-60mm. It was the largest specimen that paid us a visit. When it first landed on the ground, it sounded like a sparrow thrashing around in the leaves. The beautiful moth to the right is named, Small-eyed Sphynx.

Virginia Ctenucha moths were having a party at the top of the sheet.

Thousands of moths and other insects visited the sheet during our 3 hour visit!