Nature Moncton Nature News: jULY 8 2015

** Marguerite Windsor has had the very colourful BLACK SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY [Pappillon du celery] caterpillar appear on her dill patch in her Salisbury garden. Marguerite's photo shows that it may have gone through several instars to make it a few weeks into its month-long growth period before it will go into a chrysalis.

** Susan Richards is getting lots of moths to her Taylor Village yard, including the very large POLYPHEMUS MOTH [Polyphème d'Amerique]; BLINDED SPHINX; FALSE CROCUS GEOMETER that can be seen flying during the day as well; the ARCHED HOOKTIP which, when looking at the photo, you can see it easily fits its name; and HARRIS'S CHECKERSPOT BUTTERFLY [Damier de Harris] in a nearby meadow.

** Judy Marsh was in her Shediac yard at 10:00 pm on Tuesday evening, admiring the fireflies when a BAT flew by, something we see very little of at the moment since the population was hit with white-nose syndrome.

** Brian Stone and Anne Marsch were out on a butterfly mission on Tuesday to get observations of several GREAT-SPANGLED FRITILLARY [Argynne cybèle] butterflies that were very active and hard to photograph. Brian also got a SAY’S CICADA low enough in a Gray Birch tree to get a nice photo of it. It was calling, which is called stridulating in some insects.

** I was out on a dirt road on Sunday and noted approximately a dozen butterflies sitting on the mud in the roadway looking dark. They all turned out to be a mixture of EYED BROWN [Satyre ocellé] and NORTHERN PEARLY-EYE [Satyre perlé]. I was able to get photos. In the same area, an ATLANTIS FRITILLARY [Argynne de l'Atlantique] was working the opening blossoms of spreading Dogbane, along with many NORTHERN CRESCENTS [Croissant Nordique] and HARRIS'S CHECKERSPOTS [Demier de Harris]. Also, HOBOMOK SKIPPERS [Hespérie hobomok] were still in flight and the common EUROPEAN SKIPPERS [Hespérie des graminées] are swelling in numbers.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton