NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, August 14, 2018 (Tuesday)
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** Georges Brun reports that Tom
Shillington has reported to him that the TRICOLORED HERON [Aigrette tricolore]
was still in Bis Marsh off Louis St. in Dieppe on Monday morning. Georges found
this bird last week and it must be finding the area stay favorable.
** Uli and Ken Irlich, as many in the
area have experienced, have had the outside of their home invaded by CHINCH
BUGS [punaise des céréales]. These very small, ant-sized bugs eat the thatch of
lawns and can do a number on groomed lawns. Why they seem to be having a
tendency to swarm on the base of houses is odd as their food supply is not
there. The bug has always been around but they surely do seem to be problematic
this year. Treatments for them tend to be a bit controversial so will refer
folks to Google to read about them and decide what to do about them. Uli got a
nice photo of a few, but remember that the photo is very, very enlarged but
great for identification.
** Jamie and Karen Burris knew for sure
that a female Monarch Butterfly had deposited at least seven eggs on a yard
Swamp Milkweed plant on July 26 but as of August 12 there was no sign of larval
caterpillars. To their surprise on Monday Jamie came across a can that he was
using to prop a shed door open that had a little Birch growing out of it plus
one small Swamp Milkweed plant and he spotted a MONARCH BUTTERFLY CATERPILLAR
on that plant. He did see a Monarch Butterfly on that Birch tree but he had no
idea that she had laid an egg on the small Milkweed plant. They brought the can
with the small Milkweed plant into the house hoping that the caterpillar had
not been parasitized and will soon form a chrysalis. Jamie attaches some photos
to show the activity.
Janet Hood got some very interesting
photos of a male Scarlet Tanager that is just in its molt phase to non-breeding
plumage, a phase I suspect many in New Brunswick, like myself, have not seen.
The male Scarlet Tanager molts to basic plumage in non-breeding season to
become similar to female plumage. Janet Hood got the attached photos when the
bird made a brief stop in their East Grand Lake yard near Fosterville, N.B.
Note East Grand Lake is northwest of Fredericton (not Grand Lake) which flows
between USA and Canada. It did not come to a feeder.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
CHINCH BUGS. AUG 13, 2018. ULI IRLICH
MONARCH BUTTERLY JULY 30 2018 JAMIE BURRIS
MONARCH CATERPILLAR AUG 13 2018 JAMIE BURRIS
MONARCH CATERPILLAR ON SWAMP MILKWEED IN WATERING CAN. AUG 13 2018 JAMIE BURRIS
SCARLET TANAGER (MALE MOLTING INTO BASIC PLUMAGE) AUG 13, 2018. JANET HOOD.
SCARLET TANAGER (MALE MOLTING INTO BASIC PLUMAGE) AUG 13, 2018. JANET HOOD.
