NATURE
MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 24, 2019 (Friday)
To view the photos mentioned in this
edition go to http://nminfoline.blogspot.ca
Please advise editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or
photo labeling.
For more information on Nature Moncton, check into the website at www.naturemoncton.com
Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
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** Aldo Dorio got a photo of a SORA [Marouette de Caroline] chicks and an adult at Malpec as well as some at Hay Island on Thursday. The fledgling appears very recent. Aldo also got a photo of a CONFUSED HAPLOA MOTH with the two small dots indicated by the arrow, making the distinction from the LECONTE’S HAPLOA, our second common Haploa species that often catches the eye of naturalists.
Aldo was
fortunate to get a GREAT SPANGLED FRITILLARY BUTTERFLY [Argynne cybèle] and two ATLANTIS FRITILLARIES [Argynne
de l’Atlantique]
in the same frame, nectaring on Joe Pyeweed.
Jim Edsall points out that the one on the top left shows an orange eye
and lacks the dark wing border to make it a male Great-spangled Fritillary. The bottom right specimen shows the grey eye
of an Atlantis Fritillary, and the one the top right doesn’t show the eye, but
has the solid black border on the forewing to make it an Atlantis Fritillary as
well. A real learning experience.
** This past winter, I got Rheal
Vienneau to build a cage for me of the type he uses to raise Monarch
butterflies. I dug up Common Milkweed
rhizomes in the fall and overwintered them in large pots of earth in a cold
area. The rhizomes produced nice plants
this spring, and I was able to safely capture a female MONARCH BUTTERFLY [Monarque]
on one of the Riverfront Trail milkweed patches on Thursday afternoon to place
her in the cage with two pots of plants.
I let Rheal know I had finally caught a female, and he came over to see
if the set up was okay. He said the
female had to be fed a fructose solution every day or two. He brought prepared nectar with him, and it
was nothing short of amazing to see him place nectar on insect netting on a
flat surface and place the proboscis of the butterfly into the nectar solution
with a pin and it immediately started sucking in the nectar in a pumping motion,
and as soon as it was finished, it withdrew its proboscis. He said she was finished feeding and put her
back in the cage. It was nothing short
of amazing to watch Rheal do this, knowing exactly what was going to
happen. At this point, I (butter
fingers) will be doing the feeding. I’m
attaching a photo of the butterfly, just after she lifted her proboscis from
the nectar to say she was finished. Talk
about getting up close with Mother Nature!
** It’s Friday, and this week’s Sky-at-a-Glance is included
in this edition courtesy of sky guru Curt Nason and yes, it extends to August
1!
This
Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2020 July 25 – August 1
They say it is the little things that count, and if you are counting
constellations there are four little ones lined up in the southeast toward late
evening. Start your search with the Summer Triangle, which is composed of the
brightest star in each of three constellations: Vega in Lyra the Lyre, Deneb in
Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle. Sagitta the Arrow is a
distinct shape between Altair and Albireo, which is at the head of Cygnus. The
arrow, poisoned with the blood of the Hydra, is one of those shot by Hercules
to kill the Stymphalian birds as his sixth Labour.
Between Sagitta and Albireo is obscure Vulpecula the Fox, which at one time was
two constellations called the Little Fox and the Goose. Vulpecula is known best
for having the binocular object M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, within its borders.
Below Sagitta is the eye-catching Delphinus the Dolphin, seen leaping out of
the watery constellations that hug the horizon below. The dolphin was given its
place of honour in the sky by Poseidon for convincing beautiful Amphitrite to
be his wife. Below Delphinus and just off the snout of Pegasus the Flying Horse
is Equuleus the Little Horse, the second smallest of the 88 constellations.
Perhaps representing the foal Celeris, an offspring or brother of Pegasus, it
was one of the 48 constellations included in Claudius Ptolemy’s second-century
map of the sky.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:53 am and sunset will occur at 8:56 pm,
giving 15 hours, 3 minutes of daylight (6:01 am and 8:59 pm in Saint
John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:01 am and set at 8:46 pm,
giving 14 hours, 45 minutes of daylight (6:09 am and 8:50 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Tuesday and it spends the week sneaking up on
Jupiter. Both Jupiter and Saturn are in the southeastern sky during evening
twilight. Telescope users might see Jupiter’s Red Spot around 10 pm Wednesday
and 11:30 pm on Friday. Just past opposition, Saturn’s rings appear brighter
than usual because their icy components reflect sunlight directly toward us, a
phenomenon called the Seeliger Effect. Mars has brightened to magnitude -1, and
over the next couple of months it will rival Jupiter’s brilliance in the
evening sky. Mercury is also brightening, making this a great week to spot it
as it rises an hour and a half before the Sun. Venus, the brightest planet,
dominates the morning sky. Having recently passed its closest point to
the earth, comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE is zipping westward by about three degrees
per day and should remain a stunning sight in binoculars.
With astronomy meetings and outreach activities on hold, you can watch the
local Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm, and view archived shows, on YouTube
at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAEHfOWyL-kNH7dBVHK8spg
Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.
nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
