Nature Moncton Nature News: Aug 10 2020

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, Aug. 10, 2020 (Monday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Louise Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

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**Brian Donovan came across an interesting Black Bear scenario in the Miramichi area on Sunday as he spotted a Black Bear and four young heading to the same blueberry patch he was heading to. It would appear the mother bear was being followed by four young with two of them this year’s cubs and two which would appear to be from last year. Normally a female bear takes her young cubs of the year into her winter den with her however sends the year olds + on their way when she comes into estrus in the July time window. For some unknown reason, that scenario did not happen or she has adopted another females cubs. An interesting encounter to muse upon.

**Connie Colpitts came across a group of insects on a tree in her Salisbury yard that seemed to be attracted to remnants of suet. I rather assume most of us have never seen this interesting insect activity. BugGuide has identified them as TREE CATTLE, a seemingly odd common name for an insect. They get their common name from their habit of moving in large colonies reminiscent of herds of cattle moving about in unison and returning as Connie observed. They are in the bark louse family and are harmless and no cause for concern. The banded yellow individuals are the nymphs and the shining black tent-winged dark individuals are the adults which are commonly seen together.

** Sally Jackson sends two pictures of a tick bite her neighbour got. He and his wife pick up garbage at Fort Howe in Saint John, and he is often in the bushes there. A few days ago, he felt something crawling on his leg. Two ticks were removed. In the morning, this one was discovered on his arm, so he saw his doctor. It was removed and sent to Winnipeg for identification. He’s on a strong antibiotic for 14 days, then blood tests. The tick was tiny as a pencil tip, and unengorged. Sally comments that we should all be wary when in the bushes and she felt this might be a good reminder. Her cousin in Chester, NS, was bitten while working in her garden. She now has Lyme disease for the rest of her life. Thank you Sally for bringing this emerging problem to light. There are several ways we can protect ourselves and coexist with Lyme disease which will not be going away. We have several species of ticks in NB, and only one species – the BLACKLEGGED TICK – is the only known vector of the Lyme disease spirochete. Rolling up socks over pant legs and wearing white clothing helps to detect them before they get on skin. Effective permethrin-impregnated clothing is available to wear in danger areas. Deet spray also acts as a deterrent. Ticks removed immediately with a proper tick-removal tool are very unlikely to have had time to transmit the organism.

** Verica LeBlanc may have been late with her butterfly visits to her Nelson, Miramichi yard, but they sure were making up for lost time on Sunday. It turns out a fritillary was guarding its find and proceeded to chase the others away. It succeeded with the BLACK SWALLOWTAIL [Papillon du céleri], but a MILBERT’S TORTOISESHELL [Petite vanesse] was not going that easily and stayed awhile. The Milbert’s Tortoiseshell was the first one for Verica. She got an excellent back view photo showing just how cryptic they can be against tree bark as they overwinter as an adult. Also note the sizable pollen collection a bee has in its leg basket.

** Richard Blacquiere reports one of the three RUDDY DUCKS [Érismature rousse] currently residing at the Hampton lagoon is showing signs of getting ready for winter plumage with its bill turning dark. Richard comments that it is not a quirk of the lighting as he has several other photos of the duck in different poses, all showing a dark bill.

** Paul Langelaan was at Irishtown Nature Park on Sunday and was surprised to see a snake very easily swimming across the stream, something that he had not noted before. It appeared to be a GARTER SNAKE. I understand snakes do readily swim, but like Paul, have never seen one swimming, and I’m around lots of rivers.

** Aldo Dorio got a better photo of the tern he was wondering could be an Arctic Tern. The bill clearly shows a dark tip to be able to clearly say it’s the more expected COMMON TERN [Sterne pierregarin].

**Brian Stone paid a short visit to the Lavoie Ducks Unlimited impoundment on Tucker Street in Riverview on Sunday to see lots of activity. A significant number of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer, a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper, and Least Sandpiper were present. There were a lot of dragonflies flying and a Twelve-spotted Skimmer and a meadowhawk dragonfly got in the camera lens.

** I’ve noted two types of spiders with nest masses on Common Milkweed. Some photos are attached. One is simply a mass of webbing. That one cut open showed many spiderlings. Another was a CRAB SPIDER carrying a ball almost the size of itself. When the ball was cut open, it was full of eggs. I wonder if these spiders could be predatory on Monarch Butterfly eggs.

** The plants flowering at the moment in abundance, HOP CLOVER and BLACK MEDIC, can look alike, yet not on close observation. The flowering heads of Black Medic are much smaller, and the now forming seed pods are distinctive unique black coils. The tip of the leaves of Black Medic also had a small projection; Hop Clover does not. A photo of Black Medic is attached.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton