Nature Moncton Nature News: July 29 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 29, 2023

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Aldo Dorio had an immature Broad-winged Hawk quite interested in why Aldo wanted to have a photo of it as it visited Hay Island on Friday.

**Brian Stone took a short walk behind Crandall University on Friday afternoon to check the milkweed patches for butterflies. He didn't see any butterflies, but he did find one small Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar happily chewing on a milkweed leaf. Brian also noted the sound of Cicadas coming from the ATV trail beside Gorge Rd. highway off-ramp and he spent an hour searching the short trees beside the trail for one of the loud insects that seemed to be all around but were nearly invisible. He heard two different cicada sounds, one being a steady whine coming from a good distance away and the other being a buzzing, trilling sound coming from close by.

After a long search Brian found one of the buzzing cicadas at nearly eye level on a tree branch, and he took some photos and a short video to demonstrate the sound. He didn't manage to see any of the cicadas that were making the steady whine sound. While Brian was taking pictures of the cicada, a fly landed on its branch and started harassing it, seemingly chasing it around the branch until the cicada got tired of it and flew off. A couple other photos taken on the walk were of Blue Bead Lily (Clintonia), and a female Common Whitetail Dragonfly.

Video link ...

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/w024327so2lrh0wqjpuqp/CICADA.-JULY-28-2023.-BRIAN-STONE.mp4?rlkey=1gjrd09iv7bk15y1k5fadmu3q&dl=0

**There is a small bog adjacent to the Renous Highway (Route 108), a known habitat of the Elfin Skimmer Dragonfly. This is the smallest dragonfly species in North America.

Nelson Poirier stopped at that site on July 26 in search of this dragonfly. He thought it must be too late for their flight period as all he could find were damselflies. Several were detained as a consolation prize, but when reviewing photographs the next day, one turned out to be a male Elfin Skimmer Dragonfly!

These dragonflies are so small that they are easily missed (excuse?)

The damselfly was the Sweetflag Spreadwing Damselfly that cooperated for a photo as well.

The opportunity to photograph a few bog plants provided Pod-grass, now showing its large fruit capsules and Marsh St. John’s Wort which is now sporting its bright red seed packets.

**A trail just west of Woodstock leads into a relatively small area of old hardwood forest that is the home habitat for a surprising variety of flora that we just don’t tend to see in such a concentrated small area.

Nelson Poirier visited that area on Tuesday, July 24 to photograph some of the plant life present.

Plants photographed were Maidenhair Fern, Goldie’s Fern, New York Fern, Christmas Fern, Blue Cohosh, Enchanter's Nightshade, Yellow Violet, and Bloodroot. These plants are not considered rare in New Brunswick but it is certainly uncommon to spot them all in one small area.

Maidenhair Fern grows in a unique pattern. It spreads its rectangular pinnae horizontally in a near-perfect circle to make it easily identifiable. The developing fruit dots (sori) can be seen on the forward age of fertile pinnae. (arrowed)

The Blue Cohosh berries were still green but will become a striking blue when ripe.

Goldie’s Fern is a large fern with fruit dots (sori) appearing as a row of chevrons on the fertile pinnae.

New York Fern is identifiable by the pinnae tapering right to the base of the stalk, as does Ostrich Fern, but much smaller in stature.

The Christmas Fern shows its ‘mittens’ (arrowed)

Enchanter's Nightshade has a two-petaled flower that forms a bur-like fruit.

Bloodroot is an ephemeral plant in the spring, but leaves persist in the summer, and there were hundreds of leaves covering this site.

The rare Showy Orchis can be seen at this site much earlier in the season.

Elsewhere along the highway, Nelson took note of Himalayan Balsam, Queen Anne’s Lace, a.k.a. Wild Carrot, and Chicory which was photographed.

Queen Anne’s lace is in the process now of folding its umbel of white flowers, becoming what looks like a bird’s nest.

Himalayan balsam is an introduced invasive plant; however, mats of it do provide brilliant colourful flowers to waste areas where they establish. They can readily grow to 6 feet in height.

**It would appear like the editor is monopolizing this edition; however, Nelson Poirier also shares photos of two interesting moths on a moth flight visit.

The Great Ash Sphinx is a very large moth with unique markings, yet not as colourful as many of its sphinx kin.

A second moth species to visit was the Banded Tussock Moth which is a medium-sized moth that is quite colourful when it opens its wings to show the spotted orange-yellow abdomen.

A third species, the small to medium-sized Even-lined Sallow also visited.

**Barb Nahwegahbow, a friend of Nature Moncton member Christine Lever, who was in Mississauga, Ontario sent Christine an amazing video of a snail chewing on a stick that Barb had taken. Most of us probably have never seen anything like this before. They both reshare it at the 10-second link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/88mrrmfcvyfu7jq6kee5f/SNAIL-CHEWING-STICK.mp4?rlkey=t3c9c3rcx7w16l4i22smpt2f3&dl=0

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton