July 13 2026

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

Nature Moncton members, as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond, are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News.

 

If you would like to share observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

 

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca, if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

  

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

**Katie Girvan always checks her front porch area light as that’s where moths like to gather. On Monday morning, a large fresh polyphemus moth was just hanging (literally) on her forsythia bush. Katie moved the branch to get an excellent spread-wing photo to show all its striking markings.

(Editor’s note: the polyphemus moth is one of our largest giant silkworm moths with the adults now on their relatively short mating flights. It ranges 100-150 mm wingspan!)

 

POLYPHEMUS MOTH. JULY 12, 2026.  KATIE GIRVAN

POLYPHEMUS MOTH. JULY 12, 2026.  KATIE GIRVAN

**Aldo Dorio photographed a Baltimore checkerspot butterfly in his Neguac yard. This butterfly tends to favour the turtle head plant as its host plant to lay eggs.

 

BALTIMORE CHECKERSPOT BUTTERFLY. JULY 12, 2026. ALDO DORIO

**The introduced Manitoba maple a.k.a. box elder is sometimes called our rogue maple as its compound leaves are five-parted, not the typical maple leaf shape. Nelson Poirier noted several large Manitoba maple trees on Saturday during a field trip with Nature Miramichi on Strawberry Marsh and took note of the white to pink or violet waxy coating of the young shoots to help identify it.

MANITOBA MAPLE AKA BOX ELDER. JULY 12. 2026. NELSON POIRIER 

 

 

 

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

 

July 12 2026

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

Nature Moncton members, as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond, are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News.

 

If you would like to share observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

 

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca, if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

  

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

** A heads up on the Nature Moncton Wednesday walk this week: the guide will be Marbeth Wilson with Pointe-du-Chene as the destination, where she expects the terns to be active and lots more to sleuth in that rich area.

 

**Ted Sears in St. Martins has already been successful in collecting monarch butterfly caterpillars and letting them develop to the chrysalis stage.  Some have already emerged as adult butterflies, as shown in the photograph Ted submits.

Jim Wilson was consulted, and he feels there will be time for another generation from adults emerging from chrysalides at this time, which means it will be their progeny that will be heading to overwinter in Mexico. Jim suggests mid-August is approximately when monarch butterflies stop copulating at our latitude.

MONARCH BUTTERFLY CHRYSALIDES (DEVELOPING AND EMERGED). JULY 11, 2026. TED SEARS

**Jane LeBlanc in St. Martins was doing garden chores when she found a female ebony jewelwing damselfly on one of her plants. She got a photo showing the white spot (stigma) at the tip of the wing to indicate a female.

She also confirms she has two female monarch butterflies laying eggs on her milkweed patch. 

EBONY JEWELWING (FEMALE). JULY 11, 2026. JANE LEBLANC

MONARCH BUTTERFLY (FEMALE). JULY 11, 2026. JANE LEBLANC

 

**More on milkweed! Nelson Poirier keeps a close eye on his milkweed patch for beetles that could potentially skeletonize the patch. So far, he has noted only very small skullcap leaf beetles and stink bugs. Stink bugs have a very distinctive silhouette helpful to identify them. Neither of these is a threat to milkweed.

No confirmed sightings of adult monarch butterflies for Nelson (as yet!)

 

SKULLCAP LEAF BEETLE (LEFT) AND STINKBUG SP. (RIGHT). JULY 10, 2026. NELSON POIRIER 

**Pat Gibbs is happy to report that the northern cardinals that she saw earlier this year around her Moncton home seem to be sticking around. Pat thinks they may have a nest in the trees on the traffic island in front of her home and seem to be going back and forth from there quite a bit. She was able to nab a photo when a male visited her ground feeder. 

(Editor’s note: as we get more used to northern cardinals in  New Brunswick -- outside of the Quispamsis and Sussex area -- we know the significance of watching for the dark bill of fledglings, which will remain dark until fall.)

 

 

NORTHERN CARDINAL. (MALE). JULY 12, 2026. PAT GIBBS

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

  

July 11 2026

 

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

Nature Moncton members, as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond, are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News.

 

If you would like to share observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

 

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca, if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

  

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

 

 

**Yolande LeBlanc in Memramcook reports “Woohoo!, got my first monarch butterfly, and she seemed to be ovipositing on my orange milkweed. Will keep you posted on coming caterpillars.”

(Editor’s note: the plant Yolande is referring to is commonly known as butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and is a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America.)

 

**Louise Nichols sends some photos of mostly dragonflies she has seen lately in some spots just over the border near Amherst.  The chalk-fronted corporal was seen at Trueman Lake; the dusky clubtail at Pumping River Station Lake; the dot-tailed whiteface at the Macaan Tidal Wetlands; the racket-tailed emerald and darner species were found on a trail off Fort Lawrence Rd.  The darner cannot be identified to species because Louise could not get a side shot of it to show the thoracic stripes.  The hummingbird clearwing moth was also on this trail.

HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH. JULY 9, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH. JULY 9, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

DUSKY CLUBTAIL. JULY 7, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

DOT-TAILED WHITEFACE. JULY 9, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

DARNER SPECIES. JULY 9, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

CHALK-FRONTED CORPORAL. JULY 7, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

RACKET-TAILED EMERALD. JULY 9, 2026. LOUISE NICHOLS

 

 ** From one small seed to a big beautiful tree!

Approximately 25 years ago, Janet MacMillan brought a pod to a Nature Moncton meeting for possible identification. There were several of these trees that had been planted by St. Phillips Church in Moncton, apparently by the minister at the time.

Nelson Poirier was able to recognize the pod, as he had seen it at another location in Moncton. It turned out to be a northern catalpa tree.

Janet gifted the pod to Nelson, who planted some of the seeds indoors, housing them for a few years and then planted them outside. Three of them took to their new habitat. A move from that location meant they had to go as well. One was planted in the yard of Nelson’s Miramichi camp, and it liked what it found. Each July, it bursts out hundreds of spectacular blooms and is now over 20 feet in height. We have lost Janet, but she left a beautiful memoir.

It makes one realize all the information that is packaged in one small seed to deliver such a beautiful end product!

NORTHERN CATALPA. JULY 10, 2026. NELSON POIRIER

NORTHERN CATALPA. JULY 10, 2026. NELSON POIRIER

 

**Nelson Poirier had a pleasant surprise on Friday morning at his moth attractor site. Many small moths came by, some with attractive patterns and some quite drab. Photographs are attached of a few of the larger ones, including the waved sphinx moth and several small-eyed sphinx moths. The small-eyed sphinx moth photograph shows two with hindwings visible flashing the eye spots, while the third moth is at rest, revealing that ID giveaway of the ‘hump’ (arrowed).

WAVED SPHINX. JULY 10, 2026. NELSON POIRIER 

SMALL-EYED SPHINX MOTHS. JULY 10, 2026. NELSON POIRIER 

 A few have asked what the moth attractor set up looks like. It consists of a white window blind fastened to an outside wall with a dezapped UV bug zapper hanging on top with a jimmied very bright light in a waterproof case bolted to a heavy block of wood stump aimed at the white blind. A mercury vapour light is the most desirable and they used to be available in hardware stores, but they are not sold anymore as they attract moths!!

Not a very sophisticated setup, but it works.

MOTH ATTRACTOR SETUP (AMATEUR). JULY 10, 2026. NELSON POIRIER 

MOTH ATTRACTOR SETUP (AMATEUR). JULY 10, 2026. NELSON POIRIER 

 

 

 

 

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton

 

July 10 2026

 

 

Nature Moncton Nature News

 

Clicking on the photos enlarges them for closer observation. Please note that clicking on any photo enlarges it full screen and then clicking on the black area on either side of the photo brings one right back to the main page.

 

 

Nature Moncton members, as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond, are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News.

 

If you would like to share observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

 

Please advise the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com, as well as proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca, if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

  

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

 

 

 

**While painting part of the frame of a patio door Thursday, Peter Gadd was distracted by a busy small wasp showing an interest in the hollow section of the door's bumper. Repeated visits were made, and to Peter’s relief, he was ignored. The industrious wasp eventually plugged the hole with what appears to be mud, with presumably eggs inside. iNaturalist identifies the wasp as Ancistrocerus capra, a member of the Potter and Mason Wasp subfamily. A second bumper just above was also plugged in the same manner.

(Editor’s note: this small wasp species is a solitary wasp of no harm to people if ignored. It is much smaller than the mason bee group that visit our bee houses in early spring, and it is quite normal for it to be active in July.)

 

POTTER (MASON) WASP. JULY 9, 2026.  PETER GADD

POTTER (MASON) WASP. JULY 9, 2026.  PETER GADD

POTTER (MASON) WASP. JULY 9, 2026.  PETER GADD

POTTER (MASON) WASP NEST. JULY 9, 2026. PETER GADD

 

**Even though it's been 2 weeks since the first one visited, Jane LeBlanc hasn't been able to find any caterpillars but had that second confirmed visit of a monarch butterfly on Thursday.

 

 

MONARCH BUTTERFLY. JULY 9, 2026. JANE LEBLANC

**Aldo Dorio photographed a willet at Hay Island on Thursday. This resident shorebird nests at that site.

 

WILLET. JULY 9, 2026.  ALDO DORIO

WILLET. JULY 9, 2026.  ALDO DORIO

**On Wednesday morning, Brian Stone visited Wilson Marsh on a hunt for the elusive blue dasher dragonfly. He was unsuccessful in that endeavor, but got lucky by finding several widow skimmer dragonflies, including at least five immature males and a similar number of new (teneral) females. After following them around for a while trying for a decent photo, Brian went to the other side of the marsh to check on the pied-billed grebes and their newly hatched chicks and found them still on the nest and then hitching a ride on their parents' backs when they wanted to avoid the photographer. A second nest has still unhatched eggs in it. A few other photographed marsh residents were colourful meadowhawk dragonflies, a slender spreadwing damselfly, a variable dancer damselfly, a hummingbird moth, and a mallard duck family.

 

 

VARIABLE DANCER DAMSELFLY. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE

SLENDER SPREADWING DAMSELFLY. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE

PIED-BILLED GREBE NEST. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE

PIED-BILLED GREBE AND CHICK. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

PIED-BILLED GREBE AND CHICK. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

MOURNING DOVE (IMMATURE SUSPECTED). JUNE 27, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

MEADOWHAWK DRAGONFLY. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

MALLARD DUCK FAMILY. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE

HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

HUMMINGBIRD CLEARWING MOTH. JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE 

WIDOW SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (TENERAL FEMALE). JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE

WIDOW SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (IMMATURE MALE). JULY 08, 2026. BRIAN STONE

 

**This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2026 July 11 – July 18 
Constellations are not the only stellar figures in the night sky. Any imaginative figure seen that is not one of the 88 constellations is called an asterism. The Big Dipper in Ursa Major and the Sagittarius Teapot are two of the most prominent. Others require binoculars or a telescope, such as the Coathanger and ET star clusters. Near the eastern shoulder of Ophiuchus binoculars will show a large V shape resembling the Hyades cluster, and star maps of a few centuries ago labelled this as the constellation Poniatowski’s Bull. One I read about in Sky & Telescope magazine is a smiley face in Cygnus the Swan. Scan with binoculars just below the swan’s right (western) wing near the brightest star in that wing, and look for a pair of eyes above a semicircle grin of five stars. You will probably smile back.

This summer, spend some time scanning the night sky randomly and let your imagination run wild. Pareidolia is a phenomenon in which your mind sees a familiar pattern where none exists. Just as we imagine figures in clouds by day, we can imagine them in the stars at night.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:39 and sunset will occur at 9:09, giving 15 hours, 30 minutes of daylight (5:47 and 9:11 in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:45 and set at 9:04, giving 15 hours, 19 minutes of daylight (5:53 and 9:06 in Saint John).

The Moon is above Mars this Saturday morning, and it is new and at perigee on Tuesday so expect extreme tides later in the week. That evening the very thin crescent sits a few degrees to the right of Jupiter and sets a half hour after sunset. The Moon is just below Regulus on Thursday and near Venus on Friday. Saturn is well-placed for observing in the morning, rising before 1 am. Mercury is at inferior conjunction on Sunday.

The next RASC NB star party takes place at Mactaquac Provincial Park on July 17-18.

Questions? Contact Curt Nason at nasonc@nbnet.nb.ca.

Cygnus Smile

 

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton