Nature Moncton Nature News: July 20 2017

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 20, 2017 ( Thursday )

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com

Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)

** John Massey noted the nail-like projections of the LINDEN LEAF GALL MITE on a Basswood leaf. These galls caused by this mite are common and usually cause no real damage to the tree. I'm adding a description taken from the internet that describes them nicely since there are often many questions about these insect galls.

Eriophyid mites (Eriophyes spp.) are so small that they are almost impossible to see with the naked eye. Unless a scanning electron microscope is available, a morphological description of an adult individual is useless. The mite is most easily identified by the shape of the gall it produces and the plant species on which it is found.

Linden leaf gall mite is a specialized plant feeder. It can be found on basswood and littleleaf linden, mostly on the lower leaves.

The nail galls appear randomly scattered across the upper side of a leaf. There are usually many galls on a single leaf. They are generally absent along the veins.

The galls are tube-shaped and 3/16″ to ½″ long. They taper at the top to a rounded or pointed tip. They may be straight or curved, erect or oblique. They are mostly solitary though sometimes two galls join at the base but remain separate at the top. They are greenish-yellow to pinkish at first, eventually turning red to brown.

** Louise Nichols added two more butterfly species to her project to identify the different butterfly species that use the habitat around her Sackville yard and pond, with the number now up to 21. Photos shared today are two views of a GREAT SPANGLED FRITILLARY [Argynne cybèle] and a EUROPEAN SKIPPER [Hespérie des graminées].

** Fred and Lynn Dube maintain a Koi pond at their Niagara Rd. property, off the Hillsborough Rd. This year they are noting huge numbers of small insects around the lily pads. The photos that Fred and Brian Stone got match up well in an internet search with the WATER LILY APHID. They are very small in size, but not in numbers. A good link to learn more about this species is http://influentialpoints.com/Gallery/Rhopalosiphum_nymphaeae_water_lily_aphid.htm

** Daryl Doucet comments on a NORTHERN FLICKER [Pic flamboyant] that has adapted an area in his carrot patch to become its personal dust/ant bowl and happily gives it a thorough workout usually twice every day. Daryl comments that it is amusing to watch so he has gladly given that section of the carrot patch to the Flicker.

** Brian Stone dropped by the Hillsborough Wetland Park on Wednesday to note DOWNY WOODPECKERS [Pic mineur] very actively feeding their family and also photographed a GRAY CATBIRD [Moqueur chat] that was one of a pair in the area. Gray Brook Marsh seemed very quiet on Wednesday.

nelson@nb.sympatico.ca

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton