Nature Moncton Nature News: Sept 22 2018

Nature Moncton Information Line – 22 September, 2018 (Saturday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: Catherine Clements

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

**Georges Brun got a great photo of a Weasel [Belette] in pursuit of Pigeons in the rocks near the Chateau Moncton. This animal will be changing to complete white in a few months, with only the black tail tip. That black tail tip is noticeable in George’s photo.

**The last day was surely GALLIUM SPHINX MOTH (a.k.a BEDSTRAW HAWK-MOTH) caterpillar [chenille du Sphinx du gaillet] day. Dave Christie had a neighbour bring him one for identification. It measured 2.75 inches (7 cm) when stretched out on his hand. Dave’s photos nicely show its distinctive red horn-like tail projecting. This caterpillar is very variable in colour, but the abdominal spots and red horn are consistent. Georges Brun also got a photo of one on Friday that shows the lighter brown variation, but still the obvious spotting and red horn. After getting these reports I headed to a patch of SPREADING DOGBANE [Herbe à la puce] where I had found four adults nectaring in August – it had a patch of the host plant Bedstraw [Gaillet] near it. I did find one caterpillar which was similar in colour to Dave’s. I’m sure there were more, but they were incognito. There was a surprising number of reports of the adult moth this summer, especially around Spreading Dogbane, to expect a good showing of the striking caterpillar. It looks like that is starting to happen, with three reports over one day.

**Aldo Dorio got a photo of a LEAST SANDPIPER [Bécasseau minuscule] and a SPOTTED SANDPIPER [Chevalier grivelé] at Hay Island on Friday. Note the lack of spotting and the white shoulder slash, to call the Spotted Sandpiper a young of the year bird. Aldo also got a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER [Paruline à croupion jaune] again, to show the white eye crescents, white throat, and yellow side patches. Aldo also found a lost camera lens or scope attachment at Hay Island. If anyone knows who it belongs to, Aldo can be reached at mona.dorio@yahoo.com

**Brian Stone visited Mapleton Park with his camera on Friday to note a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT WARBLER [Paruline masquée], a young of the year AMERICAN ROBIN [Merle d'Amérique], one of our many species of Crane Fly [Tipule], Jack-in-the-pulpit [Ariséma] with the ripe berry clusters that are almost burning spicy if tasted, a freshly-deceased Shrew [Musaraigne], WILD CUCUMBER [Concombre grimpant] in fruit, several WOOLLY BEAR CATERPILLARS [chenille d'Isia Isabelle], which are the larval stage of the ISABELLA TIGER MOTH [Isia Isabelle], and clumps of WOOLLY ALDER APHIDS [Puceron lanigère de l'aulne]. The HARVESTER BUTTERFLY [Moissonneur] lays its eggs in these masses for its larvae to feed on the Mites [Acarien]. In a close-up photo, both can be seen. He noted some larvae of some insects that obviously had laid eggs on some yard SUNFLOWERS [Tourne-soleil]. They were crawling up a wall appearing to look for a place to cocoon. He put some in a dish and they promptly started building their cocoons. Brian sure has come up with some unfamiliar Spiders [Araignée] in the past few weeks. One colourful orbweaver attached today is called the HENTZ ORBWEAVER [Neoscona crucifera]. The attached link from BugGuide describes it but does not mention it being north of Maine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoscona_crucifera

**Our heavy grape crop this year is being very much enjoyed by several AMERICAN ROBINS [Merle d'Amérique] at our Moncton yard. All of them seem to be young of the year, with that very spotted breast. They may be young, but they sure know where ripe grapes go!

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton