Nature Moncton Nature News: August 29 2019

NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, August 29, 2019 (Thursday)

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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Transcript by: bjpstone@gmail.com

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

** Roger Leblanc checked his 2 shorebird survey sites on Wednesday. Demoiselle Creek was very different. 2 weeks ago there were 35,000 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS [Bécasseau semipalmé] there but on Wednesday it was down to 250. BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS were at 104 [Pluvier argenté] where none were there 2 weeks ago. At Riverview Marsh the 2 MARBLED GODWITS [Barge marbrée] were still there. No sign of the phalaropes, but a STILT SANDPIPER [Bécasseau à échasses] was a pleasant surprise noting it hanging out with SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS [Bécassin roux] and YELLOWLEGS. Roger wonders what the upcoming storm will do to the shorebird scene and other birds that could appear.

** Jane Leblanc came across HELLEBORINE ORCHIDS blooming in her St. Martins yard. This is a widespread orchid around the world but is introduced to North America and has become naturalized. It tends to have a long period over which it will bloom from late spring to fall.

** John Massey sends a photo of 2 adult BLISTER BEETLES. This beetle species is fairly commonly seen and forages on plants as adults. They will secrete a yellow liquid from their joints called cantharidin that can be irritating to human skin as well as would be predators. John also got an interesting photo of a caterpillar in the process of constructing its cocoon with the hairs (setae) from its body. The identity of the caterpillar species is unclear but it is probably one of the Tussock Moth caterpillars.

** Sherrill Owen, who recently submitted the photo of the Monarch Butterfly chrysalids on her eagle statue in her Gatineau, Quebec yard, forwards a photo of another caterpillar that is foraging on her Common Milkweed. The photo is documentary but shows it to be a MILKWEED TUSSOCK MOTH CATERPILLAR. This caterpillar can be very destructive to Common Milkweed. I have seen it a few times in New Brunswick and it surely was decimating the milkweed patch. It is one I would go on a squishing session with, but use plastic gloves as the hairs can irritate human skin.

** Pam Watters and Phil Riebel noted a mud nest on the basement foundation of their Miramichi home. I was able to visit it on Wednesday. The creator of the nest dropped by as we were photographing it to clearly show it to be a BLACK AND YELLOW MUD DAUBER WASP. This is a non-aggressive, solitary wasp and will often place a spider in with the deposited eggs before closing the cell for the larvae to feed on. Pam actually saw a spider around the nest which was probably destined as larval food. This particular structure was approximately 5 inches long and 2 inches wide.

** COMMON BRASS BUTTONS is a plant that is identified by its bright, rayless, yellow flower heads and smooth, trailing stems. It is native to South Africa but rarely is introduced to tidal mud flats in New Brunswick. I photographed a group of Common Brass Buttons on the creek edge that drains Lac Frye on Miscou Island on Tuesday. It has been known from that site for some time.

nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier,

Nature Moncton