NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 15, 2021 (Thursday)
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Edited by: Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Transcript by: Brian Stone bjpstone@gmail.com
Info Line # 506-384-6397 (384-NEWS)
** Georges Brun did a walkabout on
Thursday along the Dieppe Marsh Trail where he heard and then photographed a NELSON’S SPARROW. This is an excellent
photo of this very secretive and hard to get a photo of sparrow. He was at the
right place at the right moment with a camera.
Georges started a patch of COMMON MILKWEED several years ago on
the trail that is now flourishing, and he was able to photograph a male MONARCH BUTTERFLY at it that was
looking worn and may be near the end of its adult mission. An arrow points to
the black patches on the male’s wings.
The trail in the Dieppe Marsh will be
upgraded soon. It would be nice to protect the milkweed patch from the lawn
mowers who maintain the trail and tend to cut the trail too close to the patch.
Georges
also photographed a HARBOUR SEAL that was seen enjoying the sun on July 12,
2021 a few hundred feet east of the walking bridge over Halls Creek.
** Verica Leblanc spotted and
photographed a GYPSY MOTH CATERPILLAR
in her Miramichi yard on Wednesday. The Gypsy Moth caterpillars feed on a huge
number of host trees species making them a serious threat to deciduous forests.
Their preferred foods are Oak and Aspen foliage. The adult moths do not feed.
It has been reported as an infestation year in Ontario and Quebec. There have
been no reports that I am aware of any infestation status in New Brunswick but
there are obviously some here and it is one caterpillar that should get the squish! … but take care with the hairs
(setae) as they can be irritating.
** Suzanne Rousseau has had a partial
albino COMMON GRACKLE with very
white tail rectrices around her Sussex yard coming most days to her feeder
site. It sure is an easy one to recognize.
Suzanne also had a MONARCH BUTTERFLY go from the larval caterpillar to the chrysalis.
The photo shows the chrysalis still bright green but she expects it to turn
dark in a few days, looking like a flag in a bag, that will have the adult
butterfly emerge and be soon ready to wend its way to Mexico.
** Fred Dube photographed a group of
the ALCHOHOL INKY MUSHROOMS in his
Lower Coverdale yard on Wednesday morning. This species of inky mushroom can
pop up at almost any time of the year except for the winter. It is actually a
very edible mushroom but it is not to be consumed with any alcoholic beverage
or alcohol containing medication. It contains coprine which reacts with alcohol
to give an unpleasant reaction but is not toxic.
** The young of the year COMMON MERGANSERS are near the size of
the parent now and the young still are in female-like plumage. Aldo Dorio
photographed such a group at Hay Island.
** The COMMON MILKWEED at our Miramichi camp yard is just now coming into bloom and its scent is attracting lots of insects but no Monarch Butterflies as yet. On Wednesday a day flying CURRANT SPANWORM MOTH was very seriously nectaring the flowers.
The SMALL MILKWEED BUG, aka COMMON
MILKWEED BUG was also on the Common Milkweed. The heart shape on the front
of the elytra help identify it. The resulting nymphs have a different pattern
from the adults. It lays its eggs on milkweed in the spring and adults take
nectar from the flowers of various plants. They are also reported feeding on
Honey Bees, Monarch Caterpillars and pupae, and Dogbane Beetles so obviously
they are not deterred by the foul taste of the milkweed and dogbane latex.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
