NATURE MONCTON INFORMATION LINE, July 08, 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)
** Louise Nichols was unable to attend
the Tankville trail outing on Tuesday night but did go in the afternoon to get
some nice photos. The sky was cloudy and being in a heavy forest canopy it was
harder to see what damsel/dragonflies we were seeing in the evening. Louise got
a nice comparison photo of a male and female EBONY JEWELWING DAMSELFLY. The jewelwings are our largest
damselflies and are striking when they fly about in their bouncy flight
pattern. Louise also got a NORTHERN
PEARLY EYE BUTTERFLY going cryptic against tree bark as they like to do as
well as a female COMMON WHITETAIL DRAGONFLY.
She also photographed one of our
several species of ROBBER FLIES.
Several other flowering plants, some in
berry, were seen in the evening and we got photos of some. RED BANEBERRY was surprisingly abundant, BEAKED HAZELNUT, WINTERBERRY
were in profuse flower, MONKEY FLOWER,
PYROLA (SHINLEAF), SWAMP CANDLES, and blooming COMMON ELDER was very, very abundant,
some SPREADING DOGBANE to note its
sweet odour and milky white latex when cut, FLY AGARIC MUSHROOM, ARROWROOT,
BURR REED, HONEYSUCKLE was in bloom, and lots more that a group of eyes
collectively don’t miss. Susan Richards photographed the very tall column of RED
PINE TREES that have been enjoyed for many years on that trail. They were
planted circa 1963 by a boy scout group and are now at the end of their life.
Dan Hicks. Director of Parks for the City of Moncton was with the group and
advised they were dying of natural causes, not disease. They stood as a
strikingly gorgeous part of this trail for 60 years.
** Jane Leblanc photographed a brightly
coloured orange mushroom cluster in Harbour Park in St. Martins. We need a
photo of the underside to see the gill structure but it appears to be the JACK-O'-LANTERN MUSHROOM (Omphalotus
olearius). This mushroom gets its name from an ingredient that makes it glow in
the dark. It’s not an edible and can be a lookalike to the Chanterelle
Mushroom, however the Chanterelle would not grow in a tight cluster and the
gills are much thicker in appearance.
** Aldo Dorio was able to get a photo
of a male GREAT SPANGLED FRITILLARY
BUTTERFLY at Hay Island on Wednesday. It is interesting to note the
difference between the male and the female. The male does not have the dark
area in the mid area nor the black rim to the fore wing as in the photo
submitted recently of the female which is re-attached today for comparison.
Aldo also photographed a few of the fairly abundant CEDAR WAXWINGS spending their summer season with us and a few more
seemingly starting to overwinter with us on occasion. Lets watch what the
Mountain Ash crop is looking like that should be in berry soon and see if it
will be a good year for them.
Aldo also got a photo of a SHORT-TAILED SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY at
Hay Island which is only the second one he was able to get this year. This
specimen looks worn so hopefully it is a female that has oviposited liberally.
This butterfly has a restricted worldwide range that includes Hay Island.
Nelson Poirier,
Nature Moncton
