NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
June 27, 2022 (Monday)
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Edited by:
Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
**Richard Blaquiere did a round of the Hampton lagoons on Sunday and was rewarded with a very vocal Common Gallinule calling from the reeds near the back of the second pond. After some time, it ventured out on the pond only to be confronted by the resident Pied-billed Grebe. From the interactions Richard witnessed, they didn't get along terribly well. Richard has not seen a Common Gallinule at the Hampton lagoon before, so it would be a 'lagoon lifer' for him.
**
Louise Nichols and Brian Stone ventured over to one of the bogs off High
Marsh Rd in Sackville in the heat of Sunday afternoon to look for Northern
Blue Butterflies that Louise found in that spot 2 years ago. They
bushwhacked through long grasses which was hard enough, but then were met with
more dense vegetation and very wet swamp conditions until finally reaching the
bog. After searching for some time, Brian spotted the first Northern Blue
out of about three that they saw. They were very satisfied that their
hard work yielded the sought-after prize.
They then
returned to Louise's Aulac property and explored the bog area there.
Louise includes a photo of a Common Green Darner in the process of
consuming a Spiny Baskettail. The dragonflies seem to be hungry these
days because the day before, Louise saw a Four-spotted Skimmer consuming
a deer fly species. A Harris's Checkerspot Butterfly was seen
flying close to the bog and a Variable Darner was spotted in the woods,
staying almost out of sight, hanging from the bottom of a spruce tree branch.
Both
Dragon's Mouth and Grass Pink orchids are in bloom at the moment.
** Jane LeBlanc found a clump of Jack O’Lantern Mushrooms in the same spot they always seem to grow, in St. Martins Harbour Park.
** Mac Wilmot’s grandson Andy Stultz comments mayflies are extremely numerous at the Davie yard in Quebec City. He got an excellent photo of one to show how big it is in relation to his hand.
We have several species of mayflies in New Brunswick as well, some quite large and others smaller. The adults tend to have a relatively short flight period when they can gather in surprisingly large numbers to mate and lay eggs, then pass on. The eggs are normally laid in bodies of water as the non-adult stages are aquatic.
**Lisa Morris enjoyed a close-up encounter recently with a Snowshoe Hare showing its rich brown summer pelage compared to its winter white.
**The warm nights have really started bringing out a variety of moths to Nelson Poirier's moth light set-up. He will mention a few each day to avoid ‘moth overload’ so we can learn a bit about each. The large sphinx and giant silkworm moths always create the most attention and can be very striking. On Sunday morning, 4 Modest Sphinx a.k.a. Big Poplar Sphinx were waiting to be photographed.
The Modest Sphinx like many large moths does not feed as an adult and is strictly a ‘mating machine’ that will lay eggs which will hatch into strikingly large caterpillars. These caterpillars will feed on poplar and willow foliage that we will see later in the season. They are very cryptic, blending in with the foliage.
A few photographs of Modest Sphinx are attached, one of which shows part of the more colourful underwing that is opened at rest to alarm and thwart predators.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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