Nature Moncton Nature News: September 14 2023

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

September 14, 2023

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Edited by Nelson Poirier nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

** Nature Moncton has Christmas cards for sale. You read that correctly…. CHRISTMAS CARDS. All photos are taken locally and submitted by local photographers. On the front is a photo; on the back is the Nature Moncton logo, the name of the subject and photographer, and the Nature Moncton website and Facebook address. Inside will have “Seasons Greetings” printed in red but still has lots of room for writing a message. The format is the same as our regular greeting cards (8.5” x 5.5”) with envelopes included. You can order a random set of the 6 cards available or select any combination. For instance, you could order 10 Northern Cardinal cards and 2 Black-capped Chickadee cards for $20.00. Make up your own package. Fred Richards will print to order.

These cards can be ordered by phone at 506-334-0100 or by email at fredrichards@rogers.com. The pricing will be 5 cards for $10.00, 12 cards for $20.00, and 20 cards for $30.00. All proceeds go to Nature Moncton.

**Fred Richards reports he has, like many, seen a lot of caterpillars lately, but a Galium Sphinx Moth Caterpillar AKA Bedstraw Sphinx, made him stop for a photo. Fred was on his way to the street with some recycling and saw it on the driveway. He picked it up and attached it to his pant leg, and it stayed in place for the rest of the trip. Then, it posed for a couple of photos.

(Editor’s note: this colourful caterpillar is quite variable, but Fred’s photo is the most common form encountered.

The editor is always hoping to find one himself or hoping someone else will find one and give it to him as it is very rewarding to place this caterpillar at this time of year in an aquarium with a bottom of earth and let it go into its cocoon to overwinter. If it is kept in a cold environment and if the cocoon has not been parasitized, it will emerge in late spring as the beautiful, quite large Galium Sphinx Moth.)

**Jane LeBlanc came home from work on Wednesday to find the Monarch Butterfly chrysalis she had put in the greenhouse morphed into a beautiful male Monarch butterfly. She gently placed it outside, and it immediately flew away. Hopefully, it survives the weekend weather. There is still at least one more chrysalis in the milkweed patch that she knows of.

**In follow up to yesterday’s comments on Mountain Ash, Georges Brun reports he counted 53 Mountain Ash trees on the south side of Jones Lake from West Main to Mount Royal Blvd. with most trees heavily laden with berries.

Georges also photographed a dragonfly pair at Pollinator Park next to Assomption Blvd and Vaughan Harvey Blvd. in Moncton.

It may seem late for 'fertilizing eggs' but Gilles Belliveau refers to a comment in an excerpt from “Dragonfies and Damselflies of the East” (by Dennis Paulson) about eggs of odes:

“Eggs may hatch after a few days, or embryonic development may take a month or more. In some species, the eggs overwinter and hatch the following spring.”

**Bob Blake also comments on the Mountain Ash crop, noting the Mountain Ash trees in their yard had many robins on Wednesday, harvesting the heavy crop.

**The Fall Webworm tent nests are very commonly seen this time of year. Nelson Poirier photographed some on Wednesday. Most seemed to be vacated, the larval caterpillars having completed their foraging mission.

Brian Stone pointed out a link that explains the life and times of the fall webworm:

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6960444

**Nelson Poirier again photographed a few common mushrooms for discussion.

The Cleft-foot Amanita is a relatively common one in the amanita group. Clues to identifying amanitas are arrowed in the photograph. The bulbous base inside a sac (volva), the hanging apron style of the partial veil, and the free gills (a space between the gills and the stalk) are helpful ID features. Amanitas have white spore prints.

The Cleft-foot amanita is not a safe edible but not deadly as some of its kin are.

The very common Bracelet Cort Mushroom was also photographed. The mature specimen shows the remnants of the cobwebby veil (arrowed) typical of the Cortinarius group, and the just emerged specimen shows the rings on the stalk that identify this species. The Cortinarius group is not edible, as a few members of this group are considered seriously toxic. The Bracelet Cort is not considered toxic but not considered a choice edible simply because it’s a cort!