Nature Moncton Nature News: May 30 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

May 30, 2024

Nature Moncton members, as well as any naturalist in New Brunswick or beyond, are invited to share their photos and descriptions of recent nature sightings to build a fresh (almost) daily edition of Nature News

To respond by e-mail, please address your message to the information line editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com .

Please advise both the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com and the proofreader nicholsl@eastlink.ca if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.

For more information on Nature Moncton, check the website at www.naturemoncton.com .

Proofreading courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca

The live feed to the Peregrine Falcon nest box camera can be accessed at https://www.zoodemagnetichillzoo.ca/nest-cam

**The Nature Moncton email account received a very interesting message from a Moncton high school student, Sam Allanach, which will interest readers. Sam’s message and the link to a video to show his setup is verbatim below:

“My name is Sam and I am a high school student at Moncton Christian Academy with a strong dedication to the environment. I have attended many webinars and events put on by Nature Moncton and am so grateful for the knowledge that you guys are able to share. For my final project in my Environmental Science 12 class, I decided to research the Monarch butterfly and set out to uncover how we as New Brunswick citizens can help to increase this endangered species' population. I found that the main reason for this decline has been the recent scarcity of milkweed due to excessive herbicide use. To combat this, I have constructed a butterfly and pollinator garden, complete with milkweed and wildflowers, in my backyard. However, one garden alone cannot put a dent in a decreasing population. This is why I would like to spread awareness about this issue and encourage others to not only learn more about this iconic butterfly, but to help increase the number of Monarchs Butterflies in NB by planting butterfly gardens. I have documented my progress on YouTube and hope to inspire others through social media, but I would be eternally grateful if you guys were able to spread the word and encourage Monarch conservation as well!

Here is a link to my YouTube video: https://youtu.be/wf_1AR_Wlok

Sam Allanach”

**In yesterday’s edition, Brian Stone shared some photos he captured of ants about their mission.

Tony Thomas identifies them as a Formica species.

Tony also comments ”Every year at about this time our garden ants spend all day on my wife's unopened Peony flower buds; no real evidence of what they are looking for - perhaps sugar." Tony sends a few photos of the largest species: New York Carpenter Ant (Camponotus novaeboracensis). He does tolerate them but would rather not have them! "They do a very good job of turning my garden lumber into sawdust. Jim Bell has set up an iNaturalist page for NB ants, and welcomes any NB ant image":

https://inaturalist.ca/projects/ants-formicidae-of-new-brunswick

**Liverworts are relatively common bryophytes found in New Brunswick but are often overlooked.

Closer observations especially with a hand lens will find them interesting members of the bryophyte society.

Nelson Poirier came across a clump of what he suspected were liverworts and a consultation with bryophyte guru Bruce Bagnall confirmed the photos as the leafy liverwort Bazzania trilobata, a very common liverwort of coniferous forest floors. As Bruce points them out as common, we all may be able to add this item to our observational list as we sleuth woodland trails. Most liverworts do not have common names but it would be good to recognize them as such and possibly just address them as liverworts and appreciate them.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nature Moncton