Nature Moncton Nature News: August 17 2024

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

August 17, 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 the editor at nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com 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

**Pat Gibbs was surprised to look out her window to find what appeared to be a Crane Fly trapped in the web of an orb weaver spider giving a photo op as the spider completed its mission.

It would seem like large prey; however, the crane fly is mostly wings and legs and I suspect the spider is actually much larger than the body of the cranefly.

**Nelson Poirier has three milkweed species growing at his Moncton site and, like several others have mentioned, has had several visits from Monarch butterflies ovipositing but has seen no caterpillars to show for it.

He has a lot of Common Milkweed in his Miramichi campyard and was pleasantly surprised to find quite a different scenario there on Friday. Over the past weeks, he has had lots of butterfly activity but had not seen a Monarch Butterfly; however, they must have been there when he wasn’t.

On Thursday, he found several Monarch Butterfly caterpillars in late instars and one freshly minted chrysalis (sealed with its 'gold nuggets') attached under a leaf to provide photographs.

A second surprise was finding three Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars which he had not seen at that site before. As mentioned in an earlier edition, Nelson had witnessed a large patch of Common Milkweed that had been decimated by a surprisingly large number of foraging Milkweed Tussock moth caterpillars. The Milkweed Tussock moth caterpillars noted were in different instars.

Also on Thursday, Nelson dropped by the amazing pollinator garden maintained by the Pays de Cocagne Sustainable Development Group at the Cocagne arena to get a photograph of a female Bronze Copper butterfly on its mission.

Lots more photos will appear in a coming edition of a visit Brian Stone and Nelson made to that site in search of a Common Buckeye butterfly that had been seen there. It is assumed Louis-Emile Cormier was instrumental in developing this destination site.

A male Eastern Bluebird was noted on a utility wire and photographed. It appears this individual was a young-of-the-year male molting into its adult plumage.

On the Wednesday evening walk, Nodding Burr-marigold was pointed out. This plant is a late bloomer and will soon be easily recognized by its yellow blooms which a photograph shows are just getting underway.

Also of note at the moment is the abundance of Mountain Ash berries this year which will be welcomed by bird fruit connoisseurs such as American Robins and waxwings, both Cedar and Bohemian.

Nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com

Nelson Poirier

Nature Moncton