Nature Moncton Nature News: July 20 2025

NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS

July 20, 2025

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

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Proofreading courtesy of Nichols nicholsl@eastlink.ca

**Jane LeBlanc found her first monarch butterfly chrysalis hanging in her cage on Sunday. She had seen the caterpillar hanging in the J shape but was away most of the day, so she didn't see the transformation happen (which can happen very quickly once in the J position).

**John Inman photographed a very tiny spider on the window that was just over 1/8 of an inch, which is difficult to identify at that size, but a juvenile cross spider is a possibility.

John is noting that some of the female ruby-throated hummingbirds are still showing the brood patch from nesting, a feature John has noticed over the years when the hummingbirds start coming back to the feeders after incubating.

John has had a new groundhog appear in the yard. Henry, the resident groundhog, quickly ran it out of the yard, but it slyly found a home behind the house, so John now has one more mouth to feed. From the plump stature, one can easily guess which one is Henry!

**Brian Stone is presently visiting family in Hampton, and on Saturday, he went for a little outing on a woods road alongside a small lake on the way to Saint Martins. He has been lucky at this site in the past and has seen interesting birds and insects there frequently. This time, the birds were all quiet or absent, and so Brian concentrated on dragonflies and damselflies, and he found a few interesting ones to share. He photographed a clubtail dragonfly that needs further identification, a frosted whiteface dragonfly, a couple of chalk-fronted corporal dragonflies, some bluet damselflies with one pair mating, and a pair of variable dancer damselflies with the male being a nice shade of purple.

At the edge of the lake, Brian got his "photo of the day" when a male calico pennant dragonfly appeared and posed for several photos. Just off the side of the trail, Brian noticed a small bog visible through the trees, and he worked his way in and found several bog copper butterflies flitting about, as well as a few bright red patches of sundew plants. Other photographic subjects were an active ant's nest, one of several long dash skippers, a European skipper, a northern azure butterfly, and a bullfrog.

*The Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance announces that they are installing a new rain garden in Riverview on Monday, July 21st, 2025. They would like to have volunteers join us to help dig, plant, and mulch the new garden.
Register for the event using this link: https://forms.office.com/r/V36hN3d1dj
Event Details:
Date: Monday, July 21st, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM- 3:30 PM
Meeting Location: Greenpark Drive, Riverview (Walking trail entrance).
To participate, please ensure that you download, fill out, and return the attached liability form.
Please wear sturdy footwear and clothing suitable for the weather conditions. You will be provided with gardening tools, but feel free to bring your own if you prefer.