NATURE MONCTON NATURE NEWS
September 1, 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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if any errors are noted in wording or photo labelling.
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Proofreading
courtesy of Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Pat Gibbs went outside to pull a couple of dandelions and found one of them heavily infested with aphids.
(Editor’s
note: There are two sizes of aphids in Pat’s photo, so I am assuming the smaller ones are nymphs. There are several different species of aphids in New
Brunswick. They live and work in colonies, so when one is seen, there are usually
lots more. Most aphids suck plant juices.)
**Larry
Sherrard was able to capture a short video of a helicopter discharging water on
the Beaver Lake Stream fire in Miramichi (under control at the moment). Larry
was able to watch helicopters skillfully pick up water from nearby sources and
dump it very quickly onto the smoking embers. The video link below shows one of
the helicopters making a quick dump:
** Bob
Blake in Second North River maintains the weather statistics of morning low
temperatures, daily high temperatures, and monthly precipitation from his home
and compares them in the table below to the statistics of August 2024 with August 2025.
The daily
highs are notable with 3 days that hit +37 , +36, and +35 in 2025 with none
that high in 2024. Morning temperatures seem to be more consistent.
Precipitation
in 2025 was only half of what it was in 2024, which was certainly a factor in the wildfire scenario we are experiencing, which is not yet over.
|
2024 |
2025 |
||
|
morning temperatures |
daily highs and rainfall |
morning temperatures |
daily highs and rainfall |
|
+24-3 +23-1 +22-2 +19-8 +18-1 +17-3 +16-3 +15-2 +14-3 +13-1 +12-1 +11-1 +8-1 |
+32-1 +31-1 +30-1 +29-2 +28-5 +27-7 +26-7 +25-2 78 mms.
rain |
+23-1 +22-2 +21-1 +18-2 +17-3 +16-1 +15-3 +14-1 +13-1 +12-1 +11-1 +10-2 +9-1 |
+37-1 +36-1 +35-1 +33-1 +32-1 +30-1 +29-1 +28-1 +27-1 +26-4 +24-6 +22-2 +20-1 44 mms.
rain |
|
|
|
|
|
**On
Saturday, Brian Stone joined Janet Kempster and Cathy Simon on an outing to the
Tucker St. lagoons in Lower Coverdale. No bugs were biting, and there was a
nice selection of ducks, shorebirds, and other wildlife to make viewing and
photography enjoyable activities. While the viewing and photography were taking
place, a large group of Canada geese flew in and made dramatic landings in the
ponds. The normal variety of ducks was present, including mallards, black
ducks, American wigeons, and green-winged teals.
Many shorebirds were also present and were enjoying
the mud flats exposed by the low water levels. Sandpipers, semipalmated plovers,
killdeers, short-billed dowitchers, lesser yellowlegs and
greater yellowlegs, spotted sandpipers, and at least 6 Wilson's snipe
were foraging in the mud. In the trees and skies above, many immature cedar
waxwings and a couple of immature bald eagles were perched and flying.
Little extras were several large bullfrogs poking up out of the water,
some newly emerged damselflies that seemed nearly transparent (teneral), a really fresh-looking
viceroy butterfly, an equally fresh-looking bronze copper butterfly, and a common
ringlet butterfly.
A tiny least
skipper rested on a flower for a portrait, and a cranky-looking common yellowthroat
gave the birders a deeply challenging stare.
**Nelson
Poirier found a silver-spotted skipper caterpillar while on an NB Botany
Club field trip to the reclamation of the former Minto coal mining
area. It was led by Liz Mills and if the chance ever comes up to have a guided
tour of this unique area, it is a very worthwhile area to explore.
While
there, Nelson spotted the caterpillar and, with the help of Mathieu Carroll,
Kamissa Nouasri, and Susan Belfry, decided it was indeed the caterpillar of
the silver-spotted skipper.
A search
of the Maritime Butterfly Atlas and ACDC (Atlantic Canada Data Centre) gave the
update below:
“The
Silver-spotted skipper is found in New Brunswick, though it is considered a
rare, probable vagrant from the south, not a resident. A single specimen was
collected in 1982 in Charlotte County, and it
is known to occur further south in Quebec City and
southern Maine.
Details:
- Specific
Location: The
only known New Brunswick record is of a single specimen found in Moore's
Mills, Charlotte County, in 1982, by Jim Edsall.
- Vagrant
Status: The
worn condition of the specimen and the late capture date suggest it was a
vagrant, likely from areas to the south where the species is resident,
such as southern Maine.
- Presence
of Host Plant: The
presence of the black locust, the preferred host plant for the skipper's
larvae, in the same area supports the possibility of its occurrence in the
region.
Notes: It is known from a single specimen collected at
Moore’s Mills in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, by J. Edsall in early August
1982. Although Black Locust, the preferred host plant, is present in that area,
the worn condition of the specimen and the rather late date of capture indicate
a probable vagrant from the south. Silver-spotted Skipper is resident in
southern Maine and in Quebec as far east as Quebec City.”
Things
move faster than the updates, and Jim Edsall responded that the adult
silver-spotted skipper has been found in other areas of New Brunswick, in areas
of black locust; but to his knowledge, a caterpillar has never been found,
which suggests that this skipper is not only visiting New Brunswick but also breeding
here.
(Editor’s
note: chances are there are lots of caterpillars of this skipper species,
especially in areas so concentrated with black locust as the group was in, but they are very cryptic and not easily found except by chance, whereas the flying
adults are easily recognized.)
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
