Nature Moncton Nature
News
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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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observations/photos with Nature News, contact the editor, nelsonpoirier435@gmail.com
Please advise the editor
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labelling.
Proofreading courtesy of
Louise Nichols at nicholsl@eastlink.ca
**Yolande LeBlanc in
Memramcook reports “Woohoo!, got my first monarch butterfly, and she seemed to
be ovipositing on my orange milkweed. Will keep you posted on coming
caterpillars.”
(Editor’s note: the plant
Yolande is referring to is commonly known as butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
and is a species of milkweed native to eastern and southwestern North America.)
**Louise Nichols sends
some photos of mostly dragonflies she has seen lately in some spots just over
the border near Amherst. The chalk-fronted corporal was seen at
Trueman Lake; the dusky clubtail at Pumping River Station Lake; the dot-tailed
whiteface at the Macaan Tidal Wetlands; the racket-tailed emerald
and darner species were found on a trail off Fort Lawrence Rd. The
darner cannot be identified to species because Louise could not get a side shot
of it to show the thoracic stripes. The hummingbird clearwing moth
was also on this trail.
Approximately 25 years ago,
Janet MacMillan brought a pod to a Nature Moncton meeting for possible
identification. There were several of these trees that had been planted by St.
Phillips Church in Moncton, apparently by the minister at the time.
Nelson Poirier was able to
recognize the pod, as he had seen it at another location in Moncton. It turned
out to be a northern catalpa tree.
Janet gifted the pod to
Nelson, who planted some of the seeds indoors, housing them for a few years and
then planted them outside. Three of them took to their new habitat. A move from
that location meant they had to go as well. One was planted in the yard of
Nelson’s Miramichi camp, and it liked what it found. Each July, it bursts out
hundreds of spectacular blooms and is now over 20 feet in height. We have lost
Janet, but she left a beautiful memoir.
It makes one realize all
the information that is packaged in one small seed to deliver such a
beautiful end product!
**Nelson Poirier had a
pleasant surprise on Friday morning at his moth attractor site. Many small
moths came by, some with attractive patterns and some quite drab. Photographs
are attached of a few of the larger ones, including the waved sphinx moth and
several small-eyed sphinx moths. The small-eyed sphinx moth photograph
shows two with hindwings visible flashing the eye spots, while the third moth is at
rest, revealing that ID giveaway of the ‘hump’ (arrowed).
Not a very sophisticated setup,
but it works.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
