Giant Swallowtails

Something exciting happened in our yard this summer. In late August, as I sat, contemplating the garden and enjoying a sunny afternoon, I watched 2 Giant Swallowtail butterlies lay their eggs on our 3 small Hop Trees. We planted these trees the previous summer in the hopes of attracting this magnificent butterfly. Last summer we had a visit from an older worn Giant Swallowtail, our first in the garden!

This is the largest butterfly species in Ontario and it is expanding it’s range northward. The host plants for the larva in the northern part of its range are Hop Trees, Meadow Rue and Gas Plant. In the south it loves citrus trees.

I checked the Hop Trees and found the tiny eggs scattered about on the upper side of the Hop Tree leaves. They are around 2 mm in diameter and orange coloured.

After approx. 1 week the eggs turned dark, likely transluscent and showing the dark larva within.

One morning I noted that tiny 2-3 mm long dark brown and cream caterpillars had hatched. The first thing they do is eat the egg casing for nourishment, then they begin eating the leaves.

I watched them go through several instars, shedding their skin then turning around to systematically eat it. Again nothing wasted. They rested frequently for long periods in the daytime, immobile on a leaf, preferring to eat at night. The first instars look very convincingly like fresh shiny bird droppings, a deterrent to predation. 

The last instars looked rather like the head of a small snake. Most were approx. 5 cms long.

At one point after 2 weeks I noticed that 2 of the largest caterpillars (the first ones to hatch out) were gone, they likely left in the night to find a place to pupate. They will pupate on tree branches as a chrysalis.  We have 1.4 acres with many trees so it was impossible to find them. I found out that since these butterflies are at the northern limit of their range, it is not clear if they can survive overwintering in the pupal stage, without some protection from the elements. 

With that in mind I decided to collect them before they all left. Out of 8 adult caterpillars I  managed to collect 5 caterpillars before they left. The fate of the 3 who went off in the yard is unknown. Perhaps they will survive and hatch out in the spring.

Of the five caterpillars I rescued, 4 are now in the pupal stage on small branches in special wooden boxes with a mesh door. Sadly one died after feeding for 2 weeks on a daily diet of fresh Hop leaves, until the leaves turned yellow and dropped. It was in the last instar, but one morning it was dead.

Chrysalis looking like a broken bran

The 4 surviving pupae are in an outdoor shed, protected from the bitter winds, precipitation and rodents. Exposure to freezing temperatures will initiate diapause and they will hopefully overwinter in the chrysalis stage till spring when they should hatch out as butterflies!

More on that come spring. 

Amazing the wonders you come across when you just sit watching nature...

Enjoy the small pleasures.

Louise

Underwing Moths

It was hot and muggy today, warmer than usual for September, the evening is humid with a clear sky and a sliver of moon. It will soon be time for the Sweetheart Underwing Catocala amatrix moths that spent the day hiding in plain view on the north side of our brown brick house, to set aloft in the darkness. 

Every year I have been delighted to find one or more species of the large beautiful Underwing moths in our yard. The attraction for the Sweetheart must be a row of Cottonwoods on the north side of the property, they are a host plant. These large moths, that look remarkably like the bark of their host trees, hide colourful underwings, visible only in flight. When under attack, it is thought that this colourful display startles potential attackers momentarily, allowing the moths to escape predation. The eggs overwinter in crevices under the bark of host trees.

Here are photos of the moth at rest and with wings open showing part of the underwings:

More fascinating insects!

There is definitely a smell of fall in the air, a spiciness, leaves are turning colours, the daylight hours are shorter and the nights are cooler. I always feel a little sad to see the end of summer, migrants leaving and songbird voices quiet. Sunsets are spectacular right now, something about the light gives more saturation to the red and pink hues.

I have a cast on my foot so have been doing a lot of sitting outside and it’s stunning to see the diversity of insects flying around, and in particular wasps; small parasitic wasps, those that hover, striped, plain, large, and even some bright green ones. Yes, they are at times annoying when food is around but if you ignore them or stay calm and gently shoo them away they are not aggressive and leave. Don’t panic and flail or swat or squeeze them as they might sting in self-defense, and you can’t blame them for that. I have never been stung and we have several species nesting near our deck. Insects are part of the web of life, we need them but they don’t need us, remember this.



Organ-pipe Mud Dauber nest



Some wasps are particularly nice to have around, take for instance the Organ-Pipe Mud Dauber Trypoxylon politum that has built a lovely nest on the cedar shake wall at the back of our house, near the roof, sheltered from the rain. It’s an architectural gem, really looking like organ pipes. I marvel at the design and the many trips carrying bits of mud the wasps must have taken to build it.  These wasps are large and black, are very docile and are not known to sting humans and best of all their main food source is spiders, which we have plenty of. I am pleased to have them living near us and helping keep our spider population in check.

  The Black Swallowtail caterpillars on my parsley survived to the last instar and then moved out to find a place to pupate. I have yet to find the pupae. 

Black Swallowtail last instar



   

Milkweed Tiger Moth

Yesterday I discovered 15 very pretty tufted moths on Common Milkweed plants in the front flower garden.


Milkweed


They are the larvae of the Milkweed Tiger Moth Euchaetes egle. They feed on Milkweed and Dogbane plants and like the Monarch Butterfly, the toxic chemicals from the milkweed are retained in the adult body. However instead of a visual warning of their unpalatability which would not be useful at night, the moths emit a click to deter bats from feeding on them. So much complexity!

Another exciting discovery was that of a large moth that looked like a piece of bark. I noticed it on the brick wall, it must have been disturbed from a hiding spot to end up in the open in the daytime. After some research, it was determined to be a nocturnal Bride Underwing Moth, Catopala neogama. The underwings were not showing but they would be a bright orange-red colour with black stripes. The moth was at least 2.5 inches long and 1.5 inches across and very convincingly looked like a piece of bark from a distance. The larvae feed at night on the leaves of Walnut or Hickory or Butternut and occasionally Oak tree species. We have a large Black Walnut tree near the house so perhaps it was the host tree. This morning the moth was gone, so I am lucky to have seen it.

If you are observant and curious, you will likely come across all sorts of interesting life forms and learn something new.

Louise





Summer butterflies, moths and caterpillars

With the heat of summer come butterflies, moths and their caterpillars. They are found anywhere, from meadows to woods, roadsides and city gardens. Some are large and exotic like the Tiger Swallowtail, some plentiful and small like many Sulphurs and Whites.



Tiger Swallowtail on Chives

Most of you will be familiar with the orange and black Monarch butterfly. Several Monarchs have laid their eggs on Common Milkweed growing in our yard.



Monarch Butterfly



Pair of Monarchs mating



Milkweed is the host plant for the Monarch butterfly caterpillar.The caterpillars live and feed off the host plant until they are large enough to move on to a nearby shrub or plant to pupate.



Monarch buttercly caterpillar on Common Milkweed



Monarch early stage pupae




Monarch butterfly late stage pupae

These last fresh summer Monarchs to emerge will be the ones to migrate en masse on those gossamer wings all the way to the mountains of central Mexico where they will overwinter in an old growth forest. Those who survive winter in Mexico will start the journey north stopping to reproduce another generation along the way before they die. The offspring will carry on northwards stopping along the way to reproduce then die. It is the later generations of butterflies who finally reach us to complete the cycle. An amazing migration!




 

 I dare not pull out the precious Milkweed that has sprung up amongst the lilies and grasses in the garden. It is threatened by herbicide use, habitat loss and invasive species such as Dog-strangling vine. Milkweed flowers are one of my favorite summer wildflowers; the soft pink globular flower heads emit a heady sweet aroma that scents the air all around.  A small patch grows near our bedroom window and the delightful intoxicating fragrance permeates the room during warm summer evenings. No commercial air freshener can match that! The sweet nectar attracts a host of other insects too.  This late in the season, the flowers have faded and great big green seedpods have developed ready to burst out thousands of fluffy seeds to be borne on the breeze and hopefully settle elsewhere.

Another spectacular summer butterfly is the Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes, a large black butterfly with tail-like projections at the base of the wings with white, orange and blue markings. For a photo and more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swallowtail

 The host plants for the caterpillars are in the carrot family which includes Queen Anne’s Lace, Dill and Parsley. I am currently watching 2 Swallowtail caterpillars developing on my parsley plant. They started off as little black caterpillars with a white band across the middle, looking a bit like a bird dropping, this is the first instar (phase).

Within 2-3 days of munching on the plants the caterpillars shed their too-tight skin. With each shedding, the caterpillar is larger, colours more vivid and the pattern is more pronounced until it reaches in the final instar. Soon it will leave the parsley to find a suitable spot to pupate.

Black Swallowtail caterpillar second instar

Black swallowtail third instar



Polyphemous moth caterpillar



Yesterday a big green fat caterpillar came wandering by while I was sitting in a favorite chair on the front porch (having an organic wild untidy garden has its benefits). After snapping a few photos, I did a quick computer search to identify it and found it to be the caterpillar of a large silk moth: Polyphemous Moth Antheraea polyphemus.

The hosts for this species are trees such as Oak, Maple and Birch and we have plenty of these in our yard. For a photo and more information about this beautiful moth check out this site:    http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Antheraea-polyphemus.

Other recent caterpillar finds in the garden:

Toadflax Brocade Moth Calophasia lunula  caterpillar

 Several caterpillars were feeding on a large Toadflax plant. They are a species imported from Europe decades ago for control of this invasive plant. http://bugguide.net/node/view/76334/bgimage for a photo of the moth.




Toadfl



Pandorus Sphinx moth caterpillar



Pandorus Sphinx Moth Euphorma pandorus caterpillar

Final instar, found feeding on Virginia Creeper. I’ve also found one feeding on Wild Grapevine which we have in abundance. For photo of moth check this link http://bugguide.net/node/view/3937



a tangle of flowers



When reading about all these caterpillars, I found that many are considered pests. I suppose if you had enough of them they could wreak havoc on host plants but I have never found this to be the case. Perhaps the many birds and bats and other natural predators found in my wild tangled organic garden help keep these in check. I see Robins making trip after trip to the nest with beaks full of caterpillars, worms and other insects; Baltimore Orioles, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos pick insects and tiny caterpillars off leaves; Eastern Bluebirds, Phoebes, Pewees, Eastern Kingbirds flycatch from strategic perches and Big Brown Bats swoop through the yard at nightfall. They are surely helping to keep everything in balance….

Louise

Rabbits, Mantises, Stick Bugs

It’s been too long since my last post but I have a great excuse! We went on a 6 week journey of discovery this June from Ontario to British Columbia. We drove 12,000 kms, towing a trailer and along the way visited 9 National Parks and 7 Provincial Parks. We camped in most of these plus private campgrounds. We were overwhelmed by the beauty and diversity of our natural heritage. Since we drove to Nova Scotia for Easter, we have in fact crossed Canada from coast to coast this year, dipping our toes in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. More on this journey later when I’ve sorted through the 1000-plus photos...

During our travels, back home summer had arrived; birds and other species of wild things mated and produced offspring that now grace us with their sweetness. I’ve delayed posting and instead have been busy enjoying every moment that I can outside, tending the garden but mostly exploring and making new discoveries each day. Reading a book while lazing under a shade tree, in a cozy Mayan Hammock Chair from the Yucatan peninsula, has also been a favorite lately when the temperature has soared to 39C (feeling much hotter with the high humidity!).

After an absence of 2 years, wild cottontail rabbits are back in the yard. Each morning and late afternoon a young one or an adult is seen nibbling on fresh grasses or the prolific clover growing in the “lawn” (our lawn is mostly mown weeds, dandelions and clover). The adults have a white spot between the eyes and so do the adorable young.




Recently Wild Turkey hens and their offspring have made an appearance in the surrounding fields. The chicks are now the size of small roasting chickens, the tips of their heads barely visible in the hayfield. The hens are huge and watchful, herding the flock when danger arises. The local coyotes would love to get their jaws on the little ones!

Fireflies appear to have been replaced by other species just now, but in July it was wonderful to watch the twinkling lights in the warm velvety black nights. Since we don’t use chemicals on our property, we have a huge diversity of insects which in turn has sustained many other species who feed on them.  Some of my favorite bugs are the Praying Mantis and the Northern Walking Stick (Diapheromera femorata).

The Walking Stick eats the foliage of deciduous trees and it is the only native “stick bug” species in Canada.  The males have a slightly smaller body at @ 3 inches and females @ 3.75 inches. The males are brown and females greenish brown. I’ve seen a few that are bright green and some with green legs with brown body. The antennae are 2/3 the length of the body. The females lay eggs in leaf litter where they overwinter and hatch in the spring. The adult insects only live 2-3 months. They blend right in with the plants they feed on.

One morning I was fortunate to witness a pair mating on the outside of a picture window facing southeast where I could take a photo from inside the house. They appear to be locked in a dance

move....the dance of life!



"the dance of life"



The Praying Mantis is a beautiful bright green shade with winds folded back and front legs folded in a “praying” stance. It has large compound eyes giving the head an “alien” appearance. It is well-camouflaged in the foliage where it waits in ambush for its insect prey. I love these large predators as they help keep insect pests under control. Mantises, like the Walking Stick show rocking behavior in which the insect makes rhythmic, repetitive side-to-side movements. This could be to aid their camouflage by imitating the movement of foliage swaying in the wind but it is not known for sure why they do this. After mating the female lays an egg mass attached to vegetation and the eggs hatch in late spring or early summer. Like stick bugs, the adults die in the cold winter.  

Last summer, a pretty Orb Spider built a large sturdy web near our front door. I left it undisturbed and the spider thrived all summer, shedding its exoskeleton several times as it grew larger. One morning, I noticed it had captured a small Mantis and wrapped it in silk. It hung it on the web, a future snack in waiting. Amazing what you can observe if you leave things be and not sweep them all away to keep things tidy. There is beauty and drama in a spider’s web.

Enjoy the warm summer days!

Louise

Potter Wasp

It may seem strange to be writing about wasps when there is still snow and ice on the ground but what prompted me is a friend who last week gave me three very curious-looking wasp nests to pass along to a local outdoor education teacher. These are little round mud pots, smaller than a marble with an opening on one end and a sort of round flat lid on the other end.  

Potter Wasp Nests in glass jar.

My friend told me that her neighbor found these on the underside of an outdoor geranium leaf and gave them to her. I think the neighbor was afraid these were going to harm the plant. My friend put them in a jar where they hatched, each one hatching out a little wasp, a few hours apart. She released the wasps outside and kept the empty nest knowing it would be an interesting addition to the outdoor education centre.

In researching these pretty little mud pots, I found out they are the nests of the Potter Wasp (or Mason Wasp), from the family Eumenidae.  The name Potter wasp is derived from the shape of the mud nests they build. They are solitary wasps, considered to be beneficial garden insects.  After building the mud nest, they collect caterpillars or beetle larvae and paralyze them with their sting and place these in the nest to serve as food. They then lay a single egg. Later the developed adult will emerge by chewing its way out of the little nest pot. The adult feeds on flower nectar. There is a belief that Native Americans based their pottery designs on the forms of local potter wasp nests.  To read more about this wasp please check this site:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-30_potter_wasp_eumenes.htm

If you find these in your garden, please leave them undisturbed until the wasps hatch out. How magical is this, another secret life in the garden, under our very noses!

I made another discovery in my own garden last summer. A giant flying insect with a long tail landed on a deck post next to me as I was hanging the laundry. It looked like a cross between a dragonfly and a wasp. Laundry immediately forgotten, I quickly grabbed my camera and managed a couple of shots before it flew off.

It turned out to be the Giant Ichneumon parasitic wasp, species Megarhyssa atrata. The female wasp body is about 1.5” long and with a very long ovipositor (longer than 3” in my photo) at the end of the abdomen.

Ichneumons are another beneficial insect that prey on wood borers but they do not sting.  The females use their antennae to “feel” vibrations made by Horntail  Wasp larvae inside the wood, usually a tree.  When she locates a larva, she drills into the wood with her ovipositor.  When she senses the tip is in contact with the host larva, she ejects an egg and deposits it on the larva.  After the egg hatches, the young wasp larva feeds on the Horntail larva and pupates in the wood.  When mature, it chews its way out and begins life as an adult wasp.  Males are attracted to the “wood chewing” vibrations and many can be gathered around waiting to mate with an emerging female. How cool is that!

Wasp unknown species looking in the window. So pretty!

I always marvel at how little miracles of nature occur all around us while we remain unaware. In clearing out that messy area or dead wood in your garden you may also be destroying or removing very helpful garden friends and their habitat.  

Everywhere I look in my garden, forest or meadows, I see a seemingly endless variety of beautiful beetles, spiders, butterflies and weird looking insects of every shape, size and colour. The insect world is fascinating and our yard hosts many beneficial insects, as we garden organically, so I will post more about this when the weather warms. If you find a strange insect and want to identify it check out this site: http://bugguide.net/node/view/6324

If you take the time to observe nature please remember that while it is tempting to remove things found in nature, it’s always best to look and enjoy without trampling or disturbing, leave nothing and also take nothing but memories or photos.

A few flies and ladybugs are out of their slumber and basking on the sun-warmed cedar shakes on the west side of the house, soon we will see wasps and bees at the first emerging spring flowers!

Louise