HOBOMOK SKIPPER

Hobomok Skipper butterfly on a wild strawberry leaf.

Poanes hobomok
female  Hobomok Skipper butterfly
Family Hesperiidae
June 10, 2012

Genus Poanes Scudder have about seven speices in Eastern North America.

Most like wetlands.

34 to 42 mm

Food:  grasses

SAY THIS ISN'T TRUE

A lot was made of the Hon. Joe Oliver's turfing out American environmental groups meddling in our Boreal Forest this Spring. (see post: Three Cheers  for Joe). Protests coming mainly from the groups enjoying the foreign money.

In Memphis, Tenn. (PRWEB reports) June 8, 2012 Ducks Unlimited celebrated 75th anniversary of their work. No complaint there, and congratulations.

However, among the 1,400 people attending was Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar who had a special meeting with DU and PEW Charitable Trusts to, quote, "redouble partnership efforts" end quote,  to , quote, "protect Canada's boreal forest" end quote.

PEW Charitable Trusts president  and CEO Rebecca Rimel and DU CEO Dale Hall signed a 10-year memorandum of agreement in effort to "quote "safeguard Canada's boreal forest" end quote.

Quote -" The work is based on a '50-50" concept that provides strict protection for half of the boreal forest, with sustainable standards applied to the rest." end Quote. To me that reads as total control of our Boreal Forest from one end of Canada to the other, by US Environmental Groups.

At the end of the meeting DU got handed a 75 million dollar estate gift for North American waterfowl conservation.

Waterfowl wetlands and  boreal forest timber lands are quite different - let's hope that money is used for the right purpose.

LEAVING THE PORCH LIGHT ON

MOTHS ON THE DOOR

Luna Moth Actius luna

Subfamily  Saturniinae

The book says common May to July - but in forty years I can count the times I've seen it on one hand.
The wing span is 7.5 to 10.5 cm
Food trees for larva in our area are abundant: alder, cherry, hazelnut and willow

One-eyed Sphinx
Smerinthus cerisyi

It let me gently pull its wings out to see the spot
- the main identifying mark being the black bull's eye in the blue eye-spot .

The book calls this un-common yet I see it every year.
Larva food: poplar, willow and plums

Another visitor The Curve-Toothed Geometer
Eutrapela clemataria

Food: ash, aspen, birches, fir, poplars, willow etc
Common : till August

When they have closed wings they are hard to find in books .

WINDOW WATCHERS JUNE 21, 2012

Luna Moth

Likely a Spotted Tussock Moth
Lophocampa maculata
Locally commom
June 21, 2012

WINTER BURN UPDATE

THESE ARE THE WINTER-BURN TREES AS OF JUNE 7TH 2012

Tips are sprouting

Little trees: This little tree suffered "winter burn",
 while the one below never turned a needle. 

This little tree was only 20 feet away.

Our Blue Spruce didn't drop its needles but its not blue anymore.

Winter-burn Blue Spruce and Jack Pine, June 7, 2012

June 17, 2012

June 17, 2012

June 17, 2012

June 21, 2012

June 22, 2012 some trees are not responding.

June 22, 2012 Winter burn has become a winter kill.

Blending in June 28, 2012

MOCCASINS

PINK LADY'S SLIPPER

aka: Moccasin Flower

Cypripedium acaule
Orchid family - Orchidaceae

Something is eating the moccasins this year.

Pink lady's slipper takes ten years from germination to flower
, so please do not pick. It's a perennial
so it will bloom in the same place every year... if conditions are right.
This year the rains were late so the flower stalks are rather short.

Habitat: conifer mixed woods, jack pine and black spruce

The slipper stays a very pale green until it completes its growth.
 One year I found a place where I could stand and count 85 Moccasin flowers -
 I called it the "shoe factory".

June 7, 2012

Getting better at close-ups

Colours are at their peak

This is two days from their last photo when they were still on the green side.
June 7, 2012

June 10, 2012

Bright pink today

The eye is peeking under the green leaf.

June 12, 2012

June 12, 2012

June 17, 2012

June 22, 2012

June 24, 2012 starting to droop.

June 28, 2012

Taken about twenty years ago with a 35mm camera.
All photos on this particular  film came out very green.
Never happened before and never happened again.
Moccasin surrounded by Canada Mayflowers.

June 28, 2012 One Moccasin that has set and is forming  a seed head.

CANADIAN TIGERS

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail

Experts are divided if they are a true separate species. The book, Peterson's Field Guide Eastern Butterflies, by Paul Opler and Vichai Malikul believe so based on flight periods and host plants.

Papilio canadensis
Family Papilionidae
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail

Food: Birch, Aspen and Black Cherry

I was trying to catch it on the apple blossoms.

Flight - May to mid July

I am putting my butterfly photos into an album on Facebook.

I usually get to Facebook in a round-about way. The museum blog has a link to its' Facebook, see one of the August 2011 posts http://nipigonmuseumtheblog.blogspot.com/  Then you can access my Boreal Conflict page and get to the album of butterflies. I tried it the other day and we can get to Facebook FROM the Blog but can't get the Facebook to connect or even mention the Blog anymore.

Tiger on Orange Hawkweed June 23

June 23

June 23, 2012

JUST HOW FREE ARE WE

Draft By-law of the Township of Nipigon

Excerpts from:

A By-law with respect to prohibiting the feeding of wildlife within the Township of Nipigon

definition of WILDLIFE = any animal that is wild by nature , excluding birds.
...
SECTION  2 - PROHIBITING FEEDING

2.1 No owner or occupier of land within the Township of Nipigon shall intentionally feed, cause to be fed or provide or make available food attractants or similar substance for the consumption of wildlife within the boundaries of the Township of Nipigon, on either private or public property.
...
...EXEMPTIONS
3.3 Bird feeders, using bird feed only.

3.5 Private vegetable gardens, flower beds and related compost stations.

I had a long talk with 'Chippy" yesterday about the "Wildlife By-law"
 that is being proposed by the Township of Nipigon,
 but I don't think it understood a word I said.

While the bird feeder with bird seed hanging above his head will be "legal",
 the fallout could be subject to a fine for enticing "wildlife".