Photo Potpourri

A collection of miscellaneous encounters from spring and early summer, in chronological order ...

May 08, Douglas Road, west of Tweed – False Morel or Turban Fungus (Gyromitra esculenta). This mushroom is poison, here's how to distinguish the False Morel from the edible morel.

May 08, Menzel Centennial Provincial Nature Reserve – Goldthread (Coptis trifolia). Well worth the trip to see this flower and the Miterwort, as they don't seem to grow within walking distance.

Miterwort (Mitella diphylla)

June 08, Drag Lake, about 7.25 km west of Tweed – Hobomok Skipper (Poanes hobomok), not the usual color form that's pretty much identical to the male, nor the dark "Pocahontas" morph, but something in between.

June 14, Moira River, near the dam and footbridge – this fearless beaver has probably left its mother recently and hasn't learned to tell friend from foe.

Aurora Damsel (Chromagrion conditum) – seldom encountered in the past, it seems to be everywhere this season. A couple of males at the Vanderwater Conservation Area on June 15 ...

... and a female at a stream on French Settlement Road on June 21; Aurora Damsels were quite abundant at this site.

June 27, a cool Robber Fly – but which one? Laphria index or Laphria ithypyga cannot be separated on the basis of a photograph.

June 29, spider vs spider – this robust female Bold Jumper (Phidippus audax) got the jump on a male Gray Cross Spider a.k.a. Bridge Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius).

June 30, misadventures with Arrrowhead Spiketails – this is all there is to show for an hour of patiently watching this male make ten trips up and down the stream. A female was also present, and she, too, was camera shy.

July 03 – a Dun Skipper (Euphyes vestris) ...

... and a Little Glassywing (Pompeius verna)

July 04, two great finds in one day – an Acadian Hairstreak (Satyrium acadica) ...

... and a beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus); an impressive butterfly, this male was a large as some Giant Swallowtails.

July 05 – some species seem to wax and wane, they are plentiful one year and scarce the next, this is the first sighting of the Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius), Canada's only carnivorous butterfly since 2012.

Also not seen since 2012 ... the Amber-winged Spreadwing (Lestes eurinus).

The best find of the day was a Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) growing in a local field, the closest know site to date has been the Tyendinaga Cavern and Caves. Hopefully it will get a chance to become established locally, and no one will come along and think it might look nice in their flower bed. Butterfly Weed has very deep roots and does not transplant well.

July 06 – White-striped Black (Trichodezia albovittata), a small day flying moth very easily mistaken for a butterfly.

A mating, or about to mate, pair of Filmy Dome Spiders (Neriene radiata).

Angry birds ... never, ever get between adult geese accompanied by their young, and their perceived safety of the water ...

Amber-winged Spreadwing (Lestes eurinus)

Unlike other spreadwings the Amber-winged Spreadwing (Lestes eurinus) flies over open water, making this wary, elusive damselfly difficult to pursue and photograph. It also colonizes temporary – preferably fish free – ponds and pools, which may explain its sudden occurrence at a marsh where it hasn't been seen in the past four years. Conditions appear to be acceptable for breeding because a tandem pair was observed, so hopefully these striking insects will be around for a while.

Pruinosity has obscured the markings on the sides of the thorax of this older male; just a hint of yellow is visible.

A female Amber-winged Spreadwing; these robust damselflies are about 50 mm in length. Note the yellow patch and diagonal dark band on the side of the thorax.

Wildlife is best photographed in its natural habitat, but sometimes a closer look is warranted. The colors on the thorax of this relatively young male are the same as the female's.

The wings bear a distinctive amber wash – again, this is a young male and the amber tint may be difficult to see in older males and females.

And now we come to the main reason for capturing this damselfly – oblique and dorsal views of the claspers. The lower claspers are very short in this species.

The spreadwings hung around the marsh for about three days, then dropped out of sight and haven't been observed at that locale again. But about ten days later two female Amber-winged Spreadwings were encountered near a small sand bottomed creek in a shady forested area (a rather atypical habitat according to my field guides) about a kilometer east of the marsh.

This is an older female ... the amber wash on the wings is barely evident, the eyes are blue, and there's some pruinosity on the tip of the abdomen. But the damselfly's robust build and length – a good 50 mm – and the markings on the sides of the thorax leave no doubt as to species.

July 11th, 2012 ... this female damselfly was hanging out in the shade near the intersection of the trail and Lajoie Road.

The lighting was less than optimal and the photos aren't the best, but the characteristic band on the side of the thorax is clear enough ... this is an Amber-winged Spreadwing.