Looking like Crap

This is not necessarily a bad thing, certainly not when you are a potentially tasty meal surrounded by dozens of predatory species often much larger and faster than yourself. In the unforgiving realm of nature the demands of survival take precedence over vanity, and unlike we, the people, insects don't have the luxury of worrying about the latter, their only goal is to live at least long enough to pass on their genes to the next generation.

A Small Bird-dropping Moth (Ponometia erastrioides) ... the name says it all. The usual color scheme is a mottled mixture of white with reddish-brown and/or black, combined with a lumpy irregular profile.

Schlaeger's Fruitworm Moth (Antaeotricha schlaegeri)

A mating pair of Pearly Wood-Nymphs (Eudryas unio)

White Banded Fungus Weevil (Eurymycter fasciatus)

A winged adult insect can always take flight as a last resort if the poop ploy fails. Larvae don't have this option and many strive look even more convincingly like bird droppings, such as this Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) caterpillar which comes complete with a glossy finish.

Should relatively small predators such as ants or spiders persist in their attentions the caterpillar has a secondary line of defense, the osmeterium, the "horns" seen in the following two photos. This gland is covered with a repellent 40:60 mixture of isobutyric acid and 2-methyl butyric acid – thus saith the various sources on the Internet, I didn't have my chemistry set with me.

Faking a piece of crap isn't solely about color, attitude and posture are also important. This White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis) larva curls its front end to imitate the appearance of a bird dropping. Hopefully this "ugly duckling" will live long enough to pupate and eventually metamorphose into an adult.

Although very different in appearance the Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) is closely related to the White Admiral. (The quite palatable Viceroy is, of course, mimicking the toxic Monarch.) Except for the brown being replaced by a grungy green the caterpillars definitely resemble one another – as well as bird droppings. Also note this caterpillar's posture – feeling threatened by my presence, it is keeping its head down while holding its convincingly head-like non-vital tail end in the air ... just in case its crappy camouflage fails ...

The larval stage of Tenthredo grandis, a species of Sawfly (order Hymenoptera) related to the bees and wasps. Is this pattern meant to fool a hungry bird, or does it serve some other purpose? It is somewhat too regular when compared to the butterfly larvae above, but who knows, maybe its good enough.

And I've always wondered about the pruinosity on a male Chalk-fronted Corporal (Ladona julia). These dragonflies prefer to perch in open sunny places on the ground. Are those chalky white markings meant to look like splats left by a passing bird?

Ah yes ... Oneness, Identity and Unity with Mother Nature ... Singularity, Sameness and Solidarity with the Swallowtails ...

Maybe it's the relatively warm winter and spring weather we've had, or perhaps it's due to other factors, but there's a real bumper crop of butterflies this year. In addition to the recent population explosion of Red Admirals there's also an abundance of other species ... Question Marks, Mourning Cloaks, Baltimores, and – relative newcomers to our area – Giant Swallowtails (Papilio cresphontes).

Butterflies can often be seen sipping at mud puddles, bird droppings, rotten fruit or carrion, looking for minerals and amino acids.

They can become so absorbed in their business that they barely notice what's happening around them, and this Giant Swallowtail didn't take flight when I held up it's wing to take a photo of the underside.

The insect shows no fear of me whatsoever as I move my hand closer ...

... and closer ...

I was able to pick this normally skittish and difficult to approach insect up off the sand, and it continued to contentedly imbibe the moisture and perspiration from my fingers.

Butterflies are often attracted to perspiration, and in the past few years I have had many of our local lepidoptera taste test me on warm, sunny days, like the Compton Tortoiseshell back in mid-March. But some butterflies aren't so easily tempted, and I was able to make close contact with this Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) not because it fell for my charming personality or sweet scent, but because it was stunned due to a misadventure with a passing car.

There were over a dozen Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio glaucus) sharing the beach with the Giant Swallowtails. It seems that their instincts for survival are better honed than those of their larger cousins, because, alas, I was unable to "tame" any of these butterflies ...

A digital capture of the essence of late spring and the beauty of the world around us – a Giant Swallowtail nectaring at Viburnum triloba, more commonly known as Highbush Cranberry.

The Stoco Fen

The Stoco Fen is a law unto itself, a singular habitat supporting some distinctive species that can't be found in other local wetlands though they are situated as little as a few hundred meters down the road. The difference is apparent even at a distance; whereas other local marshes sustain cattails, alders and willows, the fen's graminoids tend to be lower growing species and the prevalent shrubs are white cedar and tamarack.

Two of our smallest dragonflies inhabit the fen. North America's tiniest, the Elfin Skimmer (Nannothemis bella), was still flying on July 27th.

Our other diminutive dragonfly is the Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera). With the humidex factored in the temperature was in the low 40's and this female was obelisking to in an effort to regulate her body temperature. By pointing its abdomen and wings toward the sun the insect reduces the amount of surface area exposed to radiation.

Although common at other locales near Tweed, our largest butterfly, the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), is likely breeding at or near the fen. Several individuals were encountered during this brief visit and their bright colors and lack of wear and tear on their wings indicates that they have just recently emerged from their chrysalides.

A closer examination the flora reveals how different the Stoco Fen is from other more typical local wetlands. Two representatives of the Heath family (Ericaceae) are resident here. Bog Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) can be identified by its leaves, with their rolled under edges and brown undersides.

The alternately arranged leaves of Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) distinguish it from Bog Laurel, which has opposite leaves. The flowers and fruits of these two plants are also quite different (it was too late in the season to get photos of the flowers ... next year).

This is the first (and to date only) site that I've found the Sticky False Asphodel (Tofieldia glutinosa). Named for the sticky, rough feel of its stem this small lily is a wetlands indicator species.

Since three of our four species of Lady's Slipper are denizens of the Stoco Fen it's reasonable to expect other orchid species in this habitat. My copy of Wetland Plants of Ontario calls this orchid a Swamp Pink but the more commonly accepted name seems to be Grass Pink (Calopogon tuberosus). Unlike other orchids, the specially modified lip is at the top of the flower rather than the bottom.

The delicately tinted little orchid in the next two photos is a Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides).

It appears that I've reached an impasse in my efforts to research the reasons the Stoco Fen so different from neighboring environments. Members of the heath family such as Bog Labrador Tea and Bog Rosemary, and orchids such as the Grass Pink and Rose Pogonia, tend to prefer acidic soil conditions. On the other hand, according to the sources I've found on the Internet, the Small White Lady's Slipper, one of the fen's species of interest, favours rich, highly calcerous soils.

There's good reason to think that the soil in the fen is anything but rich. In addition to the ubiquitous Pitcher Plants there are other plant species growing in the fen that find it necessary to supplement their nutrient intake by capturing and digesting insects, for example, the Flat-leaved Bladderwort (Utricularia intermedia). Of course, a plant that grows in water-filled roadside ditches isn't necessarily the best indicator species of soil conditions in general.

A closeup shot of the submerged bladders and leaves.

Due to its small size at first I completely missed this Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). The tiny white blossom, on the end of a stem little thicker than heavy thread, is only a few millimeters in diameter. Luckily I had a friend with me who made up for my oversight and pointed out the location of the flower he'd just photographed ...

The leaves are arranged in a basal rosette, a bit difficult to see as they are hidden amongst other vegetation in this photo. (The "other vegetation" looks like it might be Grass of Parnassus ... time will tell.)

With a liking for acidic, low nutrient soils the Round-leaved Sundew is another of the plant kingdom's meat eaters. The hairs on the leaves are coated with sticky droplets that attract insects. The leaf eventually curls around the adhered insect and produces enzymes that extract the nutrients from its body.