Thursday 30 July 2015

Lyme disease.....an update

Some readers may remember a post I wrote in early May of this year [Tick Talk....it's Lyme Tyme], where I described the experiences I have had in dealing with Lyme Disease for almost 40 years. I contracted Lyme Disease (LD) again in late April of this year, for the 6th time, which prompted me to share my experiences and concerns with anyone who is interested. In case you missed it and are interested, you can read about it via this link.

There are two types of ticks that humans are most likely to encounter in Ontario: the tiny Black-legged Tick, a.k.a. Deer Tick, which is believed to be the main, or even only, vector of the spirochete which causes LD, as shown in this first image.


And the American Dog Tick, a.k.a. Wood Tick shown next, which is at least twice the size of the Black-legged Tick:

Note the way that the tick is situated on a blade of grass, with its front legs outstretched waiting for an animal to pass by. There are tiny hooks on the end of the front legs, which will snag the fur of a mammal, the feathers of a bird, or the pant leg of a human.

The Black-legged Tick that hitched a ride on my clothing was one that I missed in spite of my usually vigilant checks for ticks which I do after knowingly hiking in their territory. Not all Black-legged Ticks carry LD, fortunately, as I expect I have been bitten in the past but did not end up getting LD. This time, however, I was not so lucky and its bite on my lower leg resulted in the usual first stage symptoms that are very similar to feeling like one is coming down with the flu (e.g. joint and muscle aches, tiredness, fever). After a few days this bull's-eye rash appeared. A rash resulting from a LD carrying tick is not itchy, but may feel slightly warm, which this one did. All of these are classic characteristics of a recent encounter with a tick passing along LD.

I still had the tick, so I took it to the local public health unit. There the staff person agreed that it was likely a case of LD, and shortly after I went to the doctor, who also agreed with my diagnosis, and so I was put on three weeks of antibiotics.

The local health unit representative sent the tick away to the lab that is authorized to test for LD, but she advised me that it would take several weeks to get the results.

A few weeks later, I got a call from this same health unit representative who passed along the results from the lab. Their testing concluded that the tick I submitted did not test positive for LD!!!

In some ways, I wasn't surprised. I have read from people quite knowledgeable about the nuances of LD that the labs in Canada only test for one strain of the spirochete. Unfortunately, there are several strains that can also result in LD that are missed by this overly simplistic testing process, which presumably is what happened in my case.

So the bottom line is that if you suspect you may have contracted LD, at this time it is not enough to only expect the medical establishment to properly diagnose it for you. Learn all you can from sources that are considered reliable and go armed with the information as you seek treatment. It is a lot easier to treat while it is at the first stage and in your blood stream than once it becomes established in organs and systems where it is a lot more difficult. One of the best sources I know of for this information is from the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation .



Sunday 26 July 2015

Some late season orchids of southern Ontario

The subject of orchids is of interest to a great many people. The average person would not be aware of the fact that there are approximately 60 species of orchids growing wild in Ontario, and 18 of them are found at Rondeau Provincial Park. There are actually 19 species that have been recorded for Rondeau, although one, the Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine) is not native.

I wrote about early season orchids quite some time ago, and you can find that post here. This post will carry on with the orchid theme, but focus on species one might find in the later part of the season.

One of the orchids currently in flower at Rondeau is Small Green Wood Orchid (Platanthera clavellata).


 These photos were actually taken a couple of years ago. In checking some of the plants yesterday, I only noted a couple of individual flowers actually open, but in the next few days they should all open up. As one can see from the photos, this orchid isn't spectacularly coloured, and can easily be missed unless an observer knows what to look for. Case in point: they are growing on this rotting log in the slough, which is covered with lots of other vegetation!
The sloughs are, comparatively speaking, full of water this year, making access to such fallen rotting logs difficult. On occasion, one can find them growing in the mucky soil at the edge of the slough.

An orchid that may still be in flower, but does not occur at Rondeau is White Fringed-Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis). It has been recorded in wet prairie north of here, as well as in fens and bogs. I photographed this orchid in a beautiful bog in Huron County a few years ago.


Somewhat similar in structure but very different in appearance to White Fringed-Orchid is this next one, the Yellow Fringed-Orchid, although it is more orange than yellow.



Sadly this one is likely extirpated (gone) from Ontario. If it were still present, it would likely be in flower in late July to early August. There were historical records from savanna habitat in the Leamington area prior to 1901. And no, I am not old enough to have seen this there, nor did I discover a time machine.....I visited a very nice prairie/savanna area in the greater Toledo, OH area with two other orchid hunter/photographer types in the late 1980s where some of these fabulous plants still occur. The photos here are scanned from my slides taken during that memorable foray.

An attempt was made to grow some plants from seed in the mid-1990s and plant the young plants in promising habitat in the Ojibway Prairie area, where other historical records indicated they once occurred. Follow-up searches to date have not indicated that the plantings were successful, but it takes a few years for plants to mature and flower and it has been ten years or more since anyone last investigated.

One of the rarest orchids in Canada is one that will be flowering as soon as early August: Nodding Pogonia (Triphora trianthophora). It does occur at Rondeau, and is currently the only known location for it in the entire country.

I wrote extensively about this endangered orchid in a previous post, which you can see here.

Towards the middle of August, one of the several species of Ladies'-tresses orchids will appear. A rare one, which does not occur at Rondeau but on rare prairies elsewhere, is the Southern Slender Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes lacera var gracilis). Note the spiralling arrangement of flowers, each of which as a distinctive green centre.

In very early September, one may be able to find one of the smallest of our native orchids, the Autumn Coralroot (Corallorhiza odontorhiza). It has a flowering and a non-flowering form, yet both appear to produce seed. It is about the size and diameter of a pencil, but with its brownish-purple stem and diminutive or non-existent flowers, is very difficult to find even when you know where it is. This next photo shows it in all of its non-flowering glory, greatly magnified!


Another Spiranthes is the Yellow Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes ochroleuca). One of the sites in Chatham-Kent seems to have been destroyed, but another small population on private property is still around. I photographed this in September of 2014, although it is a little past its best. It has a creamy yellow centre of its flower.
The largest Spiranthes in our area is Great Plain's Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum), appearing at Rondeau in good numbers by mid-September and lasting until about the first of October. Its flowers are relatively massive compared to the others in that genus, and it has a distinct scent. Some say it smells a bit like vanilla, but not to me. I think it smells faintly like a soft plastic toy that has been left in the hot sun for too long! Not sure what that says about my olfactory.......

The smallest Spiranthes that grows in Ontario, but has yet to be found at Rondeau, is Oval Ladies'-tresses (Spiranthes ovalis). One can tell from this next photo, where it is on the left and S. magnicamporum is on the right, just how small it is.

It is also the latest flowering orchid we have, often not beginning to flower until about the end of September and continuing well October. I even found one still flowering on November 11 one year. It was first found at Walpole Island in the early 1980s, but seems to have disappeared from there. However it is known from several locations on Pelee Island.

Oval Ladies'-tresses

So there is a bit of information on some of the orchids present in southern Ontario in the latter part of the season!











Monday 20 July 2015

Life on a milkweed

I'm a big fan of milkweeds. There are 9 species that are native to southwestern Ontario, some of which are quite rare. The most common species is...you guessed it...Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). It can vary in colour......


...but they all seem to be very fragrant. To me, it seems to be the most fragrant of all of the Asclepias species, and judging by the number of pollinators and others that can be found on it during the time it flowers, it is quite fragrant to all of these insects as well.

Fortunately I have a dozen or more plants in my yard, which enables me to keep close tabs on what insects are visiting, and many of the following photos were taken there. But whenever I am out in a natural area, I try and take a look to see what I can find and photograph on the milkweeds there.

Some of the critters are quite tiny. This first image shows the Ailanthus moth, which is named for its association with Tree-of-heaven. This tree is not native, but does well in disturbed areas and abandoned city lots. They are also invasive in even higher quality natural areas, unfortunately, but at least the moth is colourful.
Ailanthus moth
This next one is a very small day flying moth, called a Currant Clearwing. The larvae feed on raspberries, which we have in fair abundance in our yard.
Currant Clearwing
 An even tinier flying insect is this iridescent Long-legged Fly resting on the milkweed leaf. It is incredibly fast. I couldn't use the Through The Lens flash metering system of the camera as that system sends a quick burst of light to the subject to evaluate how much light is needed before generating a second flash during the actual photo. In the less than 1/1000 sec between the initial burst and the one given during the time the photo was taken, the fly had disappeared completely out of the frame, so I had to resort to manual flash where just a single burst is given.
Long-legged Fly (Condylostylus sp)
 This next one is a One-spotted Stinkbug. I didn't get a chance to see if it lived up to its name. This was photographed at Bickford Oak Woods and is the second time I have seen and photographed one there.
One-spotted Stinkbug
 Next is the aptly named Red Milkweed Beetle. They are fairly abundant.
In a previous blog post I highlighted how death comes to insects looking for nectar. This next image shows a medium-sized bee that has just been 'caught'. Note its right hind leg which is outstretched behind and up into the flower. The bee struggled and struggled and eventually was able to escape.

Even butterflies can end up with their legs caught. This Mourning Cloak in the next image
is a good-sized butterfly, but it was caught. At first I just thought it was busily feeding on the nectar, but after awhile I realized it couldn't get away. It struggled for a long time. I eventually gently grabbed its leg and tugged just enough to get its leg out intact, whereupon the butterfly moved over to an Echinacea plant nearby and just sat there for the longest time, presumably exhausted by its struggle and trying to decide whether the nectar at that fragrant milkweed was worth the risk.

Mourning Cloak
 Other butterflies include this Banded Hairstreak, only the second one I have noted in our yard.
Banded Hairstreak
Northern Broken-Dash Skipper
Question Mark
Tawny-edged Skipper (tentative ID)
 Sometimes one comes across a more vicious looking creature. While prowling around looking for something tiny to photograph, I came across this cluster of Earwigs tucked in waiting for darkness so they could head out searching for plant or insect matter to feed on. Those pincers are impressive!


Another impressive looking insect is this quite large Great Golden Digger Wasp. Most members of the bee and wasp family that are found here are mostly interested in the nectar or other insects. I've never been bothered even though I am using a macro lens and flash. Moving slowly and carefully is the key, I think. There is one extremely large bluish black wasp that I have yet to photograph, but when it comes around it is constantly on the move and I haven't been able to get close enough....yet.
Great Golden Digger Wasp
 This next critter is one of the several different kinds of Flower Long-horned Beetles that can be found visiting flowers. Characteristic of this group is the very long antennae, usually at least half the total length of the insect's body.

Flower Long-horned Beetle


It looks like I can expect another generation of Red-banded Leafhoppers on my milkweed next season!
Red-banded Leafhopper

We don't have any squash growing in our yard, but we had this Squash Vine Borer, another type of day-flying moth, visiting the milkweed.
Squash Vine Borer moth
There isn't much water near by, but we get the occasional dragonfly. This female White-faced Meadowhawk is just using the milkweed as a resting place, and probably waiting to launch itself out to capture a flying insect for its next meal.


Milkweeds are indeed, great places to look for wildlife!











Tuesday 14 July 2015

Honey Locust to Stinkhorn.....native plant highlights

A couple of posts ago, I gave a summary of some of the interesting species of fauna I came across while conducting a flora and fauna survey of a decommissioned railroad in Chatham-Kent. This post will focus on some of the highlights of the native flora. A future post may describe some of the many non-native species of plants.

Such railroad corridors are largely unexplored, since they frequently have 'No Trespassing' signs at the typical access points. When the railroads are in operation, if you are not paying attention trains can sneak up on you in a hurry! (Don't ask...... :-).

Typical scene along one section of this rail corridor
 Obviously there isn't much, if any, pristine natural area habitat along these corridors, but it is surprising how much native flora and fauna use what habitat there sometimes is. For example when doing a survey on a corridor in 2012, I discovered a provincially rare plant that had never before been seen in Chatham-Kent and a butterfly that had very limited records in C-K.

In such wide open sections as shown in the image above, there is always the hope that some prairie vegetation may be found, maybe even a patch of prairie. Such was the case in 2012.

Most obvious prairie vegetation becomes more visible from mid-summer to late summer. I'm hoping that my future visits to this corridor in the next few weeks will enable me to find more prairie species along here. Historically areas not far from this corridor had some of the largest extent and best quality tallgrass prairie in Ontario!

Some of the prairie associates that I have found so far, include:

Canada Anemone
 Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis) is certainly not limited to prairies, as it is frequently found along the sunny edges of woodlands. Prairie is where this plant really does well.
Prairie Milkweed
 Prairie Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii) is rare in Ontario, limited mainly to the extreme southwest. It is just coming into peak flowering condition now, slightly later than the similar looking Common Milkweed. Butterflies and other pollinators love it!
Yarrow
 Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is often found in disturbed old field, but is definitely a prairie associate, and numerous pollinators can be found using it.
Climbing Prairie Rose
Climbing Prairie Rose (Rosa setigera) is rare in Ontario, being officially designated as "Special Concern', and is largely limited to Essex, Chatham-Kent and Lambton, although small populations do occur beyond those areas.

Some sections of this corridor are adjacent to bits of woodland, and there the diversity of flora changes.


Some species occurring there are likely remnants of the forest habitat that was there prior to the railroad being constructed.
Honey-Locust
Honey-Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is unofficially rare in Ontario, being most common in the extreme southwest.
Wild Yam
Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) is a climbing vine which is uncommon in Ontario. It doesn't have showy flowers......they don't get much showier than those tiny little balls on the slender branches shown here, but their leaves are distinctively heart-shaped.
Michigan Lily
Michigan Lily (Lilium michiganense) is a tall, brightly coloured flowering plant. It is widespread in southern Ontario but never seems to be abundant. It often occurs in woodland openings, and its bright orange flowers are pleasing to the eye.

Along the sides of the corridor are wet areas, prime habitat for plants such as this Southern Blue Flag (Iris virginica).
Southern Blue Flag
Another 'plant' that I came across, although not everyone would initially identify it as being a plant, is this unusual fungus:
Dog Stinkhorn
Dog Stinkhorn (Mutinus ravenelii) is, as its name suggests, a stinky fungus. I usually encounter them in the late summer or early fall, but for some reason, this one was evident in late June. One can usually smell them before seeing them, depending on which way the wind is blowing. It is this feature than enables them to spread their spores. Flies are attracted to the odour thinking it is a rotting bit of flesh and are looking for a place to lay their eggs, which fly larvae (maggots) will hatch out from and consume the rotting material. The flies crawl over the gelatinous tip of the fungus from where the odour emanates, searching for a place to lay their eggs, and this is where the spores are located. The spores then stick to the flies feet and are transferred to the next place the fly is inspecting. Just another one of the many wonders of nature!