Streakin' in St. Willams

It was a hot, sunny day when I visited the open, sandy blowout area of St. Williams Conservation Reserve a few days ago. I could have been streaking, as no one was around. But that isn't really my style, and with all of the mosquitoes and poison ivy, it would not be a good idea anyway!

But there were hairstreaks....lots and lots of hairstreaks. The Wild Lupines that this place is known for were finished flowering, of course, but there were scattered clumps of other flowering species, including Wild Bergamot in peak flower. But it was Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) that seemed to be the big attraction for butterflies, and many of them were in their prime.

All one had to do was wander around and check the clumps of Butterfly Milkweed and one was sure to find butterflies. And there were hairstreaks by the dozens, almost always on a Butterfly Milkweed. I estimated that altogether, I saw about 130 hairstreaks of at least 4, possibly 5, species. In addition to the other butterflies, I totalled almost 200 individuals of 20 species. It was an incredible day and place for butterflies, especially hairstreaks, and will definitely be on my short list to re-visit next year when these milkweeds are again in their prime.

This next photo shows about half of a large double-headed Butterfly Milkweed. On one occasion, I counted 22 hairstreaks on it all at the same time on this flower head, and I couldn't see the back of it. I think a careful examination of this photo shows all or parts of 17 hairstreaks.

The most numerous hairstreak species was Edwards'.

I had several Grey Hairstreaks......

....and a good number of Coral Hairstreaks.

I'm not sure about the one in the centre of this next photo. On the one hand, with the blue lunule extending quite a bit farther than the adjacent orange spot, it seems to fit Hickory Hairstreak, but there is some debate whether it is more likely a Banded Hairstreak. I did see a few more normal Banded Hairstreaks.

This next one had me puzzled a bit at first, but I think I have determined that it is an Acadian Hairstreak. The extent of the orange along the trailing portion of the hindwing as well as the orange on top of the blue lunule looks good, but with the variability that hairstreaks are known for it is possible it is something else.

With about 130 or so hairstreaks to look through, and not all were photographed, I am sure I missed some. I did see other butterflies, including:

Clouded Sulphur

 Obviously Monarch's have been using the Butterfly Milkweed for more than just nectaring.

 There were lots of American Coppers, a few Red-spotted Purples, a couple of Great Spangled Fritillaries, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, etc., and a few skippers such as this Dun Skipper.

One of the other reasons I wanted to visit this conservation reserve was to check on a very rare species: Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata). I used to get down to check on it periodically in my OMNR career, but hadn't seen it since. I thought I might be a bit late in the season for it, but it turned out that although some individuals had finished flowering, others were at their peak. It is a Threatened species under Ontario's Endangered Species Act. The population is off the beaten track at St. Williams, and I was pleased to find that it was doing quite well, even expanding a bit.

I'm always on the lookout for other things to photograph along the way. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Banded Longhorn Flower Beetle

Red Chantarelle

Unfortunately this next species was all too common: Gypsy Moth. It has been around for several decades. I noted several females at their egg cluster, as shown in the example below, and there were lots of males flying around. The males are frequent day fliers unlike a lot of other moth species.

Poking Around the Pollinator Patch

In addition to all of the wildflowers we have in our own yard, we are very involved with a community garden in the municipal park behind us. We decided at the outset three years ago to set aside one of the twelve plots to be planted with (mostly) native wildflowers, especially tallgrass prairie types. Considering that if we were at this location 150 years ago, there would be some impressive tallgrass prairie habitat likely within view.

Some of the ones now in flower are:

Purple Coneflower

Oswego Tea

Wild Senna

Gray-headed Coneflower

Blue Vervain

Wild Bergamot

Boneset

 

 

With all of the hot and humid weather lately I have spent more time and in smaller amounts, heading out the back door and exploring these pollinator patches. There is always something to see. I've been able to put my macro equipment to good use. It most often consists of: a full frame camera, a 100mm macro lens, one or more extension tubes and a ring flash.

Common Milkweed is fairly abundant in both the yard and the pollinator patches. I originally planted them to benefit Monarch butterflies, and that has been successful. But with the very aromatic and numerous flowers, it has been great for attracting all sorts of other insects as well. The flower structure is quite intricate. But it is more than just a source of pollen.

 After taking a close-up of one flower, it wasn't until I got the photo on the computer that I realized there were a whole lot of tiny critters living in the flower as noted in the next two photos. It turns out that they are a type of Thrips, a tiny insect that survives by sucking out the juices of plants. They can spread disease in commercial crops, especially in greenhouses. However they are a source of food themselves, to other insects.

 Flies make use of milkweed, such as this Green Bottle Fly.

 After I took this photo of a Green Bottle Fly I noticed something else in this next one, just slightly above the fly. It is a beetle larva of some kind.

 There are some large, impressive looking wasps that frequently buzz around. This next one is the Great Black Wasp, which has a body length of about 5 cm. They are busily gathering nectar for themselves, or looking to parasitize another insect which they will take to the location where they have laid an egg. The paralyzed, but not dead, insect will be ready and waiting for the larva to feed on when it hatches from its egg.

 Another, slightly smaller wasp is this Great Golden Digger Wasp.

 With all of the wasps and bees around, I have never felt threatened by any. They are busily carrying on with their daily lives, and by moving slowly and carefully I can get within a few centimetres of these wasps.

This next one is a colourful moth, known as the Squash Vine Borer Moth. It isn't one you want to have around if you are growing things like squash or zucchini.

 Speaking of squash, this next one is a Squash Bug.

It isn't something you want to have around either, as it lays dozens of eggs under the leaves and can seriously affect the plant. The good news is that there are some insects that specialize in parasitizing these bugs, and the best known one is the Feather-legged Fly, shown next. Note the feathery extensions on its hind legs.

 Here are a variety of other insect pollinators and other invertebrates I've captured on digital film over the last few days.

Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee

Cuckoo Bee

Transverse Flower FLy

Crab Spider possibly a Misumessus sp

 This next one, a Four-spotted Sap Beetle is very small, about 4 mm.

Four-spotted Sap Beetle

A type of Fruit Fly (Strauzia sp)

 Honeybees frequently visit milkweeds, and they frequently get their legs caught in the "horns" of the milkweed flower. Some are unable to escape, and ultimately die. Sometimes if I see one struggling to get free, I will very quickly and carefully grab its body and gently tug it free. As soon as I pull my hand back I quickly release the bee so as not to get stung. So far so good! And although it is possible that on occasion a bee might lose a leg in the process, at least it has 5 other ones to carry on its activities with. This bee in this next photo had just extricated itself from a milkweed flower all on its own, and paused on the leaf of a Wild Senna nearby to recompose itself. I had time for this one photo.

 These Lace Bugs, shown next, are very tiny, only about 2-3 mm long.

Long-legged Fly

Margined Leatherwing Beetle

Morning Glory Plume Moth

Red Milkweed Beetle

Red-banded Leafhopper

Root-maggot Fly (~ 3-4 mm)

Thread-waisted Wasp

Yellow-collared Scape Moth

There are others that I have photographed that I haven't yet identified. Since I go out almost daily to photograph whatever else I can find, so there will likely be another instalment of my photos in the pollinator patch.