Orchids, Fungi, Spiders, Butterflies and more!

 In spite of the heat and humidity of the last few weeks, I have been out and about a few times. However some of those outings have been to pursue things for a specific post topic, which I hope to get out in the near future. But there are always things to see besides the specific things I have been looking for, so I intend for this post to catch up on a few things.

 It isn't often that sphinx moths are seen in the middle of the day, but on one occasion a park staff person discovered this Achemon Sphinx moth on the lawn of the Visitor Centre. It may have been injured, as even after it was picked up and put on the leaf of a shrub, it stuck around for a day or so. 

Spiders can be quite interesting to find. The one in this next photo is an Arrowhead Orbweaver.

Blackfoot Polypore

Next is a member of the Robber Fly group.

Black-waisted Laphyria

A Slime Mould

Small Enchanter's Nightshade

Richweed

Next is another slime mould...

....and if you look at the right-hand side of the photo, you will see the head of a Carolina Mantleslug, shown much larger in this next photo.

  

An earlier post showed the leaves of a rare species which someone planted a few years ago, but is not native to Rondeau. It is Tall Coreopsis, usually found in quality tallgrass prairie habitat. 

The leaf arrangement is quite indicative of this species.

Cylindrical Blazing-star, another rare species, and is native to Rondeau, is doing quite well in the open sandy habitats.

Butterflies are fairly abundant when the blazing-star is so common and widespread, especially Monarchs which are gradually accumulating in preparation for their southern journey.

And Spicebush Swallowtails are fairly regular as well.

Scattered around the purple blazing star, are a few white ones. 

 

Elsewhere in my roamings, I have come across a Marbled Orbweaver wrapped up in a curled leaf adjacent to its web. I unfurled the leaf and the spider just sat there trying to look inconspicuous in spite of the camera only inches away? 

An Ivory-marked Borer.

Enchanter's Nightshade

Fall Cankerworm Moth

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Definite Tussock Moth

Sweet Joe-pye-weed

Next is a Spined Micrathena, a rare spider, munching on something that got caught up in its web.

Ruby Bolete

The next two are photos of an orchid, the Club Spur Orchid, which I normally see along a slough west of the West South Point Trail. I was surprised to see two of these growing on a mossy log right along Tulip Tree Trail.

Orange-humped Maple Worm

Orange Polypore

Next is another rare, but not native to Rondeau, tallgrass prairie species that someone planted back in the 1990s. It is Gray-headed Coneflower.

One of the August highlights for me is to check on the endangered Nodding Pogonia, an orchid that is only found in Canada at Rondeau. The weather was a factor this year, making it very difficult to find in flower, as the buds that are ready to open, only open for a single day, and all on the same day. It may be another week before the weather conditions are conducive for the next set of developing buds to open. As a result, on several occasions when I went out to its main population, well off any trail, this is what I found. They had opened a day or two earlier!

 

On one occasion, I came across a plant that had a bud that appeared to be ready to open, and I photographed it.....

....and I returned the following day, checked the same plant, and found it had opened!

This particular year was not all that great for this orchid. I have been tracking this species since the 1970s, and always seemed to find that the third week of August was prime time for maximum flowering. However with the lack of rain at the needed time, and the overall weather conditions, those that grew to the flowering stage flowered a few days earlier, and by the third week of August, were about finished. There may have been one or two still waiting to flower, but not many, so it was a poor season. At least I did get to see a few in flower on one occasion. Maybe next year...

 

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