Creatures That Saw The Light, Part I....

 ...and came to check it out! Of course I am talking about black lighting, mainly for moths, but also for whatever creatures of the night are drawn to the brightly lit white sheet. It is always amazing how these interesting critters respond to the wavelengths of light that are not as well seen by humans. Just another fascinating aspect of nature!

Moore Wildlife Area is a fascinating area more or less in central Lambton County, owned/managed by the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority. I had the privilege of setting up my black lights there on three different occasions this year. A couple of times were just from the parking lot, but that is pretty good in itself. In fact I found the first Canadian record of a moth there last year, right at the parking lot. 

With the Sydenham River traversing this wildlife area, and this river is well known for rare aquatic species, I did set up on one occasion right along the edge of the river, which included an overlook of the river and had good visibility to the woodland as well. I came across, and photographed, well over 100 species of moths, as well as a variety of non-moth species. Some moths were rather worn and difficult to identify, so the totals may increase as people much more expert than I am, eventually identify them on iNaturalist or Bugguide. At any rate, what follows is a few of some of the more colourful or patterned moths. They are shown in alphabetical order based on their common name.

I thought this first one, an American Idia, was really nicely patterned and showed well on the piece of wood that it came to visit nearby. Not all moths land on the white sheet, but may land on a nearby tree or even on the ground or grass.

Arcigera Flower Moth

Close-banded Yellowhorn

On the evening I set up by the river, the midges were quite abundant. It was sometimes hard to get a photo of a moth, such as this Common Lytrosis, without being deluged with midges!

Common Spring Moth

This next one is probably a Crocus Geometer. There is another one in that complex that is sometimes difficult to separate, and some moth-ers lump them together. But I think this one is pretty colourful and relatively distinctive with this pattern.

I always like seeing this next one come in to the light. It is delicate, as its name states, and the golden yellow edge to the wing and the head is quite attractive.

Delicate Cycnia

Dimorphic Macalla Moth

Fervid Plagodis

Green Leuconycta

Gray Marvel

You have likely all seen those Woolly Bear caterpillars crawling around late in the season. Well if they survive and turn into adults, this is what they will look like, and are known as the Isabella Tiger Moth.

Julia's Dicymolomia

Lappet Moth

Large Maple Spanworm

Least-marked Euchlaena

Little Virgin Tiger Moth

This next one is very small, as you can see by the nymphal form of the midges in close proximity. It is the Metallic Casebearer.

Oak Leaf Shredder

Pearly Everlasting

Pink-barred Pseudostrotia

The Silk Moths always garner attention, and are a highlight to have come in to the light. This one did come in to the light, but eventually landed on the grass, and then for the longest time, clung to the bottom of a nearby tree. It is a Polyphemus Moth, and one of the largest of the large silk moth group with a wing span of up to 15 cm (6").

Red-fringed Emerald

The Papaipema genus is fascinating, and fun to try and figure out. It was a member of this genus that I photographed in 2019, that turned out to be the first record for Canada. The one shown next is more distinctly marked, and is known as the Rigid Sunflower Borer.

Sparganothis Fruitworm Moth

White-spotted Leafroller Moth

As mentioned, there are always a few non-moth creatures that come to the white sheet. Here are a few. Some are really small, like this first one, the Citrus Flatid Planthopper.

The occasional Deer Fly, shown next, stopped in, but they don't seem to be interested in biting after dark.

Fire-coloured Beetle

There were several leafhoppers on most nights, and they are all small, with some only about 5 mm in total length. This one doesn't have a common name, but is called Ponana quadralaba.

Northern Flatid Planthopper

This next one is known as Say's Mantidfly. It is considered fairly rare in Ontario. I have had them come to lights at several locations.

Not sure who comes up with names. This next one is the Two-spotted Slope-rumped Beetle.

Two-striped Planthopper

A peculiar looking beetle is this next one, a weevil in the Curculio genus. The very long snout is used to penetrate things like acorns.

Lions and tigers and bears....in Rondeau...oh my....

...and rattlesnakes too...OH MY!!

With all due respect to Dorothy on the Wizard of Oz, this is not Kansas, and here at Rondeau there are lions and tigers and bears also....and rattlesnakes, too!

Now before you get all worried about fearsome and dangerous wildlife at this nationally significant provincial park....do not worry. These lions, tigers, bears and rattlesnakes are not the dangerous type at all...at least not to anyone reading this.

Let me explain.....

First, the lions: Have you ever been walking along the beach, just in from the edge of the grassy vegetation, and noticed some conical, round depressions in the sand?

A little closer examination, and you can see that although it isn't deep, it is more or less uniform around this inverted cone.

Now imagine if you were a small insect, such as an ant, crawling across the sand, and tumbled down the edge of this pit. Sand, especially the relatively coarse sand that occurs along the beaches of Rondeau, is not easy to climb out of....for every step or two you try to take in climbing up the edges, there is at least one step back, and some of the sand tumbles down to the bottom as well. The interesting part is that just below the bottom of this pit lies the 'lion'.....an ant-lion to be specific. It is the immature stage of various insects in the lacewing group. The ant-lion waits at the bottom of the pit with rather menacing looking sickle-like jaws. When an ant tumbles into the pit, it is immediately grabbed by the ant-lion, or if it starts to climb out, the ant-lion will throw sand up causing the ant to tumble down to the bottom. The sickle-like jaws are hollow and pierce the insect, allowing the predaceous ant-lion to suck the juices out. At that point there is only the exoskeleton of the ant remaining, which is then tossed out of the pit. That being accomplished, the ant-lion waits for its next victim.

For a bit of amusement, admittedly to the chagrin of the ant-lion, find one of these pits and take a small piece of grass and gently tickle the edge of the pit, causing some grains of sand to tumble to the bottom. Then watch for the ant-lion's response!

Tigers: there are at least a couple of types of 'tigers' which occur at Rondeau, both of which are quite striking. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is a large beautiful butterfly which can be seen flitting around woodland edges and open areas from May through most of the summer.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

 The Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, an iridescent beauty if you get a close look and which often has either more or fewer than six spots, can be seen along the sunnier sections of pathways and trails in the woodland. There are many kinds of tiger beetles, but the Six-spotted is by far Rondeau's most noticeable one, especially during the first part of the summer.

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle

Bears: At one time there were real live Black Bears roaming about the pristine woodlands of southern Ontario, including Rondeau. However the bears that occur at Rondeau these days are much, much smaller. Almost everyone would be familiar with the Woolly Bear caterpillar. It is the larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth, a small and rather drab moth. Folk lore has it that one can tell how severe the oncoming winter might be based on the width of the orange-brown band of bristles in the middle of the bear, but apparently there is no solid documentation that it is true.

Rattlesnakes: every once in awhile park staff get reports of a rattlesnake sighting in the park. However those sightings invariably are due to the occurrence of an Eastern Fox Snake or Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, both of which will vibrate their tails when disturbed and do a convincing imitation of a rattler. There are no rattlesnake snakes at Rondeau. But there are rattlesnakes......at least three kinds.

The first one is one of the Rattlesnake Ferns (Botrychium virginianum), also known as the grape ferns. They are fairly abundant in the rich soils of Rondeau's woodlands, and can be seen along several of the trails.

Another 'rattlesnake' which is typically visible in August is the Rattlesnake Root, also known as White Lettuce (Prenanthes alba). There are three species of Rattlesnake Root, but the one illustrated here is the most common and is found along woodland paths such as South Point or Harrison trails.

The third kind of 'rattlesnake' I will feature is the Dwarf Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens). This is actually one of the nineteen species of orchids that have been found at Rondeau. It is easily identified by its distinctly patterned leaves, as shown in the images below (both of which have been scanned from slides in the park's files). Alas, the chances of seeing this orchid at Rondeau, even though it typically flowers in August, are next to none. I have seen four separate populations of it in the park. Two sites are very difficult to get to and I haven't been to those sites in many years. At the other two sites, one being right along Tuliptree Trail, they seem to have gone missing for the time being. The entire sandspit of Rondeau is of course heavily influenced by the water levels of Lake Erie, and this year they are quite high. There may be other factors at work, but suffice to say that I have not been able to find evidence of this rattlesnake at either site so far this year.

leaves of Downy Rattlesnake Plantain

unopened flowers of Downy Rattlesnake Plantain

So there you have it....the lions, tigers, bears and rattlesnakes of Rondeau!

A great warm, sunny day at Rondeau

This week has been pleasantly warm, sunny and inviting to be out.....just about perfect autumn weather. And another visit to Rondeau was in store.

On the way, I stopped to check the area just north of the Morpeth Cliffs to see what the WNW winds were blowing in. In less than half an hour, I had a few raptors: Turkey Vulture (9), Bald Eagle (1), Sharp-shinned Hawk (2) and American Kestrel (3). But I felt the tug of Rondeau, so headed to the park and went straight to the South Point Trail. It was not quite a year ago when I was hiking along the south east beach that I came across the fairly fresh carcass of a bird which I determined to be a Cassin's Kingbird! It was only the third record for Ontario, and the first in about 40 years.

Cassin's Kingbird

With the recent reports of Gray Flycatcher showing up in southern Ontario and knowing that flycatchers in general have a habit of showing up way out of their normal range in the fall, I had hopes of discovering another rare flycatcher to add to the Rondeau list. But in spite of not finding anything nearly that exotic, it was a great day to be out anyway.

As expected, there were a few raptors flying through including a Merlin, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawks, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Cooper's Hawk and a young Peregrine Falcon.

Peregrine Falcon

There were a few warblers, but due to the presence of raptors, they were keeping well under cover to the point of being next to impossible to see, let alone photograph. There were Blackpoll, Black-throated Green, Nashville and Yellow-rumped Warblers, at least.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Butterflies were enjoying the bright sunny conditions. At least 150-200 Monarchs were noted flying by, with sometimes 7-8 in a group. They are hard to photograph in flight, especially given the strong wind that was buffeting them around in their struggle to fly to the southern tip to await favourable conditions for the next leg of their journey.

Some were content to hang out on shrubby vegetation, or even just hunker down in the grass.

As mentioned it was a good day for butterfly diversity, and I ended up with 9 species, including Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Summer Azure, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Mourning Cloak, Eastern Comma and Cabbage White.

Clouded Sulphur

Orange Sulphur

Other insects were around, including some dragonflies.

Autumn Meadowhawk

 The Autumn Meadowhawks were fairly abundant. While chatting along the trail with a retired couple from Victoria BC, these dragonflies kept landing on our hats or shirts, soaking up the sunlight.

Green Darner

There were a fair number of Green Darners zipping about, but they never seemed to land except for this one.

Right on the path was this pair of Chinese Mantids. They are not native to North America, but were introduced and are now well established in the Great Lakes region. They are easily identified by their large size, up to 10 cm in length, compared to the much smaller native species.

Chinese Mantid

While they may seem to be in an amorous embrace, it is anything but.....unless the male is quick, she may eat him rather than mate with him. And she typically bites off the head of the male before copulation is complete!!!! But shortly after the female has laid her egg mass on some vegetation, she too will die before winter sets in.

Speaking of winter, I have noticed more Woolly Bear caterpillars out and about. The intensity of the upcoming winter is said to reflect the width of the reddish-brown band, with the greater the number of body segments with brown hairs meaning the greater the severity of the winter. However according to some experts, it is probably nothing more than folklore, and if anything, may be an indication of the lateness of when the larvae got started in the spring, thus reflecting the severity of the previous winter.

Woolly Bear caterpillar

The south beach has experienced an ongoing erosion problem, but it has been going on for well over a century. When the pier at Erieau was constructed in the late 1800s, it diverted the shoreline water currents to the extent that natural of the south beach erosion sped up. In fact a coastal engineer doing work for the Rondeau park management planning work of the mid 1970s, determined from examining fixed reference points that one section of the south beach closest to Erieau had migrated north ~550 feet between the mid 1930s and the mid 1970s! And since the Erieau pier is still present, the erosion continues. I have an aerial showing the harbour entrance in April 1989, which I will scan and provide to a future blog post. Prior to the construction of the pier, the shoreline at Erieau and that of the south beach of Rondeau was more or less aligned, with only the outflow of Rondeau Bay keeping them separate. This 1989 photo illustrates what the coastal engineer reported, that the Erieau beach is expanding southward as the water currents drop their load of sand, and then erode the south beach of the park, causing it to move northward.


I captured a few photos of the current state of the shoreline adjacent to the southern most section of the South Point Trail. The trail is nigh impossible to get through, unless one is able to bushwhack their way through.

I attempted a short video clip of the wave action, but have not yet figured out how to get it to function here.

After leaving the south Point Trail area, I stopped at a couple of places along Gardiner Ave and Bennett Ave. At both locations, there were good clusters of warblers, predominantly Yellow-rumped, but with a few others in the mix.

Black-throated Blue Warbler (male)

Palm Warbler

 And my first Hermit Thrush of the fall. Not the greatest of shots, as it was reluctant to leave the shrubbery.

Hermit Thrush