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!

Rondeau's 2016 calendar now available

The Limited Edition, 2016 Rondeau Calendar is available for sale!

This is the second year for a colour calendar featuring landscapes and species of interest found at Rondeau Provincial Park. Each page is approximately 8" X 12". With the exception of the front cover, there is no text or © symbol on the images.

The calendar is available at both the Park Store near the campground and the Friends of Rondeau Bookstore inside the Visitor Centre. Cost is $18.00 including taxes, and proceeds go towards park programs.

Here are the images it contains:

Cover

January

Black Oak Savanna

February

Mossy Maple Root

 March

Black-and-white Warbler

April

Yellow Warbler

May

Spicebush Spring Greenery

June

Prothonotary Warbler

July

Oswego Tea

August

Tuliptree Trio

September

Red-banded Leafhopper

October

East Beach Autumn Breezes

November

Mink

December

Northern Cardinal

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 .

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!

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!