Diario del proyecto CVC Butterfly Blitz 2020

Archivos de Diario para julio 2020

lunes, 06 de julio de 2020

Observation of the week – June 29 - July 5, 2020

We’re into the second month of our 2020 CVC Butterfly Blitz, and together we’ve recorded over 550 observations of 45 butterfly species. Thank you to everyone who has been getting outside and taking pictures!

Our fifth OOTW is this Baltimore Checkerspot from Butterfly Blitzer @marcjohnson and his family who spent their Canada Day doing a Big Butterfly Day in the Credit River Watershed, looking for butterflies at different CVC properties. The Johnsons “have enjoyed doing weekend hikes throughout covid-19, and the butterfly blitz has given these hikes new purpose and focus. The kids are loving butterflying and natural history more than they have ever before.”

Marc’s kids, Oscar (11) and Mae (14), get the credit for finding the Baltimore Checkerspot. Oscar was the first to spot it and comment on how amazing it looked, but it got away from him. Marc says: “Mae spotted it again later and describes her thought as: ‘wow, that’s the really pretty thing that Oscar saw and I better catch it’. When she caught it, she thought ‘it was gorgeous and she was excited to catch a new species for our count’”.

Baltimore Checkerspots are usually found in wet meadows where Turtlehead plants are found – the main food source for their caterpillars. They are an uncommon species in our area but can be very locally abundant in the right habitat. This was the case for the area of Caledon Lake where the Johnsons saw their checkerspot; they saw five more individuals in the same location after the one that Mae caught.

The Johnson’s Big Butterfly Day was not just fun for the family, but also contributed towards a good cause. Although they had planned the day a few weeks earlier, at the last minute they decided to tie it in with a fundraising challenge “to raise awareness for the project and the great work CVC is doing”.

“We proposed donating $5 per species anticipating about 20 species but offered to double the amount if 5 others matched our donation. We ended up confirming 24 species, and 6 people matched us … In the end we raised $960.” Wow! A big THANK YOU to Marc, Reagan, Mae, and Oscar as well as the six other contributors.

If the Johnsons have inspired you, more information about the CVC Foundation can be found here: https://cvcfoundation.ca/ - including information on how to donate as well as specific ongoing projects and campaigns.

Publicado el lunes, 06 de julio de 2020 a las 07:02 PM por lltimms lltimms | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

martes, 14 de julio de 2020

Observation of the week: July 6 to 12, 2020

Thanks to the dedication of our Butterfly Blitzers, we made it up to 48 species and over 700 observations last week. In 2019 we found 55 species by the end of the summer. How many will we find this year?

Our sixth OOTW is this Lucia Azure, one of the many butterflies seen in @sunrisegardener’s garden.

All of Julie’s (aka @sunrisegardener) iNaturalist photos come from her garden in Georgetown. Her goal is “to foster awareness of the difference we can all make, through appropriate plant selections, to foster biodiversity at home”.

Julie has worked hard to make her garden welcome for butterflies and other wildlife. She has included many native plant species, mixed species to ensure that there are flowers blooming throughout the spring and summer, and makes sure that there are enough host plants that different caterpillar species need to eat.

The approach seems to be working, as Julie has seen over 175 species of birds and insects in her yard. Julie says that she is never outside without her camera in her pocket between March and November, and that “As soon as I see movement, no matter how hard I try, my gaze automatically averts to see what it is. I can see the front garden from the living room, so my family laughs when I exclaim: "Butterfly!" and go tearing outside.”

The Lucia Azure that Julie saw is one of three butterfly species that can be tricky to identify. For years it was believed that only one Azure species occurred in Ontario, but that number has changed over the years, and it is now thought that there are three distinct species. Two of these species, the Lucia Azure and the Summer Azure occur in our area.

Figuring out which Azure species you are looking it can depend largely on the time of year, although there are also some differences in wing patterns. This article provides a good overview of the differences, with a link to a more detailed study.

If Julie has inspired you to fill your garden with native plants, CVC has resources to help. Check out our webpage with all kinds of resources on ecological landscaping and get in touch if you have questions.

Julie has also made a very generous offer: “Every year, I give away hundreds of native pollinator plants (including host plants) to increase habitat. Anyone in the Butterfly Blitz that would like some can contact me to arrange a pick up. Many are seedlings that will bloom next year.”

Publicado el martes, 14 de julio de 2020 a las 02:35 PM por lltimms lltimms | 1 comentario | Deja un comentario

martes, 21 de julio de 2020

Observation of the week – July 13-19, 2020

Our seventh OOTW is this Striped Hairstreak, seen by @shadilady near Orangeville.

Hairstreak butterflies are beautiful. Their orange spots and black and white stripes stand out brilliantly against the greyish background of their wings. They can be frustrating to follow as they fly, but then pose nicely as they take a drink from a flower once they land. Many of the species also seem a bit mysterious.

The Striped Hairstreak is considered an uncommon species in Ontario – widely distributed, but never seen in large numbers. It is unknown whether this is because they are genuinely rare or just rarely observed.

Many hairstreaks spend most of their time high up in the trees, only coming down a few times a day to feed. It is suggested that hairstreaks may not get most of their food from flowers, but other sources such as the sugary honeydew produced by aphids and related insects.

So, for every hairstreak seen on a flower at ground level, it is likely that there are more around somewhere nearby. Doesn’t that make you wonder what they are doing?

Hairstreaks can also be tricksters. Like other species, Striped Hairstreaks have ‘tails’ sticking out of the ends of their hind wings. These tails and the surrounding colour patterns look a little like a head. It is thought that this tricks predators like birds into aiming their strikes on the tails instead of at more vulnerable parts of the butterfly’s body. Hairstreaks are often seen rubbing their wings together, which may make the deception seem even more real as the ‘head’ moves.

Do you also love hairstreaks, or is there another group of butterflies that you have a fondness for? Let us know!

Publicado el martes, 21 de julio de 2020 a las 03:34 PM por lltimms lltimms | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

miércoles, 29 de julio de 2020

Observation of the week – July 20-26, 2020

We are particularly excited about this week’s OOTW – a Broad-winged Skipper seen by participant @uofgtwitcher.

This is only the third record of Broad-winged Skippers in the Credit River Watershed – with the other records being from the Acton and Georgetown areas.

Broad-winged Skippers tend to stick close to patches of their host plants, which are broad leaved sedges, including lake sedge (Carex lacustris). These sedges are often found growing in narrow strips along roadsides or at the edge of rivers and other wetlands.

That’s where Andrew (aka @uofgtwitcher) saw this Broad-winged Skipper, at the edge of Birchwood Creek on the east side of Jack Darling Park, in what Andrew calls a “tiny piece of extraordinary habitat.”

There are a few wetland butterfly species in our Watershed that are rarely seen but can be found in large numbers if the habitat is right. These butterfly species depend on high quality wetland patches that support their host plants.

Through the efforts of Butterfly Blitz participants, we are getting a better idea of where these species can be found exactly in the watershed. Some species seem to be restricted to only one location, while others can be found in a handful of locations. These habitats are special places, and CVC will use information from the Butterfly Blitz to help protect and restore them.

And that brings us to the other exciting thing about this observation - the Broad-winged Skipper was seen in Jack Darling Park, on the lakeshore in Mississauga. It shows that habitat for uncommon butterflies can be found in urban areas when it is protected and maintained.

As Andrew says, “it is a gorgeous, albeit tiny area and I hope it can be preserved for future generations to see what “once was” in the GTA. The stream was flowing, the pollinators were stirring and the Joe Pye-Weed was fully in bloom. The perfect end to a day of exploration in an area of the lakeshore that I spent countless hours wandering as a young boy.”

Publicado el miércoles, 29 de julio de 2020 a las 01:09 PM por lltimms lltimms | 4 comentarios | Deja un comentario