Observation of the week – August 28 to September 3, 2022

Hello Butterfly Blitz enthusiasts! It’s hard to believe it, but there are only two weeks to go in the 2022 Butterfly Blitz. Even though the summer is coming to an end, we’re still enjoying seeing all your beautiful butterfly observations—keep them coming!

Our 16th OOTW is this Black Swallowtail seen by Terence (@tezster). Terence spotted this butterfly at the MacEwan terrace gardens at Riverwood , where he takes many lovely photos. About his picture-taking, Terence says: “Photography has always been a hobby of mine, but I only started dabbling in wildlife photography during the pandemic, as a way to get myself to spend more time outdoors, and learn more about the natural world”.

We’ve heard from several of you that the pandemic encouraged you to get outside and connect with nature. We also saw a jump in Butterfly Blitz observations in the past two years. It’s wonderful to see people appreciating the natural world around them, including small wildlife like butterflies and other insects.

The Black Swallowtail is part of a group of species that all look very similar, known as the Pipevine Swallowtail mimicry complex. Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars eat plants with toxic chemicals, and by retaining those chemicals in their bodies, they make themselves unappealing to predators. This might sound familiar as its also what happens with Monarchs and Viceroys – Monarchs get chemicals from milkweed and Viceroys mimic Monarchs.

In addition to Black Swallowtails, the species that look very similar to Pipevine Swallowtail include Red-spotted Purple, the black form of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and Spicebush Swallowtail. Those species are seen above in that order, with photos by @tezster, @bevlynn99, @brendavr, and @samos16.

Spicebush Swallowtail used to be a species that was rarely seen in our area, but they are becoming more common as their range expands northward. They even seem to be breeding here – as shown by this caterpillar seen recently in Mississauga. Isn’t it beautiful?!

Don’t’ forget to register for the wrap up event if you’d like to hear more interesting facts about butterflies as well as summaries of what we’ve found throughout all four years of the Butterfly Blitz. We’ll be getting together at Terra Cotta CA on September 17th, and we’d love to see you there.

Publicado el 08 de septiembre de 2022 a las 04:12 PM por