Ambush

As I was wandering along one of our east meadow trails today I noticed a Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala) hanging under an Oxeye Daisy. I approached slowly and managed to take a photo.



The poor thing was much the worse for wear but I could not understand why it was so still when I took its photo. I looked at the other side, for a second photo, and then I noticed why it was so quiet.



The butterfly was attached to an Ambush Bug (Phymatidae family). According to Donald Stokes in his book Observing Insect Lives, Ambush bugs molt 5 times during the summer and then do most of their ambushing on Goldenrod flowers. Even as they are very young, they are deadly to other insects. They lie in wait on or under flowers and when a prey comes by, they grab onto a leg, or some other body part with their special front legs and immediately push their beaklike mouth part into the prey. They first push out a poisonous liquid that both kills their prey and starts to disolve its insides. Then the Ambush Bug just sucks the juices out and discards the remainder.

Ebony Jewelwing

This Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata)came to visit us on Sunday as we were working on our art projects. Neither it, nor I, were as quiet as the dragonfly Fleur-Ange photographed last week.



I just updated my wild flower page for this week. My regular wild flower walking group, Fleur-Ange, and I found 145 wild flowers in bloom during this past week. That is the high for the year so far.

Art Hike

For the past several years, I have led an "art hike" on the long weekend in July. I lead the hike up to one of my favourite waterfalls. (There are 28 other Hamilton Waterfalls to choose from, but I like this one the best.)



This year there were only three of us on the hike. We worked with leaves, rocks, scrap metal, and wood found in the area as well as paper and pencil. My partner, Fleur-Ange, found an interesting piece of scrap metal lying on the rocks and, after carefully balancing it on a log near the stream, covered it with leaves from the Garlic Mustard. (Garlic Mustard is a major weed pest so there was no problem with removing leaves from it.)



J. Bourke, one of our artist friends from the area, first helped me with gathering materials and then settled down with with her own pencil and paper to sketch an interesting tree with roots that were being washed by the stream.



While the others worked with leaves and paper, I built up a pile of wood with my own leaf work at the bottom and an old shelf fungus on top. (It will be years before Andy Goldsworthy has to worry about my work!)



On our way back towards the cars, we stopped to photograph this little pool among the rocks that was reflecting the leaves above.



It was a good and enjoyable day for all of us!

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

As my partner, Fleur-Ange, and I were walking the dog yesterday afternoon. Fleur-Ange noticed this dragonfly.



She approached the dragonfly with Tai Chi speed and patience and took over 40 digital photos in the process.



The abdomen of the dragonfly glowed a golden brown in the sunlight.



When Fleur-Ange got so close that she touched the dragonfly, it flew away but not before the camera recorded the hairs on the dragonfly's thorax.



We identified the dragonfly as a Twelve-spotted Skimmer (Libellula pulchella) using the Stokes Beginner's Guide to Dragonflies.

Green Frog

This morning when I looked at Rurality's Frogz Blog I was reminded that I took a photo by our pond.



Green Frog (Rana clamitans)