Beetle

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
7 January 2007

This beetle was overwintering in the roots of a clump of moss, just a little poking around unearthed him and he was quick to start looking for more peaceful quarters.

Fungus Rove Beetle

Oxyporus quinquemaculatus
Algonquin Provincial Park (Bat Lake)
25 June, 2006

These beetles are from the family Staphylinidae (Rove Beetles), subfamily Oxyporinae, genus Oxyporus. Stephen Marshall indicates that the family Staphylinidae "constitutes one of the last great frontiers in North American beetle taxonomy." Staphylinidae is the largest family of beetles in North America and it is possible that less than half of the species have been identified yet. Marshall says that "Rove beetles are usually predacious, but some feed on fungal spores or tissue..." If you look at the first picture, above, you can see that these beetles have been doing a pretty good job of eating this Entoloma fungus.

Forked Fungus Beetle

Bolitotherus cornutus
Bat Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park
June 25, 2006
(Found on Shelf Fungus, Fomitopsis pinicola)

The Forked Fungus Beetle is a member of the Superfamily Tenebrionoidea, family Zopheridae (Ironclad Beetles). The Tenebrionidae are referred to as "darkling beetles" because most of the are black or brown. Stephen Marshall (Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, Firefly, 2006) says of this species that they "stay close to hard shelf fungi or bracket fungi, rarely moving between fungi on different trees in the same forest." They are mostly nocturnal and produce a brown stain of defensive chemicals that burn or discolor skin. The pictures above are of a female.

Honey I Shrunk the Giant Squid

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
27 September, 2005

I've often found the strangest looking little invertebrates associated with mushrooms. I have no idea what this one is. I need a decent camera with a macro lens to do justice to these little things.

Amherst Island

Baby Long-eared Owl in nest

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

Ruddy Turnstone

Osprey

Baby Long-eared Owl

Northern Watersnake

Beetles on plant

Black-crowned Nightheron

Frontenac Park: May 27, 2006

Wood Thrush

This was a new bird for my list. He was quite high up but I was able to scope him. Notice the bold white eyering and bold black spots on white underside.

Parasitoid Wasp

This wasp had paralyzed its prey and was taking it to who knows where. We watched it for quite a while as it dragged this spider along the ground. At times he would abandon it and fly a short distance away but soon came back and began to drag it again. I don't know if he ever got it to his destination.

Blandings Turtle

The Blandings is common in certain locations in the Park. We found these turtles on two different ponds on this trip. It is under study in the Park because of its troubled status in the Province.

This was mainly a dragonfly outing and we were not disappointed. We found many different species including the Harlequin Darner, which does not have an official record in Frontenac County according to the Odonate Database.

Frontenac Park: 2nd Expedition 2006

Ribbon Snake

Note the brown band below the yellow and
the white on the face that differentiates it
from the Garter Snake

Hover Bee

Fungi growing in the moss

Fiddleheads in the bog

Unidentified Flower

Flowering Tree

Unidentified Flower

Trout Lily
(There were leaves everywhere but very few flowers)

Frontenac Park: The Invertebrates

June Beetle

This seems early for June Beetles but maybe thats why he is lying so still! The Invertebrates that I'm most interested in are the Odonates (Dragonflies and Damselflies) but it is still too early. I carried my net with me just in case but it was a nuisance as I lost it three times. There were lots of Bumble Bees and Hornets, many smaller flying insects but they were not bothersome. Some small moths and one large Butterfly (I think an Admiral of some kind but he flew in and out of my vision very quickly).

Requiem for the Dead

I spent the day at Presquile Provincial Park, near Brighton, Ontario. I crashed this funeral service for what appears to be a Common Loon. I'm not trying to be deliberately morbid. I actually have a scientific purpose for the pictures that follow, bare with me, and parents, please supervise your children. This will get messy.

You can see by the feet and the bill that this is probably a Common Loon. What I want you to take a close look at is the little black dot at the bottom left of his belly. You see a line and just to the right of it is the little dot.

Here we have the remains of what appears to be a Long-tailed Duck. This would have been a new species for me but my son insists I can't count a dead bird. If any professional birders out there would like to contradict him please email me. But back to my point, please note the tiny bug on the centre front of the bird. CSI types, get to work!



Next dead bird, all on the same beach, all within a few hundred yards of each other. Note the speck on the centre of this bird. OK, here it is in a clear macro shot.


What is this beetle and why is it sitting on all these dead birds? I know that beetles are voracious eaters of small living things, but does this beetle specialize in the dead? Is it some kind of carion beetle. Calling all entomologists!

The wind still blows at Lemoine Point

I love a good clearing in the middle of the forest.
This is my first attempt to stitch together 3 photos.

A little black caterpillar was only about an inch long
and was a rufous brown underneath. I believe this is
the caterpillar of the Giant Leopard Moth.

Yet another tree oddity.

Tibetan prayer flags.
Nature imitating art.

Asian Lady Beetle
(Harmonia Axyridis)

Get used to pictures of these guys because this is about
all thats left of birds at the Point until Spring.

It was a windy day at the Point. Winds of 35 kph with gusts much stronger. However, it was warm and sunny an otherwise pleasant day to be out. Birding has dropped off considerably. I only saw Chickadees, Dark Eyed Juncos, Blue Jays, Gulls, and Robins. I am now going through the process of acceptance that this will be about it until Spring. I am still carrying the scope around with me but had no opportunity to use it today. I found some interesting late season mushrooms, some Asian Lady Beetles, a black hairy caterpillar, and some interesting trees and plants that I photographed for future identification. You'll see them as I get them identified. In the meantime its in to work for the weekend. Down time at work will be spent with Sibley's, Hawks in Flight, and Dawkin's "The Blind Watchmaker."

The last sweet nectar of summer

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

Summer still holding on at the Point. Many creatures, small and large, making final preparations for tougher days ahead.