Lambton Lepidoptera

Last Sunday my dad and I made a trip to Lambton shores with hopes of coming across a number of early flying butterflies.

After a brief stop into Kettle Point, we went to the Ipperwash Dunes and Swales. Some neat plants, but no butterflies. Also of interest was a singing Hooded Warbler.

Gaywings (Polygala paucifolia)

Starflower (Trientalis borealis)

Hairy Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum pubescens)

Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis)

Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)

Afterwards, we went to the Karner Blue sanctuary in Port Franks. I heard that this is an excellent spot for duskywings (Erynnis sp.), and it was! I saw four species; Juvenal's, Wild Indigo, Columbine, and Sleepy. Sleepy Duskywing is a very rare species in Ontario.

Sleepy Duskywing

Wild Indigo Duskywing

Columbine Duskywing

Juvenal's Duskywing

I also saw an Eastern Pine Elfin at the sanctuary.

Next up was the Pinery. We went straight out to the beaches, where I quickly found both of my targets, Brown Elfin and Hoary Elfin.

Brown Elfin

Hoary Elfin

I also heard a Prairie Warbler singing at P4, which is just a bit down the beach from where I saw them last year at P9.

There were a couple neat tiger beetles along the beach as well, Big Sand and LeConte's (a subspecies of Festive Tiger Beetle).

Big Sand Tiger Beetle

LeConte's Tiger Beetle

Last stop was Cedar trail. I was hoping for Dusted Skipper, but turns out that the skipper spot was down the trail extension, which I didn't bother to go down! Arrgh, next time.

Eastern Tent Caterpillars 

All in all, a nice outing, and despite my misses of Olympia Marble, Dusted Skipper, and Dreamy Duskywing, I saw five new-to-me species of butterflies!

In, On, and Around Lake Huron

In...

You didn't think that I'd live up to this title...

Today we took a trip out to visit Kettle Point. It was the kind of day where your ears came in more handy than your binoculars or camera, so there aren't too many photos.

Driving in, I saw a Vesper Sparrow. In the marshes, many different birds could be found, including Marsh Wren, American Redstart, Mute Swan, and Alder Flycatcher.

This Red Fox was content to hang out near the road.

Speaking of red things, there were a couple Northern Cardinals around.

We went out on my uncle's boat...not to much out in the water but a few Mallards.

I checked out the dunes along the public beaches...a few swallowtails (Black and Eastern Tiger), and what I assume to be a skipper of some sort.

To finish off the day, I quickly checked into Ipperwash Dunes and Swales to look for butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies.

This appears to be a Racket-tailed Emerald (thanks Blake!).

This is still unidentified. I think that it is a spreadwing of sorts, but I am unsure of what species. What really stands out is that the end of the abdomen (S8, S9, S10) are unmarked. Usually if a damselfly is of the "Black Type" (the abdomen is mostly black) it will have blue markings near the tip of it's tail. If anyone has a suggestion of what it may be, please comment! If it helps, the underside of the abdomen appears to also be blue. (EDIT: This is an Aurora Damsel...thanks Chris) 

Northern Crescents are fairly easy to find.

These are Juvenal's Duskywings. I was hoping that maybe it was a Sleepy, but alas it was not to be. I'll have to come back out this way and check out some other spots for them.

Final dragonfly of the day was Common Baskettail. There were at least half a dozen in one little area. Fairly easy to capture in the net, but I had to take a few swings before I caught one.

If this is just the beginning of the Ode and Lep season, then we are in for a treat this year!