Archives par mot-clé : wildlife

Final Count @ 40 For St. Ignatius

The final count for St. Ignatius of Loyola for Week 2 reached about 40 insects (Level 1). Although our trap was taken down on Monday, we still have a few exciting reports: 1) a large dragonfly was the newest addition to our collection; 2) rabbit droppings were sighted beside the trap; 3) a black-and-orange caterpillar was seen on the trap; and 4) some white mushrooms are growing beside the trap… take a look!

IMG_0676 (1)

IMG_0672

IMG_0671

IMG_0668

Week 1 Results

image

This is the amount of insects we got for the first week. It wasn’t much, but we hope to get more the second week.The area we put it in has an abundance of creatures of all different kinds (we saw a red admiral butterfly before we went to set it up!) We showed our project to a younger class in our school and they got so excited!This is a great program and all the kids in our school want to participate!

image

Meet Helix! (Mantis religiosa)

Meet Helix (the European Mantis)!

A few days ago, one of our collections technicians, Valerie, spotted a European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) while working in the Arboretum at the University of Guelph. Valerie is a fantastic photographer and has graciously shared some of her pictures of Helix with us.

As you can tell by his species name, Helix is native to Europe, Africa and Asia and was introduced to North America in 1899. The European Mantis is now found across Canada as well as throughout northern parts of the United States.

VLB_Photo_140930_IMG_9067

The European Mantis can live in a variety of habitats, but seems to prefer green growth and sunny areas by shrubbery or herbaceous plants.

VLB_Photo_140930_IMG_9126

Helix will prey on several different kinds of insects including moths, caterpillars, butterflies and bees. Here Helix is pictured munching on a cricket.

VLB_Photo_140930_IMG_9089

The European species comes in a wide variety of colours ranging from dark brown to bright green. Like all Mantids, the female is larger than the male, especially at the abdomen. Due to their size, females are unlikely to fly and will scare off predators by flaring their wings and raising their arms. After mating, females have been known to consume the male they reproduce with.

A Few More

MOTH AND BEE–About 5-7 more insects were caught yesterday while it damper and colder at St. Ignatius of Loyola. Although it was a slower day,  new additions include: a bee and a small type of moth. The moth is something we have not had before so the variety has been really interesting for us to see.

IMG_0647 (1)

About the Trap

The trap has two shades – black and white. In the middle there is a net to keep insects from flying through the middle and getting away. The roof goes up in one spot and there is a hole that is bright like the sun so they fly for it and fall into a tube filled with ethanol. The ethanol is used to preserve the insects.

milo

Day 2, sept 23 results (2)

50 at the end of Week 1

As the first week ends, Mrs. Rose-Wideman’s class at St. Ignatius of Loyola is excited to report that 50 insects have been collected. New additions include: a cricket, a large grasshopper, spiders, and more black flies. We look forward to seeing what we will catch next week.

IMG_0632
Grasshopper!

First week

Hi, we’re the grade 6 class at Chesley District Community School, in Chesley, ON. We set up our Malaise trap on Monday morning and our first thought was: this trap is so big, it must catch a lot of bugs! The next day we found out we were right, because not even 24 hours had caught bugs up to the first line. We chose the spot that we did because it is a fenced in area that cannot be disturbed by other students, and it is right next to a garden that is buzzing with wildlife at this time of year. We estimate that there will be lots of flies, bees, and other bugs that like weeds a lot. Our class appreciates nature and we are so excited to see what we have caught in our trap as citizen scientists!