Charlotte Lake #5 and Beyond

This instalment takes us away from the botanical to the aesthetic, entomological, and piscivore elements of cottage life. There are two groups of moths that will take your breath away because of their size and colours.  It is best to attract these insects with a special light and a sheet for them to land on.  However, a few will come to a screen illuminated by a simple porch light.  The two groups are the Silk Moths (Luna, Io, Cecropia and Polyphemus) and the Sphinx Moths.  Above is the Modest Sphinx Moth, Pachysphinx modesta,  a wide-bodied 4 inch insect with an array of subtle colours. The larvae love trees of the Poplar family. So if you are near a forest with lots of poplars/aspen, turn on your porch light!

Charlotte Lake is a clear, clean, cold jewel, sitting near the summit of the Algonquin highlands, in the Madawaska River watershed. Although motor boats do use the lake, the summer of 2017 was so wet, that most of the time we enjoyed the cottage, few motor boats joined me, as I paddled and fished (very successfully). Fairly large Yellow Perch, Perca flavescens), Smallmouth, Micropterus dolomieu and Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides, abound. Salmoides means "trout-like", from Latin. I expect that this lake was, historically,  a trout lake . Once bass are introduced, though, most trout species cannot compete. Lake Trout are an exception, however, as they require very deep cold water where Bass rarely tread.

Above is a view from the cottage driveway towards the lake.  This is typical Precambrian landscape, with a rocky, steep, granitic slope down to the lake. I decided on a Perch dinner one day,  and, these are large, for Perch. By mid July, Perch in most lakes are infested with parasites.  These Perch had few.

Back on the dock, a dragonfly visited. Then expired!  Dragonflies live for a few weeks, and after mating, they may fade rather quickly. There are exceptions, for example the migratory Green Darner, Anax junius. This one is also a Darner, most likely a Lake Darner, Aeshna eremita. It was probably much more blue in life.

The lake beckoned Jan, above, out on the kayak, while my son and nephew enjoyed a few hours fishing from the canoe (real fishing that requires effort!). This most relaxing and pastoral scene closes out our time at the Charlotte Lake - Beethoven Pastoral Symphony playing in the background.

Just after returning to our home, I joined an Odonata (dragonflies, jewelwings and damselflies) event at the Morris Island Conservation Area. Morris Island is administered by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority.  It was created as a result of the damming of the Ottawa River for the Chats Falls Hydroelectric project. Notwithstanding its artificial origin, this is a jewel of biodiversity, especially for Odonata.

Below, one of the most common damselflies in Eastern North America is the Eastern Forktail, Ischnura verticalis. Females have this orange coloration. Males have a black  thorax above, with green shoulder stripes; pale green sides, and some blue at the tip of the abdomen. In Florida, there are more species of Forktail, including Citrine. They are ubiquitous, and not studied much, as far as I know.

This caterpillar was making slow progress across the gravel trail at Morris Island Conservation Area. Spilosoma virginica is a species of moth in the Arctiinae subfamily. As a caterpillar, it is known as the Yellow Woolly Bear. As an adult, it is known as the Virginian Tiger Moth.

The following information is adapted from the Wisconsin BugLady:http://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/news/

Slaty Skimmers, Libellula incesta, are in the skimmer family Libellulidae, the most common and brightly-colored pond dragonflies.  Members of the genus Libellula (along with, in some books, the corporals and whitetails) are known as the “King Skimmers,” which Dennis Paulson describes as “some of the most familiar dragonflies to the general naturalist, as they are large and conspicuous, often with distinctive wing patterns” (and he adds the tasty tidbit that the king skimmers typically” perch with the front pair of legs folded behind the head,” which makes the BugLady want to go back and check all of her photos).

From Art: This is true. Count the legs of this splendid male Slaty Skimmer, and you will see 4 grasping the twig.  We all know insects have 6 legs.  Look very, very closely, and you will see the front two legs folded behind its head.

The King skimmers are sexually dimorphic, with males generally more colorful than females (juvenile Slatys are striking, but females fade to a grayish-brown).  They often perch on the top of vegetation in the sunshine, and they hunt from their perch.  The BugLady was curious about this dragonfly’s unusual species name.  She came across an answer offered by Dennis Paulson (Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East, Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West) in an on-line forum: “Hagen [the 19th century German-born entomologist/Harvard professor who named them] applied many strange and often undecipherable names to odonate species. For example, Sympetrum corruptum (corrupted), Sympetrum illotum (dirty), Dromogomphus spoliatus (plundered), Brechmorhoga mendax (lying, deceiving), Enallagma praevarum (unsteady), Enallagma ebrium (drunken).


Sid Dunkle and I, in our checklist of North American odonates, tried to figure out the origin of these names but failed in many cases. For Libellula incesta, we wrote ‘incestuous, perhaps alluding to looking like a hybrid between other closely related species,’ but this was pure speculation. Hagen never explained the etymology of any of his names, and they will remain unexplained.”

Those who have struggled with identifying pond damselflies will recognize the most difficult case, above.  This is a male "blue" type, refering to the predominance of the colour blue on the abdomen, giving this group of damselflies the moniker "bluet". To identify bluets, you need, at minimum, a handheld loupe or magnifier. Even with a good one, identification is difficult for us amateurs. To differentiate these damselflies, you need to differentiate the claspers, in males, such as the one above. This photo shows the claspers, but not in enough detail to make a certain identification. So this is LIKELY one of the 2 most common species, Hagen, Enallagma hageni or Marsh Bluet,  Enallagma ebrium.  However, it may also be four or five other species! Those paying attention will have noted that the first species, Hagen, is named after that Harvard professor, who chose weird inexplicable Latin names for species, and you will recall that the second species is one he named, as "ebrium" means drunk. After that frustrating experience, I was so happy to find an animal I could immediately identify.

It is common to find these snakes basking in the gravel beside the water.  They are very colourful, usually calm snakes, which may grow quite large.  Although, like all water snakes, these are curious, and will not scoot and scurry away like most snakes.  They are quite harmless if left alone.  This is the Northern Brown Watersnake, Nerodia sipedon sipedon. If you visit rural Florida, as I do, you probably have encountered the Southern Brown Watersnake, which is similar. Unfortunately, people often mistake that snake for the venomous Cottonmouth. During winter, Cottonmouths are difficult to find, whereas the Watersnakes are often seen. Leave them be if encountered. They will not bite unless they feel threatened.

Some more Skimmers, which seem to pose to ensure you admire them. The striking Halloween Pennant, Celithemis eponina,  above, is a kaleidoscope of colour and pattern. Note the pink pterostigma at the front edge of the outer last brown stripe on each wing. These, and the pattern, make Halloween Pennants easy to identify. This is a male, though the females are also very colourful and similarly patterned.

Below is one of our most common Skimmers, the Common Whitetail, Plathemis lydia.

I promised some diversity and this includes the reptiles and amphibians. Above, an Eastern Gartersnake, Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis and below American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus. Most people have trouble differentiating the Bullfrog from the Green Frog. A helpful site for all of Ontario's (and surrounding bordering States/and Quebec) reptiles and amphibians:

https://ontarionature.org/programs/citizen-science/reptile-amphibian-atlas/species/

Ending with a bit of sex in the Hollywood tradition: Below, a male Bluet clasps the neck of a female Bluet in the tandem position. If mating proceeds, the male and female will form a "wheel" so that the male's sperm transfers from his genitalia at the base of the thorax to hers, which are just behind section 8 of the abdomen.

In the next instalment, we take a trip "up the Ottawa Valley" and afterwards, we join the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust on one of their outings. See you then.