At the end of two consecutive walks down in Weaselhead three days ago (the annual Dawn Chorus walk and then a bird group walk), I came across this little Seven-spotted Ladybug hugging a metal sign.
"The Seven-spotted Lady Beetle is probably our most familiar Lady Beetle, being found in gardens, parks and natural areas across the continent. It wasn't always this way though - this, large, attractive beetle was brought over in the 1950's from Europe to the eastern US to supplement the aphid-eating prowess of the native lady beetles. This hardy alien has since spread across the continent.
There is concern that this alien lady beetle is causing a decline in some native lady beetle species, particularly of the once common Transverse Lady Beetle. Are the robust Seven-spots out-competing the natives, eating the eggs of the natives, spreading disease or hybridizing with natives? No one knows for sure, but it is another cautionary example of the dangers of introducing alien species. One thing that ecologically conscientious gardeners can do is to refrain from buying alien species as biological controls and purchase native ones instead."
talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/index.php?s=1429
Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada southern Alberta North Weaselhead nature insect bug beetle Ladybug Lady Beetle Seven-spotted Ladybug Coccinella septempunctata Seven-spot ladybird non-native introduced alien elytra Coccinella Coccinellidae spots sign metal sign crawling image photo digital color image square square crop beautiful beauty in nature Panasonic DMC-FZ35 FZ35 Lumix point-and-shoot P1040816 FZ35 annkelliott beautiful_expression Feels Good
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Love these small Police Car Moths (Gnophaela vermiculata) that look like old black-and-white police cars complete with orange lights on their heads. I was so happy to see one when we were botanizing J. Edworthy's acreage south of Calgary on 29th July. Totally forgot to turn off Conversion on my camera after using my macro lens, so my photos came out rather blurry. This was the best of the lot, though still a heavy crop.
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Thanks to Susan, we were able to witness this female Subarctic Darner (Aeshna subarctica) with its disgarded nymph casing, when we were botanizing the Elkton Bog, near Cremona. Susan caught the last moment of it emerging, but the rest of us were able to see it resting and drying out before eventually flying off. I have a photo of just the casing that I will upload soon - quite amazing to see - almost looks like it's made of very thin copper.
"The Subarctic Darner is restricted to Sphagnum bogs and deep fens that are dominated by aquatic moss. The moss need not be Sphagnum and the water not necessarily very acidic; other aquatic mosses such as Drepanocladus and Scorpidium are more commonly associated with this dragonfly....Eggs are laid directly into floating moss." From www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
Tags: Alberta Canada southern Alberta north west of Calgary near Cremona Cremona Bog Elkton Bog nature insect Dragonfly Subarctic Darner Aeshna subarctica female nymph casing disgarded emerged drying out branch macro close-up Raynox DCR-250 bog image photo digital color image square square crop beauty in nature Panasonic DMC-FZ35 DMC-FZ35 FZ35 Lumix point-and-shoot P1110358 FZ35 annkelliott SuperEco beautiful_expression
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When we were on a botanizing day at Elkton Bog, near Cremona (north west of Calgary) on 30th July, friend Susan spotted this empty Subarctic Darner nymph case on a low branch and right next to it was the newly emerged dragonfly, wings spread, drying out before flying away. I thought this empty shell was beautiful - almost looked like metal. I uploaded a photo of the Dragonfly lying alongside the empty casing on 3rd August.
This short video of how a nymph becomes a dragonfly is interesting to watch - just fast forward a few less interesting bits, or simply be patient : )
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezq_JWd1Sd8&feature=related
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Not sure if this is simply a female Cherry-faced Meadowhawk or not. Not the best kind of photo for ID purposes, LOL. Seen on 30th July at the Elkton Bog, near Cremona, north west of Calgary. If you have a moment to spare, you can see the detail in the eyes in large size. Haven't looked at the Original size, as I never recommend that size taken with my camera : )
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