Butterfly metamorphosis
Mating monarch butterflies, Butterfly Garden at Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) Tampa, Florida (Photo by Joyce Graham Fogwill)
A few summers ago I watched and photographed the metamorphosis of a butterfly (we weren't sure if the species is a green comma or question mark) at Cape Broyle, Newfoundland. During my visit, I became friends with my seven-year-old neighbour, M.,...
The search for an endangered tiger beetle is on and you can help!
Northern barrens tiger beetle habitat (Photo by Sara McEwan, Ontario Parks)
I like plants. I have picked them, identified them, pressed them, documented them and eaten them. They are familiar and I look forward to seeing them every season. Insects, on the other hand, are not as familiar to me, but learning is always a...
Bees: Nature's busy farmers
Bee balm (Photo by NCC)
Pollinators are extremely important: not only are they responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat, but they are vital in creating and maintaining the habitats and ecosystems that many animals rely on for food and shelter. Bees...
13 tweetable facts about pollinators
Bee on flower (Photo by NCC)
Nature has always been a fascination of mine, sparking numerous moments of wonders and awe. Like the time when I first learned about how bee orchids are designed to entice certain pollinators leading to pseudocopulation - that blew my mind! As the...
Chasing dragonflies and butterflies with Bob Bowles
Bob Bowles, Carden Alvar, ON (Photo by NCC).
I met Bob Bowles fairly early in my career at the Nature Conservancy of Canada when I was tasked to run the Carden Alvar butterfly and dragonfly counts in the Georgian Bay–Huronia sub-region in 2009. We’d been planning the counts on...
A fine balance: An update on the Poweshiek skipperling
NCC’s Tall Grass Prairie Natural Area protects Canada’s only population of endangered Poweshiek skipperling. (Photo by NCC)
It may be a small and unassuming species, but for a few years now scientists in both Manitoba and the U.S. have been playing close attention to the Poweshiek skipperling. The small, brownish butterfly — about the size of a loonie — was...
What’s the buzz on bees at the Cowichan Preserve?
Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve flowers, BC (Photo by Tim Ennis/NCC)
You’ve probably seen it in the news: bees are in trouble. There has been a lot of press about managed honeybees that have been introduced to North America for pollination and honey. Unfortunately, we also know that many wild bees are also...
Moths and butterflies: What we're doing to help these little-known pollinators
Sphinx moth (Photo © Manitoba Museum)
Bees are well known for their ability to pollinate flowers but there are other pollinators out there, including moths and butterflies. Moths pollinate flowers both during the day and at night. This summer, Nature Conservancy (NCC) staff will be...
What would insects think about #dressgate #thedress?
Bee on flower (Photo by NCC)
The #Dressgate colour craze is currently all over the online community and newspapers. For those who have yet caught on, there has been an eruption of arguments on social media over the true colours of a dress — blue and black, or white and...
Pollinator edge effects on Manitoba's grasslands
A small andrenid bee sheltering in a wild strawberry flower (Photo by Marika Olynyk)
Animal pollination is a key ecological process, ensuring the reproduction and genetic diversity of most flowering plants, and providing food for pollinators. In Manitoba, insects are the most important pollinators. Our short summers are busy as...
