Luna moth

Luna Moth

 

Andy's Northern Ontario Wildflowers

Butterflies and Moths of Burwash

 

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The following images illustrate some of the wildlife and signs of wildlife that occur in the Burwash area,south of the city of Sudbury.  This is the same area were most of the wildflowers were photographed.

This is not intended to be a complete list of butterflies present, or observed, at Burwash.

We have seen moose, elk, deer, beaver, river otters, turtles, muskrat, one marten, and bear.

List of butterfly and moth images:

Butterflies

Tiger swallow tail butterfly

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio Canadensis) butterflies gather on a damp spot on a Burwash area gravel road.  The caterpillars feed at night on poplar, birch and cherry leaves.  During the day, the larva rests on the upper side of a leaf in a pod made of silk.

Location: Burwash
Photographed: Summer 2000.

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Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio Canadensis) butterfly detail, on a gravel road.

Location: Burwash
Photographed: June 21, 2008.

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Yellow tiger swallowtail butterfly, copyright 2008 Andy Fyon, www.ontariowildflower.com

Clearwing Hummingbird moth is a small moth that looks like a hummingbird.  This hummingbird moth flies during the day.  The wingspan is about up to 5 cm.  The wings start out coloured reddish to brownish black, but after the first flight, the scales drop off and the wings become clear coloured.  They are active from May to September.  This moth has a proboscis for gathering nectar.  Honeysuckle is a host plant for this moth.

Location: Barrie Island, Manitoulin Island
Date: May 26, 2007

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Clearwing hummingbird moth, copyright 2007 Andy Fyon, www.ontariowildflower.com

Comptob tortoiseshell butterfly, copyright 2008 Andy Fyon, www.ontariowildflower.com

Compton tortoiseshell (Nympalis vaualbum) butterfly.  Compton Tortoiseshell is a woodland butterfly.  You are more likely to see it on Precambrian shield areas. The larva feeds on willows. It is circumpolar around the Northern Hemisphere.  It is sometimes found in great numbers around wet spots on the ground. New butterflies appear in July or August. Adults hibernate and can survive through until the following June.  It overwinters in tree cavities, under eaves, or in garages, outhouses, and cottages.

Interest: It received its common name from Philip Henry Gosse, an English naturalist.  He studied the life history of this butterfly when he lived in the town of Compton,  Eastern Townships, Quebec, in the 1800's.

Location: Burwash
Date: June 21, 2008

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Golden anglewing butterfly

Golden Anglewing butterfly getting warm on the forest litter. It occurs in wooded areas and valleys and along streams and forests.  The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of nettles.  The butterflies use flower nectar, tree sap, and liquids from mud for food.

Location: Burwash
Date: April 15, 2001

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Harris' Checkerspot (Chlosyne harrisii).  The female lays eggs in clusters under the leaves of a host plant, such as Flat-topped white aster.  The caterpillars feed on leaves.  Partially-grown caterpillars hibernate at the base of the host plant. This butterfly commonly seeks out Flat-topped white aster as the preferred food for the caterpillar.  The common habitat includes marshes, edges of bogs, pastures, and meadows.

Location: Makynen Road
Date: June 10, 2007

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Harris' Checkerspot (Chlosyne harrisii) butterfly,  copyright 2007 Andy Fyon, www.ontariowildflower.com

Morning cloak butterfly (Nymphalis Antiopa).  The adults hibernate and appear very early in the spring. This is one of the earliest butterflies seem in the Burwash area in the spring. Larvae feed on early budding willows and poplars.

Location: Burwash
Date: April 15, 2001

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Morning cloak butterfly, Burwash Ontario.

Red admiral butterfly

Red admiral (Vanessa Atalanta): Red admiral adults hibernate during the winter.  They are among the earliest butterflies that appear in response to the warm spring sun. They feed on fermenting tree sap, but favour lilacs.  Larvae feed on nettle leaves.  The larvae draw the leaf edges together to form a safe hiding place.

Location: Burwash
Date: April 5, 2001

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Red admiral butterfly feeding on flower blossoms.

Location: Manitoulin Island, Providence Bay
Date: July 8, 2001

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Red admiral butterfly

White admiral butterfly

White admiral butterfly taking water from a clay exposure along a river.  The caterpillars feed on birch, willow and poplar.  They overwinter in a cocoon-like cell.  You find adult butterflies at the sides of puddles on gravel roads.  The butterflies feed on flower nectar.

Location: Paddy Creek, off Secord road
Date: August 8, 2002

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Painted Lady butterfly: The caterpillar feeds on thistles and other legumes. The Painted Lady butterfly prefers nectar from plants that stand up to 2 m high, especially thistles, aster, and Joe-Pye weed. It also visits red clover and milkweeds. This Painted Lady was feeding on blue vervain.

Location: Burwash
Date: June 24, 2001

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Painted lady butterfly

Great spangled fritillary butterfly

Great Spangled Fritillary: This is a very common species of Fritillary in Ontario.  It feeds on tall plants such as goldenrod, milkweeds, bull thistles, Joe-Pye weed, and dogbane, but also feeds on clovers and viper's bugloss. The caterpillar overwinters in leaf litter and feeds on violet leaves in the spring. Note the abundance of other insects feeding on the nectar.

Location: Silver Falls, Thunder Bay
Date: July 17, 2003

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Detail of Great Spangled Fritillary visiting a Joe Pye weed plant.

Location: High Falls, Thunder Bay
Date: July 28, 2002

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Great Spangled Fritillary, Thunder Bay, Copyright 2002 Andy Fyon.

Common wood nymph: The common wood nymph is a members of the Satyr family. Its dark brown wings blend well with tree bark. They occur in open woodlands, meadows, and fields. The females lay their eggs on grasses in late summer or early fall. The caterpillar overwinters after hatching. They eat alfalfa, flower nectar, fruit, and sap.

Location: Burwash
Date: July 14, 2001.

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Common wood nymph butterfly.

Monarch and Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies on Swamp milkweed.

Monarch and Great Great Spangled Fritillary feeding on the nectar of a swamp milkweed.

Location: Manitoulin Island, Mississagi Lighthouse
Date: July 18, 2001.

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Moths

Luna moth: The Luna moth is short lived - about 1 week.  Therefore, it is not common to find one in the Sudbury area. Its colour, the eyespots on all four wings and the curved tails are distinctive. It is nocturnal that is found in deciduous hardwood forests. The Luna moth has a wingspan of 7 to 10 cm.  In the Sudbury area, the caterpillar eats the leaves of the white birch, alder, and sumac trees. The adult Luna moth does not eat; it only mates, reproduces, and dies.

Location: Sudbury

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Luna moth


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For more information email: ajfyon@vianet.on.ca
URL: http://www.ontariowildflower.com/wildlife_butterfly.html
© 2001-2008 Andy Fyon

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Andy Fyon

June 21, 2008

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