Friends of Murphys Point Park

This week’s #SpeciesOfTheWeek is the Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus). This is a commonly sighted species at the park, particularly in the fields of milkweed plants near the Lally Homestead. Both its genus and species name mean “four eyes”, derived from the way that the socket of its antenna divides each compound eye into two, creating four eyes. Female Red Milkweed Beetles lay their eggs at the base of Common Milkweed stems. The larvae then burrow down to the roots where they feed until early fall. Overwintering within the root, they continue to feed in the spring before pupating and emerging a month later as adults. The adults eat the buds, leaves, and flowers, meaning their entire life cycle is dependent upon this one species of milkweed. Here at Murphys Point, these critters are quite commonly found in the milkweed field by the Lally Homestead – have you ever seen one?

This week’s #SpeciesOfTheWeek is the Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). Many people don’t expect to find carnivorous plants in Ontario but in fact, we have 4 different types! Pitcher plants, butterworts, bladderworts and sundews. Each plant has its own way of catching and digesting its insect prey, but here we’ll focus on that of the Round-leaved Sundew. Round-leaved Sundews can be identified by their tall red stems, with round or spoon-shaped leaves on the end of the stems. These disks will be covered in little red hairs that have droplets of a clear sticky liquid on them. These droplets resemble dew hence the name “Sundew”. The sticky droplets work like glue and insects that get stuck cannot get away. The Sundews then release another liquid that paralyzes and breaks down the prey. The reason Sundews are carnivorous is that they live in wetland habitats where there is very little to no nitrogen present in the soil. By “eating” insects, Sundews are able to get the right amount of nitrogen they need to thrive. Something else that Sundews can do is alter their carnivorous behaviour based on the conditions around them. If a Sundew is in a site with more nutrients available in the soil it will eat fewer insects, and if in a site with poorer nutrients, will eat more insects! The next time you’re in a wetland check out the soil and see if you can find these cool carnivorous plants!

This week’s #SpeciesOfTheWeek is the Scarlet-winged Lichen Moth (Hypoprepia miniata). It is easily recognizable with its bright red body and gray stripes on the forewings. The caterpillars feed on lichens growing on trees, with a preference for pine trees. This moth is found all across North America. Eastern populations are particularly abundant in Jack Pine forests, while western populations are abundant in Lodgepole Pine forests. The life cycle lasts about one year. After hatching late in the summer, the caterpillar feeds in the fall and then is dormant during the winter. The caterpillar resumes feeding in spring before pupating. Adults emerge late in the spring and fly from June to September. Since these moths fly at night, they have to avoid predation by bats, which they do with a unique adaptation. The Scarlet-winged Lichen Moth is a tiger moth in the subfamily Arctiinae, which means they have tymbal organs that produce high-frequency clicks that can be heard by bats. Some tiger moths make clicks that actually disrupt bat echolocation, but lichen moths have a different strategy. These moths are toxic to bats, so they make clicks that warn about their toxicity. It’s similar to how the colouration of a Monarch Butterfly deters predators, except using sound. Have you seen this moth, or any other tiger moths, in the park?