Fuzzy Wonders: Woolly Bears

Even though many of us may be returning to school, that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop exploring the outdoors. It’s around this time of year that one of the coolest and cutest critters starts to crawl around: woolly bear caterpillars!

Seeing a woolly bear is considered to be a sign of the changing seasons from summer to fall for many people across North America. The woolly bear's range stretches from the northern parts of Mexico, throughout the United states and into southern Canada.

 

You have probably seen these fuzzy caterpillars before, maybe on a walk to school, around the park, or even in your own backyard. Although easily recognized, most people don't know what to call them, and sadly don't know all the exciting traits they have. Let’s dive into some questions you never knew you needed to ask until now.

If woolly bears are caterpillars... what butterfly do they turn into?

Woolly bears do not turn into butterflies! They actually turn into the Isabella tiger moth. These moths have a 2 inch wingspan and are a light yellow colour with black spots.

It's almost winter and there are still caterpillars crawling around! When are they going to become moths?

A woolly bear will not turn into a moth until next spring or early summer. The caterpillar will keep munching on leaves until winter begins. 

If they wait until spring to become moths, how do they survive the long, cold winter?

A woolly bear, unlike most caterpillars, will remain a caterpillar all winter, unlike other species that overwinter as a pupa (in a cocoon). The woolly bear will roam the forest floor, across trails and roads to find a good dark spot under leaf litter or under logs to spend the winter. When the temperatures get below freezing, this caterpillar produce a chemical in their body that acts like an antifreeze. This makes sure their blood doesn’t form ice crystals. Wow!

Is it safe for me to pick up a woolly bear?
YES! There are some species of caterpillars you should not touch (because their "hairs" or spines can irritate your skin), but woolly bear caterpillars are safe to touch. This fuzzy caterpillar is exactly that … FUZZY. It's hairs are probably there to trick predators into thinking they are toxic so they don’t become a meal. So next time you're outside and find a woolly bear caterpillar, you can gently pick it up, pet it, and see for yourself how fuzzy they are!

Is it true that the length of the brown band predicts the kind of winter we'll have?
This is a common belief: the length of the brown and black bands on the woolly bear caterpillar tells us if we will have a cold snowy winter or not. The legend goes, if the brown band in the middle is short, we will have a cold, snowy winter. On the other hand, if the brown band is long we will have a mild winter. It turns out that these caterpillars don't actually tell us about the weather. The length of the bands depends on the caterpillar's age and how much it was able to eat. If the middle brown band looks short, it means that the "ends" of the caterpillar (the black parts) have been growing a lot. Probably that caterpillar ate a lot and was able to grow quite long. 

National Flight of the Monarch Day - August 22, 2020

This year, on August 22nd, we will recognize “National Flight of the Monarch Day,” a nationwide event to recognize the iconic monarch butterfly and draw attention to their amazing life cycles, fantastic migration, and the serious threats they face. The Monarch has been listed as a species of special concern both provincially and federally in Canada. 

How many different Monarch life stages can you find right now? Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly? Submit your Monarch sightings to GBBR's iNaturalist project from August 22nd to 5:00pm on August 23rd will be entered into a draw to win a butterfly book collection prize pack. If you’re not already on iNaturalist, it takes less than one minute to get it set up on your phone or other device. Learn more about Monarch butterflies and iNaturalist.

Before Migration

All Monarchs start life as a tiny egg on a milkweed plant leaf. In one season, one adult, female Monarch butterfly will lay between 300-500 eggs in total. The eggs are stuck to the leaves with a glue like substance made in the butterfly's body. Each butterfly will lay all of her eggs in one patch of milkweed. Even though a large number of eggs will be laid on the leaves, only 1% of these will survive to adulthood. 

After an egg is laid on the leaf, it will take only 3-4 days for the caterpillar inside to hatch. Monarch caterpillars feed only on milkweed plants! Milkweed sap (the white 'milk-like' substance contains a toxin. When the caterpillars feed on this, they become toxic to predators. This trait continues even when they reach the adult butterfly stage. This helps the monarchs protect themselves. If you’ve never seen these cute caterpillars they are hairless and are easily recognized by their yellow, white, and black stripes. 

 

They certainly are very hungry caterpillars! They can eat a whole milkweed leaf in only 5 minutes! These little creatures will grow 2,700 times their size in two weeks. Then they are big enough to enter into their next stage of life...

 

 

 

When they're big enough it is time for a change and the caterpillars form a chrysalis. This will be their home for the next 8-15 days.

What’s going on inside the chrysalis? This is where the caterpillar turns into a butterfly. The caterpillar actually becomes a soupy liquid! The caterpillar's enzymes actually breakdown the caterpillar. Inside the caterpillar's cells is DNA (a set of building instructions that lives in all the caterpillars cells, and the cells of every living thing!). It is very complex, but the DNA tells the caterpillar's body to reassemble into a butterfly's body structure.

 

When this complex process is finished, a brand new Monarch butterfly will emerge from the chrysalis. It breaks free and adjust slowly, similar to the way other animals hatch from an egg. The Monarch will sit for sometime as it gathers strength and waits to test out its new wings. 

 

After emerging, the Monarch will gather nectar as food from a variety of plants, including milkweed. Remember our blog on Pollination? Monarchs are pollinators! Eventually it will be time for the Monarch butterfly to begin one of the most epic migrations on planet earth!!

What is Migration?

Migration is when a group of animals (sometimes individually and sometimes together, like a flock of birds) moves with the seasons from one place to another. Animals often migrate to places where it is safer to raise young, where there is more food seasonally, or so they can live in warmer/cooler temperatures.

At this time of year, Monarchs make their way down to Mexico. They will fly there in one generation. This means the butterflies that make the fall migration fly the whole route and live for 8 months, compared to other times of the year when they live 3-5 weeks. This also means that the butterflies you see leaving here are the same ones that make it all the way to the Sierra Madre mountains, west of Mexico City. These butterflies will fly 4,000 km to reach their final destination! The butterflies that come back to Canada next summer are the great-great grandchildren of the ones who arrived in Mexico!

Scientists are still unsure how these insects know where to go. Do they use the sun like a map? Or do they have their own internal magnetic compass?

 

Monarch butterflies in Trouble

Monarch butterflies are not doing very well. Their population is declining and there are several reasons why including climate change, habitat loss, and pesticide use. There are simple ways we can all help the Monarch butterfly survive:

• Do not use pesticides and insecticides: these chemicals do not target just one species.
• Plant native species – for a local list see gbbr.ca/conservation-guides
• Let it grow! If you frequently mow large swaths of grass, try reducing the space you cut by a quarter or even half. You’ll be surprised at the wildflowers that pop up!
• Never purchase Monarch butterflies. There is overwhelming consensus that captive-bred Monarchs from commercial butterfly farms are not a healthy way to help the population.
• Avoid bringing Monarch chrysalis indoors to pupate; be sure to follow Safe Rearing Instructions from conservation organizations, and use an enclosed outdoor space.
• Limit your consumption of avocados and avocado oil, or buy FairTrade. Avocado demand is increasing illegal logging in Monarch overwintering habitat.
• Read GBBR's guide: Memengwanh, The Monarch Butterfly: A Guide for Eastern Georgian Bay.
• Share your knowledge with others, so be a Monarch champion! They need our help.

Activity: Butterfly Kites

Materials: A sheet of scrap paper, ruler, pencil, string or yarn, stapler and a hole punch.

 

1. First fold paper in half (like a hamburger not a hot dog).

 

2. Measure Point A  2.5 inches (6.4 cm) from the fold and make a small mark with you pencil here. Then mark a second point, Point B, 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) from the fold. Again, mark Point B with your pencil.

3. Decorate each half like a butterfly wing. You can decorate each half like a monarch butterfly's wings, or like another species of butterfly. Or, you can design your own butterfly!

4. Unfold the paper, take two corners and staple them at point A on both  sides. 

 

5. Punch a hole at point B and tie the long string to the kite.

6. Take your kite outside on a windy day and have FUN! 🦋🦋🦋

The Coolest Hummers

Meet the tiniest bird in the Biosphere, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird! These amazing little creatures have a lot of attitude and determination, despite their size. We’ve got no time to waste! Let’s get going with some fast facts on the Ruby-throated Hummingbird! 

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP HUMMINGBIRDS

GBBR's office has a pollinator garden! 
Photo: Mackenzie Ruffo

    1. Hummingbirds like to perch in trees – especially deciduous trees like maples and oaks. If you have trees in your yard, hummingbirds will feel more comfortable visiting! 

     2. Plant a pollinator garden! Hummingbirds like to eat nectar from different species of flowers. They also love to pick off little insects from plants. Here are a few favourite native flowers for the Ruby-throated hummingbird: 

• Wild columbine
  
• Cardinal flower
  
• Spotted jewelweed
  
• Bee balm (also called wild bergamot)    

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·     3. Keep your cats inside! Cats are a major threat to hummingbirds – especially when the hummingbirds are in torpor and are slow to respond to a sneaky cat. If your cat really, really wants to go outside, put them on a leash and supervise them in your yard. Or, build them an outdoor “catio” (a cat patio)!

·     4. Interested in setting up a hummingbird feeder? Here are some basics: 

• Get the recipe for hummingbird nectar here. Remember to use regular white sugar and hot or boiled water! 

  

  Hummingbird visiting a feeder (in the Georgian Bay Biosphere!).
  Photo credit: Tianna Burke
  

  
  
• If you want to feed hummingbirds you have to make sure you are feeding them safely! Change the nectar in the feeder every 3 or 4 days. If you let the nectar sit out too long it will spoil and make the hummingbirds sick. Don’t fill the feeder all the way up if the hummingbirds aren’t using all the nectar within 3 or 4 days. This way you do not waste nectar.
• Hang the feeder at least 1 metre off the ground to keep it out of reach of any stray cats. (Not your cat though, because you keep your cat indoors, on a leash, or in a catio)
• Put the feeder in a shady spot (like near a tree). Keep it at least a metre away from your window so that hummingbirds don’t crash into your window and get hurt!

·      5.  For more information on how to attract hummingbirds to your yard, check out this webpage from the National AudubonSociety. 

COOL STUFF

A National Geographic post by hummingbirdresearcher Anusha Shankar: what it’s like to be a hummingbird researcher, including why it’s helpful to study hummingbird pee! 

 CRITTER CRAFT: Make a Pom-Pom Hummingbird

You will need: 

- 2 pom-poms for the hummingbird's body

-2 eyes (googly eyes or buttons work well!)

-1 or 2 pipe cleaners for the feet and tail

-2 wings cut out from felt or fabric

-1 toothpick painted or coloured black for the beak

-craft glue

How to make your hummingbird:

1.    Start by gluing the wings to the top of one pom-pom. On the end of the same pom-pom, glue on the tail.
2.    Let the glue dry, then gently flip the “body” pom-pom over and glue on the feet.
3.    As the glue dries, glue the beak and eyes onto the other pom-pom to make the hummingbird’s head. You might need to trim the toothpick beak if it’s too long.
4.    Once the head and body are both DRY, you can glue the head pom-pom onto the body pom-pom.
5.    Once it is dry you are done! Let us know in a comment what you named your hummingbird!

Blog by Kayla Martin for the Georgian Bay Biosphere. Cartoons by Kayla Martin. 2020

Meet the Meteors!

Have you ever made a wish on a falling star? Did you wish for a helpful Kids in the Biosphere blog post about what falling stars really are? I hope so! Let’s meet the meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites… otherwise known as shooting or falling stars! And at the end of the blog you’ll find out how to see an amazing meteor shower in the next week or so! 

What's the Difference?

A meteoroid is a chunk of rock in outer space. It can be tiny like a grain of sand or big like a house. Anything much larger is usually called either an asteroid or a comet (bigger space rocks). Nearly all meteoroids form when they break off comets or asteroids. Bits and pieces break off when big space rocks pass by the sun, which is of course very, very hot. These big space rocks leave a bunch of little meteoroids in their paths… almost like footprints! As the Earth orbits around the sun, it sometimes passes through a path of a space rock. When this happens, the Earth encounters lots of meteoroids which are sometimes visible to us.

Figure modified from Chaisson & McMillon: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe

If a meteoroid gets really close to the Earth, it might enter the Earth’s atmosphere (the sky). Remember that there is no atmosphere in outer space. This means the “sky” in space has none of the gases that make up what we call “air”. With no air, humans can’t breathe in space! This is why astronauts must wear special space suits that have a long tube to pump air from a spacecraft into the astronaut’s suit.

When a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere it is called a meteor. The meteor encounters all the gases we have around the Earth, and the friction that builds up creates a lot of heat (see box 1 – rubbing hands to create heat). All this heat makes the meteor burn up and glow. This is what we see when we see a “falling star”. In general, the bigger the meteoroid, the brighter and longer-lasting the meteor.

If a meteor is pretty big it might not fully burn up, and it might make it all the way down to the Earth’s surface. We now call it a meteoroid. Most meteoroids are tiny like pebbles because large meteors break apart as they burn up and fall to the Earth. More than 40,000 meteoroids have been found on Earth! Usually scientists look for meteorites out in deserts because it is much easier to see a rock when the only other thing on the ground is sand or ice!

Scientists in Antarctica study a meteorite. Credit: NASA

So, are you excited about meteor showers yet? I hope so, because right now Earth is passing through the path of a big space rock called the Swift-Tuttle Comet, meaning you have a chance to witness a meteor shower! This meteor shower is called the Perseids (“per-say-ids”) because you can see lots of meteors near the constellation called Perseus. And the peak of this year’s Perseids meteor shower is August 11^th and 12^th! Check out the METEOR WATCHING activity below!  

ACTIVITY: Watch a Meteor Shower!

The Perseids are a great meteor shower to watch because they peak in August, when nights aren't too chilly here in the Biosphere! The Perseids are active from July 17 to August 24, but the best days are August 11th and 12th. During this "peak", the Earth passes through the middle of the Swift-Tuttle comet's path, so you have the best chances for seeing awesome meteors! You might see around 40 meteors per hour! Follow these tips below to watch a meteor shower show! 

• Make a list in your Nature Notebooks of different wishes you'd like to make when you see a meteor (even if it's not actually a falling star, it's still fair to wish on one!).

• Pick a clear, cloudless night for meteor-watching! Did you know that meteors still happen during the day? It's just that it's hard to see them. This is why we watch for meteors at night.

• Dress warmly -- it can get chilly at night! Remember to bring blankets and maybe a hot drink (hot chocolate, anyone?).

• Find a place away from lights. This will make it easier to see fainter meteors. Perhaps you can find a nice spot by the shore of a lake or Georgian Bay, away from the lights of towns and cottages.

• Find a place where you have a wide open view of the night sky. Now you have a better chance of seeing meteors all across the night sky. 

• Lay back on a recliner chair or lay on flat ground (this is where a pillow and blanket come in handy!). You'll get a much better view of the whole sky this way.

• Try to go out when the moon is low in the sky. The moon adds brightness and makes it harder to see meteors. This year during the Perseids, the moon will be rising around midnight. See if you can watch for meteors after dusk but before the moon rises, as the sky will be a little darker. 

• Be patient! It can take your eyes several minutes to adjust to the dark. Soon you should be able to see thousands of stars... and hopefully some meteors!

Blog By Kayla Martin, August 2020