109/150: This little brown bat may be gone soon! That means more mosquitoes biting you!

Animalia: Chordata: Mammalia: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae: Myotinae: Myotis: Myotis lucifugus (LeConte, 1831)

The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) was once a common species around North America but is now considered Endangered and protected federally in Canada under the Species at Risk Act. The little brown bats are insectivores that are 6-10 cm long, weigh 5-14 grams and live for 6 to 7 years. They are nocturnal and can be found roosting in attics and barns during the summer months and in winter they hibernate in caves or mines. Continue reading “109/150: This little brown bat may be gone soon! That means more mosquitoes biting you!”

101/150: Not a banana, not a mango, it’s a pawpaw fruit!

Plantae: Magnoliophyta: Magnoliopsida: Magnoliales: Annonaceae: Asimina: Asimina triloba Linnaeus, Dunal

What do you get when you cross the taste of a banana with the look and texture of a mango? A pawpaw fruit! Believe it or not, the tropical-looking pawpaw tree, which is native to North America, gives the largest tree berry in all of North America. When blossoming, the common pawpaw (Asimina tribola) can give off an unpleasant odour. Continue reading “101/150: Not a banana, not a mango, it’s a pawpaw fruit!”

61/150: Some caterpillars love to eat insects!

animalia: Arthropoda: Insecta: Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Miletinae: Feniseca: Feniseca tarquinius (Fabricius, 1793)

When thinking of a typical caterpillar, you may picture one happily munching away on leaves. Not all caterpillars, however, feed on plants. The caterpillars of the harvester butterfly (Feniseca tarquinius) are actually insectivorous, meaning they feed on insects. Continue reading “61/150: Some caterpillars love to eat insects!”