Sax-Zim Bog BioBlitz VII Wrap-up July 20,2019
SAX-ZIM BOG BIOBLITZ VII WRAP-UP July 20,2019
Early rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of over 50 participants who explored Sax-Zim from top to bottom on Saturday. The weather just kept getting better throughout the day and it was hard to come back from the field! But everyone did return and it was so much fun to hear about all the group’s finds and adventures. Preliminary results show that we DOCUMENTED OVER 660 SPECIES of flora and fauna! Amazingly, this is about 45% of our entire Master List of 1500 species!
St. Lawrence Tiger Moth 
American Toad 
Fringed Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) 
Northern Crescent 
Brown Wasp Mantidfly is named for its technique of folding its front grasping legs like a true Mantis 
Purple Fringed Orchid along Dart Road 
Orange-spotted Beetle (Brachiacanthus sp.) 
Shamrock Orbweaver (Araneus trifolium) 
Confused Haploa moth 
Lacewing larva 
Parasitic fly 
Dion Skipper along Lake Nichols Road 
Larinioides cornutus orbweaver 
Male Goldenrod Crab Spider 
Ragged Fringed Orchid 
Only a few Spotted Coralroots still in bloom at Cotton School Forest 
Gene Kremer and crew identifying fungi 
Gene Kremer and crew identifying fungi 
Murphy Steininger collected aquatic critters and shares them with the group 
Butterfly leader Jerry MacCormack shares highlights of the day 
Clinton with the first Zebra Clubtail specimen in the Bog 
Brown Wasp Mantidfly is named for its technique of folding its front grasping legs like a true Mantis 
Aquatic critters including Giant Water Bug and Dra 
Front view of St. Lawrence Tiger Moth 
Dragonfly and Aquatic Insect field trip along the St. Louis River in Zim 
Brady admires a River Jewelwing damselfly
HUGE THANKS to all our volunteer Field trip leaders included fungi (Gene Kremer), aquatic insects (Murphy Steininger), birds (Jim Lind), butterflies (Jerry McCormack), moths (Kristina Dexter and Clinton), insects and spiders (Sparky Stensaas), flora (Kelly Beaster), aquatic flora (Ethan Perry), insects (Dr. Tim Craig), bumble bees (Tony), flora (Otto Gockman), dragonflies/damselflies (Clinton Nienhaus).
Here is a rough breakdown of the 660 species:
BIRDS 76 species (White-winged Crossbills in many spots, Red Crossbills, 5 raptor species, close to 12 warblers, LeConte’s Sparrow, Sandhill Cranes with colt, Black-billed Cuckoo, Long-eared Owl, American Woodcock);
SPIDERS 23 species (so far! Military Jumping Spider, Shamrock Orbweaver, Six-spotted Fishing Spider, lots of Clubionid sp, etc);
INSECTS around 75 species so far (Orange-spotted Beetle (Brachiacantha sp.), Brown Wasp Mantisfly, ant-mimic nymphs of Broad-headed Bugs, Candy-striped Leafhopper etc) Patches of blooming Milkweed were the hotspot for spiders and bugs;
BUMBLE BEE 7 species (with at least 3 new to the list!);
FUNGI 13 species (so far ID more to come in the next few days as spore prints get made etc);
BUTTERFLIES 29 species! (Acadian and Striped Hairstreaks, Dion Skipper, Compton’s Tortoiseshell, Delaware Skipper, Dorcas Copper, Monarchs, etc);
MOTHS 104 species so far (12 new to the list including Formosa Looper, we had 4 Polyphemus Moths, 2 St. Lawrence Tigers, 3-4 Virgin Tigers, 7 Modest Sphinx, Elegant Prominent, Confused Haploa, etc); The moth crew of Kristina Dexter, Clinton Nienhaus, Jessica Dexter and Ben Yokel stayed up a good chunk of the night to monitor their black light and sheets for moths.
DRAGONFLIES/DAMSELFLIES 20 species (Dragonhunter, Zebra Clubtail (dead), Williamson’s Emerald as highlights);
AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES 6 species (Spring Peeper, Wood and Mink frog, American Toad, Gartersnake, Red bellied Snake);
MAMMALS 9 species (plus moose tracks and wolf scat, Sliver-haired Bat new to list);
FLORA 300-plus species (Purple Fringed Orchid, Ragged Fringed Orchid, Green Adder’s-Mouth orchid, Fringed Loosestrife, rare underwater-blooming starwort, and many more!)
We had a drawing for 10 door prizes at the end…and I think we had 10 very happy winners! But everyone was a winner on this awesome day in the field! Hope to see you all in summer 2020!