If you think the best thing about a PEI winter is the absence of insects, I have bad news for you: this is peak season for some of our invertebrates! Carla McKie recently sent me this photo of one the creepie-crawlies on the snow in Rock Barra, wondering what they might be. They are Winter Stoneflies, also known as Willowflies ( Taeniopterygidae Family).   At first glance, you might think this is an Earwig out for a mid-winter stroll. Like Earwigs, Winter Stoneflies have six

Tracks and scat may be the most common signs of PEI wildlife, but they are not the only ones. Other examples include dens, nests, cavities, caches, browse, and this very cool adaptation: eyeshine.   Not all animals have eyeshine, but those that do have a special membrane called the tapetum lucidum (Latin for bright tapestry) behind the retina – the light-sensitive part of the eye. Light passes through the retina and is reflected off the tapetum lucidum back to the light sourc

Last month, I posted about the advantages and disadvantages of multi-year needles versus annual broad leaves on trees (You can read about that here: https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/conifer-adaptations ). Some of you asked about Eastern Larch, a tree with a foot in each world. Let’s take a look!   Keeping needles all winter does have a price: it allows snow to build up on the tree, placing tremendous weight on its branches. This can cause branches to break, or entire trees to

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Jeff Matheson sent me this wonderful photo of blue resin on the side of a spruce tree and was curious about the unusual colour. Let’s take a look!   First, it’s useful to know the difference between sap and resin (sometimes called pitch). All trees have sap, and it’s analogous to blood in animals: it carries water, sugar, nutrients, minerals, and hormones throughout the tr

Snow on spruce trees is a hallmark of the Canadian winter. While most PEI plants lose their leaves or disappear altogether as temperatures drop, you may not have thought about how and why conifers take a different approach. Today, we take a look!     Broad-leaved trees like Maple, Beech, and Birch produce big leaves with huge surface areas that are very efficient at catching sunlight and turning it into food for the tree. Even if those leaves didn’t freeze, they lose water an

Few PEI scenes are more beautiful than frosty winter mornings like the one we had last week. Under certain conditions, ice crystals coat trees, twigs, and fence lines, turning the landscape into something magical. We call this ‘hoar frost’, but there are actually two very different types of ice that cause this phenomenon. Let’s take a look!   ‘Hoar’ is an old word for feathery white, like a beard. It’s an apt description for the delicate, feathery ice crystals that form true

It’s been a busy year: more than 100 educational posts on the plants, fungi, and wildlife of PEI; 79 in-person events at 25 locations across the province; and one popular new book! I sincerely thank the more than 2,000 people who attended my public walks and talks, the 17,500 who follow me on Facebook and Instagram, everyone who visits this website, and all those who took the time to like, comment, or share my posts. I’m truly grateful to each of you for supporting this work.

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Today we have an insect that people often mistake for a fungus. Meet Woolly Alder Aphids ( Prociphilus tessellatus ).   From a distance, Woolly Aphids do look like some sort of fluffy, fungal mould on the branch of a tree. But take a closer look and you’ll see that those fuzzy clusters are actually dozens – sometimes hundreds – of individual insects crowded together.   The

PEI’s shores are full of interesting finds, including holey rocks like this one. At first glance, you may think this stone was shaped by waves and tides, but the creators of these holes are biological, not physical. Rocks like this are sometimes called witches’ stones, hag stones, or adder stones, although those terms are more commonly applied only if one or more of the holes passes all the way through. According to legend, witches’ stones bring good luck by letting only good

One of PEI’s most common trees is Poplar, aka Trembling Aspen ( Populus tremuloides ). The ‘trembling’ name comes from the habit of this...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI.  I recently received this...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI! I was thrilled to get this photo...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI! Today’s topic comes from my own...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Today’s topic is courtesy of...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Winter is great time to spot...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI! Today’s topic is courtesy of...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. I’ve had a few questions about...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist: your own personal “Google” for information on all things natural on PEI.  Judging by the more than 50...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist: your own personal “Google” for information on all things natural on PEI. Summer is peak season for...

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist: your own personal “Google” for information on all things natural on PEI.  I’ve been getting lots of...