Wildlife doesn’t always follow the rules, and despite their name, Red Squirrels are sometimes black. PEI has a higher-than-average number of black-furred Red Squirrels (such as this one photographed by Dave Campbell), so let’s take a look at this phenomenon! In mammals, skin and hair colour are determined by how much and what type of melanin is produced. Genetics controls melanin production, and most individuals within a species have similar colours: for example, Skunks are

Right now, wildflowers are doing an amazing job of brightening up PEI’s spring landscape. Even bogs – habitats that go unnoticed most of the year – are putting on glorious displays of colourful Rhodora (Rhododendron canadense). Islanders are lucky enough to live in one of the few places in the world where we can enjoy Rhodora’s amazing spring show. While many of PEI’s native plants are also common in central and western Canada, or extend down the Atlantic coast of the US, R

With their tiny size, fearless personalities, and amazing agility, Hummingbirds capture our imaginations in a way few other birds can. PEI has only one species – the Ruby-throated Hummingbird – and their time with us is as short as an Island summer: from roughly Mother’s Day to Labour Day. Hummingbirds are creatures of extremes. They’re our smallest birds by far, weighing just a few grams (or about as much as a Canadian nickel); it would take more than 1,000 Ruby-throats to

I love flowering tree season on PEI. Right now, roadsides and hedgerows are alive with blossoms of Chokecherry, Pin Cherry, Hawthorne, Serviceberry and soon, the showiest of all: wild Apple. Unlike many of our other familiar fruit, Apples are not native to PEI. Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, and wild Cherries have all been here for thousands of years, but Apples were brought by the earliest settlers in the 1700s. Given the limited and unpredictable nature of wild

Perhaps it’s because there are so few blue plants, animals, or fungi in nature that they seem to really catch our attention. That is definitely true of this beautiful Oil Beetle (aka Short-winged Blister Beetle, Meloe angusticollis), photographed in eastern PEI earlier this month by Carla McKie. Oil Beetles get their name from oily, orange droplets that ooze from their joints when the beetles are threatened. That substance is haemolymph (insect blood), and it also gives the

They’re baaaack! Here in Central PEI, the first Hummingbird and the first June Bug arrived within a couple of days of each other last week. Most people look forward to seeing the tiny birds far more than they do the shiny insects, but what exactly are June Bugs anyway? Let’s take a look! “June Bug” is a general term used to refer to many different species in the Scarab Beetle Family (Scarabaeidae). The ones found most often on PEI are the native Phyllophaga anxia, although at

There’s one PEI plant that most people are very familiar with, but few have seen growing in its natural habitat: Eelgrass (Zostera marina). This is how most of us know Eelgrass: washed up along the shore. Eelgrass actually grows in extensive beds offshore as well as in our bays and estuaries, and – despite what you may think – it’s a true flowering plant and not a seaweed. Eelgrass has roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and vascular tissue (structures that move water and nutr

This is a great time of year to spot a PEI fungust that's best known as a disease of Cherry trees: Black Knot ( Apiosporina morbosa ). Black Knot fungus forms distinctive, black galls on stems and branches of our native Pin Cherry and Chokecherry, as well as ornamental Cherries and Plums. While it’s unattractive, reduces fruit production, and may kill the infected branch, Black Knot doesn’t usually kill the entire tree unless the infection is very severe. Within those black

One of PEI’s first botanical signs of spring are Pussy Willows ( Salix spp.). We have more than a dozen different Willows on the Island, but only one – Salix discolor – officially has the common name ‘Pussy Willow’. Willows are notoriously difficult to tell apart, but don’t worry: all our species are commonly called Pussy Willows this time of year so, right now, you can’t go wrong! Those soft, fuzzy balls are the male flower buds, called catkins. (Female catkins are sim

You may think there’s no old growth forest or wilderness on PEI, but that’s not true. We have amazing ancient and wild spaces if you know where to look and can recognize the signs. Lung Lichen ( Lobaria pulmonaria ) is one of those signs. A lichen is a unique creature: usually, it’s a combination of a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium functioning as one organism. But Lung Lichen is one PEI’s few tripartite lichens: it includes a fungus, a green alga, and a cyanobacter

Some PEI wildlife signs are subtle, while others are hard to miss! These are the unmistakable holes of a Pileated Woodpecker. Pileated Woodpeckers are roughly crow-sized birds, with black bodies, white stripes down their necks, white patches on their wings (visible in flight), and a dramatic red crest on their heads. If you can imagine Woody Woodpecker, you’ll be in the ballpark: the Pileated Woodpecker is said to have been the inspiration for that cartoon character. Th

We’ve looked at needle-leaved and broadleaved trees this winter but standing and fallen dead trees make enormous contributions to PEI’s forests, too! Trees die naturally from a variety of causes: old age, disease, insects, fire, weather damage, or environmental stress, among others. The death of a tree is part of the life of a forest and is necessary for the survival of everything from plants, lichens, and fungi to insects, birds, and mammals. Insects such as Bark Beet

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

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

Pop quiz: what’s the largest winter wildlife track you’ll find on PEI? Coyote is our largest animal, so that would be a reasonable – but wrong – guess. Snowshoe Hare’s hind feet are pretty big, but not the largest. The honour goes to an animal you may not have thought of: the Bald Eagle. When identifying bird tracks, toe arrangement is a helpful starting clue. Here we see three long toes pointing forward and one long toe pointing back, in what’s called the classic (aka ani

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

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Not all mushrooms have the cap-and-stem look we tend to expect, and today’s species is a well-named example of a different format: meet Orange Peel Fungus ( Aleuria aurantia ). Orange Peel Fungus is one of the cup fungi, similar to the Scarlet Elfcup we looked at last spring (you can find it here: https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/scarlet-elf-cups ). Orange Peel Fungus’ most eye-catching feat

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 has more than 30 native, wild plants with edible berries, but here’s one of the lesser-known: Bearberry ( Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ). Bearberry doesn’t compete taste-wise with some of our other wild fruit. Raw, the berries are dry and bland (but that’s probably just as well, because too many raw berries can have a laxative effect). Cooking improves their flavour and texture, and Bearberries make pleasant preserves, interesting additions to soups or stews, and excellent

This fall, we’ve been exploring some of PEI’s least-common trees, including Balsam Poplar, Ironwood, and Jack Pine. Today it’s one many people haven’t even heard of: Bog Birch ( Betula pumila ). We often think of Birch as among the majestic trees of PEI’s early forests. Nineteenth century writers told of Yellow Birch ( Betula alleghaniensis ) three to four feet in diameter, and it was said that Mi’kmaq people were able to make a six-person canoe from the bark of a single Wh