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

PEI has so many wild foods on offer in May: fiddleheads and nettle greens, burdock and primrose roots, morel mushrooms and pheasant’s backs, and so much more! Cat-tails (Typha latifolia) are versatile and easy to use, but it’s good to know how to tell them from a toxic plant of the same wet habitats: Blue-flag Iris (Iris versicolor). Cat-tails and Iris aren’t hard to tell apart in summer and fall, but it can be easy to confuse them where they grow side-by-side in spring (ma

One of my favourite PEI animals is seldom seen despite being fairly common: the Northern Flying Squirrel ( Glaucomys sabrinus ), shown here in a photo by Ron Serres (used with permission). Flying Squirrels are beautiful, large-eyed, soft-furred animals, with a flap of skin (called a ‘patagium’) running from wrists to ankles on each side. That flap allows them to glide 50 metres or more between trees in the forest and has been copied by the wingsuits used by some BASE jumpe

It’s breeding season for PEI’s wild canines, meaning foxes and coyotes are more active right now. Even if you haven’t seen (or heard) any in your neighbourhood, tracks will tell you who’s been around. Here’s my annual refresher on identifying fox, coyote, and dog tracks. You can check the Wildlife Tracks & Sign section of this blog for previous posts and additional photos of the features I look for. Too often, I see one-word answers to track ID questions online that are rea

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

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today’s species is both beautiful and delicious. Meet the Blewit ( Collybia nuda ). ‘Blewit’ is an odd-sounding name, and the most common explanation is that it’s a shortened form of ‘Blue Hat’, referring to the colour of younger specimens. That’s plausible, though I’m not entirely convinced: these mushrooms are more purple or lilac than blue (main photo). While distinctive, that colour is

Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today, it’s one of the most common and widespread...

On PEI, wild food is everywhere. While walking to a meeting in downtown Charlottetown recently, I spotted some delicious, edible...

PEI’s Magnolia trees ( Magnolia spp.) are putting on an amazing show right now (Photo 1). You’re likely familiar with the beautiful...

One of my favourite things about winter tracking is coming across a wildlife intersection: a spot used by a variety of animals. Often...