December 8th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Hairstreak Alley is actually the dirt track continuing from Route du Millrum in Grand Case, but I figured I would call it that because that’s where I found the new hairstreak butterfly the other day. I was back today to do some research on it and the plants where it feeds because preliminary analysis by a stateside entomologist seems to indicate that this would be the most northerly sighting of this butterfly, and it also may in fact be a new subspecies.

At any rate, since I spent a long time in essentially the same spot today I saw many new things. One was a very interesting green cricket with a red and white back, and several were spiders I had never seen before, including one that has similarities in body and web to the Argiope orb weavers that are so common here. Plus, of course, there were plenty of old friends. I also realized while doing captions for the photos below that the easiest way to look up the proper names is doing so in my own book, which is kind of cool.



December 5th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

I recently found out about a hiking group (SXM Trails on Facebook) that has been doing walks at different spots around the island for about ten years. This morning was my first trip with them. They start early (5:45am), which meant I started even earlier to walk to the meeting point in Colombier. I left at 4:45 and headed the back way through Friars’ Bay, which was a bit eerie, and quite dark because the moon wasn’t out. I ran into a large pig rummaging around the Friars’ Bay Beach Cafe.

It was actually still quite dark at the meeting time, but by the time everyone arrived and found parking the sun was coming up behind the mountains. Our route led from Colombier down Rue Loterie to Loterie Farm where we took trails up to the top of Pic Paradis. The beginning of the trail was especially nice because it led alongside a small stream. Some remains of the Sucrerie Loterie, including a couple large cauldrons and a well, were beside the trail partway up.

For the first hour or so, it was still dark enough and cool enough in the forested areas that there weren’t a lot of animals out and about. I did manage to find a couple caterpillars I’d never seen before and a bunch of familiar creatures. I was fortunate to get a ride home from Jesus, who recently came two votes from winning a council seat in the Dutch side elections. It was his first try, so I think that’s a pretty good start. Next week the walk will be from Hope Estate through Grand Case, around Bell Point and into Anse Marcel. Quite handy, since I won’t have to hike to get to the hike.



December 4th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

I’ve been out and about a bit lately, and it turns out there are still plenty of things I haven’t seen before on the island.

On a recent trip down the airport road I ran into some mangrove buckeye caterpillars, feeding on mangroves, of course. I also went up a small stream that runs down from the Hope Estate area. Due to the mining there, the stream bed is covered in mud from the runoff.

I’ve also been scouting out nearby Mont O’Reilly. I don’t know of any trails that lead up there, so I’ve been testing some ravines as possible paths to the top. One of the first places I tried was on the side facing Grand Case, off Rue Millrum. There were a couple ravines, but they weren’t exactly easy going. I did find a lovely spot on the road where loads of butterflies congregate in the evening to feed and sun. One of them was an unfamiliar hairstreak. When trying to look it up, it didn’t seem to match any of the Caribbean species. A mystery!

Next, I made a couple more attempts, including one starting from La Savane. Again, I made a fair amount of progress up some ravines I found, but there definitely doesn’t seem to be an easy way up there.



December 4th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

Here are a few photos of clouds, sunsets and whatnot. As always, the photos never come close to looking as wonderful as the real thing.



December 4th, 2010 by Marc AuMarc

November was not a big month for nocturnal insects, but there were a few new faces. Small, bright green grasshoppers showed up on the veranda for a couple nights. My favorite, however, was the Texas wasp moth, an arctiid that mimics a wasp that is known locally as the jack spaniard.