Insect and Butterfly Field Trips Ontario

What is amazing is that learning about "bugs" attracts people!

An insect safari  is the only safari that will guarantee seeing wildlife. To travel through a forest or meadow with an entomologist ( a bug man) is to discover a new world of life. To do a bug hunt safari you have to get out of the rafts and into the meadows along the Grand River Valley.

In the middle of the day when the sun is the warmest and brightest.... the adventure begins with butterfly nets sweeping the meadows. The captured insects are identified using entomology books... then released.

Then there is "Beetle Mania... you can flip rocks for big black ground beetles... turn over a dead carcass for carrion beetles... check out the grapevines for grape vine beetles or check out a cow pie for the dung beetles. Then there are the iridescent Tiger Beetles... bright green. 

Long Horn Beetle on the left and a Green Darner Dragonfly on the right

On the river one quickly sees the difference betwen a dragonfly and a damsel fly. A dragon fly sits with its wings out ... while the damsel fly folds its wings behind. The Damsel flies have colours of red, green, black, blue... again iridescent. The good news is they eat mosquitoes, not humans!

Bugs are the highlight of our night paddles in June-July. The Lightning Bug or what many call the "firefly" turns the valley into a forest of twinkling lights. There is also our Moth Night Safari Adventure.

At Grand River Rafting we are fortunate to have Steve Ogborne teaching insects and butterflies. A 4-5 hour bug safari with Steve is $175.00 per group plus tax for up to 24 students plus chaperons. This adventure is probably one of the most unique learning adventures in the Grand River Valley... an unknown world. 

 The Blue Spotted Purple Butterfly on the left and the Question Mark Butterfly on the right.

When the plants are in flower... the types of butterflies will vary with the flora that is in bloom. Like when the hackberry tree is in leaf, the "Hackberry Butterfly suddenly appears.

The big Black Swallowtails are in abundance when the wild carrot or Queen Anne’s Lace is in bloom. The big Yellow Tiger Swallowtails are abundant in July hovering over the springs along the banks of the Grand River. There are Giant Swallowtails which were non-existent 5 years ago now appearing in the valley.

Then there are the small pretty blue Azures that appear in mid spring. But the first butterfly is Ontario's hibernating butterfly called the Morning Cloak which is blackish-brown with pale yellow banding on lower wings... they tend to winter under logs. The other hibernator is the Tortoise Shell which is black & reddish orange.

The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly on the left and the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on the right.

In the late summer early fall the Monarchs appear and then migrate... they come from the zebra-looking caterpillar on milkweed. Then there is the Viceroy which mimics the Monarch as a defense mechanism, because birds don't like the taste of Monarchs.

Here is another link to butterfly photos and features.