Summary (ZL): In late summer 2007 and 2008, two 14-day field surveys for plants and invertebrates were organized by the Friends of the Green Horse Society with funding provided to the FGHS by ExxonMobil Canada, Ltd. The survey work was conducted by Zoe Lucas, Paul Catling and Bill Freedman, and found 17 insects that are additions to the inventory of invertebrate species recorded on Sable Island:
Coleoptera (4 species):
- ground beetle (Carabus maeander)
- aquatic beetle (Haliplus cribrarius)
- hister beetle (Spilodiscus arcuatus)
- Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)
Hemiptera (2 species):
- stink bug (Apateticus bracteatus)
- Thread-legged Bug (Barce fraterna)
Homoptera (3 species):
- leafhopper (Muirodelphax arvensis)
- Bespeckled Leafhopper (Paraphlepsius irroratus)
- Sharpnosed Leafhopper (Scaphytopius acutus)
Hymenoptera (1 species):
- sweat bee (Lasioglossum novascotiae) *
Lepidoptera (5 species):
- Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
- White Eulithis (Eulithis explanata)
- Double Lobed Moth (Lateroligia ophiogramma)
- Lycophotia Moth (Lycophotia phyllophora)
- Red-fronted Emerald (Nemoria rubrifrontaria)
Orthoptera (2 species):
- Slender Meadow Katydid (Conocephalus fasciatus)
- Round-tipped Cone-headed Grasshopper (Neoconocephalus retusus)
The occurrence of the Cone-headed Grasshopper on Sable Island indicates that storms may transport even large insects over substantial distances. The increasing numbers of Monarch Butterflies observed on Sable Island may be part of a trend toward the northward movement of migratory insects.
* This bee species was previously collected on Sable Island as early as 1989, by Barry Wright (Nova Scotia Museum), but specimens were identified as Lasioglossum lineatulum.
