Spruce Sawyer / Spruce Longhorned Beetle

Such a pity that this large beetle has lost most of one of its very long antennae. Mae, thanks so much for standing still so patiently while I took a photo, without even knowing what large insect had landed on you! I am not sure, but I think this may be a White Spotted Sawyer. According to BugGuide.net, the scutellum is white. “(Scutellum is the little triangle at the front of the elytra, or wing covers.)” The number of other white spots can vary widely. It can have only the scutellum spot or it can be heavily dappled.

"“Sawyer” is used in its original meaning as one who saws wood. According to the Royal Alberta Museum website, “The larvae make enough noise when chewing their way through the wood that it sounds like a distant saw, hence the name.” (Apparently they sometimes snack on log cabins!)

They can bite but according to the Royal Alberta Museum website they rarely do and they don’t secrete any poisons or weird digestive enzymes they just pinch."

naturalcrooks.com/rambles/ontario-long-horned-beetle-not-...

For now, I am going to add the description I posted under my photos from a previous visit to this amazing place. I will add a few changes to go with our latest visit. If/when I have the energy, I can always post a different version to describe this visit. Right now, I feel overwhelmed with all the information I have about the Akesi Farms and the most enjoyable time we spent there.

www.fungiakuafo.com/

"On 3 July 2015, four of us were lucky enough to visit and botanize the farm belonging to Meghan Vesey and Kwesi Haizel. This 53 acre farm, Akesi Farms, is a 90 minute drive from downtown Calgary and is near the town of Sundre, NW of Calgary. It is permaculture based with future crops of eggs, mushrooms, fruits and nuts! Hard to believe that this beautiful place has only belonged to this young, hardworking, enthusiastic couple since November 2014. A tremendous amount of work, thought and planning has already gone into adding to what was already there, with a little help from family and friends.

Meghan walked with us to show us the different parts of the acreage - forest and grassland. Everything seen was listed, including plants, birds, fungi, insects, animals and so on. This list will then be given to Meghan and Kwesi, along with any photos taken while we were there for the day. We are always happy to visit someone's land and compile a very detailed list of our findings for them. It's always a win/win situation - we enjoy what we are doing and love to explore a new location, and the owner ends up with a record of what was found on their property.

There are several wooden buildings on their property, including this large, fine barn which I had been longing to see. As you can see from this photo, the weather was beautiful, though still much too hot for me. Having been out on several outdoor trips recently in very hot weather, as well as being home in a place that felt like an oven, I really was not feeling all that great yesterday and perhaps did a bit too much walking.

I do have to also mention that we had the company of their three gorgeous dogs and one cat. As for the cat, she followed us when we were walking around one of the ponds near the house, obviously hunting for "something". At one point, she disappeared a short way up one of the trees, only to come flying out of it a few seconds later. Judging by her behaviour afterwards, I suspected she had been stung in the eye by one of the bees and, sure enough, that's what had happened, poor thing.

We were treated royally when we sat down outside to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate a delicious lunch of different salads and goodies - and cold lemonade that was more than welcome! Thank you so much, Meghan, Kwesi and Meghan's mother, Maurita, for all the work you put into preparing this feast for us - most generous! We all wish you the very best with your endeavours. With such hard work and obvious enthusiasm, I'm sure you will do well.

On the way back to Calgary, we stopped and walked down to the Elkton Bog. I had been there before, maybe a couple of times. We wanted to see how wet or dry the area was, at the same time seeing a few plants including carnivorous Sundew and Cotton Grass. I knew I would be so disappointed if I hadn't gone and the others had seen Sundew. This little toad was seen - I think it's a Western Toad. This walk on extremely uneven ground (and very wet in many places) finished me off for the day - I was utterly, totally, completely exhausted!!"