NEWCASTLE -- Recently a group of bug enthusiasts joined naturalist James Kamstra on a walk through the Samuel Wilmot Nature Area to take a closer look at the many insects and wildlife which inhabit the area.

The main focus of the guided tour was to learn about the Monarch butterfly as it prepares to head south for the winter. Monarch butterflies are well-known for their lengthy annual migrations each fall from Canada to Mexico (and vice-versa in the spring) without losing their way for about 5,000 kilometres. As the length of these trips exceeds by far the lifetime of any given butterfly, it is strictly a one-way trip for each butterfly.

With nets and viewing jars in hand both children and adults learned what the definition of a true "bug" was and how to catch a butterfly properly and hold it with no harm.

It wasn't long before the first monarch was caught and the lesson began. Holding the butterfly by its body, Mr. Kamstra asks, "How do you tell if a monarch is male or female?"

As a very curious group looks on, no one can tell. "See these black dots on the hind wings? These are called scent glands; this is a male. Monarchs are poisonous, birds won't eat them."

Mr. Kamstra explained that monarchs get their poison from milk weed. As caterpillars they eat a lot of milk weed. That is why Monarch caterpillars are very colourful as there is no risk of being eaten. And as butterflies they continue to be very beautiful, because the poison stays with them.

During the walk many butterflies and moths were caught, all camouflaged well with the grasses, flowers and trees -- ideal if you don't want to be bird bait. One butterfly called a Viceroy looks identical to a monarch. Well almost, the difference being an extra band at the tip of its wing. Unlike the monarch, the viceroy is not poisonous, it pretends to be one so it won't become lunch.

Sometimes it was hard to see if there were any bugs at all. Mr. Kamstra demonstrated a trick to catch bugs called sweeping. Simply take your net and walk through the grass sweeping your net through the brush. After a few minutes he emptied his bug collection on a white cloth.

There were some aphids, spiders, different types of beetles and a couple of inch worms. All were examined very carefully. Some bugs aren't indigenous to our area. They have been introduced accidentally. Some come in on boats, in bilge water. Some, like the monarch, have an important role in our ecosystem. Milk weed invades; the monarch caterpillar's job is to control it.

A rather neat thing that was witnessed was a Monarch laying an egg on the underside of a milk weed leaf. "Monarchs lay one egg at a time," said Mr. Kamstra. "They are pretty much at the end of the egg-laying season; you will see caterpillars until mid-September."

We also learned monarchs are multi-brooded. Many insects are only one; they take one year for a whole life-cycle.

Before the first frost the milk weed starts to dry up. With their main food source gone, Monarchs head south.

It was apparent the children were having a very good time.

"I like to catch caterpillars and watch them grow, then (as butterflies) let them go," said Connor Rowe. "I once caught a black small tail caterpillar; it cocoons over the winter. It hatched during January and for a couple of months flew around our house. I am not sure if it died or is still there somewhere. It's also fun to feed a praying mantis bugs and watch them eat."

John Stoner, chairman of the Samuel Wilmot Creek Advisory Committee, would like this to be a yearly event.

"We are trying to build up interest in the area. There are walking paths. We are fundraising for a bike path. The committee is putting together a PowerPoint presentation for local schools to encourage donating volunteer hours."

The area is home to many migrating birds; loons, geese, purple martins and even a pair of mute swans with their young at the mouth of Wilmot Creek.

The Samuel Wilmot Nature Area is located between Bowmanville and Newcastle, just east of the Hwy. 35/115 interchange. Take Hwy. 2 to Cobbledick Road, and south to the end. You will find an orientation map showing the location of the creek, wetlands and trails, interpretive signs, viewing platform, benches and vegetation zones.

Wondering what is a true bug? A true bug has folding wings and a piecing tongue for sucking nectar. Now you know.