Visit by Marilyn Light

We were very pleased to have Marilyn Light visit us for a couple of days in late July. Marilyn, who hails from Gatineau, PQ, is a member of the Canadian Orchid Congress and editor of Orchid Conservation News, the Newsletter of the Orchid Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. She is a friend and fellow orchid lover who also helped us with some technical items for our book. Marilyn is a passionate orchid researcher, and one of her current projects is the study of a moth (Paralobesia cypripediana) that only lays its eggs on the Showy Lady’s-slipper. Once the egg hatches the tiny caterpillar bores a hole in the ovary (seed pod) of the plant and consumes the seeds inside until it reaches a certain size and is ready to pupate. She showed Richard and I how to find the damage on the ovary and then find the egg cases on the back of the dorsal sepal — fascinating! Marilyn was thrilled to walk the Brokenhead Trail and is writing an article for the IUCN Orchid Newsletter.