John never stops looking at nature, and this week is no different.
This week, we learn about good manners when it comes to fireflies and reminders to look for dragonflies, damselflies and galls.
Please note as schools let out for the summer, we become more and more hungry for reports for our Phenology Talkbacks segment. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your observations, nature tales and insights! Get in touch with me (smitchell@kaxe.org), John Latimer (jlatimer@kaxe.org), or text "phenology" to 218-326-1234.
Nature's fireworks
As John Latimer says, it’s probably obvious, but July is the month of summer.
July is the hottest month. And July is the month with the greatest opportunities to get outside and enjoy the wonderful, sparkly world we live in.
Besides the Fourth of July fireworks, there are dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies and fireflies.
John recommends keeping the kids up late for the traditional fireworks, but also for the more subtle fireworks of fireflies.
If you go out around 10 or 10:30 p.m., you'll see flashes of the fireflies as they communicate about where they are and what they have in mind.
First, the females find a spot where they will be observed. They flash their signal and if a male comes by, he will flash in return.
Male fireflies are the ones flying, while females are pretty sedentary. It’s fun to watch fireflies or even catch a few.
But remember, John says, they’re not going to survive very long in your possession, even if you keep them in a jar. They need what nature can provide for them.
“My theory is, catch a bunch of them, have a lot of fun, show them off to your friends, and then turn them all loose, because that's what will be best for all of us in the end,” John says.
After all, they will be back next year.
Butterflies
So many monarchs.
Marshall Helmberger of the Timberjaynewspaper reported on a spike in monarch caterpillars on milkweed plants in northeastern Minnesota. Helmberger said he views this as evidence that individual efforts of people who care about this remarkable insect are making a difference.
We will be learning a lot more about monarchs on the Tuesday, July 11, edition of the KAXE Morning Show. We will talk with Wendy Caldwell, executive director of the Monarch Joint Venture. She will help us understand the annual life cycle and journey from Mexico to Minnesota and back and what is behind the bumper crop of monarchs this year.
Are you seeing a lot of monarch caterpillars? Let us know!
Critters (and by critters we mean dragonflies and damselflies!)
One of the dragonflies that is out now is the twelve-spotted skimmer. These are large dragonflies, probably 3 or 3 1/2 inches long. The male’s wings are spotted with black and white spots, while the female’s wings have black spots only. They are out and flying in big numbers, John says.
While chalk-fronted corporals are in decline after a busy June, John says to check for the common whitetail and the spectacular damselfly as well. Also out there are big damselflies called the ebony jewelwing and its cousin, the river jewelwing. The bodies are about an inch and three-quarters long and iridescent sly blue or green, depending on how the light hits them, John says.
John covers a lot more, including goldenrod and swamp milkweed — make sure you listen to John’s weekly report above, and don’t forget to check out the galls on trees.
John talked throughout the Morning Show about how these living quarters for wasps or midges grow on trees. They’re hidden this time of the year but become visible in the fall.
That does it for this week! For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
