© 2024

For assistance accessing the Online Public File for KAXE or KBXE, please contact: Steve Neu, IT Engineer, at 800-662-5799.
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Science and Nature
KAXE Morning Show

Phenology Report: Rambunctious red squirrels and early-season butterflies

By Charlie Mitchell
Published March 14, 2024 at 2:34 PM CDT
An American red squirrel sits on a red pine branch in Saint Louis County on March 14, 2024.
Contributed
/
Courtney Celley/USFWS
An American red squirrel sits on a red pine branch in Saint Louis County on March 14, 2024.

Early-season butterflies

A Compton tortoiseshell butterfly sits on dry leaves in Northern Cass County on Feb. 26, 2022. It is a medium-sized orange-and-black checkered butterfly.
Contributed
/
Allison Barta via KAXE-KBXE Season Watch Facebook group
A Compton tortoiseshell butterfly sits on dry leaves in Northern Cass County on Feb. 26, 2022.

Keep your eyes peeled, friends, for the first few butterflies of spring! If you can stay in the present and avoid ruminating on things like "impending deadlines” or “that time you weren’t looking where you were going and lost your shoes in wet cement and then the construction workers took pictures and laughed at you,” you may notice a pair of large wings flitting by you. (This is, of course, easier said than done.)

If you are someone with the remarkable ability to be in the present moment, congratulations! Below, I’ve provided a handy photo guide to some early-season flutterers you’ll see in the next week or two.

These butterflies (and one moth) all overwinter as adults, so they are the first ones seen in spring. Soon, the butterflies that overwinter in chrysalises or as larva will join them, along with the migrating butterflies.

A mourning cloak butterfly rests on dead leaves in Minneapolis on March 13, 2024. It is a large butterfly with dark wings bordered in yellow, with a line of small blue spots just inside the yellow border.
1 of 7  — Mourning Cloak iNat ellaadventure Minneapolis Mar 13 2024.jpeg
A mourning cloak butterfly rests on dead leaves in Minneapolis on March 13, 2024.
Contributed / Daniella Marie via iNaturalist
A mourning cloak butterfly rests with its wings closed on leaf litter in Roseville, Minnesota on April 26, 2022. Closed, its wings look like a dark dead leaf: they are charcoal-colored with a light tan outer border.
2 of 7  — Mourning Cloak wings closed Bob Dunlap iNat Roseville Apr 26 2022.jpg
A mourning cloak butterfly rests with its wings closed on leaf litter in Roseville, Minnesota on April 26, 2022.
Contributed / Bob Dunlap via iNaturalist
Two Compton's tortoiseshell butterflies rest side-by-side in Lake County, Minnesota on April 9, 2022. The butterfly on the left has closed its wings, making it appear like a leaf: its underwings are mottled brown and tan. The butterfly on the right has open wings, showing orange coloration and black spots.
3 of 7  — Two compton tortoiseshells Joe Walewski iNat Apr 9 2022 Lake County.jpeg
Two Compton's tortoiseshell butterflies rest side-by-side in Lake County, Minnesota on April 9, 2022.
Contributed / Joe Walewski via iNaturalist
An Eastern comma butterfly opens its wings in Farming Township, Minnesota on March 2, 2024. It is an orange butterfly with black spots on its wings.
4 of 7  — Eastern Comma wings open Ryan Rothstein iNat Farming twnshp March 2 2024.jpeg
An Eastern comma butterfly opens its wings in Farming Township, Minnesota on March 2, 2024. Note the central black dot on the hindwings: this distinguishes the Eastern comma from the grey comma butterfly.
Contributed / Ryan Rothstein via iNaturalist
An Eastern Comma butterfly closes its wings in Farming Township, Minnesota on March 2, 2024. The underwings strongly resemble a dead leaf - they are a mottled grey and tan with irregular edges.
5 of 7  — Eastern Comma wings closed Ryan Rothstein iNat Farming twnshp March 2 2024.jpeg
An Eastern Comma butterfly closes its wings in Farming Township, Minnesota on March 2, 2024.
Contributed / Ryan Rothstein via iNaturalist
A gray comma butterfly rests on the leaf litter near Fort Ripley, Minnesota on April 22, 2018. It has orange wings with dark spots.
6 of 7  — Gray comma LeAnn Plinske iNat Apr 22 2018.jpg
A gray comma butterfly rests on the leaf litter near Fort Ripley, Minnesota on April 22, 2018. Gray comma butterflies lack a central dark dot on the hindwings: this dot is present on the Eastern Comma.
Contributed / LeAnn Plinske via iNaturalist
An infant moth sits on gravel near Park Rapids, Minnesota on April 11, 2023. It has a fuzzy body with long antennae: its front set of wings are dark with small white bars, and its hind wings are dark with large orange stripes.
7 of 7  — Infant moth park rapids iNat veralind15 Apr 11 2023.jpg
An infant moth sits on gravel near Park Rapids, Minnesota on April 11, 2023.
Contributed / iNaturalist user veralind15

Red Squirrels flirt in fast mode

Our adorable neighborhood red squirrels are feeling the love – it's mating season! Their courtship habits resemble those of elementary school children: they chase each other around the playground (or forest, in the squirrels’ case) while yelling at the top of their lungs.

Multiple males will sometimes pursue and mate with one female. The female is only receptive for one day: A few days prior to going into heat, she’ll go on a teasing little tour of nearby territories to “advertise” her upcoming receptivity to males.

Timestamps

  • Introduction (0:00-0:30)
  • Early-season butterflies: (0:30-1:51)
  • Migrating birds: (1:51-3:08, 8:40-9:29)
  • Red squirrel mating season (3:08-3:37)
  • Suet-feeding birds (3:37-6:12)
  • Bald Eagle nesting update (6:12-7:29)
  • Ice-out update (7:29-8:40)
  • Ravens imitating Sandhill Cranes (8:43-9:39)
  • Aspect (direction of a slope relative to the sun) and its effect on phenology (9:39-10:20)
  • Plant development update (9:39-16:27)
    • Hazelnut (9:39-11:22) 
    • Tamarack (11:22-12:23) 
    • Speckled (tag) alder (12:23-13:34) 
    • Silver maple (13:34-14:03) 
    • Lilacs (14:03-14:44) 
    • Big-tooth and trembling aspens (14:44-15:32) 
    • Yellow and paper birches (15:32-15:59) 
  • Midge or mosquito? (16:27-17:17)
  • Final notes (17:17-18:07)

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).

Tags
KAXE Morning Show Morning ShowTuesday Morning ShowPhenologyKAXEKAXE Morning ShowSpring Phenology
Stay Connected
Charlie Mitchell
Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined the KAXE team in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, writes segment summaries for the website, and coordinates our Engaging Minnesotans with Phenology project. With a background in wildlife biology, she enjoys learning a little bit about everything, whether it's plants, mushrooms, aquatic invertebrates, or the short-tailed shrew (did you know they can echolocate?).
See stories by Charlie Mitchell