Bugs!

Now that it's warming up outside, you may have noticed a few bugs flying and scurrying around!  This is an important aspect of Spring--everything that comes back does so in a very specific order based on food availability.  For example, as the temperature rises, bugs become more active.  Migrating birds and other small animals, like bats, eat these bugs.  As plants emerge and leaves unfurl, bugs will lay their eggs on leaves, which will become food for the larvae when they hatch.  The leaves and sprouts of plants are eaten by many animals, as spring progresses.  Did you know that bugs make up the largest group of species in the Animal Kingdom?!  As you can see, bugs play a very important role in the food chain for organisms active both during the day (diurnal) and at night (nocturnal)!

Last week we talked about nests and how every organism has a home!  Every bug has a home as well!  Dragonflies have two homes!  They will spend three-to-four years as a nymph under water and then transform into its adult stage, taking to the skies to eat smaller insects!  Other insects like to stay hidden beneath forest leaf litter or underneath logs.  Logs are very important to forest animals--they provide refuge to hide from predators and create a microclimate (that is, they have their own temperature and moisture!) that many animals favor!

Here's your chance to be a bug detective on your next hike!  Use a magnifying glass to find as many different insects as you can!  Roll over a log and see how many bugs call it home!  Be quick, though, they're fast and they will scurry for cover when you move their house!  Sketch your bugs and tally them in a journal to keep track of how many you find!  On a side note, it is important to roll the log and not drag it as other animals such as salamanders like to hide under them as well.  Remember to roll the log back into place for these cool critters and don't forget, they have a very important job to do so leave them be so they can get back to work!

There's another special insect buzzing around right now--do you know what it is?  Here's a clue... it's black and yellow and... that's right!  It's a bee!  These busy bees are important pollinators visiting flowers and helping plants make seeds for the next year!  Bees depend on early spring flowers such as dandy lions, crocuses, Grecian windflowers, wild tulips, puschkinias, and snowdrops to survive during the spring!  Some bees live together in hives while others are solitary and live alone.  Want to help bees visit your flowers?  Build a bee hotel!  See the links below for ideas!

DIY Bee Hotels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS_5rntNexo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9-gJuDgKnU (The English Version!)

It's a Hoot--The Animal Joke of the Week!
Q: Where do fish keep their money?
A: In a river bank!

Riddle Me This...
I have a face like a tree,
And skin like the sea.
A great beast am I,
Yet small vermin frighten me!
What am I?
(A: TNAHPELE)

Phenomenal Phenology!
This week in phenology, expect to hear and see:

• Pickerel frogs begin calling
• Wood thrushes, scarlet tanagers, and catbirds arriving
• Large trilliums begin to bloom
• American Toads begin to sing
• Eastern Cottontail does are birthing kits!

Critter Corner!

Last Week's Critter: a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 

FACT: Great Blue Herons are incredible hunters often fishing for small fish, frogs, and even small mammals!  Their eyes have evolved to help them hunt during the day and at night thanks to incredible night vision!  Additionally, the great blue heron's neck vertebrae (portion of the spine) are specially shaped to allow it to strike lightning fast at its prey!  The oldest great blue heron on record lived to be 24 years and 6 months old!

Can you guess this week's critter from our trail camera pictures below?

River Bend Nature Center & SnapShot Wisconsin (WiDNR)

That's all for now! Stay tuned for more outdoor fun next week!

And as always-- stay wild and free and healthy as can be!
~CT