Author Archives: John Valo

Pandorus sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus)

Leave a reply
pandorus sphinx

Photo by Chad & Autumn Brekke

Pandorus sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus) is a very large, dramatically patterned, sphinx moth. It is common and widespread in eastern United States. Adults fly at dusk from May to September. They have a wingspan of 3¼″ to 4½″, and a pale green background with a complex pattern of dark olive-green markings.

Humans are more likely to encounter caterpillars than adults. Known as hornworms, the caterpillars are found on grape and Virginia creeper in Minnesota, and also on peppervine elsewhere. They are very large, up to 3½″ long, and consume copious amounts of foliage. They can completely defoliate young grape vines, ultimately killing them. Older vines can withstand the damage.

Pandorus sphinx is similar in appearance to Achemon sphinx (Eumorpha achemon). The latter species is smaller and less common, and the adults are brown, not green.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/pandorus_sphinx.html

Purple-bloom Russula (Russula mariae)

Leave a reply
Purple-bloom Russula

Photo by Kirk Nelson

Purple-bloom Russula (Russula mariae) is a medium-sized gill mushroom. It is common and widespread in deciduous and mixed woodlands and forests of North America east of the Rocky Mountains. It is found from June through October, singly or in groups, on the ground near hardwoods. It obtains its nutrients from the rootlets of oak and other hardwood trees.

Purple-bloom Russula is easily recognized by the flat, dry, velvety or powdery, purple cap.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Fungi/Purple-bloom_Russula.html

Pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica)

Leave a reply
pin cherry

Photo by Luciearl

Pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) is a small, fast-growing, short-lived, deciduous tree. It is common from New England to the upper Midwest and across southern Canada, uncommon and scattered west of the Great Plains. It is common throughout Minnesota except for the southwest quarter.

Pin cherry reproduces mostly by root sprouts and often forms thickets. In forests, it rarely germinates, and when it does, the saplings rarely survive except in large openings with plentiful moisture and light. Seedlings mostly appear in a forest after heavy cutting, burning, or a blow down. They mature rapidly and live only 20 to 40 years.

Pin cherry can easily be mistaken for black cherry or American Plum. Unlike black cherry, the bark remains thin and smooth on mature trees; the leaves are yellowish-green, not dark green; the leaf tips are drawn out into a long thin point; and the inflorescence is an umbrella-shaped cluster of 2 to 7 flowers, not a 3″ to 6″ long cluster of 20 to 60 flowers. Unlike American plum, the branches do not have spines, and the inflorescence often has clusters of 5, 6, or 7 flowers.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Plants/pin_cherry.html

Rhubarb curculio (Lixus concavus)

Leave a reply
rhubarb curculio

Photo by Alfredo Colon

Rhubarb curculio (Lixus concavus) is a large, easily identified, true weevil. It is common from New Hampshire, south to North Carolina, and west to Utah. It is uncommon in the upper Midwest, including Minnesota. At up to ⅝″ in length and 3 ⁄16″ in width, it is one of the largest snout beetles in the United States.

Rhubarb curculio adults are active from mid-May to September. They are found on stalks and leaves of thistles, sunflowers, docks, and rhubarb. They are one of only two weevil species that attack rhubarb. They can be a pest to crops of these plants but they are easily controlled.

Snout beetles are easily identified by their long, flattened or cylindrical snout that is at least as long as the pronotum. Rhubarb curculio is easily identified by the bright yellowish bloom on the head, pronotum, and wing covers.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/rhubarb_curculio.html

Mica Cap (Coprinellus micaceus)

Leave a reply

Mica Cap

Mica Cap (Coprinellus micaceus) is a very common mushroom in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. In the United States is seen from coast to coast. It occurs from April through October in forests and woodlands, in suburbs, in urban areas, and sometimes indoors. It grows in dense clusters on decaying stumps and logs, and sometimes on the ground on buried wood.

When young, it is dome-shaped, yellowish-brown, and covered with glistening particles. As it matures it flattens out, the particles wash away, and the cap becomes gray at the margins. As the mushroom ages the cap turns black, the margins become tattered, and the gills dissolve into an inky black liquid that drops to the ground.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Fungi/Mica_Cap.html

Red raspberry slime mold (Tubifera ferruginosa)

Leave a reply
red raspberry slime mold

Photo by Kirk Nelson

Slime mold is a term of convenience grouping together several kinds of unrelated organisms. They were formerly placed in the Fungi kingdom because they produce structures containing spores (sporangia). The modern classification has them divided among several supergroups. The taxonomy of slime molds changes frequently—it is a work in progress.

Red raspberry slime mold (Tubifera ferruginosa) is one of the most commonly encountered slime molds in woodlands. It appears from June through November as a pink to bright red, pillow-shaped, tightly-packed mass on well-rotted logs, sometimes on moss. The surface is knobby, like a raspberry. It is not edible.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Slime_Molds/red_raspberry_slime_mold.html

Virile crayfish (Orconectes virilis)

Leave a reply
virile crayfish

Photo by Kirk Nelson

Virile crayfish (Orconectes virilis) is a medium- to large-sized freshwater crustacean. It is widespread and abundant across North America. It is native to central United States and Canada, from Quebec to Tennessee in the east, to Alberta and Colorado in the west. It is introduced and considered invasive outside of its native range from coast to coast.

Virile crayfish prefer streams with rocky bottoms, moderate flow and turbidity, abundant cover, and stable water levels. They often use rocks, logs, or other organic debris as cover. They occasionally dig burrows into muddy banks, especially when water levels are low. To survive the winter, they migrate to deeper water that does not completely freeze and they become inactive.

Virile crayfish are identified by the dappled, olive-brown body with pairs of dark brown splotches on the abdomen; the shape of the shield (carapace) covering the front part of the body; and the broadly flattened, usually bluish claws.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Crustaceans/virile_crayfish.html

Long-tailed dance fly (Rhamphomyia longicauda)

1 Reply
long-tailed dance fly

Photo by Alfredo Colon

Long-tailed dance fly (Rhamphomyia longicauda) is a small, black, long-legged fly. It is commonly found from May to July in deciduous woods near water. The wings are long and black. The head is round with large bright orange or red eyes. On the female, the middle and hind legs have a fringe of long, black, bristly hairs.

Every evening around sunset, males and females collect in same-sex swarms. Females and fly up and down, the behavior that gives this family its common name “dance-flies”. Females cannot hunt for prey. They receive protein from males as gifts in exchange for copulation. They swallow air, filling and extending their abdomen outward, saucer-like, falsely signaling males that their eggs are nearing maturity. The long hairy legs wrap around the abdomen, making it appear even larger. Males are attracted to females that have largest swollen abdomens and hairiest legs. An individual will break off and join the other swarm to select a mate.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/long-tailed_dance_fly.html

Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)

Leave a reply
Colorado potato beetle

Photo by Alfredo Colon

Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is relatively small for a beetle but relatively large for a leaf beetle. Adults are ¼″ to 7 ⁄16″ long and about ⅛″ wide. The body is oval when viewed from above and dome-shaped when viewed from the side. The wing covers are pale yellow with five black lines on each side. The are no similar species in Minnesota.

Prior to European settlement, the Colorado potato beetle was found only in Colorado and neighboring states. The potato was introduced into North America in the 1600s and began to be widely grown in the early 1700s. By 1840 the potato reached the insects home range. By 1859 the insect had switched to the potato as its preferred host, and by 1874 it had spread all the way to the east coast. It is now present across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Colorado potato beetle is a serious crop pest to potato growers. The insect rapidly evolves resistance to chemical pesticides. Many insecticides that once successfully controlled the beetle are no longer effective.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/Colorado_potato_beetle.html

Four-lined plant bug (Poecilocapsus lineatus)

Leave a reply
four-lined plant bug

Photo by Alfredo Colon

Four-lined plant bug (Poecilocapsus lineatus) is a small, soft-bodied, colorful, true bug. It is common in northeastern and midwestern North America, including Minnesota. It is easily identified by the bright yellow or green body with four black stripes and the orange head. It can be seen from May to July in meadows, gardens, agricultural fields, and around homes.

Four-lined plant bug is considered a pest due to the damage it causes to ornamental plants. Adults and larvae feed on the leaves of herbaceous plants, especially those in the mint and aster families. Leaf damage appears as small, 1 ⁄16″ or less in diameter, light or dark spots on the leaf surface. The color of the spot varies with the species of the host plant. The spots are collapsed leaf tissue which eventually falls out leaving small holes. Larvae cause more leaf damage than adults.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/four-lined_plant_bug.html