Monthly Archives: June 2017

Brown-belted bumble bee (Bombus griseocollis)

brown-belted bumble bee

Photo by Christa Rittberg

Brown-belted bumble bee (Bombus griseocollis) is a small, very common, colonial, ground-nesting bumble bee. It is the second most common bumble bee in eastern North America, after only the common eastern bumble bee. It is less common in Minnesota and the other northernmost states.

Bumble bees are the first bees out in the spring and the last bees out in the fall. Brown-belted bumble bees emerge earlier in the spring than most other bumble bees. They nest in the ground in small colonies of 50 or fewer individuals.

Brown-belted bumble bee is identified by the thorax which is yellow except for a small, round, black spot in the middle; the first abdominal segment is entirely yellow; the second has a single yellow, narrowly U-shaped spot in the middle and a brown band that swoops around the yellow spot; and the remaining are all black.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/brown-belted_bumble_bee.html

River Warren Outcrops SNA

River Warren Outcrops SNA

Designated on August 22, 2016, River Warren Outcrops SNA is one of Minnesota’s two newest SNAs. Its 89 acres include a prairie restoration, densely wooded bedrock outcrop, and floodplain forest along the east bank of the Minnesota River. Plains prickly pear and Kentucky coffee tree, two species of special concern in Minnesota, are found here.

Future management plans include the removal of buckthorn and redcedar from about 85% of the site, and continued restoration of a former agricultural field to prairie. An unusual feature of this SNA is 1.6 miles of horse trails. These trails were on the site when the land was purchased by the DNR, and they will continue to be maintained by the seller.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Destinations/River_Warren_Outcrops_SNA.html

Crystal Spring SNA

Crystal Spring SNA

On rare occasions we come across a wild space so fragile or beautiful that we hesitate to publish it. We want to keep it to ourselves, to protect it and prevent it from being spoiled. The hidden cove at Crystal Spring Scientific and Natural Area, Minnesota’s newest SNA, is that kind of place. Crystal Spring SNA is near Taylor’s Falls in northern Washington County. Its 38 woodland acres are mostly red oak forest with small areas of black ash swamp.

A forest road and then a well-worn hiking trail lead from the northwest corner to the southeast corner of the SNA. The hiking trail eventually passes a set of winding steps that leads down a bluff and out of sight. The steps end at a sandstone cliff about 25 feet above a stream. A narrow trail at the base of the cliff but only halfway down the steep bluff leads to a hidden cove. The north wall of the cove is dry cliff exposing two bedrock layers, Jordan Sandstone and Saint Lawrence Shale. A spring at end of the cove bubbles into a “crystal” clear pool which overflows down the cliff to Zavoral’s Creek below. The steep walls of the gorge, the waterfall, and the lush vegetation join to create an alluring natural attraction.

Four species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here: butternut, an endangered species; and American ginseng, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Red-shouldered Hawk, all special concern species.

http://minnesotaseasons.com/Destinations/Crystal_Spring_SNA.html