Monthly Archives: September 2017

Comb Tooth (Hericium coralloides)

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Comb Tooth

Photo by Margot Avey

There are sixteen species of Hericium fungus, four of which occur in North America, three in Minnesota. Comb Tooth (Hericium coralloides) is by far the most common of the three. It is fairly common in northeastern United States and in Minnesota. It is found in late summer and fall in deciduous woodlands and forests, on fallen logs, branches, and dead stumps of hardwoods.

The fruiting body is a loose, open cluster of delicate branches. It is white when fresh, becoming creamy-white to buff or yellowish-tan with age. The branches are themselves again intricately branched and have rows of evenly-spaced spines, like the teeth of a comb, that hang downward. The spines are the spore-producing structures of this fungus, corresponding to the gills on many mushrooms (Agaricales). The flesh is white and edible when young and soft, but the spines become brittle with age.

Comb Tooth is similar in appearance to the other two Hericium species in Minnesota. It is the only Hericium that is intricately branched and has teeth no more than ⅜″ long.

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

Northern walkingstick

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northern walkingstick

Photo by M.j. Horgan

There are more than 3,000 species of walkingsticks worldwide, 29 species in North America north of Mexico, and probably just 2 species in Minnesota. Northern walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) is the most common walkingstick in North America and in Minnesota. The extremely long, thin, almost cylindrical body strongly resembles a leafless twig making it invisible to predators.

In Minnesota, the northern walkingstick population fluctuates on a two-year cycle. The odd numbered years are the “boom” years, the even numbered years the “bust” years. They mate in late summer. The female drops eggs to the ground one at a time. During heavy infestations, female egg-dropping can sound like falling rain. The eggs remain on the ground until the second following spring. After almost two years, they hatch between mid-June late July. During the night, the nymph crawls up the first vertical object it encounters. If that is a stem of a shrub or tree, it begins feeding. Otherwise, it returns to the ground and seeks another vertical object.

The other walkingstick known to be found in Minnesota, prairie walkingstick (Diapheromera velii), is very similar in appearance. Northern walkingstick is distinguished by its occurrence in forested habitats, the dilated and banded femur on the middle leg of the male, and the much shorter sensory appendages at the end of the abdomen of the female.

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

Huge Influx of Painted Ladies in 2017

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painted lady

Photo by Bill Reynolds

Minnesotans are seeing the huge influx of painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies in the summer of 2017. Observers from the Twin Cities to Detroit Lakes and Pennington County have reported seeing “15 plus,” “dozens”, “lots and lots,” and “plentiful” painted lady butterflies this year. Lora in Corcoran reports them “swarming the soy bean field across the road.” Ruth in Big Stone County reports seeing “clouds of them.”

Painted ladies are both migratory and cyclic. They overwinter in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. They migrate north in the spring in most years, temporarily repopulating the United States and Canada. Some years they do not migrate at all. In years of much rain on the wintering grounds the northward migrations are enormous. They migrate south beginning in August and continuing through November. They are cyclic because some years their populations are large, some years small.

Painted lady butterflies are very similar in appearance to American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) butterflies. Painted lady is less orange above. The large spot near the tip of the forewing is always white, never pale orange. The black band in the middle of the forewing creates an isolated orange spot. The dark spots on the hindwing are smaller, do not touch, and do not have blue centers. There are four eyespots on the underside of the hindwing.

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

Downy yellowjacket (Vespula flavopilosa)

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downy yellowjacket

Photo by Bill Reynolds

Downy yellowjacket (Vespula flavopilosa) is an uncommon, medium-sized, predatory, social wasp. It is found in the northeastern United States from Minnesota to Maine, south to Virginia, and along the Appalachian mountains to northern Georgia. It closely resembles eastern yellowjacket. It is thought by some to be a hybrid between eastern and common yellowjackets. Others suggest that it probably arose as a hybrid but now queens mate with drones of the same species.

The overwintering queen emerges from hibernation in April or May. She builds a nest of 20 to 45 cells and cares for the grubs as they hatch. In about 30 days the workers emerge and take over nest building duties. Through spring and summer the queen produces a large number of worker wasps. In mid-summer, the nest grows exponentially, as more and more workers become available, ultimately with 3,500 to 15,000 cells. Only the new queens survive the winter, hibernating under loose tree bark, in a decaying stump, or in another sheltered location.

In eastern North America, four yellowjacket species, common, downy, eastern, and German yellowjackets, closely resemble each other, making identification difficult. Downy yellowjacket is distinguished from the others by a continuous, uninterrupted yellow band on the face below the compound eye; and by the shape and pattern of black markings on the first and second abdominal segments.

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