Monthly Archives: June 2019

Midwestern salmonfly (Pteronarcys pictetii)

midwestern salmonfly

Midwestern salmonfly (Pteronarcys pictetii) is a large, dark brown, giant stonefly. It is common in the Midwest from Minnesota and Wisconsin south to Kansas and Indiana. Adults are 1½″ to 2½″ long. The head narrows slightly in the rear and has a thin, bright orange, rear margin. The plate covering the thorax is highly sculptured and has a thin, bright orange stripe in the middle and three bright orange spots at the base. The legs are robust. The wings have many prominent veins.

Young (naiads) live in well aerated water of small and medium-sized streams. They eat particulate plant matter in the water and move very slowly. When disturbed they will pretend to be dead. They take 2 to 3 years to develop. Adults emerge from April to June and live for only 2 to 3 weeks. They are poor fliers and when disturbed they will run rather than fly away. They are sometimes found far from water. They are active at night (nocturnal) and are attracted to lights.

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

Franklin’s ground squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii)

Franklin’s ground squirrel
Photo by Lynn Rubey

Franklin’s ground squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) is a medium-sized squirrel but a large ground squirrel. It is the largest and darkest ground squirrel in its range. It occurs in the tallgrass prairie region in the United States and Canada. It is considered scarce in Minnesota. It is found in areas with tall vegetation including edges of fields and prairies, open woodlands, and edges of marshes.

Franklin’s ground squirrel is superficially similar in appearance to an eastern gray squirrel but it is smaller and has a shorter, less bushy tail, shorter ears, and a more pointed snout. The coat (pelage) is short and dark gray with pale and dark flecks and a brown wash over the back and rump.

Franklin’s ground squirrel spends most of its time in an underground burrow that can be up to 8 feet deep. It is tolerant of humans and can be seen at camp sights, in state parks, and at dumps. It is omnivorous, feeding on plants, ground nesting bird eggs, insects, and small animals, including other ground squirrels.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Mammals/Franklins_ground_squirrel.html

Cream pea (Lathyrus ochroleucus)

cream pea

Cream pea (Lathyrus ochroleucus) is a low vine that is common in Minnesota except for the southwest quarter of the state. It is found in open woodlands, woodland openings, trailsides, riverbanks, and thickets.

The leaves of cream pea are divided into 3 to 5 widely-spaced pairs of large leaflets. At the end of each leaf there is a slender tendril, and at the base there is a pair of small, leaf-like appendages (stipules). The stipules are rounded at the base and sharply pointed at the tip, appearing half heart-shaped. The shape is distinctive, and can be used to identify the plant when no inflorescence is present. From May to July clusters of cream-colored flowers rise from the leaf axils.

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

Bohemian knotweed (Fallopia × bohemica)

Bohemian knotweed

Bohemian knotweed (Fallopia × bohemica) is a fertile hybrid between two highly invasive plants, Japanese knotweed and giant knotweed, and it shares features of both of those plants. The hybrid was introduced into North American and cultivated as an ornamental. It escaped from cultivation and is now naturalized across northern United States. It is reported to be partially or fully fertile, but it spreads mostly by rhizomes and by the dispersal of plant fragments.

Bohemian knotweed is found on river banks, along roadways, and in other disturbed areas. It often forms large dense colonies. Its bamboo-like stems are erect, stiff, and hollow, and usually have many long slender branches. The leaves are up to 12″ long and may be spade-shaped, straight across at the base, or slightly heart-shaped, indented at the base. Both leaf shapes may appear on the same branch. Flowers appear from July to October. The inflorescence may be long, narrow, and unbranched, or short, broad, branched, and plume-like, and it may be either shorter or longer than the nearest leaf.

Though one parent, Japanese knotweed, is listed as invasive in Minnesota, this hybrid is not … yet.

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

Green plant bug (Ilnacora malina)

green plant bug
Photo by Alfredo Colon

Plant bugs (family Miridae) is the largest family of true bugs (suborder Heteroptera). There are more than 10,000 known species worldwide, several hundred in North America. Green plant bug (Ilnacora malina) is a small, soft-bodied true bug, a medium-sized to large plant bug. It occurs in the United States east of the Great Plains, from Vermont to Minnesota south to Missouri and Virginia, and in adjacent Canadian provinces. Based on the number of reported sightings in North America, it is not very common.

Green plant bug is green with black spots on the forewings and thorax. The forewings have a black membranous section at the tip. The antennae are very long, as long as the forewings. The legs are long, delicate, and green.

Green plant bug is found from mid-June to late July in damp, shady, grassy and weedy areas. It sucks the juices from the leaves and stems of giant ragweed, goldenrod, and possibly other plants.

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