Meal moth (Pyralis farinalis)

meal moth
Photo by Mike Poeppe

Meal moth (Pyralis farinalis) is a small, broad-winged, triangular moth. It is cosmopolitan, occurring around the world, but is most common in Europe and the United States. It is found anywhere grain is processed or stored, including warehouses, barns, and most home pantries. It is not the only moth common to home pantries, nor is it the most common. That distinction belongs to Indian meal moth. Other common pantry moths are Mediterranean flour moth, brown house moth, and white shouldered house moth.

Meal moth larva feed on cereals (plants in the grass family), grains (edible seeds of cereals), and vegetables, including potatoes. Adults do not feed and are short-lived. They mate as soon as possible after emerging, then die after nine or ten days. They rest with their wings spread wide, their abdomen raised at a right angle to the body, and their antennae folded back over the body.

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

Grimmia dry rock moss (Grimmia laevigata)

grimmia dry rock moss
Grimmia dry rock moss at Rock Ridge Prairie SNA

Grimmia dry rock moss (Grimmia laevigata) is a common and widespread tuft-forming moss. It occurs on all continents except Antarctica. It is mostly restricted to the moderate climate areas of the northern and southern hemispheres. It is less common in Minnesota where it reaches the northern extent of its range. In this state it is found in open areas on rock outcrops. It grows under full sun on exposed acidic rock or on thin soil over rock.

Grimmia dry rock moss is extraordinarily drought resistant. Dried herbarium specimens that have been rehydrated after ten years have resumed photosynthetic and metabolic activity. It has adapted to a broad range of environments, yet it shows very little variability throughout its range. Bryologists suggest that a single species cannot be so adaptive, and that Grimmia laevigata must consist of a group of apparently indistinguishable but genetically distinct species.

Grimmia dry rock moss appears as a dense, hoary, dark green to dark brown tuft. The leaves have a long, thin, translucent, hair-like awn at the tip that constitutes almost half the total length of the blade. Spore-producing reproductive structures are rarely produced, and apparently are not produced anywhere in our area.

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

Brickwork woodlouse (Porcellio spinicornis)

brickwork woodlouse
Photo by Greg Watson

Brickwork woodlouse (Porcellio spinicornis) is a large, exotic woodlouse. It is native to Europe, where it is widespread and common. It was introduced into North America, where it now occurs across southern Canada and in the United States from Maine to New Jersey, west to North Dakota and South Dakota. It is not uncommon in Minnesota.

Brickwork woodlouse favors dry areas with limey (calcareous) surfaces. It is found in limestone quarries, on limestone pavement, in loosely mortared walls, and often in human houses. It is active at night, when it can be found on the surface. During the day it remains concealed, often under a rock or log.

Brickwork woodlouse is yellowish with dark brown to almost black mottling, and a dark brown to almost black stripe in the middle bordered on each side by bright yellow markings. One imaginative describer likened the pattern to brickwork, and this is the source of this species’ common name.

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

Apple Blossom Overlook Park

Apple Blossom Overlook Park
Photo by Greg Watson

Apple Blossom Overlook Park is a Winona County park located three miles north of downtown La Crescent, MN on Apple Blossom Drive Scenic Byway. Its 55 acres includes a ridge top overlooking the Upper Mississippi River Valley 580 feet below. A 1.3 mile loop trail has a spur that leads to a spectacular overlook on a narrow promontory. The trail is wide, grassy, and well maintained. It passes through new and old growth hardwood forest, two newly established prairies, and a few small areas of remnant prairie, and by rock outcroppings, steep cliffs, and an historic stone quarry. The park also includes a small depression that is sometimes a small pond but at other times just a wetland.

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

Say “Goodbye” to an old friend and “Hello” to a new group

Golden Chanterelle
Golden Chanterelle

Until very recently, yellow to yellowish-orange chanterelles in North American hardwood forests were all treated as a single, easily identified species, Golden Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius). Recent DNA analysis shows that the North American chanterelles are a group of closely related species now known as the Cantharellus cibarius group. The type species of the group, Cantharellus cibarius, is restricted to Europe and does not occur in North America. To date (2022), several new species have been defined, four of them occurring only west of the Rocky Mountains. More species east of the Rockies will almost certainly be described in the coming years.

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

Springtails (Hypogastrura spp.)

springtails (Hypogastrura spp.)
Photo by Luciearl

Hypogastrura is a genus of springtails. They are sometimes called snow fleas, but this common name is properly applied to just one species, Hypogastrura nivicola. There are at least 159 Hypogastrura species worldwide, at least 89 species in North America, and at least 1 species in Minnesota. They are found in moist areas rich in organic matter. They often appear in in very large numbers.

Hypogastrura springtail has a plump, elongated oval body. It is bluish-black but appears black when viewed against a light background. The legs and antennae are short. Identifying a springtail to the genus Hypogastrura is relatively simple, but identifying one to the species is extremely difficult. It requires microscopic examination of the hairs on the last leg segment.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Springtails/springtails_Hypogastrura.html

White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera)

White-winged Crossbill
Photo by Dan W. Andree

White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) is a colorful, medium-sized finch. It occurs in the temperate and subpolar regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In Minnesota it is common to uncommon in the northeastern coniferous and mixed forests, occasional to rare in the remainder of the state. Migration is irruptive, with large numbers visiting the state one year and none the following year.

White-winged Crossbill is found mostly in coniferous forests with spruce, tamarack, and eastern hemlock, sometimes in deciduous forests, and sometimes in towns. Adults feed mostly on spruce and tamarack seeds, but also on the seeds of other coniferous trees and deciduous trees, and occasionally on insects.

White-winged Crossbill breeding male is pinkish-red with black wings and tail. There are two bold white wing bars on each wing. This is the feature that gives the species its common name. The tips of the bill are crossed over, an adaptation that helps when extracting seeds from a spruce seed cone. Females are greenish-yellow streaked with brown.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Birds/White-winged_Crossbill.html

Vetsch Park

Vetsch Park
Photo by Greg Watson

Vetsch Park is the second largest park in La Crescent Minnesota. At one time the location was an apple orchard. The owner donated the 25 acres to the City of La Crescent, and the park is named after him.

There is a parking area at the end of N. 2nd St. A short mowed trail leads west from the parking area, past a dog walking area, to a 0.52-mile loop trail. The loop trail passes through a red oak – white oak – silver maple forest as it climbs a steep bluff, follows a ridge line, and returns to the parking area. There are also several other intersecting trails within and south of the park. One of these trails leads to Stoney Point, a bald area with a spectacular view of La Crescent and the Mississippi River. The narrow ridge and steep bluff is characteristic of the topography of the driftless area in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

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

Fishing spiders (Dolomedes spp.)

fishing spider (Dolomedes sp.)
Photo by Alissa H.

Dolomedes is a large species of nursery web spiders known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders or wharf spiders. There are more than 100 currently recognized species worldwide, 8 species in North America north of Mexico. Four species have been recorded in Minnesota.

Fishing spiders have a worldwide distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. They are usually found near permanent bodies of water, or on floating vegetation in a body of water. Some are found in grassy meadows. One, dark fishing spider, wanders well away from water. One, white-banded fishing spider, lives in trees. The remainder are semiaquatic, spending part of their time in or on water.

Some fishing spiders sit quietly at the edge of a lake or pond or on floating vegetation. They rest their front three pairs of legs on the water surface to detect ripples or vibrations of prey. Others stalk prey on land. They eat mostly aquatic insects but also small fish. None hunt from webs, but all make nursery webs for their young.

All fishing spiders are covered with water repelling (hydrophobic) hairs. They are able to run across the surface of the water and even to “climb” under the surface to subdue prey. When they submerge, air is trapped on the underside of their abdomen, and they are able to breath underwater.

http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Arachnids/fishing_spiders_Dolomedes.html

Juniper haircap moss (Polytrichum juniperinum)

Moss

Juniper haircap moss (Polytrichum juniperinum) is a common and widespread moss with a worldwide distribution, occurring on every continent including Antarctica. In North America it has been recorded in every Canadian province and in every U.S. state except Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. It is common in Minnesota. It is found in a wide variety of habitats, including upland open woodlands, savannas, sand prairies, roadsides, trail sides, rocky ledges, and creek banks. It sometimes colonizes forest openings following a fire or a blowdown. It grows under full sun to light shade, in dry conditions, on acidic, gravelly or sandy soil, or on thin soil over rock. It usually forms loose to moderately dense colonies, and often forms extensive patches.

Juniper haircap moss stems are densely leafy. The leaves are narrow, stiff, and sharply pointed. They resemble juniper leaves. This is the feature that gives the species its common name. When moist, they are flat and they spread straight out in all directions from the stem. When dry, they fold upward against the stem. Male plants develop a flower-like, yellowish to reddish “splash cup”, allowing sperm to be dispersed by rain drops. The fertilized female plant produces a sharply rectangular capsule at the end of a long yellowish to reddish stalk. At maturity, the spores are dispersed by wind.

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