October 13, 2021

Here are photos of things you might see on our outdoor loop through Explore the Wild and Catch the Wind.

Each fall there’s a flurry of Cape May warbler activity in the trees on the north side of the wetlands, whichever trees are infested with insects. This year, it’s the mimosas. The insect? Mimosa web worms.

Grasshoppers become more evident in the fall. All summer long they’re first, hatching from eggs, then going through five or six molts to reach adulthood. It’s usually as adults that most people notice them, if at all.

Green herons typically leave our wetlands by the end of September. The one pictured was photographed on September 23 and hasn’t been seen, by me, since.

Leaf-footed bugs are plant eaters. They have modified mouthparts, sometimes called a beak, in which to poke into fruits, nuts or seeds to suck out the juice within.

Last week I highlighted a new species of dragonfly in our wetlands. At the time, I mentioned it might be a one-time event, that the dragonfly would likely not stay for the duration. The one picture was in the wetlands on 29 September. If you’d like to see it yourself, it may still be there.

And finally, also on goldenrod is an American snout with its elongated mouthparts (labial palpi), the “snout.”

The weather is currently as good as it gets, come out and enjoy it!