'Tis a day for seeing spots #phenology

This morning, the waters of the Sunrise River near County Road 36 were full of American Coot. Unfortunately, the photo's not enlarged enough to clearly see their white bills. It's been several months since we've seen any so we're guessing they're migrants, but it could just be local families flocking up pre-migration. There's certainly nothing in this week's weather to trigger any local migrations.

American coot at Carlos Avery WMA

Photo by J. Harrington

Further confirmation that it is that time of year:

• We noticed box elder bugs crawling around the doors and siding of some nearby houses. If you've never experienced Bill Holm's Boxelder Bug Variations, see if you can get your hands on a copy. Try it, you'll like it!

• While walking the dogs, we were surrounded by and inundated with Asian Lady Beetles, AKA harlequin, multicolored. Their bodies are dotted with spots and the air was full of them, creating flying spots with spots before our eyes. Despite constantly brushing them off as we walked, when we came inside we were crawling, quite literally, with them. The ones that made themselves known when we were still close to the door were flicked off outside. A few didn't appear until later, when we were busy in the kitchen. They suffered a terminal fate.

Clearly, our understanding of nature is more limited than we would like. Hatches of mayflies or caddisflies in numbers comparable to the flying beetles we experienced today would have drawn great numbers of trout to feed on them. The Asian Ladies are reported to have few predators.  Late season dragonflies seem to have disappeared. We're not sure about bats, but this flight of beetles was in bright daytime sunlight. There are still a number of songbirds around. Why were no birds trying to feed on them? The same kind of situation seems to prevail with box elder bugs, although Mr. Holm offered an alternative approach to the latter, it might also work on the Asian beetles.

Though Difficult, it is Possible to Kill Boxelder Bugs

By Bill Holm

Though Difficult, it is Possible to Kill
Boxelder Bugs.  If You are Interested,
You Might try This Method
Take two bricks.
Creep deliberately up
Behind the boxelder bug,
Being careful not to sing –
This will alert him.
In a graceful flowing gesture,
Something like a golf swing
Or reaching for your lover in the dark,
Gather up the boxelder bug
On the surface of the left brick
Bringing the right brick
At the same time firmly down
Together with the left brick.
There will be a loud crashing,
Like broken cymbals.
Maybe a breaking of brick, and
If you are not careful,
Your own voice rising.
When the brick dust has settled
And you have examined your own hands,
Carefully,
You will not see the boxelder bug.
There is a small hole in the brick
And he is exploring it,
Calmly, like a millionaire
In an antique shop.

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