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These cute black and reddish-brown caterpillars are famed for being able to predict the oncoming winter. According to folklore, the wider the caterpillar’s brown band, the less severe winter will be. A smaller brown band means you’re in store for a very harsh winter. But is it true? According to the Farmer’s Almanac, there just might be some validity to the story.

You can help woolly bears by creating a habitat for them right in your own yard or garden. You can also report your woolly bear sightings on NWF’s Wildlife Watch website.

Asian Ladybird Beetle
The Asian ladybird beetle (a kind
of ladybug) was introduced multiple times in multiple places in the U.S. to help
control crop pests as well as accidentally from Japanese ships that docked in
Louisana ports.  Most ladybug species gobble aphids and other soft-bodied plant
pests and are considered beneficial insects.  Unfortunately, this species is so
voracious it has out-competed and even eaten several
native ladybird beetle species into rarity, and has become a household pest
when it swarms indoors as the weather turns cold.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
This shield-shaped insect
is a fairly recent import.  First documented in Allentown, PA a decade ago, the
brown marmorated stink bug has rapidly spread
throughout the Mid-Atlantic states.  In its native range in Asia it is a
crop pest, although so far here in North America its biggest impact has been on
ornamental plants and as indoor nuisance in the fall and winter.  If you live in
this region, as I do, you’ll know from experience that this new invader is
everywhere right now!

The change of seasons is an important influence on animal behavior. Whether it’s the hot season turning cold or the dry season turning wet, wildlife has to adapt to survive. One strategy is migration. Songbirds, waterfowl, raptors and hummingbirds travel north and south each year, some as far as the tropics. Caribou and pronghorn shift their range based on the season to ensure access to food.  Even insects such as monarch butterflies and green darner dragonflies travel great distances to survive the oncoming winter.

One of the greatest things about fall migration is that it offers some pretty awesome wildlife watching opportunities.  Get outside this fall and see what migratory species you can spot.  You can report your sightings on National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Watch website, on Twitter or even using your iPhone.

There’s no excuse to stay indoors and not experience wildlife this fall!  In the meantime, watch this video about one of the species that has already begun migration, the ruby-throated hummingbird.

Did you know?

•    Fireflies are actually beetles, not flies.  Lightning bug, their other common name, is also inaccurate since true bugs are their own order of insects, distinct from beetles.

•    Fireflies create their “fire” by mixing oxygen with chemicals called luciferin and luciferase in their abdomen, which creates light without any heat.  A candle flame of the same brightness is 80,000 times hotter than the glow of a firefly.

•    Each species has a unique flash pattern, which they use to attract mates.  Males flash in the air and females flash back from the ground or the vegetation.

•    The species Lucidota atra doesn’t flash because it is active during the day.  It attracts mates by using pheromones.

•    Firefly larvae glow too and are often called “glow worms.”  Even the eggs of some species glow.

•    Most species of firefly spend the winter in larval form in the soil or in rotting logs, emerging in the late spring as winged adults ready to start flashing and looking for mates.

•    Firefly larvae are carnivorous, feeding on slugs, worms and other soft-bodied invertebrates around streams and ponds.

•    As adults, some firefly species feed on nectar, and some don’t feed at all, but female Photuris pensylvatica fireflies mimic the flashes of female Photinus pyralis fireflies.  When a Photinus male approaches looking for a mate, the female Photuris devours him!

1. Remove unnecessary standing water around your home. Typical hot-beds for mosquito reproduction are clogged gutters, flower-pot drainage dishes, children’s play equipment, tarps and any debris that can hold water.
2. Share this advice with your neighbors. Mosquitoes that emerge in their yards will easily travel to yours.
3. Empty and refill birdbaths every few days. It takes a minimum of about a week for the metamorphosis from egg to larva to pupa to winged adult to be completed, so this eliminates any chance that your birdbath will serve as a mosquito nursery.
4. Attract mosquito predators. Add plants to water gardens to attract frogs, salamanders and dragonflies and put up houses for birds and bats. Fish feed on mosquito larvae, just don’t release goldfish or other exotic species into natural areas.
5. Don’t use insecticides or put oil on the surface of bodies of water. This kills beneficial insects and mosquito predators and causes air and water pollution.
6. “Mosquito Dunks” that contain natural bacteria that kills mosquitoes can be added to water gardens without harming fish, birds or other wildlife. (Closely related insects, some beneficial, could be affected though.)
7. DEET-based repellants are effective but if you want to avoid synthetic chemicals, aromatic herbal repellents also work if applied frequently.
8. Avoid going outdoors at dusk, which is peak mosquito time, or wear long sleeves to minimize exposed skin that could be bitten.
9. Bug zappers aren’t effective against mosquitoes. Zappers do kill thousands of beneficial insects a night.
10. Mosquitoes are not strong flyers and the breeze created by a fan is often all you need to keep a patio or deck mosquito-free so you can enjoy the outdoors.

Don’t end up like this guy!

Ornithologists aren’t 100 percent sure what is going on but there are several theories.  Baldness can be caused by skin mite infestation.  Birds can’t groom their own heads, which makes that area a haven for mites.  A bad mite infestation can cause a bird to lose its feathers.  So can malnutrition or severe stress.

Balding could also simply be a rapid molting of feathers.  At this time of year, birds normally shed out their old feathers and grow new ones.  Usually it’s not all at once in one part of the body, but it seems that in the case of bald birds, that could be what’s happening.  Judging by the fact that most bald birds are observed to survive their baldness and completely re-grow their feathers, the rapid molt theory probably explains most cases.

Find out how to help birds (bald or otherwise) on our Gardening for Wildlife website.

American robins are found throughout North America and are a symbol of winter’s end. The first appearance of a robin is a sure sign that spring has sprung. But did you know that in most of the lower 48 states you can find robins throughout the winter? Some are migrants from further north but some are resident birds that stay year-round. These winter-resident robins usually flock up and spend their time in wooded areas rather than lawns, so people don’t tend to notice them until they start pairing off and singing their courtship songs in spring.

Attract Robins

Robins rely on the fruits of trees and shrubs as their primary food source during the winter when worms and insects aren’t available. That’s one reason why they tend to hang out in the woods rather than on your lawn in the winter. You can attract robins to your yard in winter by providing them with fruiting plants. Some of the best berry-providers for robins include bayberry, winterberry, crabapple, cranberrybush viburnum, hawthorn, mountain ash, toyon, sumac, chokeberry and American holly.

Robin Trivia

• Robins are a kind of thrush and are related to the much less common wood thrush and hermit thrush.
• Adult male robins have the brightest red breast feathers.
• The American robin was named after the European robin even though they are not closely related.
• Robins build distinct, bowl-shaped nests out of grasses and twigs mortared with mud. Their eggs are a beautiful light blue color.
• Robins avoid areas with snow cover.

Robins Impacted by Climate Change

Analysis of 40 years of data shows many common North American birds, including robins, are already being impacted by climate change.

Male groundhogs wake up after three months of hibernation to check out the available pool of ladies within their territory. They select a female with whom they spend the night, and this sleepover acts as a first date, allowing the groundhogs time to get to know each other before the official start of mating season the following month. During these meet and greet sessions, contact is confined to rubbing noses – there’s no going “all the way.”

After scoping out two or three females, the male groundhog returns to his burrow to sleep again until March, dreaming of the hotties he has just met. When he awakes and revisits each of the females, the earlier slumber parties allow the woodchucks to skip the small talk and get right down to the business of breeding.

Here’s a round-up of recent news on how climate change is affecting wildlife:

• Has Punxsutawney Phil been predicting climate change?
• Are the seasons shifting? The highest summer and lowest winter temperatures have been happening an average of two days earlier.
• Antarctica is warming faster than previously thought.
• Deep sea life is being impacted by climate change.
• Climate change forces tropical insects to higher elevations.
• Forests are in decline as temperatures rise.
• Climate change effects are irreversible according to new study.

Monarch butterflies
Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles each fall to a handful of sites in the mountains of Mexico, where millions of them will spend the next several months clustered in trees. There are so many butterflies that their weight sometimes breaks the tree branches. On warm days when the monarchs fly to sip water from puddles, you can actually hear the collective sound of their wings flapping (it
sounds kind of like deck of cards being shuffled).

You can help migrating monarchs by planting late-blooming nectar plants where the butterflies can refuel on their long journey.

Dragonflies
Green darners are large, common dragonflies found across the Unites States. Some are year-round residents but some are migratory and fly south in the fall. Dragonfly migration usually starts after at least two nights of cooler fall weather, which signals that a cold front is approaching which will push the insects south with its winds. Along the way, green darners are preyed on by kestrels, tiny hawks that time their migration to coincide with that of the dragonflies to ensure a steady food supply. Other migratory dragonfly species include the wandering glider, black saddlebags, and Carolina saddlebags.

Perilous Journeys
Migration is always a dangerous journey but climate change is making it even more difficult for some species.

Edible Fall Fruit
Pass the persimmon. How about the paw-paw? Now is the time to sample some wild fall fruits.