Springfield Plateau

False indigo shrub (Amorpha fruticosa) There was no doubt it is spring in the mind of these tiny bees that are swarming our false indigo in the back yard.  It is hard to see the individual...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2024/05/spring-has-sprung.html

  Red milksnake - Lampropeltis triangulum (Guest Blog by Dave Shanholtzer) I had a great day Wednesday exploring Bull Mills with Kevin from the SWMO Herp Society.  We flipped the first...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2024/04/herping-at-bull-mills.html

What actually defines a stream?  Is it the water flowing on the edge of a bank or a gravel bar?  Does it extend below the gravel and into the soil among the tree roots overhanging the water's ...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2024/04/what-is-stream.html

The MDC Conservation Nature Calendar said this weekend is when the ticks come out.  Whether the ticks read the calendar to decide on their emergence is questionable, but it certainly was accura...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2024/03/ticks-are-here.html

Lois Zerrer reviews Knowing the Trees: Discover the Forest From Seed to Snag by Ken Keffer. I happened upon this book while perusing the “new arrivals” section of the Springfield Greene Co...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2024/01/knowing-your-trees.html

Pilobolus crystallinus A special guest blog from our favorite mycologist, Dr. Mark Bower. But first read his poem, a paen in the Poop  to a fungus among-us. =====================  Fun wit...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2024/01/ode-to-hat-throwing-fungus.html

Honey mushroom Rhizomorphs MARK BOWER SENT ME THESE PHOTOS AND FACTS WHICH I HAVE JUDICIOUSLY EDITED. This honey mushroom (Armillaria mellea) can be found fruiting in large numbers at t...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2024/01/parasite-of-parasite.html

This year's big windstorm took down several large trees in our subdivision.  I was saddened to lose this neighbor as it has provided oak acorns with acorn weevils to show WOLF students.  Th...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/10/losing-neighbor.html

  We recently looked out our patio sliding glass door and saw this juvenile Cooper's hawk sitting on our bench 6 feet from us.  It wasn't bothered by us, more intent on our bird feeders which...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/10/dining-out.html

Sitting in our backyard reading, my mind wandered off to the aromatic asters (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) along the patio edge.  Watching it closely over 5 minutes I counted over 25 specie...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/10/pollinator-island.html

BY OUR RESIDENT (AMATEUR) MYCOLOGIST, MARK BOWER. Click to enlarge While hiking in the Bull Creek area I noticed a bright yellow log in the distance. I first thought it was a reflection of...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/10/yellow-log.html

Mark Bower sent this report of the flush of fresh mushrooms he found September 23-25th above Bull Creek.We had had several inches of rain after a dry spell and the fungi were all ready to sp...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/09/fall-fungi-flush.html

Mating leatherwings - Click to enlarge     IN THE FALL, A YOUNG BEETLE'S FANCY TURN TO THOUGHTS OF....... MAKING MORE BEETLES. PL - click to enlarge We are seeing these soldier beetl...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/09/leatherwings-in-love.html

I visited our neighbor's big hackberry tree which stands 65 feet tall.  Several of its lower branches are 4" in diameter and are covered with hackberry nipple galls.  There are no galls on...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/08/hackberry-nipple-galls.html

I found these sets of small socket wrench heads on a shelf in our garage/workshop at Bull Mills.  They had been undisturbed for over a year and now some were sealed off with a firm cap depos...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/07/life-in-socket-set.html

This has been snake month at our Bull Creek cabin.  We were having dinner there when we suddenly heard three loud "snaps" in 5 seconds.  Back in the closet with the water heater and well pump ...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/07/snake-month-at-bull-mills.html

  Sitting on the deck above Bull Creek while staring into space I saw a tiny white thing slowly "flying" past.  I grabbed it by the tail and studied it for several minutes before I determine...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/07/flying-ghost.html

Two-marked treehopper - Wikimedia While looking for leaf galls I noticed a small 5mm white speck on the under surface of a tree leaf, apparently dried up and dead.  Under magnification ...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/06/tiny-bison.html

On the Missouri Prairie Foundation Bioblitz, "Bug Eric " Eaton was leading an insect identification session when I found this 6mm firm lump on a leaf.  Eric identified it as a beetle egg pro...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/06/at-home-in-dung.html

While searching the woods for plant galls I came across these beauties on the leaves and petioles of Clematis virginiana.  On the petioles they curled into various shapes and it was obvious ...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/06/cute-little-fungus.html

Woolly aphid - Mark Bower The last few days we have been seeing tiny white fluff drifting through the air.  Watching closely you can see it gradually change altitude or direction.  These ...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2020/06/flying-lint.html

We found some of these elm leaf finger galls on a tree beside our deck measuring up to 15 mm long.  With a magnifier I could see that  each had an exit hole. so I cut into a few to see thei...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/05/finger-gall-inquiliines.html

  The 5th grade WOLF class explored La Petite Gemme Prairie last week with their usual vigor. We found lots of the usual suspects and some great new finds.  One of my favorites was the beaut...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2021/05/exploring-little-gem.html

Umber moth- Hypomecis umbrosaria May is the start of moth season on Bull Creek.  Leaving the porch light on Sunday night called in a haul of micromoths.  My definition is a moth less that ...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/05/micromoths-of-may.html

Bull Mills derecho - May 8, 2009 Our own Master Naturalist and retired Springfield meteorologist, Drew Albert, offers a series of monthly columns in the Springfield Daily Citizen on weather t...

http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com/2023/05/derecho.html