August 21

It’s early morning as I begin a hike at Camp Cutler, a 160-acre, Boy Scout camp near Riverdale. Under mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 60’s, I proceed east where I see large patches of invasive Spotted Knapweed as well as a family of Whitetail deer. Exploring the meadow, I spot dozens of mounds made by Yellow Meadow ants. Not surprisingly, most of them are inactive, except for one. These tiny ants are shy and seldom move out in the open during the day. In their nest tunnels they hunt for prey in the form of small insects, but they also keep aphids that feed on the root systems. The aphids are valuable to the ants and provide a sweet substance that the ants drink. These ants are able to form new societies with a single queen. At first, several queens fight each other to the death and normally there’s only one left standing to reign the colony. Up ahead, I pause to watch the water of the North Branch of the Pine River flow gently past while listening to a duet of a Black-capped Chickadee and a Northern Cardinal. Clinging to a tree nearby, are some very edible fungi called Chicken-of-the-Woods. Next, I turn onto an earthen path through a dense woodland where I come upon an orange Lobster mushroom. This is not a mushroom in the traditional sense. It is, rather, a combination of a parasitic fungus that has deformed a host mushroom in such a way as to alter its color, texture, shape and taste. With little to no stem, these edible mushrooms look more like a lobster claw — with a flavor and aroma to match. Passing through a dense patch of ferns, I spot a resting Autumn Meadow Hawk dragonfly and a resting ½-inch Vestal moth. Turning around and making my way to a picnic shelter, I notice a Paper wasp perching on its nest, near the roof. A female Paper wasp, who becomes the queen, starts building this nest by secreting a pulp-like papery substance. This substance is a mixture of plant fibers and saliva. The queen lays a single egg in each cell of the nest. Each egg develops into a larva that subsequently transforms into a pupa and finally an adult. There are 12 to 100 paper wasps per colony. These wasps operate in a caste system similar to ants where there is usually one queen and several non-reproductive workers that are in charge of foraging for food and tending to the queen and her progeny. Back to the riverbank, I fight off swarms of mosquitoes while taking in the breath-taking beauty of a Cardinal flower. Nearing the car, I notice a House Wren perching on a leafless tree branch.

 

Peak of summer

Goldfinch sings

Blossoms below

Bumblebee clings

Aroma of Primrose

If only a hint

Along the trail

Grows Mountain Mint

Above the pond

Dragonflies flutter by

Above the meadow

Soars a butterfly

 

D. DeGraaf