Leatherwing with Boots

I have been seeing these beetles in our wafer ash patch and then had this beautiful picture by Becky Swearingen jump out at me on Bi-State Bugs.  In the past I had seen similar colored Pennsylvania Leatherwings, Chauliognathus pensylvanicus, but the pattern wasn't right.  This is the margined leatherwing beetle, Chauliognathus marginatus.  It appears in late spring and will be gone by mid-summer, about the time that the Pennsylvanians first appear to inhabit their favorite plant, goldenrods.

Mating Pair - REK

Without Becky's camera or talent I had to get the lens too close, causing them to scurry away.  I chased this mating pair, finally giving up and capturing them.  After refrigeration, they slowed down so I could photograph them separately.

Leatherwing female - REK

Leatherwing male - REK

  Pennsylvania leatherwing-Clay Nichols

 

 

The coloration is confusing as the most prominent feature, the broad black stripe down the elytra is variable, ranging from prominent and full length to a short spot on my two specimens and sometimes even completely absent.  The margined species have a yellow head with a black "V" while the Pennsylvanians have an all black head.  The black patch of the pronotum (back of the thorax) extends full length rather than being just in the center on Pennsylvanians.

Leatherwings get that title because of their soft flexible elytra wing covers which are hard in most beetles.  The family are also referred to as soldier beetles because of their bright colored "uniforms".  They nectar on flowers as well as feeding on small insects and their eggs. While the Pennsylvania Leatherwing is usually found in the fall, the Margined crawl are out in early summer.  Following mating, they lay their eggs in the soil and ground litter where their larvae will feed until their fall pupation.

 

Pollinia afoot -  Kareninnature

Pennsylvania leatherwings crawl around nectaring on the milkweed flowers and get yellow globs wedged on their feet.  These are paired sacs of pollen called pollinia.  These wedge tenaciously to the beetles' feet making walking awkward.  Because they are able strong fliers they can carry their load to nearby flowers where they leave them like a kid with muddy feet.  Rather than dusting individual pollen grains, the sacs of pollen are left in an opening on the next plant.

Beetle boots - Charley Eiseman

There is a risk in this strategy.  A variety of milkweed pollinators can get stuck by the leg if the pollinia is too firmly attached.  You can occasionally find a dead insect hanging by its leg, paying the ultimate price for nectar described in this video.

More on the trap at this site.

Snail's Lunch

Mark Bower's upcoming exhibition of mushroom photographs at Springfield's Nature Center features a snail caught in the act of vandalizing one of our precious morels.  This led me off into the study of the snail's diet.  It was appropriately slow going.

I started by asking Dr. Chris Barnhart for the background on the perp.  He identified the snail as one of several possible species in the Polygyridae family.  These are air breathing land snails that make up a significant proportion of the land snail fauna of eastern North America.  They have eyes and  the absence of a "love dart,"  a detail that only a dedicated malacologist  (mollusk expert) or possibly Hugh Heffner would notice.

Land_snails  are the ultimate omnivore with a diet of live and dead vegetation, fungi, fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, algae, limestone, chalk, occasional carrion and even damp paper and cardboard on occasion.  Polygyrid specie's diet is said to be comprised mostly of microfungi associated with leaf litter.  

"Land snails and slugs may eat herbaceous plant leaves or stems; rotting herbaceous plants, leaves, wood or bark, including the fungi that live within these items; fungal fruiting bodies such as mushrooms or conchs; and coatings of fungi or algae on rock or bark.  Snails and slugs are also found eating animal scats and carcasses; nematodes; old shells of other snails; or snail eggs, shells, and flesh. In the Pennsylvania woods large snails such as the toothed globe (Mesodon zaletus) might be found upon white-tailed deer scats, while the gray-foot lancetooth (Haplotrema concavum) hunts and consumes live snails and slugs. 

Organic and inorganic soil and rock particles are also ingested by snails. Consumption of calcium-bearing minerals provides the nutrient that snails need to build their shells, which are mostly calcium carbonate with a protein outer coating, the periostracum."  Pennsylvania Land Snails

The wide range of foods probably reflects the relatively small home range of a snail.  Although a few species have been noted to "migrate," that is to seasonally move from a damp off-season home in the humus to a stump that has been rotting over several years, the majority live in a neighborhood of a few feet.  Under that circumstance, you can't be too choosy about your food.

Surprisingly little is known about the dietary preferences of most snail species.  As you can imagine, recording a snail's diet over weeks is research that moves at, dare I say it, a snail's pace.  Recent research however has emphasized the importance of at least one species eating its fresh vegetables.  In a study by Rebekah Martin and colleagues last year, they were able to show that a species of  Polygyrid land snails (Patera appressa) were stunted when consuming only leaf litter but caught up to normal size when fed fresh greens in the form of Romaine lettuce.  Their mother could have told them that, but who listens to mom?

Click to Enlarge

Click to enlarge

If you are fortunate enough to find a snail on a mushroom, look carefully behind it and you may be able to see a trail of slime.  Land snails, a classification that includes shell-less slugs, travel along on a lubricating layer of slime.  Slime is unique in that it is hygroscopic, meaning that it absorbs water rather than losing it.  Moisture is critical to these creatures which initially evolved in the water, so they seek moisture.  Many only come out in the night and most prefer damp areas.

Snail on a false morel- Mark Bower

Also remember that as with all wildlife, the fact that a snail can eat a mushroom does not mean it is safe or non-toxic to humans.  If you have trouble remembering this rule, just remember all the things your dog eats on a walk that you wouldn't touch.  Fido and snails are much more omnivorous than humans.
Video of a snail eating a mushroom.
Overviews of land snails are at The Living World of Mollusks and  Pennsylvania Land Snails.

Soldiers on the Flowers

Pennsylvania Leatherwing

There are soldier beetles flying all over, from Bull Creek to our backyard.  They are landing on clothing, cars and lawn furniture but especially on their favorite plants.  They are Pennsylvania Leatherwing (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus), a species which feeds on the nectar of Goldenrod and Thoroughwart (Eupatorium) that bloom from August through October.  They seem to have adapted to the exotics in our backyard such as celosia.

Their larva live on the ground under leaf litter, stones, logs, etc.  They are predatory, eating insect eggs and larva.  Adults and larva both have abdominal glands which secrete defensive chemicals.*

Adapting to city life on Celosia

These beetles are strong fliers and locate their host plants with uncanny accuracy.            

They are valuable as pollinators and are said to eat aphids and even cucumber beetles.  If this is true, I wish they would get busy as we have a massive attack of cucumber beetles, seemingly misnamed as they also eat kale, spinach, beans, squash, and everything else they can land on. 

Five-spotted Cucumber Beetle

For those of you who are careful readers, you may have picked up on the pensylvanicus with only one "n".  This isn't one of my frequent mistakes.  Bugguide says "The spelling with one "n" was in common use at the time (de Geer says in the description that the specimen was sent to him from "Pensylvanie"), so the species name based on it can't be corrected under the rules governing scientific names."[Bugguide.com]

*Field Guide to Insects of North America- Kaufman

House Centipede

House centipede

I received this photograph from friends who wondered if they should be alarmed about its presence in their house.  This is the common House Centipede, (Scutigera coleoptrata), and although it won't harm them, the news is mixed.

My what big fangs you have! S. coleoptrata - Stan Gilliam from Bugguide

Most important to know, although all centipedes come equipped with poison glands connected to their fangs to subdue their prey, you are not on their menu.  In the unlikely event that you wanted to pick one up you might briefly have some mild pain from a bite.  They normally feed on silverfish, beetle larvae, spiders, cockroaches and other arthropods.  They like dark moist places with food and if you see multiple centipedes you probably have lots of their prey in your house.

  Elizabeth Dauch

They are thought to originate in the Mediterranean, were first found in Pennsylvania in 1849 and are now found throughout the world.  They tend to remain motionless for long periods of time, only to suddenly dart ahead at startling speed, enough to "bug" the average homeowner.  I found this 1902 description from USDA entomologist, C.L. Marlatt.

“It may often be seen darting across floors with very great speed, occasionally stopping suddenly and remaining absolutely motionless, presently to resume its rapid movements, often darting directly at inmates of the house, particularly women, evidently with a desire to conceal itself beneath their dresses, and thus creating much consternation.”

Sexist references aside, the adult measures 3-4 inches in length from legs to antennae tips and is a formidable addition to your bathroom, enough to "cause consternation" for most homeowners.  Newly hatched larvae have only 4 pairs of legs and will accumulate another one or two body segments, each with another pair of legs through five larval molts.  It will have another 4 molts with 15 pairs of legs before reaching adulthood.  And humans think they have trouble keeping their kids in shoes!

If having these around the house bugs you, read the suggestions for control in the PSU Extension factsheet.

To study one up close go to this Wikimedia link and continue to enlarge the photograph.

Dog Bane

Silvery Checkerspot on early dogbane blossoms - REK

There are scattered patches of dogbane in our grassland, a species that most true farmers would consider a weed and try to kill but we save it for fiber.  Its scientific name is Apocynum cannabinum, the Apocynum meaning "poisonous to dogs," hence the bane of dogs.  It can also be toxic to cattle so we hay around the patches.

Milky latex

Its reddish stems ooze a white milky latex which can cause skin blisters. It is described as bitter tasting (there is always someone to try tasting) and contains cardiotoxic glycosides, the same family of chemicals as digitalis.  The roots had been used therapeutically in the past to treat heart failure.  With its bad taste, only a desperate horse or cow would continue eating it, but 15-30 grams of dried leaves reportedly will kill one.

Dogbane grows freely in fields and open areas, prefers moisture but is thriving on our upper hayfield.  The "cannabinum" might stir excitement in a lawman's heart but it comes from Cannabis as a fiber plant like hemp, and fiber is one reason why we protect it, but more on that later.

Spittlebug home - REK

There are a lot of insect associations with dogbane which add diversity to our otherwise boring fescue and Johnsongrass fields.  In spite of its toxicity, spittle bugs seem to love dogbane.

During the early summer most of the dark red stems have a little bit of drool concealing a tiny green bug, butt up in the air, blowing froth of dilute digested xylem out its rectum.  If you set aside the yuck factor and wipe away the bubbles, the little guys are actually cute!  These are the nymphs of froghoppers, little athletes capable of hopping 2 feet in the air.  They are well worth the blog focused on them alone.

Spittlebug exposed - REK

The broad head of flowers attracts a wide variety of pollinators including bees, flower flies, wasps, butterflies and moths.  The USDA/ NRCS ranks its value to pollinators as "very high."  Pennsylvania leatherwings (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) are attracted to their pollen and their larvae attack many other insects.  Tachinid flies visit the flowers and lay their eggs on stinkbugs, Japanese beetles and other pests where their larvae grow up eating inside them until they die or at least don't reproduce.  Birds even use the fibrous fluff of the seeds for nesting material.

Milkweed is in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), and a variety of "milkweed" insects visit ogbane as well.  Small milkweed bugs (Lygaeus kalmii) are attracted to them.  Dogbane is a host plant for several caterpillars including our beloved snowberry clearwing moths that mimic hummingbirds, nectaring without touching down.  Monarchs nectar on the flowers but their caterpillars can't survive by feeding on the plant.

Dogbane Beetle

I have left out one of the best for last, the dogbane beetle.  This gem literally changes color depending on the angle of the light, its metallic green sheen blending into gold and all shades in between.  According to Illinois State Museum:

"Chrysochus auratus iridescence "changes color because of stacks of tiny slanting plates, under which is a pigment.  Some light rays reflect from the surface of the plates, and other light rays reflect from the pigment underneath. At different angles, the light reflects at different speeds, causing interference and resulting in our seeing different colors that shine."

The eggs are laid in the soil or on the plant and the larvae tunnel in the soil to feed on dogbane or milkweed roots.  The adults are able to defend themselves by giving off a foul odor like many other beetles.  The best approach to them is to photograph them and enjoy them at a distance.

Colors we can't reproduce -  Nature Web

Dogbane cordage - REK

Ah yes, the fiber!  Hemp dogbane has been used for cordage by Native Americans for at least several thousand years.  The individual fibers that are found under the dry bark in the fall are stronger than cotton of the same size and found multiple uses from bowstrings to sandal soles.  Primitive skills instructors demonstrate the process at the Nature Center each year and you can learn to make your own cordage at this site.  We will be harvesting the dogbane this fall for the Wonders of Wildlife classes.

Mating Black Snakes

Mort Shurtz sent me these pictures of mating black snakes in a tree. "About twenty feet from our deck my son Jay noticed two blacksnakes in some form of endearment in a maple tree."  Like any dedicated Master Naturalist, he ran for a camera and soon had "five voyeurs gawking at these two mating snakes."

The Western Rat Snake, Pantherophis obsoletus, known locally as the Black Rat Snake goes by many different common names across the country.  Its official common name (if there can be such) was recently changed to Texas Rat Snake although they are predominately north and east of Texas (see my recent diatribe).

Black Rat Snakes are one of the largest native snakes in North America, growing up to 8 feet long.  They are talented climbers of trees, rocks and seemingly any structure.  We watched a five foot specimen scale the exterior wall of our Bull Mills house and crawl into a fissure that we couldn't even see from below.  We had evicted it twice before because of its unsanitary habits, such as leaving shed skins in the closet and dropping white powdery excreta on the living room floor.

Although young snakes are vulnerable to a number of predators such as foxes, skunks and raccoons, the adults are most threatened by humans, victims of either tires or fear.  They respond to danger by shaking their tail and spreading a foul musk, and they will give you a non-toxic bite if you try to pick one up.

They are constrictors, progressively tightening coils around their prey with each exhalation until the victim is smothered.  Their prime prey are rodents although they will eat other small mammals, birds and their eggs.  Mort's snakes probably met on a dinner date, headed to the bird house seen in the video below.


Males wait for females in a territory which they defend from other males.  They find females by benefit of pheromones, mating for minutes to hours with the male sometimes holding on to the female with his mouth so she won't get away.  The female later produces 6-24 eggs from which the young will emerge.  One of the significant threats to their eggs is the burying beetle, (Nirtophorous pustulatus).  "The adult beetles lay their eggs in the snake eggs and the beetle larvae feed on the developing snake embryos."*

*  From Pennsylvania State University,  which has a detailed account of their reproduction.

More Black Rat Snake pictures and video are at this site. 
Various rat snake species information is at Animal Diversity Web  

A Deer Odyssey

What is he thinking?  Where will he go? - MDC Noppadol Paothong

I received this story from Dave Shanholzer, the travels of a single buck wearing a radio collar in Pennsylvania.  What is fascinating is the extent of its travels on a single day, twice in its life.  Each of us can only speculate on its purpose, and I won't spoil it for you.  Just read The Life and Times of Buck 8917.

First Reported Bluebird Twins

If you ever doubted the value of some mundane sounding citizen science projects, this story from Cornell Lab E-news is for you.   Gerald Clark, a retiree who spends time enjoying birds in his backyard, was monitoring the nests of Eastern Bluebirds in Pennsylvania.  A member of Project NestWatch he reported 3 normal eggs beside one large one in his bluebird box.  A few days later he had 5 chicks.  This is the first documented occurrence of bluebird twins!

With the frequent finding of double yolked eggs, I would not have thought it would be that rare, but apparently twins among wild birds are very rare.  It turns out that the odds in wild birds are one in a billion.  An article in CitizenSci describes the reasons for the rarity of twins in the wild.  The twins are crowded in and one has to be able to pip the shell to hatch.  In addition, both have to have access to the air cell where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged through pores in the shell.

This citizen science finding was published in  PeerJ, a peer reviewed journal.  Details and pictures are at blog.allaboutbirds.org.  All citizen science begins by being aware of the opportunities and reporting findings.  Like the Christmas Bird Count and Project Monarch, getting involved is simple.  Check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's NestWatch at this link.

Thanks to Becky Erickson of MONPS (Missouri Native Plant Society) for the lead.

Soldiers Are Mating

Mating Leatherwings- Click to enlarge

In the fall, a young beetle's fancy turn to thoughts of....... making more beetles.

We are seeing swarms of Soldier Beetles that we described in a past blog. Pennsylvania Leatherwing (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) would normally feed on the nectar of Goldenrod and Thoroughwart (Eupatorium) that bloom from August through October. These members of the daisy family have been struggling with the heat and drought.

The leatherwings are now swarming on the nearest relative, the White Crownbeard (Verbesina virginica) that grows wild along our driveway and the undisturbed field edges. Since we had a second hay cutting last week, they are crowded on this only available food source, with 8-10 beetles on a flower cluster. Walking through these edges put us at risk of insect inhalation.

White Crownbeard proliferates on the untended edges. Its winged stalks grow up to 7 feet tall, dwarfing the modest flower heads which resemble Queen Anne's Lace. However, it produces our favorite flower in the first hard frosts of winter. Thin ribbons of ice are extruded from the dried Frostweed stems, producing a wide variety of "frost flower" shapes in a season otherwise devoid of blossoms.

Frost floweer

Speaking of proliferation, you will notice that most of the beetles are actively mating with three pair or more on each flower head. They are excellent pollinators, crawling over the small florets before moving on to the next one. This helps insure another crop of frost flowers and ice ribbons this winter. As long as they are pollinating the future frost flowers, I don't mind having them fly in my face for a few weeks.

Hummingbirds and the Sugar Fix

Getting on a sugar high -  REK

After a few weeks with little hummingbird action, they are back at our deck battling over the feeders.  While we tend to associate hummers with nectar and sugar water, they get over 25% of their diet as insects.  This is their source of protein and it is especially important while they are raising their young, a time when they almost disappear from our feeders.

The insect diet of hummingbirds includes hawking mosquitoes, gnats, and fruit flies, gleaning spiders, aphids, caterpillars and even insect eggs.

They have been called "nectar powered flycatchers" for good reason.  They consume up to half their weight in sugars daily, both from long tubular flowers seemingly made with them in mind, as well as from tree sap and our feeders.  It takes a lot of energy to maintain 1200 heartbeats per minute and 80 wingbeats per second!  Their sugar slurping is done with a remarkable tongue we discussed in a recent blog.

Hummingbirds are related to swifts, powerful predators of flying insects with a short beak perfect for grabbing their prey mid-flight.  Hummingbirds' beaks extend far beyond their skull, perfect for picking insects off of deep flowers.  On the other hand, grabbing an insect in flight would be like catching a fly with chopsticks.  Recent research described in this PBS video shows that when hawking in mid-air, they gulp down the insect by opening wide and catching it deep in their jaws.

Gleaning a bug from a flower -  Ctnews.com

Some people raise bugs in a container, using rotten fruit to attract and breed fruit flies.  They then release them at a regular time of day, training the hummingbirds to come by for a dose of protein.  Since we raise lots of gnats and mosquitoes with no effort along Bull Creek, we want our hummers to hunt on their own.

Pennsylvania State University has a good resource page with facts about our common Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Leatherwing Beetles

 

Mark Bower sent me this picture of beetles covering his goldenrods.  He tentatively   identified them as Goldenrod Soldier Beetles.

I immediately recognized them as Pennsylvania Leatherwings.  Looking them up I found that both names are commonly used to describe Chauliognathus pensylvanicus.  I will leave that pronunciation to you.

Of even greater interest, there is a fungus association, a beetle made for our mycologist friend!  To quote this Wikipedia entry:

"Adult C. pensylvanicus may be infected by the fungus Eryniopsis lampyridarum. After the fungus infects the host, it takes about two weeks for it to eventually kill its host. Before the host dies, the fungus orders the beetle to climb a plant and then attach itself to a flower by biting down with its mandibles into flower heads. About 15–22 hours later, the fungus causes the dead beetles to raise their elytra and expand their metathoracic wings in order to maximise infection of other beetles.  With their wings raised, the dead beetles may still attract mates as live males were observed mating with the deceased, infected females, this then transmits spores from one insect-host to another."

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology at this link

This is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or in this case an infection or STI.  There is more recent information on this in this Science Alert story.  The Parasite of the Day blog has more on the fungus association.  As other soldier beetles are attracted to daisies, the plant acts as a pub which attracts other uninfected beetles.  Sound familiar?  Meanwhile other infected beetles fall to the ground where the fungi can survive until they hitch a ride on other beetles.

This is written in the name of science, even if it sounds a little X-rated.

Stink Bug Eggs

One of our WOLF School students gave me this leaf from the playground.  On the underside there was a tiny tightly packed cluster of eggs.  She recognized that they might be eggs, but of what?  Under magnification, the eggs were a cloudy white with a faint pink line.  The cluster was typical of stink bugs eggs.  I did what any other sophisticated biologist with my training would do.  I put the leaf in a ziplock bag and waited for nature to take its course.



Five days later was the great "coming out."  The tiny 2mm creatures were clustered around the empty egg mass, but by the time I got out my camera they were on the move.  The eggs were still in place but the tops were ajar where the larvae had chewed their way to freedom.  They seemed larger than the egg they had emerged from, a phenomena that any human mother can appreciate.

  David R Lance, USDA

Under better light as seen above, these can be identified as brown marmorated stink bugs (MBSB), Halyomorpha halys.  I bagged the larvae in with assorted fresh leaves from Barb's flower garden (all native species of course) and the next morning they were all tightly clustered on the underside of a squaw weed leaf, Packera obovata.  When disturbed they began to move, as seen in this somewhat shaky video.  I challenge you to try making a video of 2mm crawling nymphs after your second cup of coffee.

BMSB is a species accidentally introduced from Asia and first collected in 1998.  It has rapidly moved across the country and is now found in Europe and South America.  It is found in wooded urban areas as well as orchards where it has become a major pest.  Like most other stink bugs it feeds by sticking its proboscis into the plant and injecting juices that digest the plant.  This leaves fruits dimpled with rotting inside, making them unsaleable.  For most of us, it seems likely that we will become more intimately acquainted with BMSB in our personal lives.

"Late in the season, adults will enter homes and other buildings when seeking sheltered sites to overwinter or diapause. During the several weeks of peak flight, many insects can enter homes through any small opening, mostly around windows. In Japan, the BMSB is a well-known nuisance pest for this reason, and the same situation is now common in Allentown, Pennsylvania in late September and early October.  As the insect spreads to new areas, this aggregation behavior will probably again attract attention and ironically assist in monitoring its distribution." Entnemdept.ufl.edu

5th instar - Hectonichus CC

Adult BMSB - Alpsdake CC

They progress through 6 instars before reaching adulthood with the brown marmorated color, meaning having a marbled or streaked appearance.  The 5th instar is my personal favorite but sadly they won't be reaching this stage in our house.  (Mama don't allow no stinking invasive species around here.)
============
The University of Florida Entomology Department has more detailed information.

There are some "good" stinkbugs that are predatory, feasting of insects that you don't want in your garden.  This website has photographs to help you tell the difference between them but the easiest feature is the sharply pointed shoulder spines seen below.

September Phenology

The word for the day is phenology- the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate.  Tana Pulles puts up a poster in her office every month and has volunteered to share her monthly Ozark phenology thoughts with us.

MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

Wikimedia

Every fall, a magical event takes place—the annual Monarch migration to Mexico. In September look for larger numbers of Monarchs on the move or perhaps clustered in a nearby tree. By instinct alone, they migrate distances up to 2000 miles to their wintering grounds in Mexico.

The average peak of the Monarch migration for our 37 degree latitude is the last two weeks of September.

SHOREBIRD MIGRATION
Early September brings the peak of shorebird migration. Shorebirds tend to travel in flocks and are seen near sand and mud flats of standing water, prairie potholes, backwaters and sewage lagoons. Many of them are long range migrants that we see only in the spring on their way to summer breeding locations up north and fall to wintering grounds in Central and South America.

 WATCH FOR FALLING ACORNS Oaks and hickories produce seed crops at irregular intervals. One season may bring bumper quantities of acorns and nuts, while the next season may bring scarce amounts. Red oaks produce their acorns every other year.   Acorns and nuts are of tremendous importance to deer, squirrels, turkeys and other wildlife. Upwards of 100 species of birds and animals include acorns in their diets. Late September observe squirrels busy burying these seeds for their winter food stash.

SOLDIER BEETLES

You don't have to look hard for soldier beetles - these Pennsylvania leatherwings start to cluster on the frost weed, Goldenrod and Thoroughwart (Eupatorium) byt the start of September. Too many can be a nuisance but they are good pollinators and will eat aphids.


COLORS OF FALL
Sassafras, sumac and Virginia creeper begin to show their fall color the last half of September. Look for their brilliant reds.  Above all, don't forget to count the leaves.  Virginia creeper= 5 leaflets; Poison ivy= "leaves of three."  Poison ivy also turns a beautiful shade of red- the same color as your rash if you forget.

Poison Ivy

Virginia creeper- Wikimedia

 HAWK MIGRATION

Broad-winged hawk- Cathy Miller

The later half in September provides the best viewing for hawk migration; one in particular is the Broad-winged Hawk. The best time of day for viewing a band of these migrating raptors is mid-morning on a bright day after a cold front has passed through the area. It is then that you are likely to see hundreds even thousands moving southwards. They are returning to the American tropics where they spend their winters. 

Tiger Salamander- endangerednj.blogspot.com

TIGER SALAMANDERS MOVING
Tiger salamanders spend their days in burrows or under logs, as they are active at night. During autumn rains, adult individuals migrate to fishless ponds where breeding will take place. Courtship and egg-laying occur in the water between February and April. Each female may lay up to 1,000 eggs deposited in small clumps of 18 to 110 eggs. Eggs hatch in a few weeks.

And finally this from Jeff Cantrell in Joplin:

"Common Nighthawks have been migrating through in good numbers, some evenings (20, 40, 60 - 100 birds ) while I have noticed other days I see very few, there seems to be a pulse to the migration. Try to catch them if you get the opportunity. They will be heading to South America as mid-September nears. The “bullbats” have a cool casual flight, followed by some remarkable dives. “Peent” is their rally cry, but sometimes you will hear “beer, beer, beer” almost like science fiction firearm sound effects. "