Signs of life

Much of what goes on in the natural world around us is hard to observe first-hand. Like the flowering of the witch-hazel, phenomena have their own time frame, so if you miss the main event you have to infer what happened from what is left behind. Short-term fossils exist all around us.

With their superior sense of smell, the dogs know so much more than we do about the goings on in the forest. For them the air is as full of information as the Internet, and there's many surfaces to post their own scent to. They have message filters as well. Their primary interests are visitors like deer and small mammals worth chasing, not to mention the bones (and worse) they love to bring home to decorate the yard.

The creatures which have interested me lately are insects. Even though the winter seems devoid of bugs, most of the summer insects are still present in some form (other species migrate). Cocoons are tucked into crevices and under tarps. Small winged insects appear out of seemingly nowhere when the temperature dallies above freezing. Many species present are tiny eggs or larvae dormant in the soil, but there are tell-tell signs of their activities throughout the year. Bark beetles for example are tiny and spend the winter as well as most of their lives under tree bark. The adults lay their eggs in cavities excavated between the bark and the wood. The larvae hatch and radiate out as they feed, leaving starbursts and fireworks to be exposed when the bark degrades.



Insects which produce galls (tumor-like plant growths) also tend to be tiny and hidden from view. Dried goldenrod stems can have golf-ball sized galls complete with resident larva, or sometimes a small beetle or other predator who has eaten the original inhabitant. Many of the spruce trees near the house have funny cone-like growths known as pineapple galls. The insect responsible, an aphid, is long gone. The next generation slumbers at the base of spring needle buds, poised to feed and in the process create new galls when warmth returns.