Naturally
There was something in the mailbox, but it wasn’t a bill. It was a jumping spider, which doesn’t spin webs to catch prey. Jumping spiders construct small tent-like silks under rocks, logs, on plants and, in this case, a mailbox, which they use at night and to lay eggs in. Jumping spiders are most active during the day, enjoy sunshine, and stay in their retreats on cloudy or rainy days. Jumping spiders turn and face humans and may even advance towards them, as this one jumped at me. Jumping spiders have four pairs of eyes with a large principal pair, which gives them better vision than other spiders. They feed primarily on insects, but will eat other spiders, actively stalking prey instead of snaring it in a web. They steal insects snared by the webs of other spiders. The one I saw was a bold jumper. It had short legs, the front part of its body and abdomen was black with white spots and covered with short white hairs, giving it a fuzzy appearance.
Q&A
“Why do the leaves of trees show their undersides?” I see oaks, maples and poplars flipping their leaves when there is a change in the prevailing wind, an increase in humidity levels or low moisture. Leaf flipping is usually a sign that rain is imminent, when the leaves change position because of weather conditions that typically develop before rain moves in. As summer rains move in, gusty winds often precede them, causing leaves to flip over and show their silvery sides. Tree leaves typically grow in accordance with the prevailing wind in an area. Winds from incoming storms usually go against the prevailing wind, and the force of the wind causes the leaves to flip.
“How did the wren become king of the birds?” It’s because the wren was the hero of an ancient fable. The legendary Greek writer Aesop wrote of the wren pitted against the eagle to see which bird could soar the highest. The wren rested on the eagle’s back as the eagle flew higher. When the eagle became exhausted, the wren flew from its back and climbed higher as the eagle plummeted to the ground. Proving that cleverness is better than sheer strength, the wren became the king of birds. The German name for a wren is Zaunkönig, which means king of the fence or hedge.
“When did the Grasshopper Plague happen in Minnesota?” It occurred in 1873–1877, beginning when farmers in the southwestern part of the state saw what looked like a snowstorm coming from the west. Then they heard the roar of grasshopper wings. Grasshoppers destroyed wheat, oat, corn and barley fields. In 1876, grasshoppers visited 40 Minnesota counties and destroyed 500,000 acres of crops. Scientists called them Rocky Mountain locusts. Farmers destroyed grasshopper eggs, beat the grasshoppers with flails, dragged heavy ropes through their fields, plowed and burned fields, raised chickens to eat the grasshoppers, dug ditches they hoped grasshoppers would be unable to jump over, and filled those ditches with coal tar and set them on fire, hoping the smoke might drive the grasshoppers away. Farmers made hopper dozers of sheet metal covered in coal tar or molasses, which they dragged through the fields. County governments made efforts to rid the state of grasshoppers, but rural counties were less prepared to help people experiencing poverty than cities were. Under governors Horace Austin and Cushman K. Davis, the state provided small sums of state-funded relief, but focused their efforts on encouraging charitable giving. Governor John S. Pillsbury didn’t call for direct, state-funded relief for farmers, believing poverty was a fact of life on the frontier and providing relief would make farmers dependent on the state. Pillsbury focused efforts on eradicating the grasshoppers, which included a bounty measure requiring every able-bodied man in affected counties to destroy grasshopper eggs for one day a week for five straight weeks. In the summer of 1877, the grasshoppers left as quickly as they had arrived. An April snowstorm damaged their eggs, but many attributed the end of the plague to divine intervention since Pillsbury had proclaimed April 26a day of prayer. The grasshopper plagues left a mark on Minnesota culture, inspiring fiction like Laura Ingalls Wilder's “On the Banks of Plum Creek” and Ole Edvart Rølvaag's “Giants in the Earth.” There is a Grasshopper Chapel outside Cold Spring. The species, Rocky Mountain locust, is apparently extinct. The last recorded sighting of a live specimen was in 1902 in southern Canada.
“Are there any birds named after women?” Here are some: Lucy’s warbler, Grace’s warbler, Blackburnian warbler (either named after Anna Blackburn or her brother Ashton), Anna’s hummingbird, Virginia's warbler and Zenaida dove.
Thanks for stopping by
“Pay attention to where you pay attention.”—Howard Rheingold.
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”—Socrates.
Do good.
©️Al Batt 2024
A yellow-rumped warbler (butterbutt) was banded at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in September. Why band birds? Birds are environmental indicators. This is from the Bird Banding Laboratory: “Bird banding data are useful in both scientific research and management and conservation projects. Individual identification of birds makes possible studies of dispersal and migration, behavior and social structure, life-span and survival rate, reproductive success and population growth.” Photo by Al Batt.
Seen in Riverside Park in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Fruit trees are natural bird feeders.
What happens to a man when he spends too much time on social media.
I paused here and heard house finches and American robins. It was a good deal.
Virginia creeeper creeping along in Wisconsin.