HINTS OF AUTUMN

Even in late August we begin to see hints of autumn in Mother Nature's palate. The deep greens of summer are starting to turn to a more yellowish-green and the odd Staghorn Sumac has individual leaves shedding their chlorophyll and allowing the red pigments of fall to show through.

EXTRA PHOTOS: 
Another hint of autumn is the maturing of the Golden Rods (Solidago sp.) There's a small wasp that lays an egg into part of the stem of the plant which then grows a large grape sized gall around it. It does not harm the plant...it's a one sided symbiotic relationship known to biologists as Commensalism (one organism benefits-the other is unharmed or unaffected). The egg hatches into a maggot which feeds on the gall material and then pupates and spends the winter shielded from the northern cold winter weather by the insulating gall. In Spring, the pupa changes to an adult and leaves the gall to start the process all over again. Ice fishermen routinely collect these galls and slice them open to reveal the maggot which is a nice bait for small panfish.

The other extra shows common Jewel Weed (Impatiens capensis), a.k.a. Wild Touch-Me-Not. It signals the transition from summer to autumn by producing beautiful flowers the help modify the green colors of summer. Touch-Me-Not gets its name from the seed pods which, when touched, spring open and fling seeds hither and yon. I have a friend who taught me to collect Jewel Weed stems and keep them in the refrigerator...even freeze them. If you are around this plant and the mosquitoes are biting, just crush some stems to get at the juice and spread it all over the "skeeter" bites....the itch will go away. Mother Nature's Bug Spray.  It also works nicely on bee stings.

In a short 6 weeks, the forests of Wisconsin will be a riot of color and three weeks after that, all the leaves will be down for recycling and the overall hue of the forests will be grays and browns....until the snow falls and then you can add white to the palate.

Thus endeth the biology lessons for the day.