As someone who’s grown up in Southwestern Minnesota, the prairies hold a very special place in my heart. Walking through the breezy grass has always provided a way for me to slow down and relax. The different colors and shapes of the grasses and flowers is a sight that brings back my curiosity to explore. To the untrained eye the prairie may not seem super interesting, but that’s why I always encourage everyone to look closely when you’re in these types of areas. Especially when autumn comes around, a lot of the prairie flowers that we expect to see are going away and starting to turn into seeds for next year. Just because the flowers are gone doesn’t mean the world has stopped in its tracks. Many late-blooming plants can be wonderful hot-spots to make small discoveries.
I highly recommend checking out any fall-blooming flowers you happen to see. Pollinators love flowers like goldenrod, snakeroot, and boneset, which can introduce you to some new insects trying to grab a late-season meal. Recently I was out catching monarchs when I was looking closely at a flower, and I noticed something looked slightly off. There was a shade of orangish-yellow, the same color as the middle, bleeding into the lighter colors of the petals. Then, I noticed a movement. It had a completely orangish-yellow head along with seemingly scythe-like arms and black markings on its lower abdomen that perfectly matched the middle of the flower. I was in awe that something I had never seen before had revealed itself to me so suddenly.
After some research, I realized that it was probably a type of insect called an ambush bug. I had never heard of such a thing before, so I was extremely excited to learn about this new insect. I find that discoveries like these are often some of my favorite and most memorable. I love being able to show these pictures to my friends and family to help encourage them to make similar discoveries.
Some may have noticed weekly social media posts called “Find-It Friday” on our Facebook and Instagram. These posts are to encourage and incentivise anyone visiting the park to slow down and look for things they otherwise might not notice. Maybe that plant you walked by has tiny blossoms you’ve never seen before. Maybe that monarch you saw was actually a sneaky viceroy in disguise. Maybe that bird or bug is something you’ve never even heard of before. I think that the more we look, the more we learn to appreciate how complex these areas really are.
If you’re in the park, be sure to check our social media! Maybe you’ll find a flower or a bug you’ve never seen before, and you might get a prize out of it too! Happy Hunting!