What to See This Week

Raspberry slime mold is a very distinct species of slime mold. It can be found growing on rotting wood. The bright red color makes it stand out but that only lasts a short time as when the slime mold matures it turns a purple-ish brown.

Bird’s nest fungi are a familiar group comprised of several species. They usually grow from decomposing wood, often being found in mulched flower beds. The fruiting body is made up of a cup-like structure that holds little “eggs” containing the spores. When a raindrop hits one of these cups, the eggs containing the spores can be dispersed up to 3 feet away.

A good place to spot butterflies is around muddy puddles. About 10 little butterflies were gathered around a puddle on a trail at the Red Barn Reserve. They will drink water from these shallow puddles as they contain dissolved minerals. Pictured here is a pearl crescent butterfly.

More dragonflies are out and about at the Red Barn Reserve. Pictured here is a Halloween pennant with striking black and orange striped wings.

Flower flies are a convincing bee or wasp mimic. These flies are valuable pollinators as well. To easily distinguish between a flower fly and a bee or wasp, look at the wings and antennae. Flies have only one pair of wings whereas bees and most other winged insects have two pairs of wings. Flies also have significantly shorter antennae than bees or wasps.

Scarlet bee balm is currently in bloom. These bright red tube-shaped flowers are extremely popular with hummingbirds.

Culver’s root has only just begun to bloom. It has spikes of white flowers that bloom from the bottom up. This plant is a pollinator favorite and was already drawing the interest of insects with just a few of the flowers blooming so far.

Southern magnolias have huge white flowers in bloom right now along the Parkwoods Trail. As the name suggests, this species is native further south. Unlike our native magnolias, the southern magnolia is evergreen.