Welcome to Ordway Field Notes

We are excited to kick off the official blog of Macalester College's Ordway Field Station! Check in here to get updates on our research projects, see what our students are up to, and exchange random thoughts with Ordway's personnel. Welcome! 

Location: 9550 Inver Grove Trail, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076, USA

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6/12/24 Photo of the Day - The Hibernating Woolly Bear Awakens - Isabella Tiger Moth

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  12 June 2024 -  Isabella Tiger Moth sighted this morning—beautiful (and fleeting)! This moth will only be around sipping nectar and searching for others by night for about 1-2 weeks before it proceeds to mate and die. The eggs this species lays will hatch into a caterpillar you might find familiar: the woolly bear!! Woolly bear caterpillars are named for their overwintering ability—there are two generations of fuzzy larvae every year, one born in late spring and the other in late summer. Woolly bears that hatch in late summer grow to their full 2-inch length before winter hits, then proceed to hibernate through the cold months before undergoing metamorphosis. The woolly bear caterpillar also has implications for human overwintering: the width of the red band is said to predict the harshness of the winter. A thicker red band indicates a milder winter while a thinner stripe warns of a more severe season coming. While this folklore may not always prove to be true, the length of the band
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6/20/2024 Photo of the Day - Lucy in the Woodland with Diamonds - Black Firefly

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  18 June 2024-  While surveying vegetation, we very frequently end up surveying for invertebrates as well. Much to the dismay of my camera storage, I encounter a new bug almost daily. This one is pretty recognizable, but may seem less familiar while the sun is shining! A quick search confirmed the ID of this beetle: it is a woodland lucy/black firefly! But why is it awake? Hanging out at 1:30 pm on a Tuesday does not seem particularly exciting for something with bioluminescent capabilities. As it turns out, woodland lucy adults don’t glow! These beetles spend the day eating pollen and nectar; they use pheromones to attract a mate since they do not bioluminesce at night. The adults may not glow, but they are still called fireflies for a reason… The juveniles emit light! Juvenile fireflies glow as a warning to predators that they will not make a tasty snack (they produce defensive steroids). Like many other invertebrates, fireflies are threatened by loss of habitat, pesticides, climate
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