I am very excited and making plans for the 2019 insect season.  The ground is still pretty frozen but the plants are pushing up and getting green.

Bumble Bee queens will soon emerge and look for a good nesting spot.  She is the only bumble bee to survive the winter and must do all the work to set up a new colony. The work that must be done includes building the cells for food and babies, collecting nectar and pollen, feeding the larvae, and cleaning the nest.  Early blooming flowers and trees are very important to these queens.  The better the nectar flow the larger her first workers (all female) can be.

I jumped right into the insects but wanted to mention that this is the report I will send this to my Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Monument chapter as our Chair of the Conservation committee.

I am delighted to report a butterfly sighting on Wednesday April 3, it was a mourning cloak.  This butterfly overwinters as an adults in Minnesota within leaf litter. The females will lay eggs in a cluster around a twig and the young caterpillars will eat together until it is time to pupate.  Many of our butterflies will return as adults from other states.  Some of the migrations back to Minnesota have begun, such as the adult Monarch butterfly.

I am taking an advanced Bumble bee Identification course and should have more to report at the next meeting.

As you clean up gardens and yards remember to leave what leaves and dead plants as you can, this is valuable habitat for many animals and the food they eat.

Bee well

Jessica Miller