Early October and even though it still feels like summer at the Indiana Dunes with temperatures in the mid 90’s, nature knows that Autumn is here. Changes in the landscape, flora and fauna are underway.
Asters are about the only wildflowers still blooming. The few remaining pollinators like these wasps and the occasional bumblebee are mostly clustered around them. The Asters attract the few remaining Monarch Butterflys as well. Most of them have migrated south at this point in the year.The general lack of insects must be making it hard on the remaining Dragonflys. Not the best hunting right now, as this Ruby Meadowhawk is discovering on this fine day.While the Orb Weavers seem to have died off, Grass Spiders seem to still be plentiful.October is a good month for many Fungi. Although it is impossible to tell without examining the spores under a microscope, this may be one of the deadly species known as Destroying Angel. The color, size and shape are consistent with this species, the habitat is right, and they are common this time of year. But there are edible species which are visually identical, so you can not be sure.This is the underside of a Larch Belote, another common fungi this time of year.This is one of my favorite subjects this time of year. Milkweed pods all over the park are bursting and releasing their seeds.Milkweed pods are the photographic gift that keeps on giving. The pods are quite durable and some never fully release their seeds. So they will be present, in ever changing form, all the way through winter and into early spring.
The Dune Ridge to Beverly Shores to Beverly Dr loop is one of my favorite trails in the Indiana Dunes National Park. It encompasses multiple ecosystems and has a lot of variety and really shines late summer/early autumn.
Trumpet Cup Lichen and a variety of Mosses are abundant along the forested Dune Ridge trail.Fungi have no trouble pushing up through the soft sandy soil.The lower portion of the Beverly Shores trail system is almost choked off by foliage this time of year. It is a good idea to pause and check for ticks after traversing this section of trail.This is, I believe, a type of Butterfly known as a Skipper. Here we have a fly and a very lethargic Bumblebee. Bumblebees are normally very active, almost to the point of appearing to be hyperactive. This one however was barely moving at all, and seemed to be just hanging on to the petal of the flower. It may have been the slightly cooler temperature on this day, but a Bumblebee’s lifespan is not particularly long so this one may simply have been nearing its end.This is an Arrow Spider. The first time I saw one of these I was captivated by the shape of the abdomen and the colors. While it looks exotic, it is actually a fairly common type of Orb Weaver.A portion of this hike passes through the middle of the Great Marsh on an abandoned road. A small foot bridge is maintained over a cut in the road that allows water to flow along its natural course. This photograph shows how lush the marsh is this time of year.I came across this pair of Sandhill Cranes foraging pretty close to the trail. They are three to four feet tall and can be pretty aggressive. This pair eye’d me suspiciously while I took their photographs. Shortly after I had moved on they took flight, passing overhead while squonking at me loudly.
