October 7, 2024

I saw a queen butterfly while mowing the trails in the prairie. It flew off before I got the lawn mower stopped so no picture yet. I am 100% certain it was a queen. I saw the single white dots on the wings. It was feeding on blue mist.

I have identified 703 species in the prairie.

The following are blooming at this time:
Boneset is almost done
Bidens is almost done
Golden rod is just past full bloom. (A mixture of all pollinators)
Camphorweed (Heterotheca subaxillaris) blooming (More native bees... leaf cutters and longhorns, small butterflies)
Blue mist flower (Conoclinium coelestinum) small butterflies, especially long tailed skippers
Asters spp. One large area in prairie is white with yellow center.

It has been 7 weeks with no rain. Weather is hot high 80's during the day. Rain forecasted for October 31st. Average for October is 4.59", we are at 0.04" for the month.

Burn ban in effect.