Category: Out in the Woods

Out in the Woods

Photo: Terry Jellerson Chipmunks an Important Part of Our Ecosystem By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist There are 25 species of chipmunks, and 24 of them live in North America. In Maine, we have the eastern chipmunk, which lives in open deciduous woodlands and anywhere else it can find logs, rocks, leaves, and stumps for cover. Small members of the squirrel family, eastern chipmunks have brown fur with black and white stripes down their backs and long tails. They make…

Out in the Woods

Common milkweed in bloom Photo:Courtney Celley, USFWS Milkweed: Food Fit for a Monarch By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist Our common milkweed’s scientific name, Asclepias syriaca, refers to Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine, and to Syria from where it was mistakenly thought to have originated. Found primarily in North America, it’s a hugely beneficial wildflower with over 100 species living in the United States, including three in Maine: butterfly, common, and swamp milkweeds. More than 450 insects feed on…

Out In The Woods

The tiny scales on the stem are actually leaves Photo: ramapithecus via Creative Commons Ghost Pipes: Pretty White Forest Parasites By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist They’re white, look like they should be a mushroom, have a flower and produce seeds. They have no chlorophyl, so they don’t photosynthesize. When noticed by Sanford trail walkers, they often stop and ask, “what exactly are ghost pipes?” They're perennial woodland flowers, an herb, related to the rhododendron and blueberry. They like dark…

Out in the Woods

White pine needle disease is evidenced by the yellow/brown needles along Sanford’s Rail Trail. Also notice the remnants of last year’s mast year of pinecones. That Cushion of Pine Needles Spells Trouble Photo: Kevin McKeon By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist During a recent Mousam Way Land Trust workday, as several volunteers were preparing the greenhouse for its first plastic cover installation, the friendly chatter morphed into a discussion about why our trails are covered in pine needles this summer.…

Out in the Woods

The common eastern firefly, or big dipper Photo: Terry Priest / Flickr Creative Commons 2.0 These Beetles Are Full of Bright Ideas By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist Last summer was a wet one, and a lot of our underground creatures thrive in wet soils — especially firefly nymphs, as they forage through the damp soil feeding on the abundant slugs, worms, snails, and sometimes even other firefly nymphs. They’ll do this for two years, then overwinter as pupae (cocoon-like…