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Backyard Almanac
Phenology with local naturalist Larry Weber every Friday morning at 8:20 on Northland Morning.

Backyard Almanac: "The darkness will outshine the light - well, you know what I mean"

The North 103.3 | By Lisa Johnson
Published September 18, 2020 at 1:17 PM CDT
Photo by Autumn Mott Rodeheaver on Unsplash

This is the final weekend of summer, what with next weekend's autumnal equinox and all.

The BWCA was named, not just the newest dark sky sanctuary but the largest. 

Lots of migrants passing through Hawk Ridge, but non-winged ones (like snakes) are on the move as well.

Plus some suddenly develop wings (giant water bugs), infant snapping turtles are out, and it's color, color everywhere.

The Giant Water Bug is the biggest bug in Minnesota -- a full 2-inches long and about 1-inch wide. This creature is in the insect order known as Hemiptera, or the "true" bugs. The family is Belostomatidae, which consists of bugs commonly known as Giant Water Bugs (not beetles). The species in the genus Lethocerus, as this one is, are our largest belostomatids. So, the Giant Water Bug is as large an insect as you will find in the United States.
Credit MN PCA

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Credit Copyright Chris Pascone. Used with permission.
We shared this photo last week but - seriously? It's just too adorable not to share again.
Tags
Environment & Outdoors Backyard AlmanacLarry WeberFall ColorsHawk RidgeSnapping TurtleAutumnal EquinoxSnake MigrationGiant Water Bugs
Lisa Johnson
Lisa Johnson started her broadcast career anchoring the television news at her high school and spinning country music at KWWK/KOLM Radio in Rochester, Minnesota. She was a reporter and news anchor at KTHI in Fargo, ND (not to mention the host of a children's program called "Lisa's Lane") and a radio reporter and anchor in Moorhead, Bismarck, Wahpeton and Fergus Falls.Since 1991, she has hosted Northland Morning on KUMD. One of the best parts of her job includes "paying it forward" by mentoring upcoming journalists and broadcasters on the student news team that helps produce Northland Morning. She also loves introducing the different people she meets in her job to one another, helping to forge new "community connections" and partnerships.Lisa has amassed a book collection weighing over two tons, and she enjoys reading, photography, volunteering with Animal Allies Humane Society and fantasizing about farmland. She goes to bed at 8pm, long before her daughter, two cats, or three dogs.
See stories by Lisa Johnson
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