Aurora Borealis and Insect Queens

Up Above to Underground: October Photo Dump

Up in the Sky

Northern Lights, October 10, 2024

Last week’s Aurora Borealis was phenomenal! We stood in the backyard and craned our necks to watch the show. Did you see them where you live? Had you seen them before?

October sky. Nothing quite like it.

Between Earth and Sky

Last of the elder blossoms, soon to be elderberries...

…to feed the birds who haven’t migrated south.

There’s a half-completed nest inside this birdhouse. The would-be owners never did move in, but it’s still here if they ever change their minds.

At Ground Level

There’s been light frost on the ground a few mornings so far, but nothing severe yet. Just cold enough to bring in the last of the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and beans, and to collect seeds for next year.

Top L to R: Michaelmas daisies, Holly berries; Succulent blooms; Mid L to R: Red bean blossoms, Russian sage, Swamp milkweed; Bottom L to R: Fungus on garden log, Our one watermelon, sweet potato plant

I spy… a grasshopper!

Top L to R: Pepper plant, Chicago fig, Zinnias; Mid L to R: Lemon balm, Queen yellow jacket, Gourd blossom; Bottom L to R: More zinnias, Heirloom pickling cucumber, and Doctor Who? (Gas lines being redone in the neighborhood & all these Tardises showed up! Could do without the Port-a-Potty smell.)

The queen yellow jacket in the grid above was uncovered while

Phillip Otherhalf

was digging near the blueberries. She was big and scary-looking but sluggish. Pretty sure she was confused at being dug up from her hibernation spot, beneath the mulch and soil. Unlike their honeybee cousins, who winter in a cozy ball with their colony, wasp queens are solitary during the cold months. They will emerge in early Spring, construct a nest, and lay the eggs that will become their colony for that year. In the Fall, the males contribute their genetic material then die, and the fertilized queens each hibernate alone. Hornets and bumble bees follow a similar life cycle.¹ So do our native solitary bee species, but as their name suggests, the females raise their young alone rather than in colonies. Male solitary bees sleep out-of-doors on flowers (another reason to skip the chemical garden sprays).² Honeybees aren’t perfect paragons of communal living, though; they systematically kick the drones (male bees) out of the hive this time of year, to die of starvation and exposure. Only the females get a chance to survive together to Spring. Nature is brutal.

Our Bees

Around the hives

As of a week ago, the newest hive, that was requeening at the time of the last post, had both the old and newly-emerged queens living together peacefully. That scenario is unlikely to last; either the new queen, pending a successful mating flight, will start laying and take over the hive, or the hive will be without a fertile queen and need to be combined with another colony. Though there’s been warm afternoon sun, the nights have been cold and pollen sources are dwindling. We still see foraging bees, but have insulated the hives and made the entrances smaller (for heat conservation and pest exclusion).

This colony, that was moved into the garden corner in August, is thriving. The top feeder pictured here has since been removed, and an insulated “attic” box put in its place.

In the Kitchen

L to R: Box of apples from Phillip's dad, Sliced apple in dehydrator, Sweet sweet apple chips!

Pico de gallo season. The tastiest way to use fresh cherry tomatoes, hot peppers, onion, & cilantro. Chop/ dice, squeeze lime juice over it, and add salt.

Seasonal Shift

Post-bath doggo, just before he course-corrected with a roll in soot and a good long dig in the dirt. Thankfully, just a regular bath this time— no skunks involved!

The leaves are turning. The sun drops out of sight rather quicker than is polite in the evenings. We’re nearing the end of marching band season here, also known as high school football season. We’ve brought out the sweaters and extra blankets. I plan to take advantage of this weekend’s St. Luke's summer to do hive checks, and combine any weak colonies with more robust ones. It feels like a Midwest October.

What have you been up to in October? For those in the Northern Hemisphere, have you experienced colder temperatures yet, or even the first frost? What garden tasks are on your list before November arrives? Do you have any fun insect facts to share?

I’ve opened up the Chat so that any subscriber to The Suburb Farm can start a thread now (not just me)! You can jump in anytime to share garden photos, post a link to farm-ish news, or crowdsource food-growing questions to other readers. Just keep it wholesome, please, like the mindful & demure people you are. Click here to start a Chat.

—Erin, in Michigan

1. https://wisconsinbumblebees.entomology.wisc.edu/about-bumble-bees/life-cycle-and-development/

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/bees-and-wasps/hornet

2. https://blog.nwf.org/2022/06/the-life-of-a-solitary-bee/