Fall is coming...

Rennie Heuer

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11,607
Location
Constantine, MI
... I can tell because the spiders and stink bugs are looking to move into my shop to winter over. :doh:

Could be worse. Could have Vaughn's scorpions. :eek::rofl:
 
I know fall is coming, but it sure ain't here. Gonna probably bust 100 here. Or close. :eek: I actually don't mind the spiders or even the red wasps. Red wasps and I get along just fine. They eat fire ants. Scorpions die upon me seeing them. Mean little critters. MEAN. They define the word MEAN.
 
One of the fun things about living in the temperate part of the country is that the bugs just come on in whenever they feel like it. :D The scorpions have been particularly bad this year. I think the count is currently at 28 for the year. (We mark each one down on the calendar.) Only two of those were dead before we found them, and all but six or so were found in the house. I've sprayed so much insecticide this year that the EPA is considering naming our house and yard a Superfund site. :rolleyes:
 
Fall? Shoot, we just celebrated Xmas yesterday with the parents. :eek:

The snow birds have decide to head south early this year to get ahead of other snow birds in the doctor appointments arena. :rofl: (I laugh, but that will be my future some day too. :rolleyes:)
 
In past years the Lady Bugs in my area have moved into my shop attic to hibernate for the Winter. I don't yet know if they will do it again this year, but when I have gone up there in the past Winters they have been huddled together in large groups on each side of each rafter. There must be thousands up there every Winter and they seem to favor the rafters on the West side of the roof.. I don't bother them and let them remain there all Winter, but I don't yet understand yet why they like my shop attic so much.

Some things that I've discovered about Lady Bugs is that they lose their bright orange color when they are hibernating, becoming a very light tan, and almost an aged rafter wood in color, but they regain their bright orange color within a few hours of getting back out into the Sunlight in the Spring. They remain pretty much motionless on the rafters when they are hibernating, but will move slowly around if I touch them or disturb them in any way. I sometimes bring friends up there to show them where all the Lady Bugs go in the Winter, but otherwise I just leave them alone. I've tried taking a few pictures of them, but since their color is almost like that of the rafters, I haven't succeeded in getting a picture of them that shows them well. The flash upsets them too.

Springtime and the first really warm days makes them very active and some forget how they got into my shop attic, so in their attempts to get out, some of them end up down in my shop. A few flying around me while I work isn't a problem, but a really warm day will cause about 50 to get down into the shop and I have to stop working, open the doors, and take a break until they all find their way out. I have an end door in the attic and usually have to open it up too. Going up there on that first warm day is something like walking through a bee hive, but fortunately these little guys don't bite or sting. It's still quite an experience having to go through the swarm of them to get to the door and open it.. A few hours with everything opened up and they are all gone until the next Winter. I built my shop almost 30 years ago and didn't notice them until about 10 years ago, but ever since then, every Winter they have been there, and their population seems to be increasing each year. What brings them is still a big mystery.

Charley
 
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