Most people recognize common or regular insects like moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, ladybugs and of course mosquitoes. There are many species within each of the taxonomic order of insects. Many recognize not just a butterfly but whether or not it is a Monarch, Black Swallowtail or Red Admiral. Don’t let the commons ones fool you, there is an extensive list of butterfly species found in Iowa. Other examples that are less known include over 200 species of dragonflies and damselflies that can be found during the warm season in Iowa. Those dragonflies are not the same throughout the summer either. A Swamp Darner can emerge as early as the end of April and disappears by the end of June. Fawn Darners on the other end of the life cycle spectrum emerge in June and can linger until November. One of the most abundant of dragon flies is the Green Darner. While seen throughout the summer months Green Darners are also know to migrate as far as 900 miles from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The variety of any order of insects is too broad to go into more detail here however there are some great web sites dedicated to insect life found in Iowa. I encourage you to visit these sites and follow what sparks your interest. There are also groups of insect enthusiast pages on Facebook where you can discuss your findings or get questions answered.

Jim Durbin is a citizen scientist who is working to document the insect species found in Iowa. Jim has been collecting and documenting insects for over 20 years and also maintains the web site insectsofiowa.org. Along with his personal sightings, he has data from 400+ people who have submitted information. Jim has 227,000 Iowa records which are for 710,577 sightings of insects in Iowa. These sightings are for 4252 species of insects. Most of these sightings come from black lighting at night for insects along with baiting trees occasionally. If you want to help Jim with documentation of wildlife in Iowa, go to his website and under the “Submit Sighting” are a couple ways to submit your sightings. You can use the Mobile Mapper on your phone or submit directly to the website. There are directions for using both. On his webpage are 2 identification programs which are for the butterflies in the United States and a second that is for about 10,000 species that are found in Iowa and the surrounding states.

Every day during the month of July, Marshall County Conservation has been posting on its Facebook page, a picture of a LEGO ® person hidden in one of the county parks. To see the pictures of the hidden LEGO ® people, like the Marshall County Conservation Facebook page where pictures are posted. The person who finds each day’s hidden person first is instructed to bring it to the Grimes Farm and Conservation Center and turn it in for a chance to win a kayak or one of five other prizes. This will be the last week of the contest with only 7 more chances available to be entered into a drawing for a kayak or one of five other prizes. Pictures are posted at random times each day and have the backgrounds blurred out to make it more challenging to know where they are. A drawing will be held for the 31 entries at intermission of the August 19th Live and Local Concert at the Leonard Grimes Memorial Amphitheater at the Grimes Farm and Conservation Center. Performers for the August 19 free event will be the bluegrass band Cedar County Cobras. Food trucks will also be in attendance at the concert.

With drought conditions lingering through the summer, the Iowa River is low and optimum for canoeing and kayaking. While floating along there are many side activities that can provide extra entertainment. Fishing is an obvious while beachcombing sand bars looking for rocks or fossils is another. Bird life along the river can be varied from water birds to song birds and raptors so take along a pair of binoculars. As always take necessary precautions when partaking in any outdoor recreation activity. Keep an eye on local weather forecasts and take personal protective gear as well as a first aid kit. Prepare for the unexpected and your outdoor experience will a success.

Common along wooded stream and creeks this Ebony Jewelwing is one of over 200 species in the order Odonata which includes dragonflies and damselflies found in Iowa. Members of the Odonata order feed on mosquitoes along with a host of other insect species. This is just one of roughly 10,000 species of insects found in Iowa.

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Mike Stegmann, has been with the Marshall County Conservation Board for 28 years and MCCB Director for 17 years.

One of the most frequently used county parks is Sand Lake. Marshall County Conservation is nearing completion of a new open air picnic shelter for public use on a first come first serve basis. Once final grading and seeding around the structure is complete it will also have four picnic tables and a charcoal grill available for use. Sand Lake is most noted as a fishing destination but many people also use the park for kayaking and hiking. Along with these activities, the public can now relax by the water’s edge under shade of the new structure.