The Prairie Ecologist

We’re still waiting for the first hard freeze of the season, so I’m still able to photograph insects. And milkweed seeds, of course, but that’s a given, and not related to temperature at all. I promise there’s more to see than that, though, both in the prairies and in this post.

A milkweed bug nymph with its straw-like mouthpart embedded in a milkweed seed.

A large milkweed bug feeding on a butterfly milkweed seed.

As I watched the seed the above bug was clinging to fell out of the pod, taking the bug with it. Here’s a photo taken right after that happened.

Milkweed seed and stickseed (Hackellia virginiana) seeds at sunrise

Milkweed seeds in early light. I like that this almost looks like an underwater scene.

But this one has a cool background and clean lines

As I was walking through Lincoln Creek Prairie this weekend, I saw some Indiangrass that was turning pumpkin orange. There was a spot on one leaf that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be an adult spittlebug. I think this is a diamond spittlebug, which is one I’ve not photographed before. The larvae of spittlebugs are the ones that hide inside clusters of bubbles on plant stems. The adults look a lot like planthoppers or leafhoppers, which they’re related to.

I’m still seeing Chinese mantises around, and have found a couple of their egg cases, too. I wonder what they’re eating this time of year. A lot of the larger insects, including butterflies and moths, are pretty rare in local prairies now (though still showing up on the zinnias in my yard). There are plenty of mosquitos around, but I’m guessing mantises don’t see them as worth catching. Too bad.

A different Chinese mantis (and different color) than the two above

Some of you may remember a post from a few years ago where I complained about the unfairness of naming plants and animals “false something-or-other” just because they happened to resemble a species we’d already named. Specifically, I griped about false sunflowers (Heliopsis helianthoides) and false milkweed bugs (Lygaeus turcicus), and even proposed alternative names, none of which have stuck…

Anyway, despite my failed campaign, the insect and flower persist. The false milkweed bug’s favorite food items are false sunflower seeds, which is fun, and makes it easy to photograph the two species together. Similar to milkweed bugs, false milkweed bugs use their long mouthpart to inject chemicals into the seed that liquefy it and then they suck out that “pre-digested” slurry. It’s a cool approach to feeding on a seed when you don’t have teeth.

False milkweed bug feeding on the seed of a false sunflower.

Differential grasshopper and morning dew.

While most people think about woodlands and forests when they think about fall color, prairies are no slouches in this department. As is often the case with prairies, though, you often have to look at little closer to see it. Right now, for example, many wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) leaves have turned a gorgeous red color and lead plant leaves are golden colored. There are lots of other colors out there as well.

Lead plant leaves with morning backlighting.

Smooth sumac is one of the most striking of the native shrubs this time of year.

Over the last few years, I’ve started visiting a particular stretch of Lincoln Creek where a variety of colorful leaves fall onto the water and float around. It’s a great place to hang out on breezy overcast days when photography is difficult in other locations. I made a couple trips down there this weekend and had a great time getting muddy and finding beauty.

I think my favorite part of prairie (and stream) photography is that it’s mostly an exercise in searching for beauty. Because I don’t usually work on assignment like many professional photographers, I have the luxury of just following the light and looking for anything that strikes me. There are lots of ways to go looking for beauty, and no shortage of it out there to be found (and not just in prairies). There’s probably a lesson in that somewhere.

It’s getting hard to find any wildflowers still in bloom. Insect diversity is way down. We had our first frost last week. I think it’s about time to say goodbye to the 2026 growing season.

That doesn’t mean prairies are finished showing off, though. I was in Kentucky and Tennessee most of last week for the Eastern Native Grasslands Symposium (great conference – thank you for inviting and inspiring me!) but I’ve still managed several recent trips out into local prairies. I’ve seen plenty of beauty during each prairie visit. The most recent of those visits was this morning when I helped Mike Schrad check his small mammal traps (we caught just one plains pocket mouse) at the Platte River Prairies.

I arrived early this morning and found a variegated meadowhawk on its overnight roost. The sun wasn’t up yet and there was a thin layer of fog across the prairie. I got low to the ground and managed a few photos of the dragonfly before Mike arrived and it was time to get to work. Surprisingly, this was my first photo of a meadowhawk during this fall migration. I normally run across quite a few of them in late September and October as they’re moving southward through Nebraska, but I’ve just not been in the right places at the right times until today, apparently.

Variegated meadowhawk dragonfly in pre-dawn light

Tall thistle seed (*Cirsium altissimum*)

I have, of course, continued my photography of milkweed seeds. You might be getting tired of seeing them but I’m not. Feel free to skim past the photos but I’m going to keep putting them in front of you.

This photo reminded me of virga – the rain that falls from clouds but never hits the ground

I’ve also been catching a lot of sunrises recently. It’s a lot easier to do that this time of year when the sun is coming up at almost 8am. It hardly feels like a challenge at all to get up before the sun these days. Now the challenge has switched to being able to get out to the prairie and then back to work before people expect me to be on calls or in meetings.

This week, I caught a sunrise at Lincoln Creek Prairie that provided some terrific color. Just as the color was starting to fade, a big bank of clouds slid slowly across the sky and gradually squeezed the light out. It was the unusual situation in which the intensity of light decreased as the sunrise progressed. Here’s a series of photos showing the photos I took as the clouds stole my light.

Peak sunrise light with wild bergamot (*Monarda fistulosa*)

Illinois tick trefoil and a milkweed seed

Bergamot in front of an ever-tightening band of color

Green ash leaves as the clouds swallowed the sun

Milkweed seeds just before the light disappeared

Milkweed seeds after the sun went behind the clouds

Last shot of the morning – wild bergamot

The morning after I returned from some warm sunny days in Kentucky, we had our first frost of the season here at home. I stole a few minutes in my backyard prairie garden and captured a few shots of the frost before the sun burned it off.

The same stiff goldenrod leaf as above as the sunlight was getting almost too intense to work with

I hope you’re having a great October so far. There’s a lot happening in the world, but if you’re like me, a little time in the prairie can make it all a little easier to handle. Be well, friends.

The Prairie Ecologist

Essays, photos, and discussion about prairie ecology, restoration, and management

Photos of the Week – November 2, 2026

Photos of the Week – October 21, 2026