JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2015 • NEBRASKAland 15
First Day Hike
By Amy Kucera
Creating a New Year's resolution can be
a walk in the park, particularly if you to
kick it off with the annual tradition of a
First Day Hike.
Hosted by America's State Parks
in celebration of the New Year, the
organization encourages a walk in the park
in a national initiative to connect people to
the outdoors through a winter walk in the
wild.
Though most First Day Hike treks
throughout parks are unguided, there are
more than 600 events organized across the
country, including one scheduled at Ponca
State Park near Ponca.
The benefits of a hike outdoors are both
instantaneous and long-term, and exercise
has been proven to improve and maintain
overall health and can lead to a longer life.
With more than 41,725 miles of trails
existing in America's State Parks, you don't
need to go far to make stepping through a scenic state park part of your new year.
Be creative. Combine it with snowshoes or cross-country skis for an adventure, or
invite a two- or four-legged friend and ensure your First Day Hike won't be the
last.
Find a hike near you at
Firstdayhike.com. ■
NEBRASKAland
Visitor
and
October's winner of the
Visitor drawing was
Bella Poppe of Hastings, Nebraska,
who found the apple maggot fly on
page 55. Readers are encouraged to
contact NEBRASKAland within 10
days after this issue's publication
with the correct page number and
name of this issue's "Visitor" – a
critter found in Nebraska. We will
then gather the correct entries and
draw one to win a NEBRASKAland
Magazine mug. To enter each
month, write:
NEBRASKAland Visitor
2200 North 33rd Street,
Lincoln, NE 68503.
Or e-mail:
Tim.Reigert@Nebraska.gov
with "Visitor" in the subject line of
the message.
HINT: This issue's visitor is not
on page 12, 15, 58 or 63.
The apple maggot fly is a fruit
fly, less than ¼" in length, and
native to North America. As the
name suggests, this insect is a
pest of apples, but also infests
other fruits including hawthorns,
cherries and plums. Adult flies
have a black body, dark red eyes,
and white stripes on the abdomen.
Their wings are transparent, with
distinct black bands that aid in
identification.
Adults emerge from the soil in
summer, and begin to feed and
mate. Females cut a slit into fruit
with their ovipositor and lay a
single egg per slit. Fly larvae,
or maggots, are white, legless
creatures that feed inside the
fruit, causing the infested part to
become brown and mushy. The
larvae eventually exit the fruit,
drop to the ground, and
pupate, before emerging
as adults the next
summer.
Bugguide.net is a good site for identification.
Special thanks to Julie Van Meter, State
Entomologist, Nebraska Department of
Agriculture.
Explore the trails at Nebraska State Parks. E
On January 1, Ponca State Park
(pictured) will be hosting a First Day
Hike event.
