NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/604047
DECEMBER 2015 • NEBRASKAland 19 NEBRASKAland Visitor and Last issue's winner of the Visitor drawing was Dennis Coats of Hastings, Nebraska, who found the dung beetle on page 57. 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 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 pages 4, 7, 11, 27, or 30. The shiny black beetle is a dung beetle, (Geotrupes). Nebraska is home to more than 50 species, many of which are brown to black, though some, such as the "splendid" dung beetle are quite colorful. Dung beetles are coprophagous, meaning they eat the dung or excrement of other animals. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, and in all types of habitats. They have a strong sense of smell, which they use to locate dung even across long distances. While all dung beetles feed on dung as both larvae and adults, the means by which they utilize dung separates them into three distinct types: Dwellers – live within a pile of dung, burrowing, laying eggs, and feeding within the pile. Tunnelers – excavate tunnels below the dung and move dung into the tunnels. Rollers – roll dung into a ball, and roll it away from the larger dung pile, to their tunnel. Special thanks to Julie Van Meter, State Entomologist, Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Dreaming of a White Christmas? By Tony Mucia and Deborah Bathke Have you ever wondered if this year will be a white Christmas? Waking up on Christmas morning, looking out the window and seeing the bright reflection of snow is a great memory for many. But how likely is it that this Christmas will have snow? Using more than six decades of historical weather records in your county, you can now see the probability of a white Christmas. For some, a white Christmas may just mean that a few snowflakes are falling. Meteorologically speaking, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) defines a white Christmas as one in which there is an accumulation of at least one inch of snow on the ground. On the map shown here, the darker colors represent a higher probability while the lighter colors represent a lower probability. The results are similar to what you would expect, with the northern most counties having the greatest likelihood of a white Christmas. Pierce, Hooker and Rock counties boast 49, 52 and 53 percent chance of a white Christmas, respectively. Chase, Deuel, Perkins, Webster and Greeley have less than a 20 percent chance. To compute the statistics for the map, snow depth data was obtained from the NOAA's Applied Climate Information System for every Christmas day from 1950 to 2014 at stations across the state. These values were then averaged to create a county average for each year. Unfortunately, not every county had all 65 years of snow depth data reported. So to calculate a county's probability, the number of years that had at least one inch of snow on the ground was divided by the total number of years that the county had snow depth data. Keep in mind that this map only shows the probability based on historical data, not current or future conditions. The actual conditions for 2015 may vary widely from these probabilities because the weather patterns present this winter will determine whether there is snow on the ground or if it will fall on Christmas day. Note: Tony Mucia is an undergraduate student in the Meteorology-Climatology program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Deborah Bathke is an Associate Professor of Practice, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, UN-L. ■ p f ying eggs, he pile. e tunnels ll d roll it r dung J li V M