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/853309
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 • NEBRASKAland 23 Last issue's winner of the Visitor drawing was Doug Echtenkamp of Lincoln, Nebraska, who found the cuckoo wasp on page 49. 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 page 3, 14, 21, 23, 24-29, 50-53, or 54. NEBRASKAland Visitor What are you most excited for this hunting season? From Facebook We posed this question on the Nebraska Game and Parks Facebook page, and were given a number of answers that only excited us more about this upcoming fall season. Here are a few of those responses: "Heading out to the Panhandle after archery pronghorn with my daughter!" – Ben Collingham "For all the weekend warriors at the lake to go home so fisherman can have the lakes to themselves! Ha!" – Clint Golden "Pheasant hunting with family in Hayes Center! My father-in-law grew up in Hayes Center and introduced me to pheasant hunting when I married his daughter. He has since passed but his family still lives on the homestead. The farmhouse is celebrating 100 years this year. I wouldn't miss spending opening weekend on the farm chasing roosters!" – Doug Byrnes "Putting some venison back in the freezer." – Martin Appel "All of it! From squirrels to deer." – Mark Tate "I'm looking forward to elk season as I drew my first ever antlerless elk tag this year!" – Jared Olis "Cold weather, whitetails, hoodies and bonfires." – Ralph Spangler ■ Cuckoo wasps are bright, metallic blue to green colored wasps. These are solitary wasps, and do not form colonies. Like the Cuckoo bird, female cuckoo wasps lay their eggs in the nests of other bees and wasps. When the cuckoo wasp larvae hatch, they then eat the other bee or wasp eggs and larvae. They may also eat the food left by the nest builders, such as insect larvae intended for their own young. This is a form of parasitism, termed kleptoparasitism. Adults can be seen throughout the summer, visiting flowers for pollen. Cuckoo wasps can curl up into a ball, similar to an armadillo, as a means of defense. Cuckoo wasps are found around the world, with over 150 species of cuckoo wasps found in the United States. The most common species in Nebraska is probably the Chrysis smaragdula (shown here,left). Special thanks to Julie Van Meter, State Entomologist, Nebraska Department of Agriculture. PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG September 15 Elk Archery bull season opens September 16 Antelope Muzzleloader season opens September 16-17 Missouri River Outdoor Expo Ponca SP, Ponca September 23 Woodcock Hunting season opens September 24 World Heart Day Hike Johnson Lake SRA, Elwood September 30 Elk Firearm bull season opens September 30 Elk Public land antlerless season opens September 30 Beyond Becoming an Outdoors- Woman Nature Art Windmill SRA, Gibbon September 30-October 1 Youth Waterfowl Hunting season in Zones 2 and 4 September 30-October 1 Living History Fort Atkinson SHP, Fort Calhoun probab (sho Horseback riding at Fort Robinson State Park near Crawford.