The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

Ced Vig
wisconsin woodsmoke

It’s never too late to be who you might have been.

– George Eliot (1819-1880)

November calendar

Nov. 22—Regular gun deer season open through Nov. 30

Nov. 25—Northern zone duck season closes

Nov. 27—Thanksgiving

Nov. 30—Regular gun deer, muskellunge, and turtle seasons close.

Overwintering insects

Most hornets, yellow jackets and wasps die in the fall. The fertilized queen is the only survivor of the colony. She lies dormant all winter in the crack of a tree, emerging in the spring to start building a nest in which to lay her eggs. She feeds the first offspring, which develop into workers who take over the job of constructing a hive and caring for additional offspring.

Honey bees are more specialized as they are at the top of the evolutionary line. The colony overwinters in the hive, the workers clustered around the queen. The heat generated by their metabolism keeps the temperature of the cluster at around 92 degrees Fahrenheit.

The number of bees overwintering in the hive is greatly reduced from peak summer levels, but as many as 10-20,000 survive the winter. In February or March the queen begins to lay eggs. The overwintering bees are replaced by new workers who begin comb constructing and nectar gathering.

Feeding squirrels

During winter storms or severe cold, the squirrel may not leave the nest for days. But the tree squirrel does not hibernate!

An adult squirrel normally lives alone but will, in severe cold, share its nest with other squirrels to conserve body heat. Once the temperature rises, the guests will be on their way.

Squirrels’ eyes are located high and on each side of their head. This allows them a wide field of vision without turning their head.

The gray squirrels’ diet consists of nuts, seeds and fruit. It will eat bird eggs, bugs, and even an animal carcass if there is no other food source available. Basically, squirrels will eat anything that does not eat them first.

The gray squirrel requires some salt in its diet and may find this salt in the soil along roads where snow and ice may have been, which explains the reason for so many road kills.

Squirrels chew on tree branches to sharpen and clean their teeth.

A recent survey by the National Bird-Feeding Society showed that 65 percent of respondents fed squirrels in their yard.

Why did they feed them?

Fun to watch 38 percent

Love 23 percent

Need 20 percent

What did they feed them?

Corn 41 percent

Seed 27 percent

Nuts 25 percent

What makes a bird a bird?

The first thing most people notice about birds is that they can fly, but that is not what makes them unique. Bats, bugs, and butterflies also take to the air, and they aren’t birds. What makes birds different from every other kind of animal on earth are feathers. Feathers make it possible for birds to live a large part of their lives in the air. Feathers weigh very little, are strong (to survive long flights), and provide terrific insulation (which is why people living in the coldest parts of the world prefer jackets stuffed with goose down). Most birds also have hollow bones. If bird bones were solid, like human bones, birds would be too heavy, which would make flight very difficult.

Tell us what you think...

Comments »

nicole wrote on Dec 16, 2008 11:11 AM:

" I have squirrels that come up to my patio door and will sit there until i put some bread out for them. I go through so much bread, I fed them once and now i have to have bread out there everyday cuz if not they get on my sons bike wheel and just sit there looking through the window for a while. My kids love it. "

Don wrote on Nov 20, 2008 8:49 AM:

" Thanks for the very interesting information. Have a great day, "

The comments above are from readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rhinelander Daily News.