Minnesota Seasons

Minnesota Seasons

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Destinations

These are locations in Minnesota where native plants, birds, and other wildlife can be viewed. With very few exceptions, these destinations are open to the public. Visitors can share their own photos, videos, plant and wildlife sightings, and other observations.


Species

Plants

Native, naturalized, invasive, or simply planted—any plant growing outside of cultivation in Minnesota. More than 800 plant pages include photos, a description, a multi-sourced distribution map, and a list of sites where the plant has been found.

Insects and Arachnids

Insects and arachnids found in Minnesota. Species pages include photos, a description, a list of sightings by MinnesotaSeasons.com, visitor sightings, and distribution maps.
				Photo by Norm & Peg Dibble

Wildlife

Birds and bears, snakes and squirrels, toads and turtles—wildlife found in Minnesota. Wildlife pages include photos, a description, and a list of sightings, as well as distribution maps for amphibians, mammals, and reptiles.
				Photo by Luciearl

Fungi and Lichens

Lichens, mushrooms, and other fungi found in Minnesota. Fungi and lichen pages include photos, a description, a list of sightings by MinnesotaSeasons.com, visitor sightings, and distribution maps.

Wallpapers

Download free high resolution wallpapers (screen backgrounds). These are photos of destinations featured on MinnesotaSeasons.com. The wallpapers are grouped by ecological season. Each wallpaper is optimized for the screen resolutions used most often on desktops, laptops, and tablets.

418
Destinations

1,866
Species


What’s New

Recent Uploads

Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of asteroid moth 9/1/2018. Laurie Wachholz uploaded 1 photo of Black-and-white Warbler 11/11/2019. Dan W. Andree uploaded 1 photo of regal fritillary 11/10/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of stout spanworm moth 9/1/2018. Dan W. Andree uploaded 1 photo of whitetail deer 11/8/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of maple twig borer moth 8/31/2018. Lynn Rubey uploaded 2 photos of Red-tailed Hawk 11/3/2019. Siri uploaded 1 photo of ant-mimicking jumping spider 11/1/2019. Kirk Nelson uploaded 1 photo of common snapping turtle 10/30/2019. David Israel uploaded 1 photo of plant bug (Metriorrhynchomiris dislocatus) 10/30/2019. Jim Ham uploaded 1 photo of black and yellow argiope 10/29/2019. Lynn Rubey uploaded 4 photos of common snapping turtle 10/28/2019. Lynn Rubey uploaded 2 photos of Great Horned Owl 10/28/2019. Lynn Rubey uploaded 1 photo of American red squirrel 10/28/2019. Lynn Rubey uploaded 1 photo of American Tree Sparrow 10/28/2019. Lynn Rubey uploaded 2 photos of American Coot 10/28/2019. Lynn Rubey uploaded 3 photos of Blue Jay 10/28/2019. Lynn Rubey uploaded 2 photos of Eastern Phoebe 10/28/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of *purple coneflower (Echinacea* spp.) 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of curly dock 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of rose (Rosa spp.) 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of milkweed (Asclepias sp.) 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of common milkweed 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of Amur maple 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of bird’s-foot trefoil 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of bittersweet nightshade 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of bur cucumber** 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of bur oak (var. macrocarpa) 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 3 photos of butter and eggs 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of butterfly weed 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 3 photos of Canada lettuce 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of Canada thistle 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of Canadian tick-trefoil 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of cardinal flower 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of Culver’s root 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 3 photos of cut-leaved coneflower 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of northern white cedar 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of great blue lobelia (var. siphilitica) 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of harebell 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of heal-all 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of musk thistle 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of prickly lettuce 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of purple loosestrife 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of Queen Anne’s lace 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of spotted touch-me-not 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of wild bergamot 10/27/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of wild cucumber 10/27/2019. Luciearl uploaded 3 photos of spinulose wood fern 10/27/2019. Dan W. Andree uploaded 1 photo of Ruffed Grouse 10/26/2019. Mary Webster uploaded 1 photo of barn spider 10/26/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of an albino eastern gray squirrel 10/24/2019. Gerry Garcia uploaded 5 photos and 3 videos of Sandhill Cranes staging at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge 10/23/2019. James Gordon uploaded 2 photos of Rusty Blackbird 10/21/2019. Luciearl uploaded 2 photos of prickly tree clubmoss 10/20/2019. Luciearl uploaded 1 photo of running clubmoss 10/20/2019. Luciearl uploaded 2 photos of fan clubmoss 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of *green lacewing (Chrysopa* sp.) 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of green lacewing (Family Chrysopidae) 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of meadow spittlebug 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of banasa stink bug 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of citrus flatid planthopper 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of Colorado potato beetle 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 3 photos of goldenrod soldier beetle 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 6 photos of Japanese beetle 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 6 photos of large milkweed bug 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 15 photos of multicolored Asian lady beetle 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of northern corn rootworm beetle 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of red milkweed beetle 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of red-banded leafhopper 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of striped cucumber beetle 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of swamp milkweed leaf beetle 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 3 photos of wedge-shaped beetle** (Ripiphorus sp.) 10/20/2019. Wendy Johnson uploaded 1 photo of snakeskin liverwort 10/20/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of nightcrawler 6/18/2018. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of autumn meadowhawk 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 6 photos of blue dasher 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of cherry-faced meadowhawk 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 5 photos of common green darner 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of common whitetail 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of eastern pondhawk 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of Halloween pennant 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of ruby meadowhawk 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of white-faced meadowhawk 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of widow skimmer 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of *treefrog (Hyla* sp.) 10/16/2019. Bonnie Shoebottom uploaded 1 photo of Cooper’s Hawk 10/16/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of tortoise beetle (Tribe Cassidini) 9/1/2018. Dan W. Andree uploaded 2 photos of pigeon tremex 10/14/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of mourning cloak 9/1/2018. Luciearl uploaded 1 photo of Pear-shaped Puffball 10/12/2019. Luciearl uploaded 1 photo of Pear-shaped Puffball 10/11/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of common eupithecia 9/1/2018. Luciearl uploaded 2 photos of Unknown Fungi 8/28/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of American dagger moth 9/1/2018. Luciearl uploaded 1 photo of Yellow-rumped Warbler 10/7/2019. Luciearl uploaded 2 photos of Sinewed Bushy Lichen 10/6/2019. Luciearl uploaded 2 photos of Purple Jellydisc 10/6/2019. Luciearl uploaded 1 photo of Eyelash Cup 10/6/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 8 photos of banded tussock moth 10/6/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 4 photos of eastern forktail 10/6/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of familiar bluet 10/6/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 2 photos of Isabella tiger moth 10/6/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 6 photos of milkweed tussock moth 10/6/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 3 photos of monarch 10/6/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 1 photo of silvery checkerspot 10/6/2019. Alfredo Colon uploaded 3 photos of slender spreadwing 10/6/2019. Alisa Hornberg uploaded 1 photo of fisher 10/6/2019. Luciearl uploaded 2 photos of Yellow Fairy Cup Fungus 10/6/2019. Dan W. Andree uploaded 1 photo of pigeon tremex 10/4/2019. Angie uploaded 1 photo of Common Stinkhorn** 10/4/2019.


New Pages

11/14/2019	asteroid moth
11/13/2019	purple coneflower (Echinacea spp.)
11/13/2019	tall thistle
11/11/2019	prickly tree clubmoss
11/10/2019	stout spanworm moth
11/9/2019	rose (Rosa spp.)
11/9/2019	elm leafminer
11/8/2019	running clubmoss
11/6/2019	milkweed (Asclepias spp.)
11/5/2019	maple twig borer moth
11/4/2019	western rock jasmine
11/3/2019	fan clubmoss
10/28/2019	green lacewing (Chrysopa sp.)
10/28/2019	green lacewing (Family Chrysopidae)
10/23/2019	smeared dagger
10/22/2019	Sinewed Bushy Lichen
10/21/2019	northern running-pine (Diphasiastrum complanatum) renamed to northern groundcedar (Diphasiastrum complanatum)
10/20/2019	nightcrawler
10/19/2019	Minnesota Worms and Leeches
10/16/2019	Purple Jellydisc
10/15//2019	tortoise beetles (Tribe Cassidini)
10/14/2019	western tent caterpillar moth
10/13/2019	shinleaf
10/12/2019	Eyelash Cup
10/11/2019	common eupithecia
10/10/2019	dogbane saucrobotys moth
10/10/2019	pigeon tremex
10/9/2019	Unknown Fungi
10/9/2019	American dagger moth
10/6/2019	lily-leaved twayblade
10/4/2019	Golden Coral Fungus
10/3/2019	lesser appleworm moth
10/3/2019	Unknown Moths
10/2/2019	snakeskin liverwort
10/1/2019	Birch Polypore


Next Up

1	brocade moss (Hypnum imponens)	Luciearl
2	downy arrowwood (Viburnum rafinesqueanum) downy arrowwood (Viburnum rafinesqueanum var. affine) downy arrowwood (Viburnum rafinesqueanum var. rafinesqueanum)	John Valo
3	roseslug sawfly (Endelomyia aethiops)	Alfredo Colon
4	false black widow (Steatoda grossa)	Luciearl
5	dwarf ginseng (Panax trifolius)	John Valo
6	blackberry looper (Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria)	Alfredo Colon
7	Hammered Shield Lichen (Parmelia sulcata)	Luciearl
8	narrow-leaved vervain (Verbena simplex)	John Valo
9	goldenrod leaf beetle (Trirhabda canadensis)	Alfredo Colon
10	Beard Lichen (Usnea spp.)	Luciearl
11	three-lined potato beetle (Lema daturaphila)	John Valo, Alfredo Colon
12	ragwort stem borer moth (Papaipema insulidens)	Alfredo Colon
13	golden clover (Trifolium aureum)	John Valo
14		Alfredo Colon
15	tall beggarticks (Bidens vulgata)	John Valo
16		Alfredo Colon
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	Robert’s Bird Sanctuary	Kirk Nelson
	goldenrod (Solidago spp.)	Alfredo Colon

Autumnal Season

The autumnal ecological season, called fall in North America but autumn elsewhere, needs no explanation. It is that time when the landscape transitions from summer to winter. It follows the serotinal season (late summer) when leaves of deciduous trees and many forbs and grasses begin to change color, and precedes the the usually snow-blanketed hibernal season (winter). In Minnesota, the Autumnal season usually begins about September 15 and ends about November 1. In the Twin Cities metro area it typically arrives late September to early (north metro) to mid- (south metro) October. Deciduous leaves are in full fall color then turn brown and fall to the ground. Birds migrate back to wintering areas.

The advance of the season can be watched on the Minnesota DNR's Fall Color Finder Web page. The map displayed there is updated daily. The Autumnal season has arrived in those areas colored red (75–100%) and dark brown (past peak). The northwest corner is the first area in Minnesota to see peak fall colors each year.