Beavers will abandon their lodges and move on when they have depleted an area of their preferred food species, including willows, aspens, and cottonwood / Honeybee lore: a swarm in July isn’t worth a fly / In ponds, waterstriders are using their sucking mouthparts to drain the juices from mosquito larvae that come to the surface / Great horned owls are catching skunks, rats, hares, and muskrats, as well as the larger birds, to feed their growing chicks

Red-bellied snakes are out during the day in spring and fall but are active now only in twilight and at night / Crows may be getting help in raising their chicks from last year’s offspring / During hot spells, mourning doves allow their body temperature to rise to 113°F without harm / Great blue herons feed by standing motionless and waiting for fish and other prey to come within range / Muskrats help keep cattails in check by eating all parts of the plant

Cinquefoil is named for its five-parted leaf. The five, notched, clear-yellow petals are opening now along roads and in old fields / Gray tree frogs are only gray sometimes. They change to green or light brown at some light levels or temperatures, or to match the bark they are on / Water boatmen can fly five or so miles; once settled into a pond, they feed on algae / Japanese beetles are mating. Look for them flying just above or clustered in the mowed lawn

Delta Aquarids peak on July 28-29, when about 20 bright yellow meteors can be seen per hour. Because they are nearly broadside to the Earth, their speed is a moderate 25.5 miles per second / Northern harriers are fledging. They will stay near their nests for several weeks / Male gypsy moths begin flying / Look for these orchids in cedar swamps: early or northern coralroot, ram’s head, yellow lady’s slipper, tall northern bog orchid, and calypso