Late summer often enters with those who fly, crawl or creep, sometimes pause to bite, sting, stink and otherwise exasperate and annoy us. 

Before swatting everything that appears by one or more of those actions, remember the working insects, too. Insects, and similar invertebrates, pollinate, are food for birds, consume garbage and are food to some bats. 

Wasps, Japanese beetles and fireflies consume a great portion of oral dribble these days and evenings. 

Japanese beetles have been here, by accident, since the early 1900s. They egg in the soil, feed as grubs, are often eaten by skunks, screws and as adults by robins, crows, blue jays and red-headed woodpeckers. 

Beetles practice massing by releasing pheromones, but not so much if we pick off the first ones to arrive; then the crowds will be elsewhere. Their dining list is extensive; more than 300 plants; usually leaves, but flowers, too. 

Fireflies are present, day and night, but we may not recognize them unless they blink to find a mate or warn a predator of their foul taste. They, too, eat plant parts including nectar and pollen. As one might guess, the glow worm is their grub stage.

Those who plan to gather food by hunting deer beginning Sept. 15, and beyond, are beginning to be pulled into this frenzy, too, sometimes by sorting through and passing on the old and unused items. John Schubring, 72, of Baraboo began deer hunting in Sauk and Columbia counties in 1958 and shot his first deer four years later. 

Hunting was different then and Schubring longs for the good ol’ days when deer hunting was more about meat, camaraderie and excitement of the outing. His boxes and piles of antlers could pass on that theme, he thought, so he planned to donate the mass to Ralph Barten, in Ladysmith, a blind man who made zipper pulls, lamps, canes and hat racks from donated “horns.” 

But Wayne Whitemarsh, at McFarlanes’ in Sauk City, knew that Barten had passed on when Schubring brought the antlers to a collection point for Barten. Between Whitemarsh, Schubring and area taxidermist John Balfanz, a wall of trophies was created and is displayed at McFarlanes’. 

“Back then every deer was (and still is) a trophy, I believe,” Schubring said. Hunters and others can see the wall of trophies and other oldies throughout autumn at McFarlanes’. 

Down the street a few blocks, Sauk County Library director, Emily Judd, will be checking out fishing poles, as well as books, to youngsters who don’t have gear.  This idea is being considered and seems to be catching on in other southern Wisconsin communities, too, combining reading and reeling. 

The outdoor living world continues to be filled with autumn signs, too. Wild apples are reddening, as are ginseng fruits. Squirrels are carrying corn ears into the woods and have begun working on hazelnuts. Blackberries are ripening and some early multiple fruits are already fermenting. A potpourri of gilled and pored mushrooms are painting the woodland and field scenes. Sulphur fungi and hen-of-the-woods are beginning to top the list, crisper and skillet. 

Turkey vultures and bald eagles continue to clean up roadside deer carcasses. Continue to approach these areas with caution to avoid a big bird collision. 

One sure sign of autumn’s approach is ghost plants (Indian pipe), a pure white, single-flowered plant that relies on other plants to do its photosynthesis. In that regard it is fungal-like as well as a parasite. 

Test kits for grouse hunters to cooperate in the West Nile virus study are being assembled and will be available before Sept. 15. Watch for additional releases and notices. 

A few sharp-tailed grouse permits will be issued for Management Unit 8. The application deadline is Aug. 31. The season is Oct. 20 to Nov. 11. 

Autumn often seems to be too short. Launch early by experiencing these early signs and beginnings. 

— Jerry Davis is an Argyle native and a freelance writer who lives in Barneveld. He can be reached at sivadjam@mhtc.net or at 608-924-1112.