Despite the cooler March temperatures, spring is right on schedule, with many of the early spring wildflowers starting to bloom. Insects are also becoming more active. For example, cellophane bees emerged from their underground nests in late March and bumble bee queens also have recently emerged from underground where they spent the winter. These large bumble bees can be seen flying low along the ground in search of a good place to make their underground nests. Watch for them on warm days in April in park woodlands or at the woods edge. If you can’t get a picture of the bee, then send us a photo of where you see them – we'd like to know what habitats they might be using in NYC!

Common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens)/wiki images

Late May is a good time to visit the beach to see horseshoe crabs. These intriguing animals come to sandy beaches during high tides between mid-May and early June to lay their eggs. At the same time, migratory shorebirds like ruddy turnstones and red knots stop to feed on the crab eggs during the birds' northward migration each spring. The crabs can be seen at a number of New York City beaches, including Plumb and Coney Island beach in Brooklyn, Orchard beach in the Bronx, and along the southern shore of Staten Island, among other sites. Let us know where you see them as we're always looking for new locations. If you want to become a volunteer horseshoe crab watcher in New York, see http://www.nyhorseshoecrab.org/.

American horseshoe crab/wiki images

This spring will mark the emergence of Brood II periodical cicadas. After spending 17 years feeding on tree rootlets underground, the nymphs will emerge later this spring as soil temperatures warm up. In NYC, they will be seen mainly in Staten Island. The adult periodical cicadas are black with orange eyes and wing veins, whereas the annual summer cicadas we hear each July are black with green highlights. To learn more about cicadas, see this link: http://www.magicicada.org/magicicada_ii.php.

Also, visit the Museum's Hall of Biodiversity to see a restored cicada diorama that was first displayed in 1912.The diorama, which highlights the biological features of Brood X cicadas, shows how cicadas emerge from the ground as wingless nymphs, climb the nearest tree, and shed their skin to become winged adults. It will be on temporary display starting May 22nd.

We're looking for your observations - let us know where and when you see and hear these cicadas!

Periodical cicada/Wiki images