Fall Critters

After dark, our autumn woodlands are restive. Tiny beings begin to stir. They crawl, slither and hop through fallen leaves, focused on vital missions prior to the onset of winter.

Spiders have reached the zenith of their development. Egg-swollen females sit in silk webs waiting for last suppers – prior to egg laying and, regrettably, their impending deaths.

Red-backed salamanders shimmy from the forest floor onto the stems and leaves of zig-zag goldenrod and running strawberry bush to feed. Some adventurous red-backs climb tree trunks. Another type of salamander, red efts, also climb. Despite their name, red efts are actually Day-Glo orange – brilliance that shouts “poison!”

Millipedes uncoil and undulate via the wave-like motion of hundreds of marvellously co-ordinated legs. They scale great heights – from a millipede’s world view – climbing tree stumps and fallen logs to feast on fungi and moldering leaves. Caterpillars are feasting too, building bulk prior to pupating.

Predators take advantage of this autumnal nocturnal bounty. Garter snakes and spring peepers hunt the myriad small creatures active at this time of year. Gray treefrogs – often not gray at all, but rich green – are also on the hunt, usually, well off the ground on the limbs of trees. These beautiful amphibians need food to make the antifreeze that will help them survive the winter. Sugar (glucose) and alcohol (glycerol) will see them through. Their brains and hearts shut down, but their cells, protected from freezing, will revive come spring.

Toads patrol the autumn nights as well, seeking their final meals before digging underground for the winter. They are beautifully lumpy, with gold-flecked eyes and downturned mouths suggesting world-weariness. Few animals are as charismatic.

In autumn our fellow animals ramp up their activity levels. For cold-blooded creatures in particular, time is short. Soon the cold will suspend their abilities to eat and forage until the northern hemisphere once again tilts towards the sun.