BIODIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY: CHRIS BRASE

MALLARD DUCK The mallard is a lard duck which the female is mostly brown and the male is glossy green with a white collar. Mallard mate in the late winter time or in the early spring. The females or hens lay on average of 9 eggs and then they hatch 26 to 30 days after. They start flying around 55 days later. They eat grain, corn, insects, smartweeds, grasses, sedge seeds, snails, and wild rice. The main predators are foxes, coyotes, skunks, mink and raptors They usually stay closer to water, and try to live by lakes, marshes, and flooded grain fields, they are one of the few ducks that range more around USA and Canada. The mallard population has grown more and more each year Mallards swim with there rails out of the water so if trouble comes they can get right out of the water and fly away.

NORTHERN BOG LEMMING It is grayish brown fur with an orange patch at the base of there ear. They are 13 cm long and weigh about 30 grams They feed on grasses, sedges, other green vegetation and mosses, also snails and slugs. Predators include owls, hawks, and snakes. They typically live in open wetlands.

LONG-NOSE GAR There thin and long and can grow up to 5 ft. long. And can grow to be 16 pounds, 12 ounces. Brow with black spots on fins and sometimes body. Breed in spring in sloughs and streams females lay eggs. Eggs will end up hatching in about a week after. Gars are aggressive predators of other fish. They are rarely eaten by fish or human. Live in shallow lakes and rivers. Some diseases are that the eggs from the female are poisonous to humans.

COMMON FIVE-LINES SKINK The skink is 5 to 8 inches long. There stripes are yellow then turn to blue once closer to tail. Females are shinny black and males are brown to gray. They lay an average of 9 eggs. They eat roaches, spiders, crickets, beetles, moths, and snails. They live in rockier environments and trees.

COTTONWOOD The cottonwood is a large tree that is 50 to 80 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet in diameter. There is light gray on young trees and dark gray on old trees. The leaves are 3 to 5 inches long and just as wide. Two to four dropping on cotton hairs that blow off and spread seeds in late May or June.

BLUEBERRY The blueberry is a low branched bush that can get up to 20 inches tall. They usually form in large patches. They start to grow pink flowers in May or early June. The berries start growing in July to August.