Adventures at Lost Lake

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Lost is a fitting description of the lake that we visited. To anyone else but the drivers, it seemed like we would have trouble finding our way back out of the wilderness. The sandy, gravel road that we first turned onto gradually became more narrow, until the two-track was just barely wide enough for the van. Tires spinning in the loose, deep sand, we finally reached our destination: Lost Lake. The view of the lake was framed by stands of quaking aspen trees, their leaves dancing in the steady breeze. Tall, slender cedars and pines also lined the shore and towered above the deciduous trees around them.

Photo credit: David Hoekman

After the canoes were unloaded into the water, we each chose our vessel and climbed in with our jars, nets, and paddles. We pushed off from the shore and started our insect-focused paddle clockwise around the lake. The first few strokes were easy. Chaos quickly followed, however, as we got close to the eastern shore of the lake. It seemed that our canoe had a mind of its own, and the wind constantly blew us around in the opposite direction no matter how much we paddled. Thankfully, our frequent collisions only caused laughter and a bit of frustration and not serious mishaps.

Despite our steering dilemmas, we did get some opportunities to observe the communities of insects, plants, and wildlife living at the lake. The shoreline was thickly covered in low, woody plants, with cattails growing sparsely among them. Many of the cedars growing along the shoreline were dead, their pale gray branches giving them a ghostly appearance. One of the dying cedars had white fuzz on the end of a branch, which indicates that perhaps a fungus is contributing to their poor health. 

Fungus on dead cedar (Catie Harbach)

However, the more likely reason is the water level. Northern white cedars commonly grow in swamps where the ground is very wet, but the roots still need dry areas in the soil for the tree to be healthy (MSU Forestry Extension Team). Only the cedars near the lake were effected, so it is most likely that the ground was too saturated for the cedars to grow well.

Leaf-mined lily pad (Catie Harbach)

Yellow Pond-lily (David Hoekman)

The eastern side of the lake was not very active, so we soon gathered at the south end of the lake before cutting across to the west side. The main feature of interest was the yellow pond-lilies, which were less abundant on the opposite shore. Most of the lily pads had evidence of leaf mining activity, with thin, pale ribbons running through the red-brown leaves. The insect responsible for this damage is the leaf-mining midge (Diptera), which lays its eggs in the lily pad for the larvae to feed on as they grow (McFarland, 2016). Dragonflies (Odonata) were also taking advantage of the lily pads; several nymphs were resting on the flat surface, probably preparing for their final molt or allowing their wings to fully emerge and spread out. A lot of small beetles were flying above the water surface and occasionally landed on the lily pads. These were water lily beetles (Coleoptera), and they are metallic brown above and silvery gray on their ventral side.

Water lily beetle (McFarland, 2016)

Wildlife was present but difficult to see. Many of us saw water snakes slithering across the water. A group of six turtles was basking in the sunshine on a log, but hastily sneaked into the water as our canoes drew near. Frogs also plopped into the lake, so we did not see many but heard them frequently. A loon kept a safe distance from us, but still allowed us some close views when we weren't looking at insects.

Active lily pads (Catie Harbach)

We slowly paddled up and around the north end and landed our canoes on the sandy launch area. To cover the terrestrial insect habitat, we explored around the parking area and the two-tracks. With our adventure coming to an end, we climbed into the van and prepared for the bumpy trip out of the wilderness of Lost Lake.

Works Cited

McFarland, K. (2016, July 5). A water lily's world: Vermont center for Ecostudies. Vermont Center for Ecostudies. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from vtecostudies.org/blog/a-water-lilys-world/

MSU Forestry Extension Team. (2015, November 4). Forest types of Michigan: Northern white-cedar (e3202-7). MSU Extension. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from www.canr.msu.edu/resources/forest_types_of_michigan_northern_white_cedar_e3202_7

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