Dove Seasons Set



The 2009-10 Mississippi dove seasons were set last month as follows:

For the North Dove Zone, there will be three dove season segments: September 5 – September 27, October 10 – November 3, and December 25 – January 15. The daily dove bag limit is 15 birds, and the possession limit is 30 birds. The North Dove Zone is defined as areas north of U.S. Hwy. 84 plus areas south of U.S. Hwy. 84 and west of MS Hwy. 35.

The South Dove Zone will also have three season segments: September 5 – September 13, October 10 – November 4, and December 12 – January 15. The daily bag limit is 15 birds, and the possession limit is 30 birds. The South Dove Zone is defined as areas south of U.S. Hwy. 84 and east of MS Hwy. 35. Legal dove shooting hours are one half hour before sunrise to sunset.

The Alabama season dates and legal shooting hours for the North Zone are as follows: Alabama counties in the Meridian Star circulation area are in Alabama’s North Zone. :



NORTH ZONE



(15 per day, 15 in possession)

Sept. 6: Noon until Sunset (afternoon shooting only)

Sept. 7-Oct. 5: 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset

Oct. 25-Nov. 15: 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset

Dec. 13-Dec. 30: 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset



Heros of Conservation



RIDGELAND, Miss., On August 3rd, nearly 300 people gathered at the Hilton in Jackson to honor eight Heroes of Conservation. Ducks Unlimited hosted the evening to celebrate the conservation accomplishments of these men. The honorees are DU Group Manager Dan Thiel, Melvin Tingle, DU Chairman of the Board Bruce Lewis, Rick Kaminski, Bill Sugg, Toxey Haas, Will Primos, Billy Joe Cross and the late Bill Walker

These gentlemen have made impressive contributions to conservation in Mississippi and elsewhere through their personal careers, philanthropic support of conservation organizations, conservation activities on their own lands, efforts to educate the public about conservation, and through a lifetime of sharing their own passion for the outdoors with those around them.



Wildlife Watch: Get Outdoors

With Family and Fireflies



The weather is warm and the kids are on summer vacation, which means it is the perfect time to encounter the iconic summertime insect: the firefly.

Fireflies are actually beetles, not flies. ‘Lightening bug’, their other common name, is also inaccurate since true bugs are their own order of insects, distinct from beetles.

David Mizejewski, naturalist at National Wildlife Federation, provides us with some facts (firefly larvae are carnivorous!) and tips to attract lightning bugs for kids outdoors this summer…

Did You Know?

• Fireflies create their “fire” by mixing oxygen with chemicals called luciferin and luciferase in their abdomen, which creates light without any heat. A candle flame of the same brightness is 80,000 times hotter than the glow of a firefly.

• Each species has a unique flash pattern, which they use to attract mates. Males flash in the air and females flash back from the ground or the vegetation.

• The species Lucidota atra doesn’t flash because it is active during the day. It attracts mates by using pheromones.

• Firefly larvae glow too and are often called “glow worms.” Even the eggs of some species glow.

• Most species of firefly spend the winter in larval form in the soil or in rotting logs, emerging in the late spring as winged adults ready to start flashing and looking for mates.

• Firefly larvae are carnivorous, feeding on slugs, worms and other soft-bodied invertebrates around streams and ponds.

• As adults, some firefly species feed on nectar, and some don’t feed at all, but female Photuris pensylvatica fireflies mimic the flashes of female Photinus pyralis fireflies. When a Photinus male approaches looking for a mate, the female Photuris devours him!