While the insects of course have dropped off with the colder temperatures — we’ve had measurable snow now, along with several solid frosts and below-freezing nights that took out blooming plants for pollinators — some species continue to be out, taking advantage of still-decent daytime temperatures, which so far have trended warmer.

One of my favorites is the aptly named autumn meadowhawk, a dragonfly that as one person on the Wisconsin odonata — the scientific name for dragonflies and damselflies — Facebook page described as the equivalent of northern-living humans who wear shorts with hoodies at this time of year.

Though small, autumn meadowhawks definitely are hardy creatures. They don’t emerge until late July and can tuck themselves away in vegetation to endure cold in late fall that kills off other insects. They bear the colors of autumn as well, the males red-orange, the females yellow-brown.

If it stays sunny, some of them can last until the lake begins to ice over, to about mid-November, according to my field guides.

This guy is getting ready for winter — two cheekfulls at a time.

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Some butterflies and moths remain as well. I photographed this Compton tortoiseshell that landed on the garden shed, just below a very similar metal decorative figure.

Compton tortoiseshells are among the few butterfly species that overwinter as adults. Others are Milbert’s tortoiseshell and mourning cloaks.

Similar to migrating birds, the first butterflies to appear often are the last to go away. That’s the advantage of managing to withstand winter’s worst, to come fluttering out when the cold and snow finally subside.

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Compton tortoiseshell

The local rodents and squirrels apparently have had a good year. Chipmunks have been numerous — and busy, packing cheekfulls of seeds away for the winter. The region has two varieties, the eastern and least, which is smaller, hence the name.

While both technically hibernate when winter sets in — with both body temperature and heart rates decreasing significantly — chipmunks do awaken in their burrows every few days to feed and pass waste. So they’ll need those seeds, though online sources note they usually stash away more than they’ll consume.

So they have diligently Hoovered up the black oil sunflowers seeds we put out for the birds, with an efficiency that is impressive, though also annoying given the cost of sunflower seeds this year.

But at least the chipmunks hurry off to a burrow.

The mice and voles this fall, unfortunately, have decided to move indoors.

It’s an interesting choice, given we have three cats. Yet they persist.

So our cats have proudly presented us almost daily with new catches, some very dead and others not so much. I got home Thursday to find a very wounded mouse as I stepped through the door. Later that night, my mom had one scurry across her after being delivered by one of the cats. Earlier in the week, she’d been awakened by the cats tossing around another mouse, this one deceased, in her bed.

I have spared you the gory photos. But I’m not sure if it’s a lack of the usual predators — I haven’t seen a weasel in awhile — or more rodents. While I tend to sympathize with prey species in most cases, this has become a little much.

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Finally, I promised an update on the late-season fawn that had been hanging around our yard. I’m happy to report the fawn, which I think is female, not only is still around but has grown that woolly undercoat needed for the winter, with its spots quickly fading. So it appears it will make the change to a proper gray pelt in time to withstand the coming change in seasons.

Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 240, or bbloom@ironmountaindailynews.com.