Everyone is familiar with the lowly armadillo (the “little armored one”) that shuffles around with its face in the dirt snuffling for buried insects and other prey. But what do you really know about it? It is probably an exotic […]
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It is that time of year again when those of us that migrate southwards from our summer homes begin arriving in SW FL. The transition from northern plants and animals to FL biota is abrupt and somewhat jarring to […]
Butterfly watching has become a popular past time and the amount of variation within and between species provides a challenge in identification. Some species vary between the sexes, may have several color morphs, and may vary seasonally in color/pattern. One […]
If you seek to expand your skills as a naturalist and learn more about identifying animals and plants, you will encounter one of the more interesting phenomena in biology. This is the fact that there are considerable numbers of […]
In early fall the naturalist’s thoughts turn mainly to the southerly migration of animals. In addition to birds, millions of insects including butterflies and dragonflies fly south. The most famous of these is the monarch butterfly whose populations in […]
My nature excursions have been much curtailed lately since I had a knee replacement three weeks ago. Yet it is a tribute to the profligate life of fall that I have been able to enjoy a wide variety of […]
My older brother (James Dunson) is a chemical engineer who worked for DuPont in Delaware. In one of his unusual and often humorous stories of the application of chemistry to everyday life I found the following anecdote: “Jim was […]
I imagine most of you have observed dragonflies and damselflies in the so-called “tandem position” in which the male grasps the female with the tip of his abdomen and the two fly around together. I had a good opportunity to […]
I found this interesting and somewhat menacing insect on my back porch recently where it must have been attracted by the lights. It was scary but after I took a closer look and I realized that it was not […]
I have to admit that I am a huge fan of hibiscus flowers. My first love was the rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) which provides a spectacular flower display in coastal marshes of MD and VA. Later I became aware […]
How do you maintain a grassland prairie or meadow? In most eastern locations these would return to a forested condition naturally by succession unless some disturbance such as mowing or burning intervened. In wildlife refuges it is desirable to […]
One of the more intriguing aspects of the constant warfare between predator and prey is the use of pattern and color by insect prey to confound and repel predators. Insects which are not toxic sometimes use eye spots to […]
As a naturalist interested in learning about the incredible diversity of life, I constantly have to deal with the difficulties of identifying animals and plants of different but related species that closely resemble one another. With the common rat snake […]
The two words “beauty” and “snake” may seem incompatible or an oxymoron since many people automatically dislike and/or fear snakes. However once you realize that most aspects of the fear of snakes are learned from tales told by parents and […]
Whereas bright colors in flowers and fruits are generally designed to attract pollinators or potential seed dispersers, bright insects or amphibians often signal toxicity or venom. Isn’t it interesting that birds that are not renowned for their intellect are able […]
In early March, 2013, I sent out a nature note describing the efforts of a large number of volunteers at Wildflower Preserve (owned by the Lemon Bay Conservancy; http://lemonbayconservancy.org/wildflower.htm) to create a naturalized meadow of flowers to attract pollinating […]
Now that we are packing up to join the throng of snowbirds surging north it is time to think of the wonderful natural events that we have witnessed during this season and consider the bittersweet aspect of migrating north with […]
Everyone remembers the famous Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the ugly “duckling” which grew up as the object of ridicule for its ungainly appearance, yet it eventually metamorphosed into a beautiful swan. I think about this story whenever […]
One of the many wonders of nature that we hardly ever think about is the amazing variation in the size and shape of the beaks of birds. Even though some birds are famous for their use of primitive tools made […]
Well it is Spring again, that most wonderful time of year when life renews itself, and we have to figure out the names of all those confusing Spring flowers and butterflies that we have not generally seen for many months. […]