I have undoubtedly commented before on the importance of fresh new discoveries to add excitement to our daily explorations in nature. Of course these do not happen at a grand scale every day, but there is also always something […]
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I imagine most of you are familiar with the Jack-in-the-pulpit which is a not uncommon wildflower in wet woods of eastern North America. However I doubt if any of you have encountered this interesting member of the arum family […]
One aspect of natural history that fascinates me is the hidden lives that many species of animals lead right under our noses. For example out in your yard there are literally dozens of sizable critters that you do not […]
There can sometimes be great drama in the lives of birds as well as humans, as we have been observing a pair of ospreys and their tormentors, a pair of great horned owls. We have not directly observed all […]
If you get out and hike in the local parks where wood chips and mulch are placed on the trails, you might have noticed a very interesting and highly odoriferous fungus, the octopus stinkhorn (Clathrus columnatus). The attached photos […]
One of the many perks of wintering in FL is that we get to watch birds up close and personal that we are familiar with, but at some distance up north. For example how often do you get to […]
On a recent walk at Myakka State Forest I was pleased to come across a large patch of small butterworts, Pinguicula pumila, some of which were in bloom. The delicate bluish flowers are a delight, especially in the middle […]
I came across an old acquaintance today while walking near Arcadia,FL, the bagworm. This curious caterpillar of a moth with an unpronounceable name, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis , has a very strange habit that makes it very distinctive and easy to identify. […]
While on a walk at Amberjack Preserve in SW FL we noticed an interesting phenomenon – a mating pair of walkingsticks. This appears to be the large two striped walkingstick, but there are northerly species also. This cousin of […]
If you travel or live in southern states or in California you will have noticed the exotic oleander plant (dogbane family) which is widely planted for its beautiful flowers and attractive foliage. It is used a lot due to […]
On a nature walk this morning at Stump Pass State Park in Englewood, FL, our group came across two caterpillars of the Io moth (see attached photo). At this stage they are a striking light green, with a red […]
It is hard to believe that anyone has not at some time had snake plants ( Sansevieria ) in their family households. The ability of this interesting but strange plant to survive almost any treatment made it popular around […]
With a maelstrom of four grandsons running around in all directions over the holidays we had a wonderful time chasing critters. Isn’t it interesting how humans have the propensity to catch live things? Even in modern times when we try […]
You might be interested to know that there is a huge effort to band and track shorebirds underway in the Gulf of Mexico and some of these birds may come your way at some point. I was at Don Pedro […]
Another one of those things that go on in our backyards without much notice is the occasional destruction of plant leaves by small caterpillars. Sometimes we get annoyed by this and spray the plants or try to figure out […]
In our desire to provide sources of nectar for insects, we often are tempted to plant exotic plants which can provide beautiful flowers for the garden and hopefully nourish some of our “flying flowers”, the wonderful butterflies. It is not […]
While working in the yard I came across an interesting mystery bug that is still making itself known in a big way this time of year by its buzzing call from the trees. Few people ever actually see the perpetrator […]
Lemon Bay Preserve in southern Venice, FL, is an interesting place for many reasons, but it has some remarkable butterflies illustrating the role of habitat differences in speciation. For example during a nature walk there yesterday we saw a […]
The real secret to learning new species of animals and plants is study and repetition, but one thing that works especially well is to focus on the 10 commonest species within each group you are trying to learn. Another […]
Our Florida location is on a barrier island (Manasota Key) only a short distance from the mainland, but a very dry location in terms of freshwater for critters to drink. The “soil” is basically sand with a maximum elevation of […]