In late 2021, I stood in a forest about two hours from Mexico City and watched as a river of butterflies passed overhead. They were monarchs — the iconic, Halloween-colored butterflies — and they were coming here from the US to rest for the cold winter months. Nearly all of the monarchs east of the […]
Tag: caterpillars
Runaway Roadrunner Dashes into Motorsports Office, Jumps on Monitor, Stares at Owner, Runs Out, Hundreds of Miles North of Home-Range Breaking UT State Record
Provo, Utah — On a July night in the summer of 2024, David Kirkham was watching a documentary on YouTube with his family about the greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) — the fastest running feathered creature on Earth that can also fly. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine one of the lil’ blistering birds […]
Plants Are Becoming Less Nutritious Because of Climate Change, Impacting Herbivores From Insects to Giant Pandas
More than a third of animals on Earth are herbivores, but since plants don’t have a lot of calories it can be hard for grazers to eat enough to meet their energy needs. To add to the problem, climate change is lowering the nutritional value of certain foods that these plant eaters rely on. Fossil […]
4 Things About Red-Eared Slider Turtles You Likely Haven’t Heard Of
There are over two hundred different species of sliders, and most of them reside in the Americas. These turtles are recognizably different from one another, with some having red or orange markings on their shells and heads. In this blog post, we will explore four things you likely haven’t heard of about red-eared sliders. From […]
Eastern Tailed Blue Butterfly
My favorite detail is the ringed antennae, alternately black and white. Pretty! Also note that it has a small thin “tail” on each hindwing; when perched the butterfly typically moves its hind wings and the tails move up and down. The butterfly also sports three orange dots on the lower surface of the hindwing. Eastern […]
A Four-toothed Mason Wasp
This lovely wasp can be found drinking nectar at flowers throughout the eastern United States right now. It is a good wasp to have around the garden because the females round up leaf-rolling caterpillars — the kinds that eat your plants — to provision their nests. When it is time to reproduce, the female wasp […]
Tent Caterpillars
I am in the New Jersey pine barrens taking photos. Here’s an eastern tent caterpillar.
Flower Hill Farm Spring Butterflies ~ Part Two
Spring precipitates into summer and we can easily recognize the longest day of the year by how we measure time in our hurried lives. Spring or Summer Azure Celastrina ladon, Form violacea (and others)is another matter . . . as the butterflies are difficult to identify. The more experienced butterfly watchers of the invaluableMassachusetts Butterfly […]