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Natural history

100 hungry mouths to feed

A couple years ago I lamented that I didn’t see sillkmoths much anymore.That was the year our friend Dr. Steve gave us a couple of Polyphemus (Anthera polyphemus) cocoons, so we got to see (and release) the adults that emerged….

this turd has legs

I haven’t spent much time in the field this summer. The last 6 or 7 years, I’ve had summer field work tied to grants; this year, my grants involve sitting in front of the computer. But over the holiday weekend…

hymenoptera in the yard

In August, I described my summer “project,” to learn more about the flies, bees, and wasps in my yard. I posted a series of some of the photos I took of the cool Diptera (flies) I was able to identify….

lady of the flies

I’ve been sort of lazy about posting lately. For the last week, I’ve been on semi-“vacation” which means catching up on writing projects and things around the house between wrapping up my summer field work and preparing to begin fall…

Eastern cicada killers (Sphecius speciosus) are big wasps. The “dainty” males are about 3 cm long, and the females up to 4 cm. Adding to the intimidation factor is the behavior of the males, which gather in “leks” of up…

shrew party

The phrase, “live fast, die young” could be dedicated to shrews. These small carnivorous mammals have supercharged metabolisms, and spend all their waking moments hunting and eating. Despite being quite numerous in the right habitat, shrews are rarely encountered –…

bag of crossbills

The other day, I found a plastic grocery bag tied to my mailbox, with a softball-sized wad of … something inside. I admit my first thought was that someone had left me a bag of dog crap. I looked inside…

I will confess right now to not being a huge fan of the holidays. However, I am very fond of both natural history and kissing, and that has led me to investigate the botanical life history of mistletoe.

Seeing a Peregrine Falcon is not very unusual in southeast Michigan. Although they were not historically found in these parts, they were introduced into the city of Detroit beginning in 1987 as part of the Midwest Peregrine Restoration Program (MPRS)….

hermit thrush all a-quiver

Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus) are one of my favorite birds. Quite a bit of my research focuses on their migratory ecology, and it’s always nice to have a genuine fondness for your study subject. The other day at home I…