Category: Natural History
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Learning by Experience
The feeling of respect for all species will help us recognize the noblest nature in ourselves. ~Thich Nhat Hanh Last Saturday I had the pleasure of sharing two of my favorite places with an enthusiastic group of NC State students in the Leopold Wildlife Club. I was asked if I would accompany them on a… Read more…
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Lounging in the Lowcountry
I have heard it said that an inoculation to the sights and smells of the Carolina lowcountry is an almost irreversible antidote to the charms of other landscapes. ~Pat Conroy I recently made a leisurely trip to the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Lowcountry generally refers to the lands along the coast from Charleston to the… Read more…
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Stilt Walker
Your legs are longer than airport security lines. ~Anonymous I have seen these long-legged shorebirds on several occasions, but was delighted when driving down a beach road recently to spot their distinctive silhouettes right next to a pullout along the road. Black-necked Stilts are a medium-sized shorebird with anything but medium-sized legs. In fact, they… Read more…
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Willet or Won’t It?
It is important to share the shore with shorebirds and respect their needs. Their lives depend on it. ~Walker Golder This time of year, the beaches of North Carolina are breathing a sigh of relief as the huge tourist crowds of summer are starting to thin. They are also seeing lots of activity from wildlife,… Read more…
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Larval Leftovers
Every September, for as long as I can remember (or at least well more than a decade), I have been collecting caterpillars in preparation for the annual BugFest event at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. It is always great fun to share these larval lovelies with the thousands of visitors that make the… Read more…
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That’s a Caterpillar?
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. ~Albert Einstein There are some creatures that are so bizarre that they leave me baffled as to why they are the way they are. This is one of them. Even the name is a mystery… Read more…
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Definitely Not a Baby Rattle
Venomous snakes are among the most maligned and misunderstood animals on earth. ~In Snakes of the Southeast by Whit Gibbons and Mike Dorcas In a recent post, I mentioned my first ever encounter with a juvenile Canebrake Rattlesnake while at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to drive… Read more…
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Looking Sharp
In summer the empire of insects spreads. ~ Adam Zagajewski In honor of BugFest happening today, I thought I would post another unusual caterpillar portrait – the Spiny Oak-Slug, Euclea delphinii. As a member of the slug caterpillar group, the Spiny Oak-Slug lacks the usual paired prolegs of most caterpillars and, instead, has medial sucker-like… Read more…
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Io You
…mysterious and little known organisms live within walking distance of where you sit. Splendor awaits in minute proportions. ~E.O. Wilson Here is another of my favorite caterpillars, the Io, Automeris io. Beautiful, but it is also one of the so-called “stinging caterpillars”. The urticating spines contain a venom that can cause a painful sting. I… Read more…
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Puss Cat
Never touch anything that looks like Donald Trump’s hair. ~Gwen Pearson I just love that quote. It is the title of an article in WIRED last week on a particularly painful caterpillar known by various names – Puss Caterpillar, Asp, and Southern Flannel Moth Caterpillar, Megalopyge opercularis. I find one of these every couple of… Read more…
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Roads End Naturalist 