For the past three weeks or so—since 5:34 p.m. on Monday June 20– it’s officially been summer. Unofficially, it’s also firefly mating season, a last hurrah for these insects that have spent most of the last year or two under rocks and logs, living as predacious larvae that feed on earthworms, slugs and other invertebrates.
Bug, Firefly, Insect
It’s not often that you hear the words exquisite, pink, and camouflage come together in a sentence. It’s even rarer when “spider” is added to the narrative. But that’s exactly what happened during a recent walk at Fermilab when our group, gathered to learn about local bees, encountered a member of Thomisidae, the crab spiders.
Arachnid, Crab Spider, Spider
I would imagine most of us, if asked, would admit to owning something we deem lucky. It might be a classic good-luck charm, like a horseshoe, a rabbit’s foot or a four-leaf clover. Me? I have a lucky shirt. When I bought it, over 15 years ago at an Eddie Bauer store in Rockford, I
Butterfly, Hackberry Emperor, Insect
Every year about this time, certain wild neighbors start making headlines. Their behavior gets labeled aggressive, and people start calling them jerks—or worse. Inevitably, someone will make an analogy to Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, and then all heck breaks loose. “It tried to peck my eyes out!” someone will cry. “Scared the living [daylights] outta
Bird, Fly, Red-winged black bird
The woman’s voice quavered in agitation as she described her predicament. “I have a milkshake on my driveway,” she squeaked over the phone, her words barely discernible above the squeals emanating from her equally distraught children. I winced as I listened, thinking back to the time I watched a Superdawg chocolate shake meet a similar
Milksnake, Reptile, Snake
June 3, 2016 Plume Moths You’ve got to be careful this time of year. Springtime—that long-awaited, much-heralded season of color and warmth—can be positively overwhelming. The sights of brightly colored blooms and birds in breeding plumage; the sounds of mating calls and territory songs; the sweet smells of plants doing their darnedest to attract pollinators…
Fly, Moth, Plume MothMay 27, 2016 Fishing Spiders With the explosion of color that spring brings—the woodland wildflowers, the migrating warblers, the sheer greenness of the land—it’s only natural that some of us would be seeing spots before our eyes. I know I am. Lots of spots, in fact. Paired symmetrically along the back of Dolomedes triton, the
Arachnid, Fishing Spider, Spider
Growing up, I was a huge fan of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries. And thank goodness. Because here at Hickory Knolls, solving mysteries is all in a day’s work. Take, for instance, the months preceding our grand opening in 2011. Back then we were faced with all sorts of new-construction puzzlers, like The
Bee, Beehive, Bug, Honeybee, Insect
With the explosion of color that spring brings—the woodland wildflowers, the migrating warblers, the sheer greenness of the land—it’s only natural that some of us would be seeing spots before our eyes. I know I am. Lots of spots, in fact. Paired symmetrically along the back of Dolomedes triton, the six-spotted fishing spider. I encountered
Arachnid, Six Spotted Fishing Spider, SpiderWhen I think of the word gypsy, two images come to mind. One is ca. 1972 and features the stage at Wheaton’s Longfellow School—my alma mater. I was auditioning for the school play, of a title I can’t remember, and I had to read the line, “I can dance the tarantella.” My acting skills being
Gypsy Moth, Insect, Moth