Think you’re seeing monarchs mating? Look again! These two butterflies are viceroys, distinguished from monarchs by the dark line across the hindwing and by a…
Viceroy Butterflies, the Monarch’s Mimics
Overwintering Butterflies
Butterflies are easy. It’s a statement that naturalists make from time to time, and it refers to the fact that we don’t have to work…
Butterflies in Winter
You’ve gotta admit, monarchs are the current darlings of the butterfly world. Markings that are easy to recognize, combined with a 2014 petition for endanger…
Black Swallowtails
All the hullabaloo about monarch butterflies and their potential endangerment has led me to wonder, What’s up with black swallowtails? I started looking for them…
Nature & Yardwork
Native pollinators have been in the news a lot lately and, for the most part, the reports have not been good. Powerful pesticides combined with…
Helping Pollinators Survive the Winter
The St. Charles Park District, in its efforts to support native pollinators, erected this bee house early this summer. It is located behind the Hickory Knolls Discovery Center. The structure was immediately adopted by a number of native bees. You can make a smaller version of this house by stuffing native plant stems into a
Viceroy Butterfly
Do you see monarchs mating? Look again! These two butterflies are viceroys, distinguished from monarchs by the dark line across the hindwing. Look for this species in moist areas where willows grow. Viceroy Butterfly September 22, 2017 A couple of weeks ago we took a look at the current darling of the butterfly world, the
Raising Monarchs
A member of the monarch super generation lets its wings fill with fluid after eclosing, or emerging, from its chrysalis. Barring any unforeseen difficulties, it should arrive at its overwintering grounds in Mexico in November. (Photo courtesy of Jill Voegtle) Raising Monarchs September 8, 2017 A few week s ago we alluded to the fact
Hackberry Emperor Lucky Shirt
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
OohEew
Objects in nature, as in life, can be divided into two distinct groups: The things that make you go, “Oooooh!” and the things that make you go “Eeeeew!” This past week, we were lucky enough to encounter both. The first item, an “ooooh,” appeared last Saturday, that lovely spring day where temperatures climbed into the