Tag: Other Invertebrates
-
Top 10 Most Popular Backyard Ecology Articles: Thanksgiving 2021 – Thanksgiving 2022
The new year is only a few days away. As I said in last week’s podcast episode, this is traditionally a time for looking back over the last year and looking forward to the new year. We’ve been following that tradition in the Backyard Ecology world, both with our content and behind the scenes as…
-
Galls: Amazingly Diverse and Fascinating Plant Growths
in PodcastHave you ever found a leaf with weird little balls or spiky things attached to it? Or found a plant with a weird growth on its stem or a dense clump of leaves growing out of an odd place? Chances are those were galls. Going into this conversation, I knew a little bit about galls,…
-
Recent Nature-related Discoveries in My Yard and Community
June and July have been busy months filled with tons of nature-related discoveries! I missed most of our early lightning bug species, but they were insane in June and July. There were several nights when I picked out at least half a dozen different flash patterns. Each of those would have been a different species.…
-
Deer Ticks and Lyme Disease: Why is Lyme disease more common in the north?
in PodcastLyme disease is our most common tick-borne disease and it is estimated that there are around 400,000 cases each year. Black-legged ticks or deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are the only species of tick that carries Lyme disease in the eastern U.S. Although deer ticks are found throughout the eastern U.S., Lyme disease is much more…
-
Crossover Episode with Nature’s Archive: Charley Eiseman – Naturalist, Author, Innovator, and Leaf Mining Insect Specialist
in PodcastThis episode is different from anything I’ve done before, because Michael Hawk, who hosts the Nature’s Archive podcast, and I are sharing each other’s episodes. One of the things I really like about the Nature’s Archive podcast is that in addition to the biology, Michael also digs into the stories of how his guests got…
-
Tracking the Periodical Cicadas with Dr. Gene Kritsky
in PodcastFor many of us, the rhythmic chatter of annual cicadas is a natural part of every summer. But then… every once in a while… the trees explode in a deafening chorus of periodical cicadas. Periodical cicadas will spend over a decade as nymphs underground before emerging and maturing into adults. The adults only live a…
-
More than a Mud Puddle: The Exciting World of Vernal Pools
in PodcastVernal pools are a special type of shallow wetlands that fill with snow melt and rain in late fall through early spring, then dry up sometime during the summer. Because they dry up, they are sometimes overlooked or dismissed as “not very good wetlands.” However, they serve an important role in the ecosystem and can…
-
The Valuable Ecological Roles of Crayfish and the Discovery of Two New Species
in PodcastWe’re lucky in the eastern U.S. because bodies of water are pretty common. For most of us, if we don’t have access to a creek, stream, river, pond, etc. in our immediate backyards, then we likely have access somewhere nearby in the surrounding community. This means it can be relatively easy for us to explore…
-
Land Snails and their Amazing Diversity
in PodcastLand snails???? Come on, how do they fit with Backyard Ecology? True, land snails aren’t the most charismatic organism in our yards and communities, so it would be easy to just write them off and ignore them. Most of us probably do that on a regular basis. But, land snails are extremely important to our…
-
Native and Non-native Earthworms in the Eastern U.S. with Mac Callaham
in PodcastHi Everyone! Today we are talking with Mac Callaham who is a Research Ecologist with the Southern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service. Mac’s focus is on invasive species, with a specialty in soil animals, especially earthworms. Like many people, I grew up thinking that earthworms were a good thing and a natural part…
-
Introducing the Backyard Ecology podcast
in PodcastMany people believe that nature is only “out there” – in national parks, other large chunks of pristine land, or some far-off exotic place. For a long time, I did too. But the truth is that nature is everywhere and there are still plenty of discoveries to be made about the common species inhabiting our…