Lightning bugs and Fireflies: A conversation with Lynn Faust, Part 1
For many of us in the eastern U.S., warm spring and summer nights are characterized by the methodical flashing of fireflies and lightning bugs. Fireflies and lightning bugs are exactly the same thing....
4 Mar 202150min
Clovers! Native Clover Conservation, Clover Yards, and More
Clovers are often suggested for lawn alternatives or for incorporating into our yards to make them more pollinator friendly. Clovers can also play important roles in agriculture either in grazing syst...
25 Feb 20211h 6min
Wasps: Victims of an Often Undeserved Reputation
Like many people, I grew up with a healthy…. apprehension (ok, fear) of wasps. And, of course, I've seen all the memes on social media vilifying wasps and calling them names that I'm not going to repe...
18 Feb 20211h 4min
More than a Mud Puddle: The Exciting World of Vernal Pools
Vernal 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...
11 Feb 20211h 2min
The Great Backyard Bird Count
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual citizen science / community science project hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Audubon, and Birds Canada. This international project takes place all o...
4 Feb 202141min
The Valuable Ecological Roles of Crayfish and the Discovery of Two New Species
We'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...
28 Jan 20211h 9min
Native Seed Production and Tips for Starting a New Native Plant Garden or Restoration Area
Growing native plants has grown in popularity over the last couple of decades. This has led to an increased demand for native plant seeds. However, many of us have never really stopped to think about ...
21 Jan 20211h 3min
Land Snails and their Amazing Diversity
Land 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 igno...
14 Jan 202156min
