Professor Marcus Byrne teaches us about the fantastical and unexpected world of dung beetles, their ecological importance, their connections to human culture and history, and how this lowly creature finds its way home by looking to the stars.
Category: The Wild Life Blog
Book Club| Professor Marcus Byrne’s Picks!
Each episode, we ask our guests for their personal book recommendations. Our latest guest was not only able to suggest one of his own (which you should totally read), but also two other absolute must-reads. Want to join our book club to find other nature-nerds who may be interested in reading the same things as … Continue reading Book Club| Professor Marcus Byrne’s Picks!
Can the Market Save the World?
Welcome to part two in an ongoing series examining our connections and impact on the environment, sustainability, and our changing climate. Part 1 through roughly 9 will focus on laying the groundwork for understanding these complicated issues from a variety of perspectives, while parts 10 through 20 or so will place the first half into … Continue reading Can the Market Save the World?
The Wild Life’s Binoculars for Young Birders (and naturalist kits) Fundraiser
With this program, we hope to provide every attendee to our events that's under the age of 18 with a free pair of binoculars, and a birding/naturalist kit. We also will have a web form available for individuals to apply for a pair! We have an event coming up on May 8th, a Big Day birding event, which would be perfect for our first distribution!
NEW| Immerse Yourself in the Ambience of a Campfire
Back in January, we started a new podcast listing called The Wild Life 8D: Soundscapes, a series of immersive nature themed audio experiences. Yesterday, we posted our first video using audio from the podcast. We highly recommend headphones to get the full experience. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJc0htULSNA
The Problem with Overpopulation & Scarcity
Overpopulation is a dangerous myth
Dispatches from Somewhere #3: Needlepoint
A winter morning find
Dispatches from Somewhere #2: Pretzel Top
The pretzel top is not to be trusted
Dispatches from Somewhere #1: What a Wasp
I’ve had this picture on my camera roll for almost a year now and I figured I should finally get to posting it. If you’re wondering what this scorpion looking flying insect is, it’s the Pelecinus polyturator, a type of wasp. The adults drink nectar and are pretty harmless, unless you’re a June Bug. That’s … Continue reading Dispatches from Somewhere #1: What a Wasp
Field Notes: The Nursery Web Spider
Share the Love this Valentine’s Day| Snakes and Spiders!
Last year, we decided to celebrate Valentine's by sharing the love with some of nature's most unloved: snakes and spiders! We had some of our all-time favorite guests and amazing sci-commers on as a part of the series, and it'd be an absolute shame if their charm was lost to years past, so we're sharing … Continue reading Share the Love this Valentine’s Day| Snakes and Spiders!
The Danger Zone
This was originally written as an essay in 2015 based on a New Yorker article by Elizabeth Kolbert entitled “A New Climate-Change Danger Zone?” and reflects my opinions at the time. Much has changed in the world and the climate crisis has only gotten worse and my understanding of that crisis as well as the … Continue reading The Danger Zone
The Nutrient Hunter
This was originally written in 2015 and is based on an interview originally published in Nature Investigative food journalist, Jo Robinson, is a “Nutrient Hunter” and her demonstration garden in Washington as well as her new book, ‘Eating on the Wild Side’, is showcasing what she’s found. Her thesis is simple, “All plants make phytochemicals, … Continue reading The Nutrient Hunter
Joe the Pigeon on Death Row
A fascinating journey that sounds the stuff of an animated movie or a children's book is about to come to a rather different sort of end. On December 26th, a man by the name of Kevin Celli-Bird discovered an understandably exhausted pigeon resting in the backyard of his home in Melbourne, Australia. The bird was … Continue reading Joe the Pigeon on Death Row
New Series From The Wild Life
Now available wherever you get your podcasts, not one, not two, but THREE new series from The Wild Life! From the creators of The Wild Life comes Class.Why class? Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.Each season focuses in on a new Phylum, with each episode exploring a new Class of animal. Season One: Mollusca, … Continue reading New Series From The Wild Life
Phylum: Porifera
The first installment of our first ever miniseries is here--Phylum: Porifera! Sponges are often overlooked aside from Spongebob Squarepants and cleaning. It's time that changed. Dive into the amazing life history of sponges! What is the phylum? You might remember that from school: Kingdom phylum, class, order, family, genus, species? There's a lot of ways … Continue reading Phylum: Porifera
An Absolutely Major Announcement
The Wild Life was born out of a desire to help alleviate something that, at the time, we were calling the nature accessibility gap. Initially, it was clear that this gap existed along economic and other demographic lines, exposing a stark pattern of under-representation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) individuals and communities in … Continue reading An Absolutely Major Announcement
The Wild Life of the Black-and-Yellow Lichen Moth
Order| Lepidoptera Species| Lycomorpha pholus Uh-ah, you know what it is—the Black-and-Yellow Lichen Moth! “Wait, black and yellow? They’re clearly orange-er, right?” Who knows what they were thinking. One thing’s for sure though, mimicry is their flex. As caterpillars, when they spend most of their time munching on a symbiotic snack of lichen, they texturally … Continue reading The Wild Life of the Black-and-Yellow Lichen Moth
A Rare Blue Bee Found in Florida for 1st Time in 4 Years
In a patch sandy scrub in southern Lake Wales Ridge in Highlands County, Florida, A rare blue bee has been spotted for the first time in 4 years. Osmia calaminthae, the Blue Calaminthae bee, named for its distinct dark blue color and it’s host plant, the Ashe’s calaminthae (or mint), is a rare find. Its … Continue reading A Rare Blue Bee Found in Florida for 1st Time in 4 Years
The Wild Life of the Nicobar Pigeon
Order| Columbiformes While it may come as a shock, the Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) is indeed a Pigeon. It’s also the closest living relative of the now extinct Dodo bird! These birds are named for an island chain of the coast of India where many of them live, though they can be found all the … Continue reading The Wild Life of the Nicobar Pigeon
The Journey So Far
The other day, I was going through a pile of junk (which I have a lot of) and came across this. This intentionally blurred piece of paper was the very beginning of #TheWildLife. It’s just a bunch of notes and ideas that I was jotting down while I tried to decide what I wanted to … Continue reading The Journey So Far
The Wild Life of Red Pandas
Red Panda Order| Carnivora Family| Ailuridae Red Panda's, like the Giant Panda, eat mostly bamboo (and are impossibly adoreable). But here's the thing, they aren't pandas. They're actually more closely related to skunks and raccoons, and make up their own subfamily alongside skunks, raccoons, and weasels. Much like the Eau de Popcorn smelling Binturong, the … Continue reading The Wild Life of Red Pandas
88.1 KVSC Interview: The Untold Story of Distance Learning During COVID-19 with ISD 742’s Devon Bowker, Science Teacher, Naturalist, and Blogger
KVSC, the radio station of my Alma Mater, St Cloud State University, recently interviewed new for there segment ‘Untold Stories of Central MN’. It aired on Earth Day 2020 and was an incredible honor and opportunity to speak about my passions. For those of you more familiar with The Wild Life side of my life, … Continue reading 88.1 KVSC Interview: The Untold Story of Distance Learning During COVID-19 with ISD 742’s Devon Bowker, Science Teacher, Naturalist, and Blogger
The Wild Life’s 50th Episode Celebration: Live Trivia Show!
Well, we’ve come a long way. We’re at our 50th episode! We will be hosting a live show on Zoom!and YOU are invited. On May 1st at 7pm CT, we’ll be playing trivia (of course, based on topics from our first 49 episodes [and no, you don’t have to have listened to all of them … Continue reading The Wild Life’s 50th Episode Celebration: Live Trivia Show!
Snakes in the Basement?
Snakes don't do things without reason or purpose. Nothing does. Virtually all questions of animal behavior can be answered by thinking of the most common sense, energetically efficient (aka, lazy) reason that you can.
Interview| Listen to Devon on Hiking Thru Life!
Recently, I sat down for an interview with the Hiking Thru Life podcast. It was an absolute joy and such a surreal experience to be on the other side of things. We talked about my experiences, my why, The Wild Life, and of course hiking and nature tips. Check it out! https://hikingthrulife.net/podcast/ Or listen on … Continue reading Interview| Listen to Devon on Hiking Thru Life!
November Membership Drive!
If you become a member during the November Membership Drive, we'll double your first two months conscious conservation contribution through the Wildlife Ambassadors programs to 20%!
Become a Wildlife Ambassador
So, here’s the thing: we, at this moment, are rolling out a new newy thing. It’s super cool—the Wildlife Ambassador program! Basically, when you become a member at Patreon.com/TheWildLife, you can pick a species of some kind of personal importance to you and we will donate 10% of your contributions each month to either a … Continue reading Become a Wildlife Ambassador
Home Is Where The Log Is: A Velvet Worm Short Story
When most people think of Australia, their mind conjures up images of a Mad Maxian landscape—brick red sand blemished with gray-green freckles of saltbrush. Standing tall in a rigid defiance, the occasional gum or eucalyptus serves as safe haven for koalas and kookaburras under a big hard sun. Maybe they think of the Great Barrier … Continue reading Home Is Where The Log Is: A Velvet Worm Short Story
Is it a Worm? Is it a Wasp? No! It’s the Elm Sawfly!
This past weekend as I sat below an old oak tree while drinking my morning cup of coffee and looking out on a glassy Lake Darling in Alexandria, Minnesota, something fell from the sky and landed at my feet. Small and curled up like a slightly puff green and yellow sour gummy worm. It's face … Continue reading Is it a Worm? Is it a Wasp? No! It’s the Elm Sawfly!