The pretzel top is not to be trusted
Tag: biology
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
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 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
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
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!
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
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!
Sunday Fish Sketch| The Cookiecutter Shark
Prepare to learn about a whole new kind of Cookie Monster on this #SharkWeek themed #SundayFishSketch...and this one glows!
Sunday Fish Sketch| Freshwater Elephantfish
This #SundayFishSketch comes from Ichthyologist, Rene Martin. Visit her shop on InPrint to see more of her artwork or to order prints! Meet the Freshwater Elephantfish Mormyridae Mormyridae is an African family of 200 or so species in the biological order Osteoglossiformes. Oddly enough, but fitting in line with the peculiar and weirdly specific nature of systematics, … Continue reading Sunday Fish Sketch| Freshwater Elephantfish
The Dragonhunter
In the skies across Minnesota (and much of the eastern US and southeastern Canada, for that matter), roams a fierce and agile predator, capable of taking down prey you would never imagine---and some many wouldn't dare to try at themselves. Hagenius brevistylus, is a clubtail dragonfly known as the Dragonhunter, and is one of nearly … Continue reading The Dragonhunter
When a Spider isn’t a Spider
If you're reading this right now, you might be realizing that we're about to be playing a game of semantics (systematics, rather). For many, if it looks like a Spider, that's all they need to know to shiver in disgust and engage in fight, freeze, or flight. It may be pretentious to dwell on the … Continue reading When a Spider isn’t a Spider
The Trouble with Trilobites
It's #FossilFriday, and you know what that means---fossils. Big surprise, right? This week, with an unoriginal but begging to be used titular parody on the classic Star Trek episode 'The Trouble with Tribbles"---we're talking trilobites. Here is my trilobite. It was a gift from my brother (podcast co-host) he picked up at a rock convention. … Continue reading The Trouble with Trilobites
Hoary Puccoon
This #WildflowerWednesday, we take a look at one of my personal favorites—the Hoary Puccoon.
Sunday Fish Sketch| The Common Sea Dragon
This #SundayFishSketch comes from Ichthyologist, Rene Martin. Visit her shop on InPrint to see more of her artwork or to order prints! Meet the Common Sea Dragon Phyllopteryx taeniolatus While it may be a dragon by name, the Common Sea Dragon is no more a dragon than a sea horse is a horse. One, it would be … Continue reading Sunday Fish Sketch| The Common Sea Dragon
Fossil Friday| Introducing Evolution with the Archaeopteryx
In celebration of #FossilFriday, I wanted to share an educational resource: a lesson I used during student teaching to introduce a unit on evolution. This lesson can be modified for middle school level and was written in accordance to MN state standards which very closely mirror NGSS, however, I structured this lesson for the high … Continue reading Fossil Friday| Introducing Evolution with the Archaeopteryx
Mid-Season Finale| S2E5: No Brainer
In the mid-season finale, Devon and Richard talk to Lucas Brotz, research associate at the Marine Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia and a Cnidaria Scientist for Quantitative Aquatics, to discuss how a creature without a brain dominates the worlds oceans, and the many ways they impact our lives.
#SundayFishSketch| Larval Fish and a Podcast
The theme for this week's #SundayFishSketch was fish that don't look like fish, which is most definitely the case with almost all larval marine fish.
#SundayFishSketch Xiphactinus
It's Sunday, which means #SundayFishSketch . This week, travel back to the time of dinosaurs to discover the Xiphactinus. #SciArt
#SundayFishSketch Banded Scuplin
The banded sculpin (Cottus carolinae) is a mottled brown freshwater fish with dark vertical bands native to swift moving streams of the eastern United States where they dine on insects, various larvae, and occasionally, though sparingly, on other smaller fish or crustaceans.
Birding by Smartphone
In 1917, the American poet Wallace Stevens published a poem called 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. In truth, 13 is a major understatement, with just as much variation in "why" as their is in "how". Whether you're a life "lister", a casual admirer, or anywhere in between, at some point each and every one of has had a moment where we saw a bird and thought to ourselves, "what is that?"
Podcast Season 2 Updates, Topics
Season Two of The Wild Life is well in the works, with at least two interviews being done this week (for both the premier and the finale, coincidentally). With that being said, Richard and I wanted to take the opportunity to share with yall the episode topics (and working titles) for the upcoming season. Here it goes:
New Audio Blog Podcast Series While You Wait On Season 2
Now, something you may have read on the website (thewildlife.blog) will be available to listen to on the go!
Mud-Puddling: The Dirty Truth About Butterflies
Ever have a butterfly land on your skin and start licking you and thought "Awe, I've got a new best bro!" Well, you were wrong. Butterflies have a dirty secret!
ATTACK OF THE BRYOZOANS
If you've ever seen a gelatinous blob of ick floating in the water and wondered what type of alien life you were seeing, it was probably a Bryozoan, and they're honestly pretty neat.
Carrion my Wayward Beetle
This is circle of life---or at least an ugly, albeit necessary, curve of it. This is the life of the American Carrion Beetle.
More than a Long Neck: 16 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Giraffes
Who doesn't love Giraffes? Yet, despite their international love and viral webcam footage with thousands tuning in to watch their birth, there is much about them that is unknown by the masses, which is a shame because they are truly fascinating animals with a multitude of fun facts about them. Here are 16 things you probably didn't know about Giraffes.
#SundayFishSketch The Penpoint Gunnel
This Penpoint Gunnel may be made by pen-point, but that's not the origin of its namesake, rather the fist large spine of the anal fin is grooved and shaped like a fountain pen tip.