On a recent trip to Branson, Missouri, I wanted to do some fishing. Crappie fishing, to be exact. My friend Bill Cooper and I had scheduled a half day fishing excursion with Capt. Josh Isaacs from Branson's Full Throttle Fishing Adventures, and he recommended that we fish Bull Shoals Lake.
Stink bugs – who likes them? There are many species of stink bugs native to the United States, and the biggest problem with them is they emit a stinky odor when handled. Luckily, the populations of native species are kept in check by local natural predators.
Have you ever seen an Anhinga? They are a warm weather bird, so if you live in the central or northern USA you will likely never see one around home. You will need to travel to Florida or the Gulf Coast for the best chance at seeing one.
Fall is almost over already and winter is approaching. But not long ago some of our most beautiful butterflies were still active. These are the Buckeye butterflies.
Almost everyone has seen a pigeon. People who live in the city often see them in parks or around buildings, while those living in the country can see them in and around barns and grain silos.
Most people don’t like wasps, and for good reason – they can sting you! But not all wasps can sting, and even though the long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp looks pretty scary and intimidating, it is totally harmless to humans.
Some people think all seagulls are the same. A seagull is a seagull, right? Wrong. According to the book Gulls of North America by Fred Shaffer, there are actually 27 species of gulls in North America alone.
There are plenty of fish in the sea. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors, too. One very handsome species of fish is the Yellowtail Snapper. These brightly colored fish are common in the western Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina south to Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico.
The tufted titmouse seems to be a cheerful bird – at least it sounds that way from its cheerful “peter-peter-peter” song. This small bird is mostly gray with a soft white belly. Most individuals have a light tan-colored patch on their sides, just below their wings.
Have you ever seen a skink? Skinks are pretty cool creatures. They are small lizards which are native to North America and many other parts of the world. The Five-Lined Skink, in particular, is a very handsome and colorful little lizard.
There are about 29 native species of ducks in North America today, from mallards and pintails to redheads and gadwalls – just to name a few. That does not even include the various species of mergansers, grebes, loons and geese.
Beetles are among the most common insect species on Earth. In fact, there are over 400,000 species of beetles known today, and those are just the species we know about right now. More species are being discovered and named every year.
