Much to the dismay of people who don’t like snakes, there are dozens of species of snakes living in the United States today. In fact, there are more than 50 different species of snakes here – and if you count subspecies, the number grows to more than 250!
Pelicans. Anyone that has been to Florida is likely familiar with pelicans. But the pelicans which are so common in the sunshine state or even some of the other Gulf states during the summertime are mostly brown pelicans.
Anyone who has a vegetable garden or flower garden has probably seen a common garden slug. These slimy gastropods are actually a type of mollusk, similar to a snail, but they do not have a protective shell. Their scientific name is Arion hortensis.
Of all the species of diving ducks in North America, the mergansers are arguably among the most interesting. There are common mergansers, red-breasted mergansers and hooded mergansers.
The northern lights glittered over Patch Mountain as we sat in the north Yaak, tending a dying campfire. My 7-year-old daughter, Shasta, pulled the tip of her poking stick away from the embers, and said, “Daddy, take me fishing.”
Over the years, some moths have been called “jewels of the night”. This is because they are nocturnal and fly under the cover of darkness, and many of them are very beautiful.
Willets are a somewhat drab, nondescript-looking shorebird. They are fairly large, about the size of an American crow, with a wingspan measuring nearly 28 inches in length.
Wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, bees – most people don’t like them. The reason is simple, too. These insects are capable of delivering a very painful sting, and since they can fly through the air they can chase you!
Of all the duck species in North America, the Surf Scoter is one of the most unusual-looking. It is a medium-sized sea duck, and the males are completely black except for small white patches on the back of their head, on their forehead, and at the base of their bill.
Gardeners who enjoy growing tomatoes have many things to worry about: are their tomato plants getting enough water? Enough sun? Too much water? Not enough fertilizer? But one thing almost all of these gardeners hate is the tobacco hornworm, sometimes called the tomato worm
Most people would think they need to go to Africa to see an Egyptian goose. And at one time, that would be true. The Egyptian goose is native to Africa, especially east Africa and southern Africa.
Most people don’t like beetles. And it’s understandable, since most beetles fall into the “creepy-crawly” category. But some beetles are very interesting. Take longhorn beetles, for example.
