The fields are rife with a purple flower that humans seem to have a love-hate relationship with. The Henbit! Having originated in Africa, Asia, and Europe it made its way into North America, most likely hitching a ride with immigrants preparing to arrive in the new world looking for a new way of life. Leaving the only home you’ve ever known and going somewhere completely new, and potentially dangerous can be frightening as well as exciting. What better way to bring a piece of home with you than to tuck some seeds away for the journey with the hope they will like their new home, adapt, and gro ..read more

A mighty grasshopper called the Eastern Lubber is slowly making its way into Missouri. Traditionally this species was only found in the southeastern states, but like many invertebrates, they don’t always recognize manmade boundaries and go where they please, or at least where the resources are. They are also found in Texas, Louisiana, and Arizona. The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper is the only lubber in the southeastern United States,  they share the family Romaleidae with other lubbers, the name comes from a Greek word, and when translated into Latin means “strong of body.” This is an apt d ..read more

When one hears the term slippery as an eel, the first thing that typically comes to mind is a less than trustful individual bent on bamboozling you then slipping away silently into the night never to be heard from again. This phrase having been repeated for generations has become part of English vernacular and is probably not going anywhere soon. For me slippery as an eel takes on a different meaning, in terms of the eel itself. Several months ago, during a trip to the zoo with my granddaughter she showed an intense fascination for the eels on display. After many repeated trips since that i ..read more

After all, we know these ants are fond of wood, and with most homes being made of wood, how long before the ants cause structural damage? A common myth associated with carpenter ants is that they consume the wood they chew. In fact, they are not eating the wood at all, they cannot digest the cellulose the wood contains. Instead, they use the wood to excavate their homes. These ants are capable of excavating large galleries consisting of a tunnel system they use to travel through their nests. Many of these tunnels lead to food sources, often in the form of an aphid colony that they farm for th ..read more

  Photo by: K. Leeker In Roald Dahl’s children’s book “George’s Marvelous Medicine” Georges’ grandmother encourages him to eat unwashed celery with beetles and earwigs still on it. “A big fat earwig is very tasty,” Grandma said, licking her lips, “but you’ve got to be very quick, my dear, when you put one in your mouth! It has a pair of sharp nippers on its back end and if it grabs your tongue with those it never lets go. So, you’ve got to bite the earwig first, chop chop, before it bites you!”  This nightmare-inducing excerpt from a children's book is indicative of the myth ..read more

  Male Charlotte’s Web, a cherished childhood story about a spider who befriends a friendless pig is, for many of us, our first encounter with a spider. Charlotte is often depicted as a black widow, but those of us who understand, and love spiders know she is actually an orb weaver. Orb weavers are one of the most common spiders found throughout the world with over 2800 known species. They are primarily identified by their elaborate round or “orb-shaped” webs. They are believed to have first appeared on Earth during the Jurassic Period approximately 200-140 million years ago. Wit ..read more

Few plants in nature illicit as strong of a reaction as poison ivy, both figuratively and literally. This dreaded plant is native to North America and Asia and may grow as a vine, small shrub or a small tree-like plant. Leaves occur in a cluster of three arranged alternately from each other. This leaf arrangement explains the popular saying “Leaves of three, leave it be.” Leaves may be elliptic or egg-shaped and the edges may be smooth, lobed, or serrated. In the spring tiny greenish colored blooms appear and by autumn small white berries are present, “berries white, run in fright.” Vines ar ..read more

With Halloween just around the corner, and autumn well underway, what better creature to write about than a spider. Arachnophobia ranks as the number one most recognized phobia afflicting people. With one in four women and one in three men experiencing some form of the often-paralyzing fear of being faced with a hairy, eight-legged arachnid. I myself am a recovering arachnophobe. Throughout my childhood and a large portion of my adult life I was deeply afraid and creeped out by spiders. I knew how irrational this feeling was, but seemed powerless to stop the overwhelming terror that would swe ..read more

As we say goodbye to another summer as it wanes into autumn, I am reminded of how silent the landscape is soon to become. Winter with its dark gloomy days, cold temperatures, and seemingly desolate landscape, always makes me long for the return of spring and of one of my favorite sounds---the call of the frogs and toads. Pretty tulip all red and white Little did you know what would turn up inside A little tree frog hopped into sight. Unexpected surprise, on the wind he did ride.   Tulip in the wind shaking to and fro.. Still the little tree frog held on tight.... The wind battered tulip ..read more

Long-Jawed Orb Weavers in the family Tetragnathidae, were first described in 1866 by a German entomologist named Anton Menge. This family name comes from the Greek words Tetra, and Gnathes, meaning four jaws. Which is an apt description for these odd spiders. The male and female both have large, elongated mouthparts. Which are exaggerated in size in comparison to their bodies to the point of being comical. Other common names attributed to this group of spiders is stretch spiders or stilt spiders, which seems a more apt descriptor. These spiders rest with their front and back legs stretched in ..read more