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Konza Prairie Trip Part 3 – Questions About Frequent Prairie Burning
A few weeks ago, I wrote about our trip to the Konza Prairie Biological Station in eastern Kansas. On that trip, we learned about research results showing that frequent spring fires (one or two year...
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Caterpillar Crossing
While driving through central Nebraska last week, I couldn’t help notice all the fuzzy creatures crossing the highway in front of me. They weren’t raccoons, deer, or even voles. They were tiny little...
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Photo of the Week – September 25, 2014
A small male bee (Dufourea marginata) waits hopefully for a female to come by his sunflower. The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska. Some people have the mistaken impression that I...
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Photo of the Week – October 10, 2014
For the second time in two weeks, I got to travel west into drier, shorter prairie. This week, our crew attended the Nebraska Natural Legacy Conference in Gering, Nebraska – at the far western end of...
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Photo of the Week – October 17, 2014
Who could be mad at these big beautiful brown eyes? A differential grasshopper (that’s its name, not its demeanor) on stiff goldenrod. As it turns out, lots of people can. The differential grasshopper...
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Photo of the Week – November 14, 2014
The praying mantis is an impressive predator, especially when it’s a Chinese mantis the length of a ball point pen. The ones who live around here seem to have a particular affinity for sphinx moths....
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Making Smart Assumptions about Prairie Management
Some people say it’s dangerous to make assumptions. I disagree. In fact, assumptions are both necessary and empowering. Land managers make assumptions all the time. If we didn’t, we’d never get...
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Photo of the Week – November 20, 2014
It’s been a cold week, though we’re finally starting to warm up again. As a way to feel a little less chilly, I went back through some photos from the summer and found these three shots from late...
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Hubbard Fellowship Blog – The Amazing Burying Beetle
This post was written by Dillon Blankenship, one of our current Hubbard Fellows. All photos are by Dillon. Back in September I had an interesting experience while sweeping out the shop. With a dustpan...
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Photo of the Week – November 28, 2014
Ambush bugs are scary-looking little predators. Their stocky bodies are heavily armored up front, and they have very thick raptorial forelegs like those of praying mantises. I usually only spot...
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Wanna Know What Really Makes A Sunflower Lose its Head?
Nearly-decapitated sunflower heads, scattered across the prairie. Oh, the devastation! Who could be carrying out such an evil plan? (Ok, more accurately, a weevil plan?) I found this sad-looking...
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What I Look For When I Walk Through My Prairies
Back in August, I posted some questions to readers about what they look for when evaluating their own prairies. I got some excellent responses, which I really appreciated. If you missed them, you can...
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Photo of the Week – December 11, 2014
For no particular reason, here are two unrelated photos from the same day. Both photographs were taken on September 28, 2014 at our family prairie south of Aurora, Nebraska. I wish I could come up...
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Contrasting Approaches to Prairie Management: Leopold, Land Health and Cabbages.
“A Land Ethic” is the concluding essay in Aldo Leopold’s 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, and is the most powerful and relevant piece of conservation writing I’ve ever read. Leopold’s essay spells...
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Survival of the Fittest?
He was engaging and informative – feeding our tour group piece after piece of the fascinating history of the people and landscape of the Wildcat Hills Landscape. The first guest speaker on the 2014...
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A Hole New Mystery to Consider
On my last trip to the Niobrara Valley Preserve, I photographed the bark of wildfire-killed pine trees in warm late day light. I liked both the patterns and the color and was just trying to make some...
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DON’T PANIC! It’s just a crane fly.
“WOW! That’s a GIGANTIC mosquito!!” That is a common response to most people’s first sighting of a crane fly, a flying insect with a wingspan of 1-2 cm or more. Although they do somewhat resemble...
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Photo of the Week – January 29, 2015
Ok, I admit it – I’m a sucker for crab spiders. A crab spider on Flodman’s thistle (Cirsium flodmanii) at the Helzer family prairie. July 2014. As much as I enjoy looking at prairie flowers, I enjoy...
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Photo of the Week – February 27, 2015
Here are two photos that are completely unrelated to each other. Why? Because I feel like it. So there. An old truck in a snowy prairie. Leadership Center Prairie – Aurora, Nebraska. February 2015....
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Pretty but Powerful
Because they can’t run away, plants may seem helpless against the many large and small herbivores that like to eat them. Nothing could be further from the truth. The plant this caterpillar is chewing...
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