You never know what you’re going to find inside a gob of spit in a meadow. If you’re lucky, it might be a young spittlebug. As Bowdoin professor and Maine Audubon trustee Nat Wheelwright explains, the “spit,” which is left over from feeding on plant sap, protects these harmless insects from predators and parasitic wasps. […]
Maine's Naturalist
Celebrating Moths with Maine Audubon
Moths are an underappreciated, relatively little-known group of insects. They aren’t just little brown bugs that come to your porch light! Varying from leaf miners (at barely 0.1 inches long) to the Atlas Moth of Asia (with a wingspan of over 12 inches — around the same size as the world’s largest butterfly!), they are […]
March of the Migrating Fish
You don’t have to travel to Africa or the Arctic tundra to witness one of the world’s great migrations. Maine’s migratory fish provide a rare opportunity to see wildlife in abundance, and they are an excellent example of resilience and persistence. Species such as salmon and shad, blueback herring, and alewives need distinct habitat at […]
Nature Moments: On Climate Change, Trust but Verify
Is climate change just a hoax? It’s not…but why not follow Ronald Reagan’s advice and “trust but verify” by looking for evidence � pro or con � in your own backyard? If you pay attention to animals, plants and weather, you may discover that your neighborhood really is getting warmer, explains Bowdoin professor and Maine […]
Nature Moments: Color and Communication in Turtles
Animals like painted turtles use different parts of their bodies to send distinct messages. Backs and bellies are designed to mislead predators, while faces, with their fine details, advertise a turtle’s identity and quality to nearby competitors and mates. Nature Moments�are produced by Nat Wheelwright and Wilder Nicholson, with help from Genie Wheelwright, Paul Benham, […]
Nature Moments: Benefits of Obesity in Woodchucks
Woodchucks are called groundhogs and whistle pigs for a good reason: they spend six months gorging themselves before going into hibernation. If they don’t double their weight, they might not survive the winter.�(Thanks to Chris Maher for sharing her expertise and Ariana van den Akker for her photography.) Nature Moments�are produced by Nat Wheelwright and […]
Nature Moments: Lichen Partnerships
Those splotches on rocks, tree trunks and twigs? Lichens! Lichens are actually a symbiosis between two major divisions of life, neither of which is a plant. And you can find them everywhere, as long as the air is not polluted. Nature Moments�are produced by Nat Wheelwright and Wilder Nicholson, with help from Genie Wheelwright, Paul […]
Nature Moments: How to Build a Bird’s Nest
If you ever have the opportunity (and permits) to dissect an abandoned bird nest, you’ll discover that female birds are ingenious architects of solid, well-insulated, camouflaged homes for their eggs. They’re able to do it without practice or instruction, using found objects like rootlets, feathers, twigs and mosses. Nature Moments�are produced by Nat Wheelwright and […]
Nature Moments: Birdsong Baby Babble
Every bird in the world makes some kind of sound. But in order to develop a proper song, explains Nat Wheelwright, some of them need to listen to adults and then practice what they hear, in the same way children learn to speak. Nature Moments�are produced by Nat Wheelwright and Wilder Nicholson, with help from […]