Pam’s Perspective Pam Otto is the Manager of Nature Programs and Interpretive Services for the St. Charles Park District The other day Joan Kramer, our gardener extraordinaire, came into the office and announced she’d found a friend in the garden. Now, that in itself was nothing new. Joan’s always bumping into old friends, and making
Bug, Insect, Swallowtail Caterpillar
If our recent 90-dgree heat and 90-percent humidity levels have you lying around like a dog, you might be tempted to think that we’ve entered the dog days of summer. And, know what? You’d be right. But maybe not for the reasons you’d think. The dog days are named, not for anything you or your
Bug, Dog Day Cicada, Insect
I’ve been asked a lot of questions this week. Some have been tough, like “What do you think the long-term ecological implications of the BP oil ‘spill’ will be?” Or, “Are these recent summer storms related to climate change?” But the one I’ve heard most often, and the one I just might be able to
Bug, Earwigs, Insect
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s tent season. Tour our local parks and forest preserves, even your own neighborhoods, on a weekend and you’re sure to see tents sheltering dozens, perhaps hundreds, of revelers. It’s graduation and wedding season, and celebrations are in full swing. But if you own a fruit tree—apple, cherry, anything in
Bug, Insect, Tent CaterpillarsSo this week I was going to write about the amazing wildlife I saw while on vacation last week in Wisconsin’s Northwoods葉ales of places where grouse hunters roam, and deer and otters play耀hoot, there was even a bear in a grocery store’s beer cooler. But those stories will have to wait, because here on the
Asian Beetle, Bug, Insect
When was the last time you saw a little green man? For me, it was last Sunday. I was just going into the garage when something small and bright caught my eye. I looked down and there he was, all shiny and chartreuse: a freshly emerged cicada, clinging to his now-empty shell. Cicadas are reliable
Bug, Cicada, Insect
Some people attract wildlife to their yards by hanging up birdhouses. But this weekend, I’m putting up a bee house. That’s right. Bees. Those insects which are, for the most part, peaceable and mild, yet have an undeserved reputation for being cantankerous and hostile. The ones that supposedly sting every chance they get, but in
Bees, Bug, InsectSeeing as it’s June, the most popular month for weddings, it only seems fitting that we talk about…underwing moths. I’m sure you’re probably thinking, “Moths? Eww. Aren’t they the critters that eat my wool sweaters and hatch out of my birdseed?” Well, yes, but that’s a topic for a whole different column. Many other fine
Bug, Insect, Moth, Underwings
What comes to mind when you think of a good neighbor? The folks next door? State Farm? Bald-faced hornets? Okay, that last one may sound like a stretch. After all, aren’t hornets the critters people get “mad as?” And isn’t “stirring up a hornet’s nest” the last thing you want to do? Really, though, bald-faced
Bug, Hornet, Insect