A Beginner’s Guide to Butterfly Watching

Want to get started in butterfly watching? Here are some to see in your backyard.

Ken Keffer

Meet the World’s Largest Land Crab

The coconut crab can lift 60 pounds and crack coconuts. It’s also facing a perilous future.

Matthew L. Miller

The Jumping Slugs of the Pacific Northwest

Meet the strange slugs that do a breakdance for defense.

Mary Terra-Berns

Making Beetles Pee Can Protect Your Garden

New research offers strange (and pesticide free) ways to protect your garden.

Kris Millgate

How Citizen Science Aids Horseshoe Crab Conservation

New research shows just how useful citizen science is for horseshoe crab conservation.

Christine Peterson

Wait. Northern Paper Wasps Recognize Each Other’s Faces?

Research shows that, for northern paper wasps, it pays to recognize your neighbor.

Christine Peterson

Crawling with Crickets: The Insect Swarm of the Western US

Across the west, this large, occasionally cannibalistic insect swarms by the millions.

Ken Keffer

Meet the Argonaut, The World’s Weirdest Octopus

Octopuses are awesome. These eight-legged oddballs of the ocean have always had a dedicated fanclub, and the recent documentary My […]

Justine E. Hausheer

The Butterfly of Spring: Meet the Mourning Cloak

Meet the first butterfly you may see this spring.

Ken Keffer

Tarantulas: Color, Cancer and Cramps

Some consider tarantulas creepy, but these researchers find their venom more helpful than harmful.

Kris Millgate

Black Witch Moths: A Night-Time Trick or Treat

Black witch moths are dramatic creatures, feared in some cultures, celebrated in others.

Ken Keffer

Eat, Prey, Love: Fast Facts on the Remarkable Praying Mantis

Now is a great time to encounter this common backyard predator.

Kris Millgate