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HAVING LOTS OF SPIDERS AROUND IS A GOOD SIGN Last week during a walk through the woods I ended up with spiderwebs in my hair, on my face and on my shirt. I managed to avoid a few webs because … Continued

WHAT’S YOUR BLOOMING HURRY, BUD? This recycled column, about a surprising plant performance, was one of my mother’s favorites.   I was visiting my sister in Tuscaloosa, and as we prepared to sit down for the evening meal, a next-door … Continued

AUTUMN IS WHEN WE HAVE THE MOST SNAKES Snakes are a hallmark of healthy habitats. And throughout the country, most habitats have more snakes present in early fall than at any other time of the year, even spring. The explanation … Continued

PLANTS CAN DISPLAY UNUSUAL TRAITS Though few plants would make good action videos on a nature show, that doesn’t mean plants are uninteresting. The carnivorous ones are certainly intriguing, whether they capture their prey, usually insects, by passive entrapment like … Continued

SOME PLANTS CAN BE FASCINATING Q. Most examples of unusual wildlife are animals. What plants do you think are notable or at least interesting in some way? A. I have received this question before, the first time being from Joab … Continued

THE SALAMANDER CLUB HAS A REUNION A recent visit to Salleyland, South Carolina, was as pleasant as could be expected on a muggy midsummer day while trudging through swamp mud and wiping spiderwebs from our faces. Even when I mistakenly … Continued

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF CORKSCREW BURROWS? Extraterrestrial aliens have been given as an unscientific explanation for a variety of engineering marvels, including the Egyptian pyramids, Easter Island statues and Stonehenge. Little green men with shovels might also have been … Continued

TORTOISES COME IN ALL SIZES What do you think of when you hear the word “tortoise”? The giant tortoises that lumber along like tanks over the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean? The gopher … Continued

MILLIPEDES GLOW IN THE DARK At night we saw a vicious predator attacking a much larger prey. In the morning we saw the brightest red blood I have ever seen. We were not anywhere near African big game. A larval … Continued

THE LEOPARD IS THE PRINCE OF PREDATORS The leopard, the most graceful of Africa’s predators, is feared throughout the continent. Leopards do not consider humans to be special, aside from their being easy prey that neither bite nor scratch and … Continued