August 23 - August 29 Discover nature this week as young male white-tailed deer rub the velvet off their antlers. The white-tailed deer is aptly named because the white undersurface of its flag-like tail is all that’s seen as it bounds across an opening in the woods. Antlers occur only in males and are formed and shed each year. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, growth of the antler starts in April or May when the base of the antler, located on the skull, begins to enlarge.

August 16 - August 22 Discover nature this week as birds get ready for a change of season. The mall isn’t the only place where fashions are changing in response to the coming fall season. Take a close look at your neighborhood birds and you’ll see they’re already losing their bright colors in preparation for cooler weather. During late summer, many birds go through a molting period, when they replace old feathers with new ones. Depending on the species, molting might be complete or partial,

August 9 - August 15 Discover Nature this week as you use the song of Fall Field Crickets to calculate the temperature. When we think of watching wildlife, we usually think about birds or deer or turkeys. But our state has many insects, like crickets, that are just as interesting and just as beautiful as other wildlife. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, a male field cricket will make a slow series of chirps on warm nights to attract a mate, when the temperature is around 77

Learn how to discover nature with ease as you take the itch out of summer. Every Missourian knows chiggers are the worst pests in the summer months. First they appear as annoying red bumps then the itch begins and spreads. Chiggers are not bugs or any other type of insect. They're a juvenile form of a specific family of mites. Although they're almost invisible to the unaided eye...when several chiggers cluster together near an elastic waistband or wristwatch you might see their bright red color.

Discover Nature in Missouri this week as you look for new areas to explore. Missouri is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts or just plain folks who enjoy a walk in the woods. With more than 1,000 Missouri Department of Conservation areas, including nature centers, fish hatcheries, natural areas and shooting ranges, you can pursue your favorite outdoor activity close to home or across the state. To help you discover these areas, the Conservation Department has the MDC atlas which enables you to

Discover nature this week and a creature unique to Missouri's clear Ozark streams. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation the clear, rocky streams of the Ozarks are home to twenty-six species of crayfish. Anyone who has played in a clear Missouri stream has run across what is most often locally called a crawdad. Missouri children spend countless hours catching them every summer but what they may not know is how unique some of these pinchers truly are. Eleven of our crayfish species

July 5 - July 11 Discover Nature this week in one of Missouri’s species of concern: the Hine’s emerald dragonfly. This rare insect was discovered in 1999 by Linden Trial, a Conservation Department biologist. She was looking for interesting insects at a natural area in Reynolds County. Her discovery dramatically increased the known range of the dragonfly, which previously had been documented in only three states: Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. Surveys for the species began in earnest following

June 26 - July 2 Discover Nature this week as you help to stop one of Missouri’s Most Unwanted invasive species, the zebra mussel. Zebra mussels are fingernail-sized, black-and-white striped mollusks native to the Caspian Sea region of Asia. Over the next several decades, zebra mussels could spread to other freshwater locations in Missouri and throughout North America. You can help prevent the spread of zebra mussels by observing the following "clean boating" suggestions when transporting your

June 21 - June 27 Discover nature this first week of summer and watch for northern water snakes basking in the sun. Snakes have generated more fear and misunderstanding than any other group of animals. And psychologists have proven that a fear of snakes is acquired. We are not born with it. Once people learn some of the interesting facts about snakes and discover that most of them are harmless and beneficial, their aversion may diminish. With patience and understanding, almost anyone can

June 13 - June 19 Discover nature this week as American toad tadpoles turn into toadlets and leave the water. This is the perfect time to start watching local fishless ponds and witness the transformation through the week. All Missouri toads and frogs must return to a body of water to reproduce and most select fishless bodies of water for breeding. Flooded fields, ditches, woodland and prairie ponds, and temporary pools are their favorite breeding places. Most eggs hatch within 10 to 14 days of