Life, Death, and Taxonomy

“…and today we’re talking about a frog that could have dropped into Normandy. But more on that later.” In the canopy high, where the tall trees sway, Lives a frog who glides in a daring display. With webbed fingers spread, like wings in the breeze, He leaps from the branches with elegant ease. The wind […]

“…and today we’re talking about a drill-faced fuzzy bug. But more on that later.” Foodies pride themselves on variety and quality, but what if your face was designed around finding a single food item. The acorn weevil has a face that is specially designed to find, evaluate, and consume acorns– and that’s not all they […]

“…and today we are talking about something extraordinary, but it might be just a fluke. But more on that later.” Description Galactosomum spinetum is a type of fluke, and like many flukes, It has a flattened, oval shape. The metacercaria stage is spherical. It is translucent, and slightly elongated organism. The adult fluke, which resides […]

“…and today we’re talking about a fish as long as the day is long. But more on that later.” The ocean is huge. It’s probably bigger than you think. To cover it, you’d actually need 36 United States of America, and that’s not even mentioning its depth. At that is to say that the ocean […]

“…and today we’re talking about a species that is the cornerstone of civilization. But more on that later.” It’s voting season here in the US. As humans, we get our ballots and our pens to participate in democracy, but honey bees do things a bit differently. When they want to vote on something that affects […]

“…and today we’re talking about a puffy stabber. But more on that later.” The pufferfish has the incredible ability to inflate itself up like a balloon as a defense mechanism. But the interesting thing about this creature is that that’s not to onlythin interesting about it. If you’re a fish, the easiest thing to catch […]

“…and today we’re talking about an insect that would probably shop at Hot Topic. But more on that later.” When you’re a spider wasp, you don’t have time to raise kids. They’re expensive, a liability, and they never stop asking for more spider gut snacks. So rather than deal with all that, it’s best to […]

“…and today we’re talking about a killer that offers sweet nectar to its prey. More on that later.” There is a certain dread that strikes the human heart when you learn about an insect that expands its diet to include things like frogs, birds, and–worse yet–mammals. The giant desert centipede is just giant enough to […]

“…and today we’re talking about an aerial ace, fry thief. But more on that later.” On the cliffs where oceans wail, The kelp gull tells a fishy tale. With eyes so keen and beak so bright, It spies a meal that’s quite a sight. A right whale feasts on plankton small, The kelp gull swoops, […]

“…and today we are talking about a petite pack hunter. But more on that later…” Canines are usually smaller than their prey. That’s because they’ve decided to work together as a team, and teams mean more mouths to feed. But what if you’re not the size of a wolf or even a coyote? What if […]