Insects have a PR problem
Northern barrens tiger beetle (Photo by Dan MacNeal, CC BY 4.0)
It's time we change that. You may have heard rumblings in the news about the loss of insects around the world. While some scientists have been screaming about this from the rooftops, it doesn’t seem to get the widespread attention it...
Gotta catch 'em all? Count me in!
Carden Alvar butterfly count, 2017 (Photo by NCC)
As part of the 2019 Carden Alvar Butterfly Count, we were armed with a few nets and catching jars as our mighty group of eight, comprised of Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff and conservation volunteers, set out on a mission: to identify...
Tricks in disguise: Fools and facts in nature
Self-portrait of a Celebes crested macaque female (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)
A friendly exchange of practical jokes and hoaxes often poses no harm, especially on such a day as April Fools’ Day. But there are some real tricksters in nature that will fool even the most attentive eyes and ears. On April Fools’...
Small but mighty — Migrating green darner dragonflies
Common green darner (Photo by Nancy Norman, CC BY-NC 4.0)
In February when I wrote this blog, I was thinking about my “snowbird” colleagues taking vacations to escape the cold, Canadian winter. Little did I know that right around that time, a species of dragonfly was beginning to migrate...
Meet your butterfly neighbours
Great spangled fritillary butterfly (Photo by Monica Seidel)
Did you know that there are over 300 butterfly species in Canada, with 150 in Ontario alone? While most people are familiar with the iconic monarch and swallowtail butterflies, there are many other species fluttering around that would love to meet...
Weston Family Conservation Science Fellowship Program
Sundial lupine in the oak savannah (Photo by NCC)
It’s a sunny June day with only a slight whisper of wind in the trees. I am walking slowly through an oak savannah with Angela Demarse, a master's of science candidate at the University of Guelph in Ryan Norris’s lab. We are in search...
Reducing light pollution is a simple way to help insects
Frosted elfin butterfly (Photo by Geoff Gallice, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0, generic license, Wikimedia Commons)
Have you ever noticed moths vigorously flapping around your porch light? Well, they’re probably mistaking it for the moon, according to The Guardian. And sadly, most insects trapped in this cycle are dead by morning, either from exhaustion...
Don’t trust lady’s-slippers (if you’re a bee)
This honeybee was tricked into pollinating this yellow lady’s-slipper. (Photo by Steven Anderson/NCC staff)
Before I began working at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I spent six years studying the pollination of two species of lady’s-slipper orchids in Manitoba and the northern U.S. While I no longer spend all of my time thinking about...
Camping in the tall grass prairie
Tall grass prairie, Manitoba (Photo by NCC)
This past summer, the tall grass prairie of Stuartburn, Manitoba, was filled with the sounds of footsteps and laughter. Stephanie Murray, a former communications and engagement intern with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s)...
The birds and the beans
October 1 marks International Coffee Day (Photo from Creative Commons)
October 1 marks International Coffee Day, a day that celebrates and recognizes the millions of people across the globe who work hard to create and serve the warm, blissful beverage that we all know and love — especially in the morning. From...
