Biting down on the eastern subterranean termite
Petri dish trials to examine behaviour patterns in eastern subterranean termite populations. (Photo by Vicki Simkovic)
Watching a termite farm through a glass aquarium is fascinating, as you peer into the life of a mysterious species whose activities are normally hidden from view. Workers can be seen excavating tunnels, using their jaws to move soil grain by...
Something's Fishy: An impending invader
Northern snakehead (Photo by National Aquarium, Washington, DC)
I have an inherent fear of the dark. I’m not ashamed to admit that, without the company of my snoring pug, Molly, taking up half of my bed, I need to sleep with the light on. It’s not so much the darkness that scares me; it’s the...
How we can save our songbirds
Cerulean warbler (Photo by Bill Hubick)
By now, I'm hoping that many of you have heard about declining songbird populations and the numerous threats that these birds face, which are, typically, physical threats to their survival. However, I’d like to discuss a different type of...
The hummingbird's igloo
Sweetiebird, an Anna's hummingbird, in her igloo. (Photo by Eric Pittman)
I always thought of hummingbirds as warm-weather birds. So I was surprised to see an Anna's hummingbird building a nest in early February. I was even more surprised because it was its sixth nest in a year, built in our yard. I live in Victoria,...
Ten of nature's strangest mating strategies
Angler fish (Photo by David Shale)
During my final year of university, I took a course called Evolution and Reproduction, which explored various animal mating strategies. It was one of my most fascinating classes; the material was mind blowing, the professor was a hoot and the...
Out of sight, out of mind
Greater sage-grouse (Photo by Gordon Sherman © Audubon Canyon Ranch)
Now and then, I look out my living room window and begin to search. I am not searching for anything in particular, it is simply by habit. I can spend 20, or even 30, minutes just gazing here and there at just about anything. Little brown birds...
Something's Fishy: Somewhere over the rainbow
The Rainbow Fish (Illustration by Marcus Pfister)
It’s no surprise that my favourite childhood book to cuddle up with my mom to read before bed was The Rainbow Fish, by Swiss author and illustrator Marcus Pfister. After my mom tucked me in, I would close my eyes and dream of swimming...
Uncovering the magic of winter wildlife
Meeting Lake 03, SK (Photo by NCC)
While attending college in Winnipeg, my classmate and I used to walk north from the campus at the corner of Shaftesbury and Grant streets to explore the different sections of Assiniboine Park. As the school year was between September and April,...
12 tweetable facts about Chinese zodiac animals
Sable Island horses (Photo by Bill Freedman)
Lunar New Year is a celebration of the first day of the first month in the lunisolar calendar. The tradition, believed to have started as early as 2300 BC, is based on a 12-year-long cycle, with each year in the cycle corresponding to a particular...
Canada's bats in crisis
Little brown myotis (Photo by Brock Fenton)
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a cloud of little brown myotis bats flying in broad daylight at the coldest time of the year in January. There was something vaguely disturbing and peculiar about seeing them fluttering around against a...
