Posts Tagged ‘education’
Fireflies
Fireflies come out at dusk and mesmerize and delight us with their flashing lights. These beetles have been around for 100 million years. More than 2,200 species are found on every continent except Antarctica. In North America alone there are nearly 170 different species of flashing fireflies. Despite all their success as a species, in…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 06/18/2025
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! We are so excited for our Firefly Festival next weekend, so let’s enjoy some fun facts about fireflies! Fireflies are soft-bodied beetles commonly referred to as lightning bugs. There are more than 2,000 species in the firefly (Lampyridae) family. Many but not all of the species produce light as adults. There are about…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 05/28/2025
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! Recently spotted on our Wilderness Walk trail is this large communal nest of the Eastern tent caterpillar. These caterpillars, which will eventually become moths, are among the most social of larvae. An adult female moth lays her eggs in late spring or early summer. She lays just one batch each year, containing about…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 04/30/25
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! It’s that time of year when white-tailed deer babies begin to be seen curled up in yards and on lawns. Fawns are born in Ohio between May and July and although they are able to walk at birth, they need to spend several weeks with their mother for food and protection. Mother deer…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 04/23/2025
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! It is almost the delightful time of year known as “baby bird season” and geese and ducks can be spotted swimming and waddling around with their numerous adorable offspring in tow. Canada Geese and Mallards are the most common waterfowl that make their homes at TWC’s Wilderness Lake and it can be tempting…
Read MoreDekay’s Brownsnake
Dekay’s brownsnake is common, small, secretive, nocturnal and seldom found out in the open. Their Latin name is Storeria dekayi. The species name dekayi honors James Ellsworth Dekay, a naturalist/zoologist who collected the first specimen of this snake on Long Island, New York and Storeria honors David Humphreys Storer, an American physician/naturalist/ zoologist. This is…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 04/09/2025
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! You may have noticed more than the usual number of large dark birds circling and soaring in the sky overhead lately. Welcome back, Turkey Vultures! While some Turkey Vultures stay in Ohio all year, most migrate for the winter, traveling to the southern USA and even as far as South America. Often associated…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 03/26/2025
Hoppy #WildlifeWednesday! Wood frogs have recently been treating vernal pool habitats to their loud quacking chorus of song, so let’s learn some fun facts about these fascinating amphibians! Wood frogs are forest-dwelling and spend most of their time during warm months on the ground near freshwater wetlands. They have extreme cold tolerance, and in the…
Read MoreSnowshoe Hares
Snowshoe hares are found throughout Canada and in the northernmost part of the U.S. They were native to the northeast corner of Ohio but disappeared in the early 1900s due to the clearing of forests to create farmland. Early attempts to reintroduce these hares to Ohio were unsuccessful; however, in 2000 the ODNR Division of…
Read MoreWildlife Wednesday 03/19/2025
Happy #WildlifeWednesday! We are celebrating today with some interesting facts about the Virginia opossum! The Virginia opossum is the only species of opossum found in Ohio and is also the northernmost marsupial (animal that carries its young in a pouch) in the world! It is an omnivore and has 50 teeth, more than any other…
Read More