-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
It’s fire season in Nebraska! Prescribed burning on the prairie is like spring cleaning. Out with the old, dead vegetation so that the lush, green landscape can be renewed.
A patch of showy partridge pea was buzzing with bees, but this tiny bug caught my attention as I walked by a prairie rose. This is the native Rose Curculio or Rose Weevil (Merhynchites bicolor), which depends on roses throughout its life cycle. Rose gardeners consider it a pest. At first glance it reminded me … Continue reading
This is Whorled Milkweed. While not as large or showy as the Common Milkweed, Butterfly Milkweed, or Swamp Milkweed I’m sure it has many benefits for bugs. However, if I were a bug I would think twice before landing on this plant. Why you ask? Look closely…Notice anything? Milkweed flowers have little “horns” that … Continue reading
A visit to The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies in central Nebraska has been on my to-do list since I started reading The Prairie Ecologist blog by Chris Helzer. My opportunity came last week when TNC hosted a field day. I learned about their patch-burn grazing system, grassland bird research, and prairie restoration efforts. Before … Continue reading
90 plus degrees and I’m walking miles of road ditches. Today the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission surveyed roadsides for the Small White Lady’s Slipper, one of the state’s rarest plants. Along the survey route, trees were piled as bulldozers and backhoes make more room for king corn.
Learning about nature... 