Freshwater mussels are not exactly charismatic. They don’t flit gracefully about like a Karner blue butterfly, or munch on clover like a cottontail. They aren’t known for their sweet songs…

Biodiversity has long been known to be a significant factor in the amount of carbon stored in forests. Forests with many different species of trees store more carbon than forests consisting of fewer…

Researchers in Washington have discovered that a mushroom extract may be an effective treatment for reducing levels of at least two viruses implicated in the collapse of honey bee colonies around the…

On early summer nights I sometimes see large, pale green moths with long, twisted tails fluttering near our porch light. Later, I often find them dead on the ground. These beautiful moths are luna…

This scene was seen the morning after a rain storm. What are the orange items on the hood of this vehicle? (Fun tiebreaker: guess the vehicle make and model!)

Leaping lady’s slippers! In June, a favorite photo subject was early summer wildflowers. Baby moose and fisher kits followed their mothers, a young fawn rested in the tall grass, and heron…

I’ve been an editor here for 11 years, and one of the most challenging parts of the job is figuring out how to tell stories about scientific research. There’s a lot of good and interesting…

Lupine is one of the most spectacular flowers of early summer, painting long stretches of roadside with shades of purple and blue. Thanks to this tall, showy plant, even a stop-and-go drive to…

Larry "Tweeter" Felion is the old school. His family couldn't afford high school tuition, so he went to work logging with his father after the eighth grade. He's now 81 and is still logging,…

There are around a dozen wild plants in the Northeast known as thistles, and while most belong to several related genera, they vary greatly. Some are tall; some are short. Most have purple flowers,…

Paul, my German shepherd, saw her before I did. He pointed, and I followed his gaze to a hen woodcock conspicuously flapping on the ground. She was feigning injury and no doubt trying to lure us away…

Consider for a second a fish that can live in turbid, low-oxygen water. Can breathe through its skin. Eats almost anything. Has a wickedly effective defense mechanism. And is a really focused parent.…

If you've been out in a field recently, chances are you've seen spittle bugs' frothy homes. But have you ever peeked beneath the bubbles? These photos offer a macro view of the little…

Sandy Dannis captured this photo back in May. The plant has since unfurled. What is it?

Recently, our family added a Brittany spaniel puppy. Her name is Pompy after the Ompompanoosuc River near our home, and true to the name, she’s a flood risk. 5 a.m. piddle emergencies have us…

Dawn on a mild spring morning: the colors of the sky change from dark blue to an orange-and-purple hue. Dew covers the grass and turns into layers of fog as the temperature rises. Turkeys are flying…

One afternoon last summer, my partner Rick called me out onto our deck to see a tiny hummingbird. Not just tiny, but the tiniest hummingbird he had ever seen. My curiosity piqued, I walked out and…

HOW ONE OF NEW ENGLAND’S LARGEST SNAKES IS MANAGING TO SURVIVE Most of us have experienced an unexpected encounter with a snake while doing yard work or taking a walk in a local forest or field.…

Only a small fraction of the microscopic life that inhabits soil has been identified, which makes quantifying what’s out there nearly impossible. But a significant leap forward was made last…

Have you seen a spotted lanternfly? If you live in New England, and answered “no,” that’s good. But we’ll have to check back with you next year. The lanternfly is one of the…