90 results for 'declan'

…an Outside Story by Declan McCabe describing this climate mis-match.) Typical opossum nesting spaces include crannies within human-made structures, such as barns and attics, as well as tree cavities and other animals’ abandoned burrows. Speaking of leaves, if you’re still craving fall color, your best bet may be a trip…

…it. Although I had long since learned what 10-year-old Declan could not believe, that opossums do in fact “play possum,” it was pretty amazing to see it play out on a trail camera.

…a link to a great Outside Story essay by Declan McCabe, which explains how leaf litter supports aquatic food chains.

…with her two dogs. Declan McCabe (The Invertebrate Bestiary, page 70) is a Saint Michael’s College professor of biology. He and his students study biological diversity in rivers, Lake Champlain, and the Saint Michael’s College Natural Area. He specializes in aquatic invertebrates, supports student research projects on mammals and birds,…

…on the cover to Declan McCabe’s “Invertebrate Bestiary” column, which shares another example of life lived at the extremes: snow-walking long-jawed spiders (and what wonderful images by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol). I also encourage you to take a few minutes to skim the bound insert in this issue, acknowledging the many…

…into sap buckets. As Declan McCabe notes in this Invertebrate Bestiary column from the Winter 2023 issue of Northern Woodlands magazine, the species uses pheromones instead of flashy displays to attract mates. According to McCabe, “The ability to find each other in daylight allows them to mate in early spring,…

…we reached out to Declan McCabe, Northern Woodlands’ popular Invertebrate Bestiary columnist and the author of the forthcoming Turning Stones: Discovering the Life of Water (Down East Books, June 1, 2024), available now by preorder from retailers. McCabe is a Saint Michael’s College professor of biology. He and his students…

…hour drawing class, and Declan McCabe ushered his group into a stream to collect and examine aquatic insects. Jerry Jenkins dazzled with his ambitious work on the Northern Forest Atlas and teacher Nancy Wollum shared the clever way she combines science and writing instruction in her classroom. And then there…

…of black locust trees. Declan McCabe focuses on these insects for his Invertebrate Bestiary column in the soon-to-publish autumn issue of Northern Woodlands magazine, which is why we know what the insect in the photo is doing: feeding on the goldenrod’s pollen, and perhaps also waiting for a mate. By…

Goldenrods in bloom are the Grand Central Station for insects. Some insects come in search of nectar, others for pollen, more for mates, and still others are predators for whom the diverse community is a walking-and-flying smorgasbord. In early fall, I supply my college students with nets and send them…

One of the year’s first insects to appear on my deck railing is the winter firefly, Photinus corrusca, which shows up on warm days throughout winter. A brown beetle with pink parentheses bracketing the segment behind its head, it closely resembles summer fireflies. But if you head out in the…

…onto a little boy’s hat. Here’s an article by Declan McCabe from the winter issue of Northern Woodlands, describing the green long-jawed spiders. What have you noticed in the woods this week? Submit a recent photo for possible inclusion in our monthly online Reader Photo Gallery.

Winter rambles often take me to East Woods in South Burlington, Vermont. While birders gaze skyward, I find myself drawn to movement on the ground. Snow cover reduces invertebrate numbers, and those braving the cold move slowly. They also stand out from the background, making detailed observations and photography easier.…

For years, as a committed insect ecologist, I resisted student requests to work on mammals. My objections included bite risk, rabies shots, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee forms and permits. But the students kept asking and I began considering ways to avoid bites, shots, and paperwork. Trail cameras provided…

As I waded in Lake Champlain one summer, a fellow bather explained that just a little farther out, refreshing spring water would cool my feet. I have heard that old wives’ tale repeated at Lake Arrowhead in the Pennsylvania Poconos, and in Lough Ree in the Irish midlands. The explanation…

While I was photographing pollinators on a patch of meadow near a bike path, a bumblebee caught my attention. It appeared to have an enormous, clubbed antenna, as well as a normal-size one. Closer inspection revealed that the clubbed antenna was in fact the same size as the other, but…

On a late winter afternoon in 1994, I accompanied Professor Jan Sykora, my thesis advisor, on a field trip to the Carnegie Museum’s Powdermill Nature Reserve in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands. Nearing our spring-fed research site, Jan removed his hat and tossed it on the snow. He procured forceps and a…

While I was searching the drawers of the Saint Michael’s College insect collection, a spectacular little beetle caught my eye. The pearlescent elytra, or wing coverings, were marked with the unmistakable, stark black stripes and dots of a calligrapher beetle. As their name suggests, these small, shiny beetles look as…

A student plopped a leaf on my desk, pointed to several green lumps on its underside, and asked, “What are those green growths?” It was a stump-the-professor moment, and in this case, I was indeed stumped. The growths certainly seemed to be galls of some sort. But which ones? Galls…

…See this article by Declan McCabe, describing a fun experiment to measure starch in the leaves. Even if you can’t see into vernal ponds through pollen haze, if you scoop up muck from the edge (being careful not to disturb amphibian eggs, of course!) you’re likely to find caddisfly larvae.…