To save the northern west’s spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) from extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to kill up to 450,000 barred owls (Strix Varia) across California, Oregon, and Washington. The controversial conservation strategy, announced last year, has sparked an ethical debate that recently played out on the Senate floor. On October […]
A Popular Gourmet Mushroom Is Escaping Gardens and Invading US Forests
Golden oyster mushrooms arrived in the United States in the early 2010s. The canary-colored, fluffy mushrooms have since gained popularity as an aesthetically pleasing, tasty addition to numerous recipes—sold in grocery stores, farmers markets, and, more recently, as staple grow-your-own kits for casual gardeners. But these foreign mushrooms—native to the hardwood forests of East Asia […]
Horrifying Video Shows Rats Snatching Bats Midair, and Scientists Are Seriously Concerned
When it comes to unexpected horror stories, humans may never beat nature at its scariest. In Germany, rats reportedly like to intercept bats near hibernation sites, killing and feasting on the local bat population. Understandably, the researchers, reporting their findings in a recent Global Ecology and Conservation paper, hoped this was an “extreme scenario—a small […]
They’re Huge, They’re Creepy, and They’re Back—An Expert’s Tips for Joro Spider Season
For residents of the southeastern United States, fall signals the return of Joro spiders—huge, bright yellow arachnids from Asia—haunting porches, gardens, and just about anywhere big enough for casting enormous webs. Joros don’t typically pose serious threats to humans. But their autumnal abundance does appear to be the source of significant irritation for local residents—something […]
Scientists Discover New Parasitic Wasps Invading the U.S.
There are all sorts of cruel parasites out there, and more are being uncovered all the time. Scientists have recently found several invasive species of parasitic wasps that have now landed in the U.S. Researchers at Binghamton University and the University of Iowa made the discovery. For the first time ever, they detected the presence […]
Robo-Bunnies Are the Latest Weapon Against Florida’s Invasive Pythons
Invasive Burmese pythons are a scourge upon South Florida. These massive snakes are one of the region’s most pernicious pests, posing a significant risk to local biodiversity as they chow down on native wildlife. Burmese pythons were introduced to Florida through the exotic pet trade in the 1970s and are now among the state’s top […]