Okay, this one is just for grins. And because the diversity and ingenuity of nature is so inspiring. When I was in the Peruvian Amazon a number of years ago, we took a nighttime walk along a forest path through the jungle. Why? Cuz some species only come out at night. Of the creatures we observed in the glow of our headlamps, the most fascinating and ingenious to me was a net-throwing spider. This small predator weaves a rectangular web that it then grasps with its

Over the years, Diana and I have noticed the steady decline of insects where we live in southwest Montana. Bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and even flies (we don't get to pick and choose), are all far scarcer. Some of the more charismatic species, like butterflies, are finally receiving research attention. And the findings are truly discouraging. Researchers investigating the status of 114 species of butterflies in the United States found that populations are decl

New spider discovered Okay, you arachnophobes, prepare to be freaked out. An article in Smithsonian magazine reports on a new...