Early Fall and Things are on the Move

Top Photo: Late flowering boneset blooms in late summer to early fall. It’s early fall and many creatures and plants are prepping for the cooler, leaner months ahead. A walk around the museum’s outdoor loop always brings a surprise or two. Here’s a handful of subjects you might encounter out there during early fall. Late boneset (Eupatorium serotinum) blooms in August through October. Common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), or just plain boneset, blooms a bit earlier in the season. The biggestRead more

Off To New Digs

Top Photo: Two of five pups born on April 21, 2024 at Museum of Life and Science. The five red wolf pups, Cedar, Juniper, Maple, Sassafras and Tupelo and two adults Oak and Adeyha, that we now house will soon be transferred to the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY. Come by to see them. Wish them well. Good luck!Read more

Monarch Migrants

Top Photo: Migrant monarch butterfly lays egg on one of the last remaining leaves of common milkweed in the Butterfly House Garden. It’s September and monarch butterflies are moving through. In fact, September through early October is peak time for the long distance migrants to cut across our state. Sure, you’d see many more if you were in the mountains or along the coast due to the concentration factor. A combination of geographic features (physical barriers) and regional wind conditionsRead more

Stinkhorn and Flies

Top Photo: Fruit flies feed upon the sporogenous gleba of a Ravenel’s stinkhorn on the Dinosaur Trail. While gazing down at the Ravenel’s stinkhorn next to the Alamosaurus on the back side of the Dinosaur Trail, I noticed one large fly, a flesh fly, and many more much smaller Diptera (about 2mm in length). The little flies had red eyes and looked to be fruit flies. The first thing that came to mind was indeed, fruit fly. But I couldn’tRead more