By Francis Skalicky Probably no insect puts a bigger scare into humans than the wasp. Bees rank high on some folks’ fright list, but they’re often given a break because of their well-known – and much valued – pollination work. Some people include spiders on their insect scare list, but they don’t qualify because of…
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Poison ivyJune, 1989 By Francis Skalicky Here’s a head-scratcher: If you see an abundance of poison ivy growing in various places in summer, does that make it a “good year” or a “bad year” for poison ivy? Regardless of which side of this discussion you lean towards, there’s one thing all people can agree on…
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” a phrase usually used for stories about humans, can also be applied to some animal anecdotes. To be clear – there are many animals that have truly amazing traits which make for remarkable aspects of their lives. However, thanks to centuries of tale-telling, some of these characteristics have been fabricated,…
Missouri’s fight to eliminate feral hogs is a battle that can’t be lost – it’s that simple. The harm they do to crop fields and the disease threats they pose to domestic hog herds could have devastating economic effects on agriculture across the state. The havoc their destructive habits wreak on wildlife habitats could have…
The animal that once had a chance to make a strong case for being the Show-Me State’s most important mammal is now one of the state’s seldom-mentioned creatures. Today, in terms of human consideration, Missouri’s beavers live their lives in relative obscurity. They’re still considered a game animal; beavers are a furbearer and are part…
Autumn color at Round Spring in Shannon County. Now that we’re in the latter part of October, many people’s thoughts are turning to fall color. As usual, predicting how good this year’s fall color will be is a huge guessing game. It’s probably easier to explain what’s happening than to try to predict it. For…
Although rattlesnakes won’t win many wildlife popularity contests, everyone who loves Missouri’s outdoors should be rooting for the Prairie Massasauga rattlesnake to hold on in the state. As is the case with many other wildlife species in decline, the story of the Prairie Massasauga rattlesnake’s trouble is a tale of disappearing habitat. A reduction in…
