The Question: Why don’t the feet of a duck (seagull, goose, or other winter bird) freeze when they spend the night apparently sleeping on ice in sub-zero temperatures? Also, do you know if they stand on one foot and then the other going back and forth as a strategy to help with this? Submitted by: [...]
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Are Snakes Useful?
The Question: “Are snakes useful to humans? And what role do they play in nature? Submitted by: John L., Texas (John found three beautiful rat snakes when he lifted a tarp on some stored wood. When he posted his photos on FaceBook with enthusiasm, he was shocked that so many people responded by saying, “Kill [...]
Where Does Trash End Up?
I was very much affected by these photos in the latest issue of Audubon Magazine: http://www.audubonmagazine.org/onepicture/onepicture1003.html. For some reason, they reproduced it in a small, low-res format. To see a better version, go to this pdf and go to page 21 of this presentation: http://faculty.philau.edu/AshleyJ/Philly_U_MD_Bamford.pdf (if you want to get really depressed, read the whole [...]
Spider Mites
The Question: Every summer I see teeny tiny red bugs crawling around, usually on something like concrete. What are those? Submitted by: Rick P., Queens, NY The Short Answer: Rick, those are almost certainly spider mites, which are often red. Though they look like bugs, spider mites aren’t insects, they’re actually eight-legged arachnids, more closely [...]