When you compare the birds of a manicured lawn with those that inhabit a grove of chokecherries, the difference is stark. The lawn might support […]
Cómo cultivar un jardín para las aves en el occidente de Montana
Cuando comparas las aves de un césped cortado con las que viven en un parche de capulines (Prunus virginiana), la diferencia es fuerte. Talvez el […]
A hidden community: mayflies and more in Rattlesnake Creek
November 6, 2022 A light snowfall blanketed Missoula overnight, and this morning my feet are feeling the approach of winter. They’re screaming gradually louder at […]
Amazed by insects: a day at the Rock Creek Confluence
September 10, 2022 From a distance, this sparse patch of sunflowers looks nondescript. You’d have no idea that it’s the stage for a gripping insect […]
Montana’s mini wildlife in the Carroll College native plant garden
September 7, 2022 If you’re familiar with the Carroll College campus, you’ve probably walked past it countless times. It’s a small, bushy patch of plants […]
A silver shimmer on the water: the Gyrinus whirligig beetles
September 6, 2022 They ripple over the water in a shimmery silver school, hundreds of them darting in elegant curves across the smooth surface. The […]
Getting to know western aster (Symphyotrichum ascendens)
August 29, 2022 It’s a patch of pale purple among late summer’s dry crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) and the buzzing songs of the insects. A […]
Five late-summer wildflowers and the complex world of their bees
August 18, 2022 Sometimes, a day in the field doesn’t go as planned. I had started out this morning thinking that it would be a […]
Bumblebees of Helena: getting to know our fuzzy neighbors
July 27, 2022 She’s fuzzy and yellow, the size of my thumb. The pollen basket on her hind leg holds an orange loaf as she […]
Creatures in the milkweed: searching for Montana’s monarchs
July 21, 2022 I first notice the scent from 40 yards away, subtle but powerful. The milkweed is fragrant, almost like carnations. I’m at the […]