Calling all Wild Ones members and friends to make an impact in the City Nature Challenge! April 26–29, 2019 The greater St. Louis region will be competing in the 2019 City Nature Challenge, along with more than 160 cities around the world. Which city can document the most species in…
By Marypat Ehlmann Member-at-Large and Volunteer Coordinator, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter In early/mid-April the St. Louis region received our first wave of monarchs migrating north. This was unexpected and about 4-6 weeks before most milkweed in neighborhood yards was tall enough to support feeding a brood of very…
Blog by Susan Burk Member, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter [Editor’s Note: At the end of the gathering on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Fred and Susan Burk were busy counting monarch eggs. They need our help as these early monarch eggs are now hungry caterpillars!] It is unusual to…
[Editor’s Note: This story was posted originally on the Bring Conservation Home blog on September 19.] By Dawn Weber Board Member-at-Large, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter On Sunday, September 18, I spent a few hours planting new trees and shrubs in an area that was previously covered in English…
By Dawn Weber Board Member-at-Large, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter On May 23-25, 2016, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) hosted a Butterfly and Skipper ID workshop in Warsaw, MO. Warsaw, in case you’ve not heard of it, is located south of Sedalia near Truman Lake, on the western…
Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects Xerces Society Timber Press: Portland OR, 2016 287 pages Reviewed by Carol Boshart Member, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter Written by the Xerces Society which is dedicated to invertebrate protection, this book is designed for both novice…
By Marcia Myers Not only does this amazing plant act as a nursery, provide nectar, and serve as an important food source, it provides extra protection from predators. Both monarchs (Danaus plexippus) and queen butterflies (Danaus gilippus) store cardenolides, toxins obtained from their milkweed (Asclepias spp.) diet. Why aren’t the butterflies poisoned? Monarchs…
By Marcia Myers Monarch butterflies are in serious decline, so raising and releasing them must be good, right? It would seem so, but some experts have concerns. On October 8, “a group of 10 monarch researchers and conservationists from across the U.S. issued a statement highlighting concerns with the release…
By Cori Westcott of Bring Conservation Home While enjoying the expansive vista of a prairie, my eye stopped upon a strange looking little creature just beyond the boardwalk. A buckeye (Junonia coenia) caterpillar was dining upon a slender-leaved false foxglove (Agalinus tenuifolia), formerly a Gerardia. The false foxglove flowers from…
By Dawn Weber Pussytoes is a low-growing native groundcover with understated spring blooms and silvery-green leaves that resemble the soft pads of a cat’s paw. Field or prairie pussytoes, botanically named Antennaria neglecta, are native to the north east and north central US as well as much of Canada. Just…
