Hover Flies: The Harmless Bee Look-Alikes Working in Your Garden
Hover flies look like tiny bees but can’t sting. Learn how to identify them and why their larvae are such useful aphid…
The journal
Animal Facts
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Clearwing Moths: The Tiny Hoverers Often Mistaken for Hummingbirds
That tiny hummingbird at your flowers may be a clearwing moth. Learn how these day-flying moths hover, what they eat and how…
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Eastern Tiger Swallowtails: Big Yellow Butterflies With a Few Surprises
Meet the eastern tiger swallowtail, from its dark-form females and eyespot caterpillars to the trees and flowers it uses in your yard.
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Eastern Gray Squirrels: The Nut-Burying Acrobats of Your Backyard
Eastern gray squirrels stash food all over the yard and find it again with memory and smell. Here’s what else they do,…
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American Robins: Much More Than the First Sign of Spring
Your first robin of spring may have wintered just a few miles away. Learn how American robins feed, nest, sing, and get…
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American Toads: The Bumpy Night Shift in Your Garden
American toads hunt insects at night and won’t give you warts. Here’s how to identify them, help them, and keep curious dogs…
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Bumble Bees: The Fuzzy Pollinators That Shake Flowers Open
Bumble bees can shake pollen loose from flowers honey bees can’t work. Learn how their colonies live, how to spot them, and…
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White-Tailed Deer: Hidden Fawns, New Antlers and Life at the Edge of the Yard
How to read white-tailed deer: their coats, yearly antlers, and dawn and dusk habits, plus what to do if you find a…
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Raccoons: Masked, Clever and Surprisingly Hands-On
Sensitive hands, sharp memories and a knack for opening almost anything: get to know the masked visitor that checks your yard every…
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Eastern Garter Snakes: The Harmless Garden Helper You Might Be Missing
Garter snakes are harmless to people, eat slugs and worms, and gather by the hundreds to spend the winter. Here is why…
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Red Foxes: Facts About the Clever Hunter at the Edge of Your Yard
Sharp ears, a white-tipped tail and a famous high-jump pounce: here is how red foxes live alongside us, and how to share…
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Eastern Box Turtles: The Slow, Long-Lived Neighbors in Your Backyard
Eastern box turtles can live 50 years or more in the same few acres. Here is how they live and how to…