Search results for:

Bug o’the Week – Closed for June Ii – Bugs! Love ‘em or – well — love ‘em by Kate Redmond

Salutations, BugFans,

The BugLady usually closes for the month of June so that she can hit the trails, find newly-minted insects (preferably ones that she hasn’t written about yet), and start building up a stash of pictures for future episodes – by spring, her picture files are dominated by unidentified insects. Also, having hit 700 episodes at the end of March, the BugLady feels the need for a victory lap/vacation.

We’ve spent the last five weeks celebrating American Wetlands Month, but really, every day is Wetlands Day, so here’s an encore episode from 2011 that was in the queue when we ran out of Tuesdays in May. New words; new pictures.

SCUDS

Sit down and put your feet up, it’s a long story.

06.23.23

Bug o’the Week – Closed for June I – Scuds, encore by Kate Redmond

Salutations, BugFans,

The BugLady usually closes for the month of June so that she can hit the trails, find newly-minted insects (preferably ones that she hasn’t written about yet), and start building up a stash of pictures for future episodes – by spring, her picture files are dominated by unidentified insects. Also, having hit 700 episodes at the end of March, the BugLady feels the need for a victory lap/vacation.

We’ve spent the last five weeks celebrating American Wetlands Month, but really, every day is Wetlands Day, so here’s an encore episode from 2011 that was in the queue when we ran out of Tuesdays in May. New words; new pictures.

SCUDS

Sit down and put your feet up, it’s a long story.

06.07.23

Bug o’the Week – Wetland Homage V – Water Strider by Kate Redmond

Howdy, BugFans,

Rounding out American Wetlands Month, the BugLady would like to give a shout-out to our hard-working, home-grown Wisconsin Wetlands Association. The WWA reminds us that 75% of Wisconsin wetlands are on private lands, and that effective wetland protection involves educating both landowners and policy-makers.

WATER STRIDER REVISITED (2012)

Anyone who has watched Water striders in action has been wowed by the four-point shadow that marks their path over shallow waters.

05.31.23

Membership

Since Riveredge is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) ORGANIZATION, membership costs are tax-deductible. Welcome! Riveredge is home to 485 acres of pristine prairies, woods, ponds, and over one mile of the Milwaukee […]

05.26.23

Bug o’the Week – Wetland Homage IV – Water Scorpions by Kate Redmond

Howdy, BugFans,

If wetlands are the transitional spongy/submerged/semi-submerged/sometimes-submerged areas between high ground and deep water, what might some wetlands look like? Swamps are wet woodlands, while marshes are wet areas with standing water whose vegetation is mostly non-woody. Peatlands like bogs, which have no sources of water other than precipitation and run-off, so water stalls there and becomes acidic; and fens, which are fed by springs and are often alkaline. And then there are sedge or wet meadows, scrub/shrub thickets, and more.

WATER SCORPION (2008)

05.24.23

Bug o’the Week – Wetland Homage III – Water Fleas by Kate Redmond

Howdy, BugFans,

We’re celebrating American Wetlands Month with up close and personal views into the lives of some of its citizens, as seen in some slightly refurbished, vintage BOTWs.

DAPHNIA (2012)

Back into the water we go and into the realm of another NETI – not the pot, the “Not-Exactly-True-Insects.” Daphnia are at the lower limit of what the BugLady can accomplish with her 50mm macro lens (though she does have a recognizable shot of a Cyclops……), and Daphnia, aka water fleas, are yet another example of great stories coming in small packages.

05.17.23

Bug o’the Week – Wetland Homage II – Water Treader by Kate Redmond

Greetings, BugFans,

The celebration of American Wetlands Month continues.

We’ve all seen the list of wetland benefits – wetlands recharge groundwater, protect us from floods by trapping water and releasing it slowly, improve water quality by absorbing pollutants and sediments (they’ve been called “the kidneys of a watershed”), protect shorelines from erosion, and provide recreation and beauty. And they’re amazingly productive, biologically – they provide homes and habitats for many plants and animals (for 75% of Wisconsin wildlife species, says the Wisconsin Wetlands Association), and according to the Defenders of Wildlife organization, “More than one-third of our country’s threatened and endangered species live exclusively in wetlands, and almost half of these imperiled species use wetlands at some point in their lives.” They are considered as productive as coral reefs and rainforests, and they feed us and multitudes of other animal species (“biological supermarkets,” said one report).

Without further ado — WATER TREADERS (2014)

05.10.23

Programs

Upcoming dates Outdoor all-terrain wheelchairs available to reserve during any program or event for free through Access Ability Wisconsin. Get in touch! click here to reserve.

05.10.23

Become a Member

Take advantage of all the benefits of a Riveredge membership year round!

Learn More