NatureNotes In NatureNotes, naturalist Rudy Mancke, host of ETV's NatureScene, shares his knowledge of plants and wildlife each weekday on ETV Radio. Sunday is Earth Day By Rudy Mancke • Apr 20, 2018 bones64 [CC0 1.0]/Pixabay A time to celebrate our home world. 'T is the Season for Insects By Rudy Mancke • Apr 19, 2018 Bob Peterson [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons Carpenter Bees and butterflies... Double-Crested Cormorants By Rudy Mancke • Apr 18, 2018 Andrea Westmoreland [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Flickr You may see large numbers of these birds hunting for fish this time of year. Coyote or Red Wolf? By Rudy Mancke • Apr 17, 2018 Jim Liestman [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] via Flickr A sighting by a listener raises a question of identity. A Black Squirrel? By Rudy Mancke • Apr 16, 2018 SC Public Radio The Fox Squirrel is larger than the Eastern Gray Squirrel. Both varieties can produce black, or melanistic, offspring. Eastern Tent Caterpillars By Rudy Mancke • Apr 13, 2018 J. R. Carmichael [public domain] via Wikimedia Commons The Eastern Tent Caterpillars are out in force this time of year. Is it a Water Moccasin? By Rudy Mancke • Apr 12, 2018 Tom Spinker [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] via Flickr. A couple spotted a snake sunning in Francis Beidler Forest... The Luna Moth By Rudy Mancke • Apr 11, 2018 Lynette Elliott [CC BY-NC 2.0] via Flickr There are two broods of Luna Moth each year in South Carolina. Gall Wasps By Rudy Mancke • Apr 10, 2018 Alex Wild, University of Texas at Austin, "Insects Unlocked" project. [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons Varieties of Gall Wasps often have strict preference for the kind of plants they chose to host their young. Oconee Bells By Rudy Mancke • Apr 9, 2018 Jason AG [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] via Flickr The Oconee Bell is a rare flower of the southern Appalachians found only in a few locations in the mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia in moist wooded areas along streams. The Great Leopard Moth Caterpillar By Rudy Mancke • Apr 6, 2018 Bill Bumgarner [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] via Flickr This moth is unusual in that it over-winters as a caterpillar. A Cache of Mystery Bones By Rudy Mancke • Apr 5, 2018 SC Public Radio A listener finds two animal skulls and skeleton and turns to Rudy for help identifying. Royal Paulownia By Rudy Mancke • Apr 4, 2018 Famartin [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons These trees come from China, but, have been used as ornamentals in the South U. S. for many years. They Aren't Ant Hills... By Rudy Mancke • Apr 3, 2018 Rosser1954 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons The Mining Bee is solitary, but builds nests in "colonies." Cedar-Apple Rust By Rudy Mancke • Apr 2, 2018 Howard F. Schwartz, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org A listener finds an "orange, tentacled, 'blob'" on Cedar. Eastern Garter Snakes Will Climb for Sunlight By Rudy Mancke • Mar 30, 2018 Glenn Bartolotti via Wikimedia Commons These snakes emerge from hibernation early in the Spring. Skulls with Plenty of Teeth By Rudy Mancke • Mar 29, 2018 SC Public Radio Opossums are South Carolina's only marsupials. A Red Bellied Snake in the Backyard By Rudy Mancke • Mar 28, 2018 Todd Plerson [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0] via Flickr These small snakes are pretty common in backyards. Balls of Silk By Rudy Mancke • Mar 27, 2018 Katja Schulz [CC BY 2.0] via Flickr A listener in West Columbia finds silk covered "balls" hanging from a tree limb. Fish Bones in the Flower Bed By Rudy Mancke • Mar 26, 2018 SC Public Radio Pulling weeds from a flower bed, a listener finds the vertebrae of a bony fish. The Red Bellied Woodpecker By Rudy Mancke • Mar 23, 2018 Mike's Birds [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Flickr The Red Bellied Woodpecker was first described by naturalists in the colony of Carolina. Its scientific name is Melanerpes carolinus. Two Varieties of Water Snakes By Rudy Mancke • Mar 22, 2018 SC Public Radio A listener finds two varieties of Northern Water Snake sunning together. If Spring Came but Once a Century... By Rudy Mancke • Mar 21, 2018 SC Public Radio Rudy shares some of Longfellow's poetry, "If Spring Came but Once a Year." Happy Vernal Equinox By Rudy Mancke • Mar 20, 2018 SC Public Radio Today is the first day of Spring, 2018! Scrambled Eggs Slime Mold By Rudy Mancke • Mar 19, 2018 Siga [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons The common name for this mold is pretty darned descriptive. A "Ball of Feathers" on the Porch By Rudy Mancke • Mar 16, 2018 pamelaleavey.com [CC BY-NC 4.0] You'll often find Carolina Wrens "hiding" in the corner of porches. The Pearly Wood-Nymph By Rudy Mancke • Mar 15, 2018 Jose Amorin [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0] via Flickr A listener spots a moth on her porch, and it's not one that's often seen, though it lives throughout the state. A "Crazy Bug" By Rudy Mancke • Mar 14, 2018 (c) Olaf Nelson [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons South Carolina has two, very similar "water bugs," the Water Boatman and the Backswimmer, both found in fresh water. A Dolphin Vertebra? By Rudy Mancke • Mar 13, 2018 SC Public Radio A listener finds vertebra on the beach on the Isle of Palms... Spotted Salamander Egg Masses By Rudy Mancke • Mar 12, 2018 Fredlyfish4 [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons A listener finds some strange looking masses in some standing water in a roadside ditch. Pages1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next › last »
