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Photo of the Week – August 29, 2013

One of the great things about living in Aurora is that Prairie Plains Resource Institute has done some very nice prairie restoration projects right on the edge of town.  That works out really well for...

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A Fuzzy Meal

I took a quick trip over to Lincoln Creek Prairie again this last weekend.  Two weeks ago, I photographed a praying mantis and saw several others.  This trip, I saw a couple more – including one that...

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Photo of the Week – September 6, 2013

Here are three photos from the last couple weeks that didn’t fit into any particular story or theme.  Each is from a different prairie, and each was the result of a quick opportunistic stop in the...

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Photo of the Week – September 12, 2013

Back on August 29, I posted a photo of a praying mantis from here in Aurora, Nebraska.  Kathy from Omaha posted a comment that she’d seen more mantids this year than ever and wondered why.  I naively...

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Goofy Bees

Nature can be incredibly complex and difficult to understand.  Every creature is always reacting to the conditions around them, and continually evolving strategies to keep up with an ever-changing...

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Photo of the Week – September 26, 2013

If found this dragonfly encased in dew a couple weeks ago as I walked through a small prairie here in Aurora.  I’m sure someone reading this will be able to tell me what species it is – I don’t know my...

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Photo of the Week – October 3, 2013

I found this robber fly perched in the prairie early Monday morning.  Although it was fairly breezy, the light was good enough to attempt a photo.  I’m glad I decided to give it a try. Robber fly. The...

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Photo of the Week – October 10, 2013

At the Platte Prairies, and – I assume – throughout most of the central United States, this is the time of year we see woolly bear caterpillars crawling all over.  They are one of the most...

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Hubbard Fellowship Blog – Mystery Eggs

  A guest post by Anne Stine, one of our Hubbard Fellows.  All photos are by Anne. A couple of weeks ago (in mid-October) I noticed unusual egg cases about 2-3 inches off the ground on the base of...

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Random Caterpillar Photo

For no particular reason, here is a picture of a caterpillar: This photo was taken just after sunset at Griffith Prairie – owned and managed by Prairie Plains Resource Institute. North of Aurora,...

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Photo of the Week – October 17, 2014

Who could be mad at these big beautiful brown eyes? A differential grasshopper (that’s its name, not its demeanor) on stiff goldenrod. As it turns out, lots of people can. The differential grasshopper...

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Hubbard Fellowship Blog – The Amazing Burying Beetle

This post was written by Dillon Blankenship, one of our current Hubbard Fellows.  All photos are by Dillon. Back in September I had an interesting experience while sweeping out the shop. With a dustpan...

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Photo of the Week – November 28, 2014

Ambush bugs are scary-looking little predators.  Their stocky bodies are heavily armored up front, and they have very thick raptorial forelegs like those of praying mantises.  I usually only spot...

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Wanna Know What Really Makes A Sunflower Lose its Head?

Nearly-decapitated sunflower heads, scattered across the prairie.  Oh, the devastation!  Who could be carrying out such an evil plan? (Ok, more accurately, a weevil plan?) I found this sad-looking...

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Photo of the Week – December 11, 2014

For no particular reason, here are two unrelated photos from the same day.  Both photographs were taken on September 28, 2014 at our family prairie south of Aurora, Nebraska.  I wish I could come up...

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Survival of the Fittest?

He was engaging and informative – feeding our tour group piece after piece of the fascinating history of the people and landscape of the Wildcat Hills Landscape.  The first guest speaker on the 2014...

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DON’T PANIC! It’s just a crane fly.

“WOW!  That’s a GIGANTIC mosquito!!” That is a common response to most people’s first sighting of a crane fly, a flying insect with a wingspan of 1-2 cm or more.  Although they do somewhat resemble...

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Photo of the Week – May 7, 2015

As I’ve said many times, the prairie is an ecosystem best seen up close.  You have to look carefully to see much of the beauty.  Dillon (one of our Hubbard Fellows) and I were poking around today and...

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My Little Buddy

What would you do if a big hairy bug landed on your hand?  Smash it?  Flick it off?  Hop and and down, flail your arms, and make loud high pitched noises? Well, you COULD do one of those things.  OR,...

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Photo of the Week – August 13, 2015

Nebraska has 108 species of grasshoppers.  They come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, and generally speaking, the further west you go in the state, the more species you can find.  While...

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