Flora & Fauna

Four families of lizards can be found in Nebraska, with a total of 10 different species. By Monica Macoubrie, Wildlife Education Specialist Take a quick hike through the prairies of western Nebraska or the rocky terrain bordering Kansas, and you may see a scampering reptile with a long slender tail. Don’t panic — it’s not a snake. It’s just the most underrated reptile of all: lizards. With 6,000 species worldwide, one could say that lizards have been rather successful. They …

November is a great time for viewing bighorn sheep in the Nebraska Panhandle. By Olivia DaRugna, Wildlife Diversity Biologist Before the 1900s, Audubon bighorn sheep inhabited parts of western Nebraska, including the Wildcat Hills, the Pine Ridge and along the North Platte River from the Wyoming state line to eastern Lincoln County. It was thought that the Audubon bighorn became extinct in the early 1900s, with its last stronghold being the South Dakota badlands. Since 1981, the Nebraska Game and …

One would think in this age of cell phone and digital cameras that it would be pretty easy for hunters to get a good quality photo of them with their harvested deer. But, think again. Whether it is the excitement of the moment or the rush to get the animal field dressed, many hunters just flat out fail to successfully capture the cool hunting images of the day. The opportunity is there though for you to properly document the moment …

Ants raise aphids to harvest their sugar-rich waste secretions known as honeydew. By Tyler Moore, Bellevue University With more than 15,000 described species of ants, as noted in “Bolton’s Catalogue of the Ants of the World,” these organisms are among the world’s most successful and represent a total estimated biomass of 12 megatons. They have also long been the subject of amateur naturalists and scientists, with perhaps no behavior more intriguing than the “farming” of aphids. Aphids are commonly known …

It’s a magical time of year, really. As daylight wanes, the temperature begins to drop, frost appears on the pumpkin, leaves turn color and start toppling to the ground, and experienced bowhunters know the deer rut or breeding season is underway. Buck rubs on trees and scrapes on the ground are apparent. A buck rub on an eastern cedar tree in rural Sarpy County, NE. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Deer movement is picking up and the …

Someone once said: “Deer hunting is a lot about nothing.” “Nothing,” seriously? In my view, that statement is so far from the truth. It is the time of year for archery deer hunters and soon, firearm deer hunters, to be on their stands or in their blinds all day long, up to 12 hours … alone. During part of a day off, Nebraska Conservation Officer Rich Berggren of Waterloo allows a photo to be taken before he enters his firearm …

How to tell the difference between a dragonfly and damselfly. By Monica Macoubrie, Wildlife Education Specialist The words “dragons” and “damsels” might remind you of the fairytales you heard or read a child — of daring swordfights, far-off places, dragons to conquer and of course, the damsel in distress. Well, it’s 2023, and women can fight their own way out of perilous situations. This story will discuss different dragons and damsels – the insects known as odonates. Belonging to the …

It’s autumn. It’s heavy sweatshirt weather. It’s the season for football and pumpkin-spiced everything. And, it’s time to pick pumpkins and harvest the last of the tender crops from your vegetable garden. But, did you know that beyond the pumpkins and the squash, fall marks the time of year for gathering and preparing tasty fare from wild places? Sure does. The landscape that surrounds us in Nebraska is actually more lush with wild edible material during autumn than you would …

Booo! … It’s the month when Halloween festivities and candy are aplenty. It’s the month when combines dot the rural landscape for the crop harvest. It is the month when the smell of wood smoke from fireplaces and backyard fire pits permeates the air. And, it’s the month when leaves turn color here in the Cornhusker State. Eastern cottonwood tree leaves beginning to turn their pretty yellow color along the Platte River near Gretna, NE. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game …

Nature’s fantastic color show is emerging in the west and north. To me, that means the forest floor will soon be saturated with autumn leaf matter as well as something else — nuts! Freshly fallen black walnuts on the forest floor along a creek bottom in southeastern Nebraska woodlands. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. One of the reasons to take a long walk in the woods during autumn is to gather some delicious, nutritious, wild or homegrown …