American robins in winter
A robin eats from a sumac tree. (Photo by Mary Holland) Editor’s note: This column by longtime former Harvard Press contributor Mary Holland first…
It’s Only Natural: The midnight mating of spotted salamanders
Note: This article was originally published in the April 18, 2008, issue of the Press. Spotted salamanders are the largest members of the “mole”…
It’s Only Natural: Doctrine of Signatures
Wild ginger, Asarum caudatum. (Photos by Mary Holland) Long before modern medicine, finding cures for ailments was done by trial and error. People turned…
It’s Only Natural: The idiosyncratic courtship and mating rituals of March breeders
Most mammals, unlike humans, do not have the luxury of being able to conceive on a regular basis throughout the year. Their reproductive system…
It’s Only Natural: Cedar waxwings, winter visitors
One of the delights of winter in the Northeast is the sudden appearance of cedar waxwings as they descend upon a crabapple or mountain…
It’s Only Natural: Signs of birds feeding
Pileated woodpecker holes. (Photos by Mary Holland) Yellow-bellied sapsucker holes. Goldenrod ball gall raided by downy woodpecker. Owl impression.. Signs of…
It’s Only Natural: Beavers and the diversity of plants and animals
Beavers, as ecosystem engineers, are one, if not the only, species capable of changing the geological, chemical, and biological properties of the landscape to…
It’s Only Natural: Climbing Feet
Cecropla larva feet. (Photos by Mary Holland) Fall finds a lot of animals climbing for a lot of different reasons. Some species of spiders…
It’s Only Natural: Antlions
Antlions are motley-looking insects that are gray or brown, have an oversized head, spiny jaws, short legs, and a soft body covered in bristles.…
It’s Only Natural: River otter signs
All four feet of a river otter are webbed, greatly enhancing their swimming ability. (Photographs taken at Squam Lake Science Center, Holderness, N.H. by…
It’s Only Natural: Wasps, emerald ash borers, and biosurveillance
Cerceris fumipennis with buprestid beetle prey. (Photos by Mary Holland) The wasps we’re most familiar with—paper wasps, yellow jackets, hornets—are all social wasps. They…
