A living fossil making a Great Lakes comeback, September 28, 2022 Imagine a fish that reaches lengths of almost seven feet and a weight of nearly 200 pounds. Instead of scales, this fish is covered with hard plates of armor-like…
September 14, 2022-Mike Broughton, Community Outreach Interpreter Spend any time on the trails in the Metroparks and you have probably seen this plant. A “living fossil” horsetail is related to large, tree-like plants that thrived 400 million years ago during…
The Crawdfather of Aquatic Invasive Species, September 7, 2022 Do you remember wading in a creek and trying to catch crayfish? Or maybe where you grew up they were called mudbugs, crawdads, or crawfish. The variety of names suggests how…
Slithering into fall with Eastern Garter Snakes Erin Parker, Interpretive Services Supervisor, August 31, 2022 Garden snake, gardener snake, garter snake. All of these common names refer to the same creature, one of southeastern Michigan’s most common reptiles: the garter…
August 24, 2022-Erin Parker, Interpretive Services Supervisor As you explore the aquatic areas of your Metroparks this summer, have you noticed what looks like a miniature lily-pad covering the surface of some of the lakes and ponds? Though cute at…
August 17, 2022 -Trevor Markwood, Interpretive Services Intern From Disney’s hit film The Fox and the Hound to Dr. Seuss’s Fox in Socks, foxes are frequent popular media icons. However, while most people may know a little bit about foxes…
August 3, 2022 This week’s Wildlife Wednesday animal feature is Michigan’s only venomous snake, the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (or EMR for short)! Like other rattlesnakes, the EMR can be identified by its distinct spade-shaped head and button-like rattle at the…
July 27, 2022 When you think about summer evenings in southeastern Michigan, the flicker of fireflies or sound of cicadas may come to mind. But do you ever think about moths? Moths often get an undeserved reputation as the dull…
It’s the time of year for Mother Nature’s light show: Fireflies! Often called lightning bugs, fireflies are a group of beetles in the Family Lampyridae, that use bioluminescence during twilight to attract mates or prey. Bioluminescence is a "cold light,"…
The spiny softshell turtle is an aquatic turtle and one of the largest turtles in Michigan. Unlike most turtles, their shell isn’t hard but is instead soft, flat, and rubbery and the edges of the shell have small spines which…
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