Wildlife

How do mosquitoes target a meal?

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As summer winds down and people try to make the most out of the beautiful Michigan environment, many may be fighting off nature’s age-old enemy: the mosquito. But what makes mosquitoes more attracted to some people than others? Many myths have circulated about the cause of this rather annoying phenomenon, but scientific research is also out there about what factors make mosquitoes swarm to certain people (Hint: It has to do with a lot more than blood). Ned Walker, is a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and the Department of Entomology at MSU. He joins us to discuss the dining preferences of mosquitoes.

Wildlife

Fireflies in southern Michigan

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Photographer Ken Scott captured these fireflies streaking through the night sky near Willis, Mich., with a series of photos taken over 40 minutes. The technique of merging multiple short exposures into one eliminates the possibility of overexposing the ambient light such as that coming from a nearby city, said Scott, a Suttons Bay professional photographer. It also captured one of the beetles trundling across the ground and flashing its light.  Scott said it wasn’t until he posted the image that he noted the insect’s ground trek from the lower right corner of the frame. “Yeah, that bugger was a bonus!” he said.

Wildlife

Dead birds spur cleanup of longstanding DDT contamination

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Nearly 100 residential yards in a nine-block neighborhood of St. Louis, Mich., are scheduled to be dug out and replaced with clean soil. It is the latest attempt to reduce the decades-old contamination legacy of the same chemical factory that brought Michigan’s PBB crisis of the mid 1970s.

Wildlife

Rattlesnake bite triggers advisory

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We recently reported on a snakebite incident in lower Michigan. A young, barefoot visitor to an Ann Arbor botanical garden was bitten by an Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, the only rattlesnake native to Michigan. The young girl was hospitalized and recovered. The incident has triggered an advisory from a group of Michigan naturalists of the risk of an encounter with this species of snake in our state. Current State’s Mark Bashore speaks with Steven Parrish, a Restorative Ecologist at the Matthei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, to learn more about the potential risks of rattlesnakes in Michigan.

Wildlife

Photo Friday: An emerald on the beach

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Note: This image and explanation is by David Marvin. Kennedy’s emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora kennedyi) tend to be fairly shy dragonflies when it comes to being photographed. This female Kennedy’s Emerald got caught in a quickly moving cold front along Lake Superior that caused it to land on the sandy beach, creating a rare occasion to photograph one without first capturing it. Its wings and body have dew that formed when the front arrived and the fog rolled inland. Kennedy’s Emerald dragonflies are related to other members of the Striped Emeralds of the Somatochlora genus, including the endangered Hine’s Emerald (Somatochlora hineana).