Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Calendar
Game and Parks Events
Why did the armadillo cross the road? To get to the shell station. Okay, so I promise the information will be better than the jokes. Although not native to Nebraska, the Nine-banded Armadillo has made its way north into Nebraska. These heavy-armored mammals are such an interesting species they deserve to have their own Science […]
Tiger beetles encompass around 100 species in North America, and it just so happens that Nebraska houses one of the world’s rarest- the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle. These voracious predators may be small, but they are nothing to snub at. These insects are highly active and well-known for their quick running and agile flying abilities. […]
Not plant, not animal, not fungus…so what is it? It’s a slime mold. Slime Molds come in every color of the rainbow, except a true green and can form strange and sophisticated shapes. Some look like honeycomb lattices, and others resemble blackberries. And then you have the “dog vomit” slime mold, because, well…you get it. […]
Milkweeds and Monarch butterflies, these two things go together like peanut butter and pickles…no really, they go great together. But anyway Milkweeds are perennial plants which get their name from their milky sap. They occur just about anywhere and are critical for the lifecycle of the Monarch Butterfly. But, these butterflies aren’t the only insects […]
What landscape in Nebraska covers nearly 19,300 square miles and is the largest sand dune formation in the Western hemisphere, and the largest grass-stabilized dune regions in the world? The Sandhills of Nebraska. This fascinating landscape located in central/west Nebraska is home to hundreds of plants, birds, reptiles, mammals, and insects. In this Science Of […]
Tick season has been in full swing for awhile now here in Nebraska, and often times this is a huge barrier for keeping people from getting outside. There are many species of ticks in the world and they can cause numerous diseases rather than just Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease. In this Science […]
Nebraska is home to two species of large cats- Mountain Lions and Bobcats. Bobcats can be found throughout the state and fill such an interesting niche as a small(er) predator. These felines have excellent vision and amazing adaptations that help them survive in such diverse habitats. In this Science Of episode, we will explore the […]
Scientists say that you are never more than 10 feet from a spider. I’ll just let that sink in…Orb weaver spiders are some of the most common spiders who spin spiral wheel-shaped webs and include some of the more common spiders one might see in the state. These arachnids are also normally very large and […]
The word “hawk” has come to be a term for a medium-sized bird of prey known as a raptor, not like a velociraptor, but a true bird raptor. Hawks are very common birds that are found all across the state of Nebraska, and truth be told there are many different species, all fulfilling different niches […]
Some of you may be wondering, what the heck is cyanobacteria? Well, you might not have heard of cyanobacteria, but you may have heard of blue-green algae, which is sometimes what this is called. These single-celled microscopic organisms are found naturally in all types of water, and they use sunlight to make their own food. […]
Bats do it. Birds do it. Insects do it. Fish (sort of) do it. I’m talking about flight. The ability of flight appears to have evolved separately at least 4 times in evolutionary history, and each type of organism does it differently. In this Science Of episode, we will be discussing this amazing ability of […]
In this last episode of the 2024 Science of Series we will be focusing on Prairie Dogs. Depending on who you talk to they are either an ecological oasis or a nuisance species, we will touch on both in this final episode. These rodents are sometimes called keystone species as they provide homes and resources […]