Browsing: Environment

Mississippi is “Nature’s Playground” and it’s home to some of the best-kept secrets in ecotourism.

We all enjoy watching butterflies flitting about the flowers in our yards. But the adults are not the only life stage of these creatures. Their caterpillars are less often noticed, and not necessarily appreciated, especially if they are chewing on your bedding plants. Monarch Butterfly caterpillars are an exception to any admonishment about chewing up the plant that sustains them. But what about all the other butterflies, skippers, and moths that are pollinating your flowers? What are their caterpillars eating?

As I sat outside this week and enjoyed Mississippi’s wonderful (and much cooler) weather, a pair of my hummingbird friends came to visit again. I rarely see them buzz around together, so this sight was a special treat – until I realized theirs was not a friendly pairing.

It’s that time of year when coastal residents keep gasoline in their automobiles, ice in their freezers and their eyes on named storms. When a storm gets a name, our attention status rises.

Humans have a thing for counting things. As a child, I could tell you how many baseball cards or marbles I had in my collections. How many different kinds also mattered – the key concept of the term diversity.