Nature

This photo provided by Daniela C. Roessler in August 2022 shows a jumping spider (E. arcuata) exhibiting leg curling during a REM sleep-like state. A study published on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, suggests that jumping spiders show signs of sleep cycles, similar to humans and some animals. (Daniela C. Roessler via AP)

Do spiders sleep? Study suggests they may snooze like humans

Biologist: ’It was just the most unusual thing I’ve ever seen’

 

Nectaring mosquito pollinating an oxeye daisy. (Contributed)

Okanagan Nature Nut: What good are mosquitos?

Vernon-based outdoor enthusiast reveals the secret lives of these tiny pollinators

 

The Morkin property in Southern Alberta. (Brent Calver/Nature Conservancy of Canada)

Fill your pack with snacks, scientists need to know how neat B.C. nature is

The BioBlitz, through the iNaturalist app, runs from July 28-Aug. 1

 

This long exposure image shows the eruption of volcano Sakurajima Sunday night, July 24, 2022, in the view from Tarumizu city, Japan’s southern prefecture of Kagoshima. Japan’s Meteorological Agency said a volcano on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu erupted Sunday night, spewing ash and volcanic rocks, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in nearby towns. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan’s Sakurajima volcano erupts, triggering evacuation

No immediate reports of damage or injuries in nearby towns

This long exposure image shows the eruption of volcano Sakurajima Sunday night, July 24, 2022, in the view from Tarumizu city, Japan’s southern prefecture of Kagoshima. Japan’s Meteorological Agency said a volcano on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu erupted Sunday night, spewing ash and volcanic rocks, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in nearby towns. (Kyodo News via AP)
The initial Trailhead post in the Secwépemc Landmarks Project was officially unveiled at Little Mountain on June 1 in 2021. There will be fewer sculptures, like the one to be unveiled at the Salmon Arm Wharf, than there will be Trailhead posts. (File photo)

Secwépemc Landmarks Sculpture at Salmon Arm Wharf to be unveiled

Public invited to join the celebration on Saturday, June 25 from 10 a.m. to noon

The initial Trailhead post in the Secwépemc Landmarks Project was officially unveiled at Little Mountain on June 1 in 2021. There will be fewer sculptures, like the one to be unveiled at the Salmon Arm Wharf, than there will be Trailhead posts. (File photo)
This adult Ring-billed Gull is undoubtedly people watching as it forages along the Salmon Arm Wharf. (John G. Woods photo)

Column: Latest count shows healthy ring-billed gull population in Salmon Arm

Nature Watch by John G. Woods

  • Jun 20, 2022
This adult Ring-billed Gull is undoubtedly people watching as it forages along the Salmon Arm Wharf. (John G. Woods photo)
Courtesy Photo, Public Health - Seattle & King County

Okanagan Nature Nut narrows in on bats

Bat season returns with a purpose

Courtesy Photo, Public Health - Seattle & King County
This male red-winged blackbird shows off his wing plumage as he defends his nesting territory. (John G. Woods photo)

Column: Spring time is show time for red-winged blackbirds

Nature Watch by John G. Woods

  • Apr 28, 2022
This male red-winged blackbird shows off his wing plumage as he defends his nesting territory. (John G. Woods photo)
A bee searches for pollen on a flower during a sunny spring day in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, April 8, 2022. A study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 says habitat loss from big agriculture and climate change are combining to threaten the world’s insects. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Climate change, big agriculture combine to threaten insects

Scientists have noticed dramatic drop in total bug numbers

A bee searches for pollen on a flower during a sunny spring day in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, April 8, 2022. A study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 says habitat loss from big agriculture and climate change are combining to threaten the world’s insects. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
The goal to create a protected eagle reserve at the French Creek estuary will become a reality. (Michael Briones photo)

$5M dream to create B.C. eagle sanctuary poised to become reality

Campaign to purchase estuary land reaches fundraising goal

The goal to create a protected eagle reserve at the French Creek estuary will become a reality. (Michael Briones photo)
A bighorn sheep mom and her baby. The Skaha Lake Eastside conservation complex adds important habitat for Bighorn Sheep for foraging, lambing, and escaping predators. (contributed)

Nature Trust of B.C. buys 32 hectares of Bighorn Sheep land in Penticton

Skaha Lake Eastside property adds important habitat for foraging, lambing, and escaping predators.

A bighorn sheep mom and her baby. The Skaha Lake Eastside conservation complex adds important habitat for Bighorn Sheep for foraging, lambing, and escaping predators. (contributed)
A mountain bluebird stands on one of the nesting boxes set up to support the local songbird population. (Contributed)

Mountain bluebirds back in Shuswap for arrival of spring

Bird nest boxes set up as part of Save Shuswap Songbirds campaign

  • Apr 3, 2022
A mountain bluebird stands on one of the nesting boxes set up to support the local songbird population. (Contributed)
Soft and hard-bodied invertebrates are favoured spring and summer foods for robins. At other times, robin diets feature berries. ( John G. Woods photo)

Column: Robins are the lead singers in dawn chorus

Nature Watch by John G. Woods

  • Mar 23, 2022
Soft and hard-bodied invertebrates are favoured spring and summer foods for robins. At other times, robin diets feature berries. ( John G. Woods photo)
The massive bill and long, roughly diamond-shaped tail mark this as a raven as it lifts from the carcass of a dead White-tailed Deer on the ice at Rosemond Lake. ( John G Woods photo)

Column: Ravens signal spring in the Shuswap

Nature Watch by John G. Woods

  • Mar 2, 2022
The massive bill and long, roughly diamond-shaped tail mark this as a raven as it lifts from the carcass of a dead White-tailed Deer on the ice at Rosemond Lake. ( John G Woods photo)
This adult bald eagle recently visited the wharf area at Salmon Arm despite the bay being ice-bound. It takes four to five years before young eagles attain their full adult plumage and start to breed. Bald eagles are the largest raptor breeding in Canada with weights up to five kilograms (11 lbs) and wingspans of up to two metres (seven ft). (John G. Woods photo)

Column: Bald eagle, trumpeter swan sightings along Shuswap River make for good day

Nature Watch by John G. Woods

  • Feb 3, 2022
This adult bald eagle recently visited the wharf area at Salmon Arm despite the bay being ice-bound. It takes four to five years before young eagles attain their full adult plumage and start to breed. Bald eagles are the largest raptor breeding in Canada with weights up to five kilograms (11 lbs) and wingspans of up to two metres (seven ft). (John G. Woods photo)
(Lakes District News File Photo/Eddie Huband)

VIDEO: Fraser Valley pilot spots black bear from the air

Agassiz area pilot captures footage of a wandering black bear among the stalks of corn

(Lakes District News File Photo/Eddie Huband)
This year’s Western hemlock "looper" moth outbreak has been seen in the Lower Mainland and the Interior, including communities throughout the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. (Lorraine Maclauchlan photo)

Western Hemlock Looper Moths return for a third feast of B.C. foliage

Outbreaks of the moths occur every 11 to 15 years in Coastal and Interior forests

This year’s Western hemlock "looper" moth outbreak has been seen in the Lower Mainland and the Interior, including communities throughout the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. (Lorraine Maclauchlan photo)
A common wall lizard scrambles across a concrete wall in a Saanich yard. July 15, 2021 (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)

VIDEO: Invasive lizard population runs, climbs and clings across Vancouver Island

Even record-breaking heat didn’t diminish European wall lizard population

A common wall lizard scrambles across a concrete wall in a Saanich yard. July 15, 2021 (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)
Wildflowers, rare grasslands and at risk species are part of the rich landscape of the Park Rill Floodplain which is now part of the Nature Trust of B.C. in the South Okanagan. (Graham Osborne photo)

151 acres of biodiverse South Okanagan land donated to Nature Trust of B.C.

The land near Willowbrook is home to rare grasslands and at-risk animals

Wildflowers, rare grasslands and at risk species are part of the rich landscape of the Park Rill Floodplain which is now part of the Nature Trust of B.C. in the South Okanagan. (Graham Osborne photo)
Saturnina Island is situated off the east coast of Gabriola Island. (Google Maps image)

Island near Nanaimo preserved as park after $4M donation from Lululemon founder

Chip Wilson’s family’s foundation supports three land purchases in the Strait of Georgia

Saturnina Island is situated off the east coast of Gabriola Island. (Google Maps image)