If you’re being buzzed in the garden by something much larger than a bee, take a closer look. Hummingbird moths, the common name for hawk or sphinx moths, appear to be abundant this year. Perhaps Iowa’s drought is offering prime weather conditions for these fascinating insects. Often mistaken for a hummingbird, the rapid pulse of […]
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Iowa man assessed maximum for poaching w...
A Moravia man was assessed $20,000 in damages after pleading guilty to poaching a trophy deer. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Jerry Kaster, 40, of Moravia, shot a buck deer that scored more than 200 inches with a .270 rifle while driving his minivan on a rural road in the Lake Rathbun […]
Albino deer attracting attention near So...
Wildlife biologists stake the odds of an albino deer at 1 in 100,000 or more, with sightings reported only every few years in Iowa; the latest being a doe near Solon. Fortunately, these rare animals are protected in the state. I’m hearing there is some dispute over whether or not this is actually an albino, […]
Japanese beetle watch ends in Cedar Rapi...
They’re heeere… As much as I held out hope that the Japanese beetle population had been wiped out by an unusually fortuitous twist of fate, my watch for the invasive insect ended today with the discovery of several beetles on my raspberry bushes. If you have rose bushes, grapes, hollyhock, linden trees, pin oak, willows […]
Viticulture: Japanese beetles and many, ...
CEDAR RAPIDS – Between the various vineyard diseases, voracious bugs, birds and other predators, I’m amazed that any grape can survive to maturity. At our most recent viticulture class at Kirkwood Community College, we learned about fungal diseases of grapevines, such as anthracnose or
Where to find morel mushrooms in Iowa
Morel mushroom, singular, would be more accurate, but I might be the only Iowa morel hunter to reveal the precise location of my find. After writing about the morel season and whether or not you can grow them, I finally found my own. In my own backyard.