NEWS

By Jerry Reynolds, Head of Outreach Cranefly Orchids on the winter forest floor. Spring is right around the corner, but there are still plenty of days to enjoy the winter forest landscape.  Now is a great time for a walk in the woods illuminated with full sunlight coming through the mostly leafless forest canopy. Of… Read More >

For thousands of years, humans have used fire as a management technique to promote species diversity and improve habitat for plants and animals. In the Rupununi savannas of southern Guyana, indigenous Makushi and Wapichan people set fires during the dry season, but little is known about the impacts of these fires on the region’s abundant… Read More >

“Paleontological discoveries come from a combination of dedicated planning, expertise, and good old-fashioned luck,” explains Dr. Christian Kammerer, the Museum’s research curator of paleontology. This was particularly true during a recent expedition to Brazil, when a timely flat tire led to his discovery of a new genus and species (Karutia fortunata) that also happens to… Read More >

By Lisa J. Gatens, Collection Manager, Mammalogy There’s something squirrely about groundhogs. They are squirrels, and sometimes exhibit squirrely behavior.  Groundhogs are the largest members of the Sciuridae, or the squirrel family. You are likely familiar with at least some other members of this family in North Carolina: the northern flying squirrel, southern flying squirrel,… Read More >

There’s a reasonable chance you are currently cohabitating with the critter in this photo — a house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata). The first time I encountered one, I was pretty frightened, to be honest. Let’s review some basics about centipedes and discover why you shouldn’t fear this common arthropod. The word centipede literally means “one hundred… Read More >