NEWS

Artist’s rendering of battling tyrannosaurs and Triceratops horridus. Illustration: Anthony Hutchings. © Friends of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Click image to enlarge. Museum will launch global paleontology education and research project featuring “America’s most spectacular fossil” [Raleigh, N.C. — Nov. 17, 2020] — The nonprofit organization Friends of the North Carolina Museum of… Read More >

  Dr. Adrian Smith, Head of the Museum’s Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Research Lab, has posted a new video showing close up how the click beetle jump works. Dr. Smith says, “The spring-loaded “click” of a click beetle is one of the most unique ways of jumping in the insect world! Once I heard about how… Read More >

A global archive with movement data collected across three decades logs changes in the behavior of Arctic animals Warmer winters, earlier springs, shrinking ice, and increased human development — the Arctic is undergoing dramatic changes that are impacting native animals. Researchers from around the world have now established an archive for data documenting movements of… Read More >

By Martie Rose, Intern at the Naturalist Center Evergreen bagworm. Photo: Matt Bertone. The Evergreen Bagworm Mature male & female bagworms. Click to enlarge. The Evergreen Bagworm (​Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis​) is a highly misunderstood insect found in the Eastern United States. Worldwide, there are over 1,350 different species of bagworm inhabiting conifer trees such as cypress,… Read More >

My favorite time of year is when the temperature begins to drop and “sweater weather” approaches. The coloration throughout the autumnal season has always brought me happiness and is best represented by the Red Maple (Acer rubrum). Originally classified in the Aceraceae family, it is now included in the wider family of Sapindaceae. Taxonomists and… Read More >