Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Fall / Autumn”
It’s always worth having cool nature facts at your disposal, whether it’s for a conversation starter or trivia night your local pub. In this Biologist Ruins Everything post, I’ve collected 12 spooky, horrible nature facts to shock and terrify your friends. While ghost stories around the campfire are great, nature’s imagination and ingenuity far exceeds our own. This is no …
By the time Fall comes around, people are too ready to leave the mosquitoes behind and enjoy the cooler weather. Too often on my own Fall picnics, I’ve been about to enjoy a candied apple or cup of cider when the wasps show up. They aggressively harass my friends and I until, begrudgingly, we head inside and mumble about how …
While spending time outdoors has many benefits, biting bugs are always an unwelcome reality. While mosquitoes and other biting insects are most active in summer, we tend to imagine that we’re safe from pesky bites in the Fall and Winter. But what about things like ticks? I often hear people explain that the first frost kills ticks off, leaving us …
Being a beginner naturalist means learning the answers to lots of what, why, where, and how questions. What is a lichen? Why do bugs gather around streetlights? Where do you go if you want to spot a kingfisher? How do trees move their seeds to new locations? But we tend to overlook questions of when. Nature is dynamic, things are …
Trees, shrubs, and other plants make a lot of mess when they drop their leaves in the fall. All of the leaves, twigs, branches, and other plant matter can pile up quickly over the course of a year. Within a few weeks or months it can cover a well-groomed lawn. Biologists and naturalists call all this mess “leaf litter”. Although …
Even if you like spiders and insects, it can be unsettling when they show up at home. It is always worth knowing whether or not bugs in your house could potentially be harmful. However, most invertebrates in our homes are pretty harmless. Despite what profit-driven exterminator and pest control companies would like you to think! Nonetheless, when a handful are …
The dramatic color changes of autumn leaves in some parts of the world are captivating, seemingly magical, and widely appreciated. Dazzling reds and oranges pop up every year while we’re planning our Halloween costumes or breaking out a flannel shirt. Plant scientists (called botanists) are working to understand why these gorgeous displays happen. But there is more to the story: …
Why do trees lose their leaves in the fall? For people living in temperate or northern climates, the Autumnal transition into winter usually involves lots and lots of leaves. Leaves turning beautiful colors, leaves blowing in the wind, leaves covering the ground, crunching under foot, or being raked into huge piles or blown away by landscaping crews. Trees lose their …
