NatureNotes
909 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 16 ratingsNaturalist Rudy Mancke, the late host of SCETV's long-running NatureScene, shared his knowledge of plants and wildlife for nearly 25 years on NatureNotes. These 1-minute snippets offer you a chance to find out about diverse topics having to do with the natural world. From the inner workings of our world's ecosystems to plants & animals unique to South Carolina, you'll learn more about the world around you on NatureNotes.
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Episodes
Hercules' club
August 22, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.22 MBAralia spinosa is an aromatic spiny deciduous shrub or small tree growing 7–26 ft tall, with a simple or occasionally branched stem with very large bipinnate leaves 30–45 in long. The trunks are up to 6–8 in in diameter, with the plants umbrella-like in habit with open crowns. The young stems are stout and thickly covered with sharp spines. The plants generally grow in clusters of branchless trunks, although stout wide-spreading branches are occasionally produced.
Hatching a sand lion larva
August 19, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.21 MBA listener finds an ant lion larva and decides to "hatch" it...
Banded water snake
August 18, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBN. fasciata is natively found from Indiana, south to Louisiana, and east to Florida. Adults of the banded water snake measure from 24 to 42 in in total length, with a record size (in the Florida subspecies) of 62.5 in in total length.
Six-spotted tiger beetle
August 17, 2022 09:32 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBThe six-spotted tiger beetle, also known as the six-spotted green tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata), is a common North American species of Tiger beetles in the Cicindelinae subfamily. It is common in many areas of the states, and is well known. It is recognized for its bright green color and its flight pattern. They're usually harmless and live up to 3 years.
The dangers of rat poison to birds of prey
August 16, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 1.39 MBSecond generation poisons take longer -- the rodents amass a higher concentration in their bodies; birds of prey that feed on the target animals are dying at unprecedented rates.
A tale of two moths
August 16, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 1.59 MBTwo moths living in South Carolina, two different ways of pupating...
Elongate cannibal snail
August 15, 2022 09:30 - 59 seconds - 1.59 MBEuglandina rosea, the rosy wolfsnail or cannibal snail, is a species of medium-sized to large predatory air-breathing land snail, a carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Spiraxidae.
Red-tailed hawks
August 12, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.21 MBThe red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members within the genus of Buteo in North America or worldwide.
Golden silk spiders
August 11, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.23 MBNephila is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. Nephila consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders, or banana spiders.
Ichneumon wasps
August 10, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBThe Ichneumonidae, also known as the ichneumon wasps, Darwin wasps, or ichneumonids, are a family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. Ichneumonid wasps, with very few exceptions, attack the immature stages of holometabolous insects and spiders, eventually killing their hosts. They thus fulfill an important role as regulators of insect populations, both in natural and semi-natural systems, making them promising agents for biological control.
Box turtles
August 09, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.19 MBThe common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) is a species of box turtle with six existing subspecies. It is found throughout the Eastern United States and Mexico. The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lowered shell (the box) that allows it to completely enclose itself. Its upper jaw is long and curved.
Mystery bone
August 08, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBSome listeners find a bone near a marsh on Hilton Head...
"Velvet ants"
August 05, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 1.54 MBThe Mutillidae are a family of more than 7,000 species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their dense pile of hair, which most often is bright scarlet or orange, but may also be black, white, silver, or gold. Their bright colors serve as aposematic signals. They are known for their extremely painful stings
Millipedes
August 04, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 1.55 MBMillipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a result of two single segments fused together. Most millipedes have very elongated cylindrical or flattened bodies with more than 20 segments, while pill millipedes are shorter and can roll into a ball. Although the name "millipede" derives from the Latin f...
Railroad worm beetles
August 03, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 14.2 MBThe beetle family Phengodidae is known also as glowworm beetles, whose larvae are known as glowworms. The females and larvae have bioluminescent organs. They occur throughout the New World from extreme southern Canada to Chile. The recently recognized members of the Phengodidae, the Cydistinae, are found in Western Asia. The family Rhagophthalmidae, an Old World group, used to be included in the Phengodidae.
Antlions
August 02, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 14.2 MBThe antlions are a group of about 2,000 species of insect in the neuropteran family Myrmeleontidae. They are known for the predatory habits of their larvae, which mostly dig pits to trap passing ants or other prey. In North America, the larvae are sometimes referred to as doodlebugs because of the marks they leave in the sand. The adult insects are less well known due to their relatively short lifespans compared to the larvae. Adults, sometimes known as antlion lacewings, mostly fly at dusk o...
Brown widow spiders
August 01, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 1.55 MBLatrodectus geometricus, commonly known as the brown widow, brown button spider, grey widow, brown black widow, house button spider or geometric button spider, is one of the widow spiders in the genus Latrodectus.
Carolina tiger beetles
July 29, 2022 09:33 - 1 minute - 14.2 MBTetracha carolina is a species of tiger beetle in the genus Tetracha. Its common name is the Carolina tiger beetle, or the pan american big-headed tiger beetle.
Beach hoppers
July 28, 2022 09:31 - 1 minute - 14.2 MBTalitridae is a family of amphipods. Terrestrial species are often referred to as landhoppers and beach dwellers are called sandhoppers, beach hoppers, or sand fleas. The name sand flea is misleading, though, because these talitrid amphipods are not siphonapterans (true fleas), do not bite people, and are not limited to sandy beaches.
Backswimmer
July 27, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 14.2 MBNotonectidae is a cosmopolitan family of aquatic insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly called backswimmers because they swim "upside down" (inverted). They are all predators and typically range from 0.5 to 1.5 cm (0.2–0.6 in) in length. They are similar in appearance to Corixidae (water boatmen), but can be separated by differences in their dorsal-ventral coloration, front legs, and predatory behavior. Backswimmers swim on their backs, vigorously paddling with their long, hair-fringed hind...
Florida betony
July 26, 2022 09:29 - 1 minute - 2.18 MBFlorida betony (Stachys floridana) is native to Florida and began appearing in other states in the 1940s and 50s. It has become an aggressive weed in residential and commercial landscapes in South Carolina.
Two-striped forceptail dragonfly
July 25, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBA dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera. Adult dragonflies are characterized by a pair of large, multifaceted compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the closely related damselflies, which make up the other odonatan infraorder (Zygoptera) and are similar in body plan though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held ...
Bark assasin bugs
July 22, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.21 MBAssassin bugs belong to a large family of true bugs called the Reduviidae. There are approximately 160 species in North America, and many are commonly encountered around the home. The group is exclusively predaceous and many feed on a wide variety of landscape and garden pests including the fall webworm, tent caterpillar, Mexican bean beetle, and June beetles.
Mantis shrimp
July 21, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.22 MBMantis shrimp, or stomatopods, are carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda, branching from other members of the class Malacostraca around 340 million years ago. Mantis shrimp typically grow to around 10 cm (3.9 in) in length, while a few can reach up to 38 cm (15 in).
Tile-horned preonus beetle
July 20, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.22 MBMembers of the Prionus genus are large and usually brown or black. All members of the genus Prionus have twelve or more strongly toothed or even flabellate antennomeres on their large antennae. Common North American species include the "tile-horned Prionus", Prionus imbricornis, the "California root borer", Prionus californicus, and the "broad-necked root borer", Prionus laticollis.
Spiny oakworm moths
July 18, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.22 MBAnisota stigma, the spiny oakworm moth, is a moth of the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is found in North America from Massachusetts and southern Ontario to Florida, west to Minnesota, Kansas and Texas.
Sooty sea hare
July 15, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.21 MBAplysia fasciata, common name the "mottled sea hare", or the "sooty sea hare", is an Atlantic species of sea hare or sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae. This sea hare occurs in the Western Atlantic from New Jersey to Brazil, and in the Eastern Atlantic including the Mediterranean and the West African coast. They have also been sighted along the Atlantic coast of France.
Turkeybeard
July 14, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.22 MBXerophyllum asphodeloides is a North American species of flowering plants in the Melanthiaceae known by the common names turkey beard, eastern turkeybeard, beartongue, grass-leaved helonias, and mountain asphodel. It is native to the eastern United States, where it occurs in the southern Appalachian Mountains from Virginia to Alabama, and also in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.
Fossil on the beach
July 13, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.21 MBA listener and his young daughter find what might be a fossil on Edisto Beach...
Monobia wasps
July 11, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBMonobia quadridens, also known as the four-toothed mason wasp, is a species of solitary potter wasp found in North America. It grows to a wingspan of 18 millimetres (0.71 in), and feeds on small caterpillars and pollen. There are two generations per year, with one generation overwintering as pupae. It nests in a variety of cavities including tunnels abandoned by carpenter bees, old nests built by mud daubers, and hollow plant stems.
Longhorn borer beetles
July 07, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.21 MBThe longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body.
Identifying caterpillars
July 06, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.21 MBCaterpillars can be difficult to identify because they go through 5 stages of growth. Each stage is called an "instar." As a caterpillar grows, it "molts" 5 times before it becomes a chrysalis.
Eastern Hercules beetles
July 05, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBDynastes tityus, the eastern Hercules beetle, is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the Eastern United States. The adult's elytra are green, gray or tan, with black markings, and the whole animal, including the male's horns, may reach 60 mm (2.4 in) in length. The larvae feed on decaying wood from various trees.
Barklice
July 04, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBPsocoptera are a paraphyletic group of insects that are commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies. The name Psocoptera has been replaced with Psocodea in recent literature, with the inclusion of the former order Phthiraptera into Psocodea (as part of the suborder Troctomorpha).
Bee flies
June 30, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.19 MBThe Bombyliidae are a family of flies. Their common name are bee flies or humbleflies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae generally are parasitoids of other insects.
Scale insects
June 29, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBScale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection.
Diamond back terrapin
June 27, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.19 MBThe diamondback terrapin or simply terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a species of turtle native to the brackish coastal tidal marshes of the Northeastern and southern United States, and in Bermuda. It belongs to the monotypic genus Malaclemys. It has one of the largest ranges of all turtles in North America, stretching as far south as the Florida Keys and as far north as Cape Cod.
Swallow-tailed kites
June 23, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.39 MBThe swallow-tailed kite (Elanoides forficatus) is a pernine raptor which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina. It is the only species in the genus Elanoides. Most North and Central American breeders winter in South America where the species is resident year round.
The mark of the pileated woodpeckers
June 22, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.39 MBThe pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast. It is the largest extant woodpecker species in North America, with the possible exception of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed be reclassified as extinct. It is also the third largest species...
COPD research
June 20, 2022 09:30 - 3 minutes - 3.64 MBThis week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Sarah Miller about research related to the use of digital technology to help patients manage COPD. Dr. Miller is a respiratory physiologist and Nurse Scientist in the College of Nursing at MUSC.
The call of the green tree frog
June 20, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.4 MBThe American green tree frog (Dryophytes cinereus) is a common species of New World tree frog belonging to the family Hylidae. It is a common backyard species, popular as a pet, and is the state amphibian of Georgia and Louisiana.
Magnolia green jumping spider
June 17, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBLyssomanes viridis, commonly known as the magnolia green jumper, is a species of jumping spider of the genus Lyssomanes, for which it is the type species. The species is native to the United States, being found in much of the Southeastern United States and Texas. It has also been reported from parts of Mexico, with sightings as far south as Guatemala and as far north as Maryland.
Braconid wasps
June 15, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBThe Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. The larvae of most braconids are internal or external primary parasitoids of other insects.
Northern scarlet snake
June 14, 2022 09:27 - 1 minute - 2.19 MBCemophora coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southeastern United States.
Armadillos in South Carolina
June 13, 2022 18:27 - 1 minute - 2.2 MBYou can now find 9-banded armadillos in all 46 counties of South Carolina.
A torquoise snake?
June 10, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.41 MBListeners report finding dead snakes that are "torquoise blue." There are no torquoise snakes liviing in South Carolina. However, when a rough green snake dies...
White-marked tussock caterpillar
June 09, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.4 MBOrgyia leucostigma, the white-marked tussock moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797. The caterpillar is very common especially in late summer in eastern North America, extending as far west as Texas, California, and Alberta.
Eastern ratsnake, yellow morph
June 08, 2022 09:30 - 1 minute - 2.39 MBThe yellow morph of the eastern ratsnake, Pantherophis alleghaniensis ssp. quadrivittata, is sometimes called the yellow ratsnake or the Florida ratsnake.