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Reflections in Nature: More than 1,000 species of solitary wasps exist

For the past few weeks, in between raindrops, I have been trying to paint the lower part of our house. When I removed the shutters, I found a small community of wasps, spiders and other insects. During this process, I received several insect bites, and one of the bites had been bothering me for several weeks. My arm was red, swollen and itched. I was fortunate that all of the wasps I encountered were solitary wasps — mud and paper wasps — which are not as mean as the social wasps (yellow jackets and hornets). Our word insect comes from the Greek word entomon, which came from ...

Community Outdoors calendar for week of June 24

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS THROUGH ART, SESSION 1 WHERE: Rider Park WHEN: Tuesday, June 24 (6-8 p.m.) ... Thursday, June 26 (6-8 p.m.) NOTES: Join Julie Hulslander as she guides you through the process of making your environmentally focused art poster. We will laminate the posters for longevity so they can be displayed. This is a free family friendly event. Sign up for one or both sessions at the Rider Park website. AUDUBON EVENT: BLUEBIRD WALKS WHERE:Rider Park WHEN: Tuesday, June 24 at 7:30 a.m. (Bluebird Walk #1) ... Tuesday, July 1 at 7:30 a.m. (Bluebird Walk #2) ... ...

Reflections in Nature: The crow is one remarkable bird

During this past week, I had two incidents with crows. The first occurred while traveling on Route 6 when I noticed a crow feeding on a dead opossum, which was lying in the middle of my traffic lane. As I drove closer to the possum, the crow flew at the last possible minute. This is not unusual, as I am sure that many of you have noticed a crow doing the same thing. However, what made this unusual was that the crow waited too long and flew into the side of a car coming in the opposite direction. Although the crow was dazed, it was able to flutter to the side of the roadway and hop to ...

State parks, forests see large surge in camping demand

As summer kicks off, camping is booming in state parks and forests across Pennsylvania. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources reports an overall 10% jump in campsite reservations — up 60% in some areas — compared to this time last year with more than 5,400 additional ...

Community Outdoor calendar for week of June 17

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS THROUGH ART, SESSION 1 WHERE: Rider Park WHEN: Tuesday, June 17 (6-8 p.m.) ... Thursday, June 19 (6-8 p.m.) ... Tuesday, June 24 (6-8 p.m.) ... Thursday, June 26 (6-8 p.m.) NOTES: Join Julie Hulslander as she guides you through the process of making your environmentally focused art oster. We will laminate the posters for longevity so they can be displayed. This is a free family friendly event. Sign up for one or both sessions at the Rider Park website. CCC OF HYNER RUN WHERE: Hyner Run State Park and Little Pine State Park WHEN: Friday, June 20 at ...

Sunday hunting bill passes state House of Representatives

HARRISBURG — Legislation that would fully repeal Pennsylvania’s Sunday hunting ban passed the state House of Representatives today and now heads to the Senate for consideration. Introduced by Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Allegheny, House Bill 1431 was approved by the House Game and Fisheries ...