Behind the scenes

Hunting a creature that hunts me

KANKAKEE COUNTY, Ill. – It’s a sweltering summer afternoon. I’m pushing aside tree limbs and crunching leaves to get back to the trap that I baited two hours ago with dry ice to attract ticks. When I get closer, I can see a gossamer mist hovering over a bright white cloth in the dark underbrush. […]

Behind the scenes Gloved hands hold an Indiana bat.

In pursuit of Indiana bats

YELLOWWOOD STATE FOREST, Ind. – An hour before the sun goes down, my colleagues and I arrive at our site: a human-made pond in the middle of the forest. The high-pitched croaking of Cope’s gray treefrogs greets us as we get out of our truck. Surrounded by trees and full of salamanders, these ponds are […]

Behind the scenes Two Brood X adults of the genus Magicicada rest on a fern leaf.

Taking a cicada road trip

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A tough semester and an even tougher year have just ended. I need a break. I’m fully vaccinated and want to escape the yearlong lockdown. And I’m an entomologist. What do I do? I grab my best friend, also an entomologist, and we hit the road, of course. This is the year […]

Behind the scenes A gloved researcher holds an Eastern red bat, Lasiurus borealis.

Catching bats for conservation

NORTHEASTERN MISSOURI – The sun just dipped below the horizon and the warm early spring air mixes with the stone-chilled currents flowing out of the mine entrances. The nets are all hung and now we are just waiting for the bats to show up. This is my first mist-netting trip, but I have been warned […]

Behind the scenes Young woman sits on a fallen tree in the woods.

Pondering a university’s ecological impact

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It’s a cool spring morning as I stare at the patchwork of colorful leaves and blossoms on the trees outside my home office. The thought of another Earth Day has me pondering all the research conducted at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that has direct ecological implications. My colleagues and I have […]

Behind the scenes Photo of sea lions gathered on the breeding beaches of one of the Channel Islands

Connecting a virus to cancer – in sea lions

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – I distinctly remember the first day I saw the images proving our hypothesis about the connection between a herpesvirus and urogenital cancer in wild California sea lions. Our research team was the first to use a revolutionary technique to probe preserved cancerous tissue from marine mammals as we looked for signals of […]

Behind the scenes Image of the word "Goodenough" from a gravestone.

Hunting Goodenough Days

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – HUNTING GOODENOUGH DAYS aptly describes what I am doing during the isolation of 2020. These words are surnames found among the 7,000 headstones that I have photographed during my travels to cemeteries seeking new names that are parts of speech – words that I can use to create poetry for my visual […]

Behind the scenes Lupas processes a tissue sample for analysis.

Adjusting to these ‘ever-changing times’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – My mask keeps my face warm as I make my way to the Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiology Laboratory this cold November morning. Campus is starting to empty out as students leave for the holidays. However, with cases of COVID-19 increasing again, many students may not return until next semester and many others will […]

Behind the scenes Photo of a wooden boardwalk (with wooden rails) cutting through tall vegetation on either side. The sun rises to the right, casting long shadows on the boardwalk, which doglegs to the left a bit.

Photo of a wooden boardwalk (with wooden rails) cutting through tall vegetation on either side. The sun rises to the right, casting long shadows on the boardwalk, which doglegs to the left a bit.

Finding one elusive bird

VOLO BOG, Ill. – It’s hot and my shirt is sticking to my back. I part scrubby marsh vegetation with one hand and shield my face with the other. Hiking along the margins of Illinois’ only open-water quaking bog, I’m carrying five liters of swamp water in bottles in my backpack, my samples sloshing with […]

Behind the scenes Scene of wetland with low-growing vegetation and flowers in the foreground, yellowing grasses beyoond that and a line of immature trees in the distance.

Scene of wetland with low-growing vegetation and flowers in the foreground, yellowing grasses beyoond that and a line of immature trees in the distance.

Unearthing a fossorial snake

NEAR BEECHER, Ill. – To the naked eye, it might appear as though I’m standing in a prairie oasis. Pockets of bright yellow goldenrod bring vibrancy to the sea of towering grasses. There’s not a soul in sight to spoil the serenity. A lone red-tailed hawk scouring the landscape from the top of a dead […]

Behind the scenes A heap of thick noodles is topped with a pile of crushed peanuts, scallions and red chili.

Celebrating our diversity

NOTE: This post describes events prior to the coronavirus epidemic. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It is snowing again, and I turn to look through the bus window as it slowly pulls into the final stop. I hide my face in my scarf, hoping to stop the cold air sneaking in. It has been almost six years […]

Behind the scenes A male M. dorsatus calls loudly from a compass plant flower stem in Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Reserve.

Following the sounds of prairie cicadas

OUTSIDE LODA, Ill. – When I arrive at the Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Katie Dana is already out there. She’s wearing knee-high boots to ward off chiggers and ticks, and she’s carrying an insect net. Dana is on the prowl for cicadas: the loudest insects on the planet. On this hot summer day, they […]

Behind the scenes

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