by Jake Vander Zanden On Mothers Day evening I began receiving a barrage of texts along the lines of ‘What is up with these bugs outside?’ Anyone anywhere near Lake Monona would have undoubtedly noticed these impresive swarms of buzzing insects. These swarming insects are midges – also known as lakeflies or chironomids. Despite the …
Back in March of this year, just as it was becoming clear that “business as usual” was about to be a thing of the past, Petra Wakker walked into Room 101 of Hasler Lab and walked out with a high-powered compound microscope. No, it wasn’t a random act of scientific espionage, it was a carefully …
(A version of this post first appeared on the blog on May 18, 2017) As we wrote last week, our waters are warming here in Wisconsin (and, in fact, all across the Northern Hemisphere) and fish are on the move as they migrate to their spawning grounds. But those swarms of fishes are all under …
As I jumped on my bike and left the Lowell Elementary playground after dropping my kids off yesterday morning, I overheard a conversation between two parents that I hear pretty consistently this time of year. It went something like this: Parent 1: “Ugh, can you believe these swarms of bugs?” Parent 2: “Yeah, those are …