How the Draco Lizard Glides Using Its Own Ribs
The tropical forests of Asia are home to a lizard that can launch from a tree and travel through the air using a structure unlike the wings of birds or …
green garden
How to Propagate Succulents From a Single Leaf
Learning propagating succulents leaf cuttings is one of the easiest ways to turn a healthy succulent into several new plants without buying anything new. A single intact leaf from the …
Saving Pepper Seeds: How to Save Pepper Seeds for Next Year
Saving pepper seeds is an easy and rewarding way to preserve a favorite pepper variety for another growing season. When done correctly, saving pepper seeds lets you collect mature seeds …
Aye-Aye Middle Finger: How It Finds Hidden Prey
The aye-aye middle finger is one of the strangest feeding adaptations among primates. Extremely thin, long, and unusually mobile, this specialized finger helps the aye-aye locate and extract food hidden …
Why the Saiga Antelope Has Such a Strange Nose
Few mammals have a face quite like the saiga antelope. Hanging over its mouth is a large, flexible, downward-facing nose that can look almost trunk-like when viewed from the side. …
Why Mudpuppies Keep Their Gills Their Entire Lives
Most salamanders begin life in water with gills and later transform into adults better equipped for life on land. Mudpuppies take a very different path. The striking mudpuppy external gills …
Does the Female Praying Mantis Really Always Eat Its Mate?
The strange world of praying mantis cannibalistic mating has produced one of the most persistent myths in nature: that a female praying mantis always kills and eats the male after …
How Mountain Goats Climb Cliffs That Look Impossible
A mountain goat standing on a tiny ledge can look as though someone placed it in the wrong part of a photograph. Beneath its hooves may be a steep wall …
Hot Compost vs. Cold Compost: Which Method Should You Use?
Choosing between hot compost vs cold compost is less about finding one universally superior method and more about matching composting to the way you actually garden. Hot composting can transform …
Why Peppers Get Blossom End Rot (And How to Stop It)
A pepper can look perfectly healthy until a pale, sunken patch appears at the bottom of the fruit. Within days, that spot may become dark, leathery, and impossible to ignore. …