By Terry W. Johnson

On a hot summer day in 1990, during the dedication of the office of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ fledgling Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program, I overheard a dignitary in the audience say to the person beside him, "I give the program three years before it folds."

By Terry W. Johnson

By Terry W. Johnson

One of the most beautiful butterflies to grace Georgia is the pearl crescent. However, due, in large part to its demure size, it is also one of our most overlooked butterflies.

By Terry W. Johnson

Until I retired, I never spent much time watching bumblebees. I guess, like most folks, I took them for granted.

By Terry W. Johnson

By Terry W. Johnson

One of Georgia's least known flowering trees goes by a number of colorful names. Some people call it grancy graybeard. Others know it as grandfather graybeard, granddaddy's beard, old-man's beard, snow flower tree or flowering ash. Botanists, on the other hand, have named it fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus).

By Terry W. Johnson

By Terry W. Johnson

In the not too distant past, humans were considered the only animals that used tools. However, biologists throughout the world have discovered that an amazing array of animals including mammals, insects, fish, birds and even cephalopods (e.g., octopus) all make use of tools.

By Terry W. Johnson

Most homeowners who feed birds in their backyards consider gray squirrels a nemesis. Squirrels eat more than their share of the food put out for birds and then add insult to injury by gnawing on the feeders. Indeed, the war on squirrels is constantly fought on many fronts throughout the entire state.

By Terry W. Johnson