“Wild Side” is a bi-weekly nature and wildlife column by naturalist and author Matt Pelikan, exploring the plants, animals, insects, and ecosystems found on the Island and beyond. The column combines natural history and science with Pelikan’s observations from the field.
Wild Side: Bush katydids
Identification tactics for our calm green neighbors.
Wild Side: BioBlitz was a rousing success
Nantucket and the Vineyard went head to head.
Wild Side: A ghoulish but important life
Square-headed wasps play an important role in the ecosystem.
Wild Side: Natural rivals
Inter-Island BioBlitz.
Wild Side: Superlative bugging
Flash: This week, your intrepid columnist morphs into an overseas correspondent.
Wild Side: Plant, animal, mineral
Successes, failures, and joy of common birds.
Wild Side: Checkered beetles
Allies of the Southern pine.
Wild Side: Complex interactions of Cyrtopogon
The bewildering shiny-edged bandit.
Wild Side: Sweet fern
A plant of intrinsic ruggedness.
Wild Side: Sharing knowledge
The privilege of learning.
Wild Side: The ecological power of the red maple
Not just another pretty tree.
Wild Side: Most unusual songbird
The brown creeper, the undisputed champion of camouflage.
Wild Side: New signs of spring
Observable differences in a few short weeks.
Wild Side: Ready to fight
Inimical weather may not win after all.
Wild Side: Dee-dee-dee
The tufted titmouse has gone from mainland memory to Island resident.
Wild Side: Heleomyzidae family of flies
Small, secretive, and hard to spot.
Wild Side: Songs from the trees
The puzzling rise and fall of the mockingbird population.
Wild Side: Unintended consequences
Seeking out positive interactions with the natural world.
Wild Side: Butterflies, insects, and birds
The common red cedar does more than its fair share.
Wild Side: Migration chaos
Aviation migration grows messier as you look more closely.
Wild Side: Poised for the plunge
Searching for relics of summer.
Wild Side: The secondary screwworm fly
A parasitical beauty.
Wild Side: Aster bee
Always happy to see them.
Wild Side: Assassin bugs
Evolved to make killing look easy.
Wild Side: The vulnerable yellow-winged grasshopper
Was it always rare?
Wild Side: The handsome Trigonidiidae
The next addition to the Vineyard Orthoptera checklist?
Wild Side: The far side of the really great pond
Another island shows off its triumphs over harsh conditions.
Wild Side: The Smiths’ conundrum
Bedbugs or bat bugs?
Wild Side: The ligated furrow bee
Ample pollen supplies provide diversity and productivity to the colony.
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