On a pleasant Sunday morning one June, my family and I awoke to find a gigantic moth on the outside of our kitchen window. It was a polyphemus moth, the largest – and the least common - of the giant silk moths that can be found in Western New York. While my daughter and I thought its wingspan of a half-foot was intriguing, my wife found it unsettling, as it reminded her of a bat. She’s not the first person that I’ve heard share such thoughts and she won’t be the last. Man is not the only creature frightened by polyphemus moths. Animals that could be considered potential predators like birds and frogs are also put off by the moth’s appearance. That can be attributed to the appearance of eyes on its large wings, which makes attackers think that it’s the face of a much larger animal, like a cat or something. In the picture that accompanies this article you will notice how it looks in a partially-closed state – there are two small eyes on the wings while the abdomen looks like a no...

        With summer weather upon us and people spending more time in their backyards gardening, doing lawn work, or just relaxing it’s likely that soon at least one of your friends will encounter something that will have them take to social media or text you exclaiming, “OMG! I just saw a tarantula!” That super-sized spider that startled your friend is not a tarantula. Those hairy, venomous giants are not found in New York, as that family of spiders prefers much warmer climes such as Florida and the southwestern and southcentral US. That doesn’t mean your friend didn’t see a large arachnid, at least by our standards. Since we’re more accustomed to seeing small jumping spiders or orb-weavers, size is relative and certain spiders stand out. Our biggest local spiders don’t approach the monstrosity of tarantulas (which can be 2.5 to 5 inches in length with legs spanning 3 to 12 inches across) but they are big enough (one half to one inch in length with leg span in exce...

  The Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge – a.k.a. “Alabama Swamps” -- is not lacking in things to do for the nature lover, whether it’s observing migrating birds from the lookouts, paddling Oak Orchard Creek, or hiking the Refuge’s trails. When it comes to those hikes, Swallow Hollow – and its famous boardwalk -- is far and away the most popular trail, with the Kanyoo and Feeder trails coming in second and third. The least popular of the trails is Onondaga. That is by no means a reflection of the quality of the experience to be had there. Instead, it comes down to the trail being off the beaten path, which makes it a real hidden gem. The Onondaga Trail is located on Sour Springs Road, which is parallel to and just to the east of Route 63. To get there, you have to take 63 to Roberts Road to Sour Springs, heading north on Sour Springs Road. You cannot access the trailhead if you traveled south on Sour Springs after visiting the two popular overlooks at Ringneck Marsh because the So...