Chicago Academy of Sciences Blog
Articles tagged Living Collections
November 8, 2021
What do snakes do in the winter?
How do cold-blooded animals deal with cold weather? We had lots of questions about snakes in the winter and Dr. Allison had lots of answers! Keep reading to learn about what snakes in Illinois do in the winter when it gets cold.“What do snakes do in the winter? Do they hibernate?” Reptiles, including snakes, and amphibians brumate over the winter. It’s not hibernation, which warm-blooded animals do. Instead, snakes stop eating as the temperature drops, their metabolism slows down, and they look for an underground place to hide from surface temperature changes. Snakes are less active over the winter, but will still come to the surface to drink on warmer winter days, but they won’t eat until spring. “Where do snakes spend the winter?” Snakes overwinter underground in a hibernaculum. A hibernaculum is a place where several hundred to several thousand snakes spend the winter together brumating. Multiple species of snakes can be found in a single hibernaculum. Both juveniles and adult snakes will follow each other’s scent trails to a hibernaculum.
May 31, 2021
One of the most common questions we get at the Nature Museum is, “What do butterflies eat?” In order to better understand what they eat, we have to understand how they eat! Butterflies have a long tongue, called a proboscis, which they can curl and uncurl to drink through like a straw. Because of their straw-like mouthparts, butterflies are mainly restricted to a liquid diet. Butterflies use their proboscis to drink sweet nectar from flowers. Nectar sometimes resides deep within a flower and the proboscis allows the butterfly to reach this sugary treat. We fill the Judy Istock Butterfly Haven with an abundance of flowering plants that produce ample nectar for the butterflies, including: coral vine, firespike, jungle cucumber, Ixora, and lantana.We also provide sponge pads soaked with simulated nectar for the butterflies. The simulated nectar is made by mixing honey and water.
March 19, 2021
We all love spending time in Lincoln Park and around North Pond, but we often forget that there is a right and a wrong way to interact with the species that live there. There are a number of rules and they all exist for very important reasons. Let’s take a closer look at each of them and learn why they’re so important.
February 15, 2021
Snakes, like other reptiles, are covered in scales. They protect the snake, help it move, and aid in camouflage. You have something similar to scales yourself, your fingernails! Made of keratin, hard but a little flexible, your fingernail protects your nail bed just like a scale protects a snake’s body. We’re exploring the different types of scales we can observe on a snake’s body and how those scales are unique.
February 8, 2021
Animal pairs: Dragonflies, butterflies, and frogs!
Love is in the air, quite literally for some animals. Dragonflies zip through the air, butterflies dance in flight, and frogs send songs soaring in search of mates. Ever wonder how these animals court one another? Let’s explore how these three animals find their mates!
February 1, 2021
What happens to wood frogs in winter?
In the warmer months, frogs are a common sight in backyards, around ponds, and in parks. But when winter hits, it’s as if they’ve just vanished into thin air! We talked to our reptile and amphibian expert, Dr. Allison, to help us learn more about what frogs, particularly wood frogs, do in the winter.
May 19, 2020
How Do Animals Protect Themselves?
Camouflage and special body coverings are two ways that animals protect themselves from other animals. But there are some other defensive behaviors, too! Let’s explore some of the amazing ways that animals protect themselves.
April 10, 2020
Fur and feathers and scales, oh my! Different animals have different types of body coverings to help them survive. Although some animals have more than one type of covering, there are five basic types. Read on to take a closer look!