blog navigation

Natural History Survey

blog posts

  • Drone in the sky

    New project is multistate, on-farm study of futuristic corn rootworm management

    Nov 9, 2021 2:45 pm

    As the toxins from Bt corn become less and less effective at managing western and northern corn rootworms, what’s next? It will take a combination of innovative techniques to provide sustainable control, according to University of Illinois researchers, who are gearing up for a project involving next year’s crops.

  • Be A Hero: Release Zero

    INHS Reports: Fighting the spread of aquatic invasive species in the marketplace

    Jul 14, 2017 8:00 am

    Aquatic invasive species are non-native organisms that harm the environment, economy, or human and livestock health. Illinois is especially vulnerable to aquatic invaders. Harmful effects of aquatic invasive species that reside in the lake include the multimillion dollar annual cost to industry and water utilities, reduced recreational activities, and degrading native habitats. One way that aquatic invaders are introduced to the Great Lakes region is through the buying and selling of species.

  • Soil temperatures this winter in Illinois were warmer than normal

    Mar 1, 2018 3:15 pm

  • Digitization Projects Make Nature Collections Available to Everyone

    Nov 14, 2016 8:00 am

    Extinct feather lice, invasive fish from the Great Lakes, and rare plants from Pakistan are a few of the millions of species no longer viewed just in dark academic warehouses and museums. Curators at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) who have helped to preserve these biological specimens are digitizing them for anyone who is interested in science to view them online.

  • Research on diving ducks continues

    Apr 5, 2013 8:00 am

    Researchers at the INHS Forbes Biological Station have banded lesser scaup over the past two seasons to examine their use of restored habitats. Director Heath Hagy hopes to have funding to continue taking blood samples to look at metabolites and contaminants in the birds. “There are a lot of scaup here,” Hagy said. “We are catching 200-400 per day and we are only getting 10-20 recaptures, so there are a ton of birds out there."

  • Few hunters know how their duck stamp dollars are spent

    Oct 6, 2017 9:15 am

    Illinois hunters each pay $25 for an annual federal duck stamp to legally shoot waterfowl, yet few know how their money is used, according to a University of Illinois study.

  • Aquatic biology team showing the mussels they've found

    Surveys and relocations protect vulnerable mussel populations

    Apr 5, 2022 9:00 am

    In the summer’s heat, an Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) aquatic biology team can be found in shallow rivers or streams under bridges slated for reconstruction, wading in water and sliding their fingers through the rocks and sediment below, searching for the edge of mussel shells. They’ll move the mussels they find out of harm’s way of construction equipment that will soon roll into the area.

  • Eades wins award for efforts in the field of biodiversity informatics

    Jun 4, 2018 10:30 am

  • Researchers find link between avian malarial infections and body condition in migrating ducks

    Jun 13, 2018 4:15 pm

  • INHS Reports: Angler survey on Lake Michigan fishing

    Jun 15, 2017 12:00 pm

    INHS researchers examined Lake Michigan fishing from social and economic perspectives. They surveyed anglers to collect information about angler expectations and needs in the Lake Michigan fishery and to ascertain the economic importance of fishing as a recreational activity. 

  • Western corn rootworm behavior in soybeans offers clues to understanding rotation resistance

    Oct 28, 2021 8:45 am

    Illinois farmers’ concerns about increasing western corn rootworm populations and plant damage in rotated cornfields have University of Illinois researchers taking a closer look at how rootworm diets affect the beetles’ flights from soybeans to cornfields.

  • Black bear in a field of lupines

    Translocation is a viable option for problem bears

    Apr 2, 2021 9:00 am

    One way to manage bears who damage property and crops is to move them to a different area within their geographic range. Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) scientists studying translocation have found that capture and release does not lower bears’ survival rates, so it’s a good option for handling nuisance bears.

  • Researchers survey and study mosquito vectors for the Zika virus in Illinois

    Sep 7, 2017 9:15 am

    Researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey are surveying and collecting adult female mosquitoes in Illinois and testing how effective insecticides are against them, particularly the Asian tiger mosquito, a species capable of transmitting the Zika virus.

     

  • Recorded bird calls entice warblers to nest in conservation areas

    Oct 10, 2017 10:15 am

    Some species of migrating songbirds return each year to their favorite summer home in the Midwest, where food and nesting sites are plentiful. A University of Illinois scientist and a biologist from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources found that recorded birdsongs could coax endangered Kirtland’s warblers to a new breeding site hundreds of miles from their usual destination for their own protection.

  • Study Finds Recent Size Changes in Illinois River Mussel Shells

    Oct 12, 2016 8:00 am

    Man-made levees and water pollution have made an impact on the fish and other fauna of the Illinois River throughout the 20th century, but researchers at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI), University of Illinois, have taken an even longer view of human-induced changes in freshwater mussels, dating back to pre-Columbian times.

  • Working with scientists better informs managers’ decisions on bird conservation

    Jun 9, 2021 10:45 am

    Scientists studying birds have the data, and conservation managers make the decisions in the field, but if the two groups collaborate, together they can form the best outcomes on real-world bird conservation issues.

  • Researchers need your brown marmorated stink bugs

    Oct 1, 2013 12:00 pm

    Fall is the time for many insects to start making their ways indoors for the winter. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys is believed to have been introduced from Asia and can be a pest on tress and crops. Researchers are still trying to determine the range of the BMSB and need your help. If you believe you have BMSB, we would be very interested in looking at it.

  • Timber Rattlesnake

    Study: When do timber rattlesnakes emerge in the spring in Illinois?

    Apr 24, 2024 10:15 am

    Illinois’ timber rattlesnakes emerge from their cold-weather dens hidden below ground and can be seen sunning themselves in the nearby forest foliage as spring temperatures warm. Scientists at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) have found clues to determine when snakes will slither from their over-winter spots to inform conservation officials who manage local habitats.

  • Endangered bumblebees to be counted and studied this summer

    May 31, 2018 8:45 am

  • Southern White Pelicans at Rend Lake in large numbers

    Nov 4, 2011 12:00 pm

    INHS Ornithologist T.J. Benson was featured in an article about the Southern White Pelicans currently being seen in large numbers at Rend Lake. Unlike the Brown Pelicans, which dive into the water for food, White Pelicans align themselves in a circle and scoop up the fish. Benson stated that in the spring the birds might migrate through more quickly needing to get to the breeding grounds, the fall migration can be more spread out, with birds lingering in places with good resources. Asked about the number of birds, he stated that "Anecdotally, you're definitely seeing more and more. It's kind of true that wetland birds in general are tending to do better over time. Some of that is habitat restoration and cleaning up waterways."

  • INHS joins effort to digitize North American parasite collections

    Nov 5, 2019 7:00 am

    The Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) joins Purdue University and 25 other institutions to lead an effort to modernize the world’s knowledge of arthropod parasites by digitizing more than 1.3 million specimens using a three-year, $4.3 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

  • INHS staffer makes massive contribution to species name index

    Nov 22, 2019 2:30 pm

    In a project to build an index containing the names of all biological species found on earth, Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) informatician Dmitry Mozzherin and the HathiTrust team scanned one-tenth of all published human knowledge on occurrences of scientific names in less than a day.

  • Danville, crow capital of the world

    Feb 1, 2013 8:00 am

    INHS Ornithologist Steve Bailey told the Chicago Tribune that Danville has "the largest winter roost of crows that we know about in the U.S. and Canada." Christmas Bird Counts found 121,500 crows, whereas a year ago, the count was 238,000. INHS Affiliate Mike Ward added that the drought caused a resurgence of West Nile virus, to which crows are particularly vulnerable. Crows rebound well, which might be bad news for the residents of Danville who have unsuccessfully tried many things including trucks with a "cannon" booming to scare the birds.

  • Ant in the Sanderson collection

    National Science Foundation awards more than $480,000 to amber preservation project

    Mar 6, 2019 8:15 am

    The National Science Foundation has awarded more than $480,000 to a Prairie Research Institute project to preserve and digitize an extensive collection of Dominican amber that is in danger of deterioration without proper curation and care. The plants, arthropods, and vertebrates captured in the amber provide insights into life 16-18 million years ago, during the Early Miocene epoch.

  • Check in with INHS online before heading out to hunt or fish

    Apr 30, 2021 8:30 am

    Whether it’s for hunting or fishing, the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) collects data and provides information and education to support hunters and anglers in exploring Illinois and its many biological resources.

  • Forests help shield streams from pollutants in cropland areas

    Sep 16, 2019 10:00 am

    Streambank forests that help to buffer streams from pollutants are particularly important for stream quality, even in areas such as east-central Illinois where cropland predominates and the river system has deteriorated, according to a University of Illinois study.

  • Researchers photograph bats under bridges with a borescope

    Oct 9, 2018 2:30 pm
  • American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) egg (parthenogen) showing banding pattern indicative of potential viability.

    INHS researchers reveal “virgin birth” in a crocodile

    Jun 12, 2023 9:30 am

    In a recent study published in the journal Biology Letters, this is the first known instance of a crocodile virgin birth, but virgin births (parthenogenesis) have been recorded in fish, birds, lizards, and snakes. Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction in some animals where viable offspring are produced from an otherwise unfertilized egg. Mark Davis, a conservation biologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) and co-author on the study helped examine the crocodile fetus' genomic makeup, ultimately discovering that the fetal genome resulted from reproduction without a male crocodile’s genetic contribution. 

  • Joseph L Sencer rating roots before catching corn rootworm beetle populations so their eggs can be collected for bioassays in 2021. 

    Illinois researcher warns of growing corn rootworm threat

    Sep 15, 2020 7:15 am

    Corn rootworms inflict more than $1 billion annually in lost revenue and control costs. PRI insect behaviorist Joseph L. Spencer regularly travels across Illinois collecting corn rootworms and studying their behavior, ecology, and their growing resistance to pest management, particularly resistance to Bt corn hybrids and crop rotation.

  • black bear

    Data analysis paints a clearer picture of translocation success among black bears

    Aug 25, 2020 11:00 am

    Javan Bauder and Max Allen analyzed data from 1,462 translocations of 1,293 black bears in Wisconsin from 1979 to 2016, evaluating translocation success of black bears across Wisconsin.

  • Scientists use modeling techniques to tease out coyote and fox population trends in Illinois

    Aug 5, 2020 11:30 am

    Asking licensed Illinois trappers about their experiences and the numbers of coyotes and foxes they harvest is one way to discover animal population trends. The trick, though, is to account for trappers’ motivations that can be swayed by economic factors and weather.

  • Tick-infested songbirds help spread Lyme disease

    Mar 1, 2017 8:00 am

    Songbird species that carry the ticks responsible for Lyme disease and other diseases forage close to the ground in large wooded areas, according to a recently published study by Christine Parker, a graduate research assistant at the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute, Illinois Natural History Survey.

  • Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs are on the Move This Fall

    Sep 30, 2016 8:00 am

    An invasive stink bug species has been found in five newly invaded Illinois counties this year, according to Kelly Estes, Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) coordinator in the Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

  • Jim Lamer

    INHS welcomes Jim Lamer as director of the Illinois River Biological Station

    Mar 11, 2019 12:30 pm

    Jim Lamer joined the Illinois Natural History Survey as a large river ecologist and director of the Illinois River Biological Station in Havana. 

  • Carp play a role in disseminating plant seeds in the Illinois River

    Feb 28, 2018 10:15 am

  • Girl Scouts provided habitat for Illinois bats

    Oct 29, 2018 1:45 pm

    When it came to earning their Silver Award, which encourages scouts to complete a project that helps their community, Girl Scout Troop 51978 from Westmont, Illinois, decided to support bat conservation with help from Illinois Natural History Survey associate mammalogist Tara Hohoff.

  • eDNA helps researchers track and identify endangered and at-risk species

    Sep 10, 2019 8:00 am

    A promising technology and unlikely collaboration give scientists greater insights into five rare and hard to find species in Fort Polk, Louisiana. 

  • Tagging a turkey with a GPS monitor

    Prescribed fires affect wild turkey habitat selection

    Oct 5, 2021 1:30 pm

    Prescribed fires used to improve the health of forests influence where wild turkeys choose to nest and roam, according to recent research at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS). It turns out that turkeys prefer a variety of forest conditions, from non-burned plots to forests burned each year.

  • brown marmorated stinkbug

    Improved pest degree day calculators are available for the 2021 growing season

    Feb 4, 2021 10:45 am

    Two updated pest degree day calculators from the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) are now available for commodity and specialty crop growers in Illinois, featuring seven-day weather forecasts, graphs, and insect emergence maps to track accumulated degree days and light for the most notorious pests.

  • Researchers rescued stranded mussels on the Vermilion River

    Aug 31, 2018 11:00 am
  • Adult WCR female

    The best laid plans: Did insect resistance management hasten Bt resistance in western corn rootworm?

    Oct 13, 2017 11:00 am

    Illinois Natural History Survey scientists studied behaviors of the western corn rootworm to learn why the insect pests have developed a resistance to Bt corn hybrids, once a deterrent that was as effective as soil insecticides but without the human health risks and environmental concerns associated with broad-spectrum insecticides.

  • A stonefly in the Kathroperlidae family

    INHS entomologists identify new family of stoneflies

    Aug 18, 2021 3:15 pm

    Entomologists at the Illinois Natural History Survey have discovered a new family of stoneflies, a finding that helps scientists studying the insects organize information and distinguish the species that need protecting.

  • Eric Schauber

    Eric Schauber to helm Illinois Natural History Survey

    Apr 25, 2018 8:00 am

    Eric Schauber, an animal ecologist currently at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, has been selected as the next director of the Prairie Research Institute’s Illinois Natural History Survey. Schauber will begin his appointment on July 1, 2018.

  • Two western diamondback rattlesnakes interacting near dens.

    New research shows rattlesnakes are social animals

    Oct 3, 2023 9:00 am

    Researchers found that a population of rattlesnakes formed social groups that they frequently interacted within. Despite having overlapping home ranges, they rarely if ever interacted with snakes outside of their social groups. The groups were not formed based solely on geography or family relationships, but rather appear to be based on the time of year, as they leave and return to their winter homes.  

  • Asian tiger mosquito

    Researchers track the invasive Asian tiger mosquito in Illinois

    Aug 26, 2022 1:30 pm

    The exotic Asian tiger mosquito, known to transmit diseases to humans, is more widespread in southeastern Illinois than previously realized, according to Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) researchers who conducted a study on how invasive mosquito communities form and shift because of different land uses.

  • Study finds ethical and illicit sources of poison frogs in the U.S. pet trade

    Mar 30, 2022 10:45 am

    With their vibrant colors and small size, poison frogs are popular among amphibian pet owners in the U.S. Most poison frogs come from legitimate frog breeding operations here and abroad, but some are still snatched from the wild illegally in their native countries, according to Devin Edmonds, doctoral student at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS).

  • Invasive Plants from Water Gardens and Aquariums Must be Disposed of Properly

    Aug 26, 2016 8:00 am

    When clearing out the foliage from an aquarium or backyard water garden this fall, keep water hyacinth and other invasive plants out of streams, rivers, and other waterways.

  • Scientists Debunk Myths about Illinois Bats

    Oct 27, 2016 8:00 am

    Bats, long associated with Halloween and tales of horror, have far more to fear from humans than we do from them. Researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), Prairie Research Institute, monitor bats statewide by capturing, identifying, and banding individuals in fine-meshed netting (mist nets) and collecting acoustic recordings of high-frequency bat calls.

  • lichen

    INHS among collaborators on NSF-funded project to digitize bryophytes and lichens

    Sep 8, 2020 9:30 am

    The Illinois Natural History Survey is among 25 institutions across the U.S. that will image and digitize associated metadata for close to 1.2 million lichen and bryophyte specimens thanks to a $3.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

  • Free workshops give adults a chance to learn to hunt game, waterfowl

    Jul 20, 2017 3:00 pm

    A new program developed by the Illinois Natural History Survey with support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources aims to encourage more adults to hunt. The Hunter Recruitment Program is offering a series of free workshops around the state, giving new hunters an opportunity to learn from experienced mentors and to get hands-on experience hunting for deer, turkey, squirrels, pheasants, ducks, geese and other game.