Carleton’s Arb houses a plethora of species. It is difficult — impossible really — to determine all of the species that inhabit the Arb. Many have been observed, but despite intensive searching, many can easily avoid detection. Some species may be difficult to find due to their biological characteristics. For…
Arb Notes
It’s winter. It’s cold. It’s freezing your ears off every time you exit the building. The glaring white snow, though ethereal and enchanting, stings your eyes as you carefully tread between sheets of dangerously dark ice. Mind your steps, but do look around if you ever hear a shrill, metallic…
As a senior at Carleton, it’s hard to believe that my first time ever cross-country skiing in the Arb was just last week. I’m not sure why it took me so long to try it out, especially as someone who loves spending time out in the Arb. Cross-country skiing is…
These days, a cool blanket of snow has come to rest over all of campus, and when the temperatures drop below zero, it’s hard to imagine leaving the complex, much less living out there. How do different Minnesotan fauna survive, and which animals might still be active when you walk…
Garlic Mustard, or Alliaria petiolata, is native to Europe and usually found from Czechia to Italy. Now the weed can be found in areas such as New Zealand, North Africa and North America. For North America, the introduction was in 1868 with the first reported citing being in Long Island,…
Some insects have the strangest, sci-fi-inspiring characteristics. On some dead trees in the Arb, you can sometimes see small but deep holes on the trunk. The holes can be caused by many insects, among them two kinds of wasps that are particularly intriguing — pigeon horntails (Tremex columba) and giant…
(Mirror: Birding certainly is not my task. ‘Tis the binoculars whom you’d ask.) If there are birds that perplex novices and experts alike, the warblers are sure to be among them. The complexity starts with the name: Warblers found in the Americas (classified as family Parulidae) are not at all…
Violence, bloodshed, disease, horror and death. In the Arb, dangers lurk at every corner, and every day is a new struggle to survive, but not for humans. Unlike Arb residents, we as visitors can just relax and enjoy the Arb without worrying about predation, poison or pathogens. But you may…
If you take a walk around the Lyman Lakes or Cannon River these days, you can see many anglers. Indeed, with the nice weather and mosquitoes not out yet, fishing could be the most enjoyable activity in nature around the waters. Fish are pretty abundant in the Lyman Lakes, and…
Northfield is in full color: blue phlox and false-rue anemone are in bloom, the wild plums are on display and hundreds of brightly-colored tropical birds are finding a temporary home in the Cowling Arboretum. Warblers are pint-sized songbirds that belong to the family Parulidae. Most are neotropical migrants, traveling every…