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It’s June and I’m in a dreamy meadow deep in the backcountry of Mount Rainier National Park, looking for toads. My mission: find the toads, count the toads, save the toads—in that order.

Here in Montana, we generally see our first Orchard Mason Bees of the season by mid-April. Resembling a large fly, the males of these bluish-green native bees emerge first, waiting patiently for the females to emerge in a week or so to mate.

With a body length of about 3 inches, these sizeable dragonflies can travel up to 900 miles. One migrating species that flies below most people’s radar is the Common Green Darner.

No, bioscatter is not a gathering of confused biologists. And no, it’s not what happens when you turn on the lights in a cockroach infested apartment. It’s a phenomenon that’s been documented for well over a century, but is becoming more important with our changing climate.

Lemon Ants prefer to build their homes in the stems of the tree species that survive in Devil’s Gardens. As it turns out, this is not a coincidence. In the eyes of a Lemon Ant, other trees not suitable for housing their kin just get in the way and take up valuable real estate. To make their surroundings more suitable for the continued existence and growth of their colony, it’s the Lemon Ants that rub out any rival vegetation.

If you haven’t heard of the Asian Giant Hornet before, you might be more familiar with their other, more sinister, name …the Murder Hornet. As the world’s largest species of hornet, Asian Giant Hornets are fierce predators with a preference for honeybees.

When choosing a mate, the females within a rather unique family of flies make their decision depending on whether the eyes have it or not.

Tufted evening primrose is one of the loveliest native plants found in dry climates across western and central North America. Its botanical name translates to “wine seeker, densely clumped,” which is apt for a low-growing, mounded plant with very fragrant, citrus-scented flowers.

‘The Write Question’ is celebrating Mother’s Day with writer, explorer, and life coach Steph Jagger—author of ‘Everything Left to Remember: My Mother, Our Memories, and a Journey Through the Rocky Mountains’ (Flatiron Books), which came out in paperback in March of 2023.

This week on ‘The Write Question,’ Lauren speaks with Bitterroot Salish novelist Debra Magpie Earling about her novel, ‘The Lost Journals of Sacajewea’ (Milkweed Editions).