# 438 - Front Yard Safari

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/natural-connections-90209/438-front-yard-safari
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/natural-connections-90209/438-front-yard-safari.md
Podcast: [Natural Connections](https://stenobird.com/podcast/natural-connections-90209)
Published: 2026-08-06T17:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://cablenaturalhistorymuseum.libsyn.com/438-front-yard-safari
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/cablenaturalhistorymuseum/438_-_Front_Yard_Safari.mp3?dest-id=491045
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/natural-connections-90209/episodes/438-front-yard-safari
Duration seconds: 366

## Resource

The flower head looked odd. Pearly everlasting—with their beautiful flat-topped cluster of white flowers with yellow centers—had finally bloomed. And now the petals would dry out and hold their shape for many months. Except, as I walked past the small patch of native plants between the Museum and the Forest Lodge Library, I noticed that one of the flower clusters was a shapeless blob of petals. Peeling open a corner, I spotted yellow stripes, red dots, and multi-tipped black spikes. Yikes! That's what this American painted lady caterpillar wanted me to think…and then to leave them alone. Some gardeners might be frustrated to lose a few flowers, but hosting native insects is exactly why we plant native species in our gardens, instead of importing species from all over the world who don't play a positive role in our local ecosystem. Walking slowly, I scanned the flowers for anything out of place, any disruption to the normal patterns. On the dark center of a black-eyed Susan, I found a small green anomaly. Crouching down, I found myself face-to-face with the fierce scowl, long horns, and serrated edges of a jagged ambush bug. Some people fly halfway around the world to witness the dramas of nature play out on the African savannah. I found plenty of action walking halfway around the yard.

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## Transcript

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