Nature's Archive

As a nature lover, I’m often asked about my favorite plants, animals, and insects. And I always struggle to answer those questions, because I have so many favorites, and they are context dependent. But when it comes to birds, woodpeckers often come to mind first. 

They’re often colorful, charismatic, and have such an amazing set of adaptations that let them drill into trees, excavate insects from bark, and some even fly catch on the wing. 

One of the most interesting woodpecker species is the Acorn Woodpecker, found in much of the west and southw...

Slime molds (Myxomycetes) are beautiful, weird, and amazing organisms. Often mistaken for fungi, they are actually single celled, yet they grow and efficiently move in search of food, can start and stop their life cycle based on environmental conditions, and even change colors several times during their brief life cycle. They can be beautifully colored, frequently iridescent, and can be ornately shaped. And better still, they can be found in much of the world - maybe even in your yard.

My guest today, Alison Pollack, is a renowned slime mold photographer and unabashed enthusiast of slime molds...

I spent several hours assembling the highlights of the 24 episodes we produced in 2024, all packaged in this nice short recap. It was a lot of work, so I hope you like it!

If you want to hear any of these episodes in their entirety, simply check our feed or naturesarchive.com. And for easy reference, the full year's episodes are listed below.

And I'd love your feedback on Nature's Archive in general! I made a short survey (probably only takes 1 minute). Please fill it out:

https://naturesarchive.com/survey

#106: Why Ants...

I love discovering overlooked plants and animals that play outsized roles in the environment. I’m also fascinated by complex systems, especially when they’re easy to observe.

And nothing ticks all three of those boxes better than ants.

One estimate says that for every human on earth, there may be as many as 2.5 million ants. And these ants form complex societies with unique roles. They communicate in mysteriously complex ways, and can range in size from almost microscopic to an inch and a half long.

Ants can build colonies in acorns, hollow twig...

Do you love spiders and insects? Or perhaps you are more apprehensive of them - or even suffer from arachnophobia. In either case, today’s discussion is for you.

Join me for an enlightening journey into the world of insects and arachnids with Kevin Wiener. Kevin is an environmental educator and founder of the thriving 'All Bugs Go To Kevin' community. In this episode, Kevin shares his inspiring path from pest control to becoming a passionate advocate for arthropods. Explore the crucial roles insects play in our ecosystem, debunk common myths about animals like the Brown Recluse sp...

Today we’re discussing perhaps the most important 24 armed creature you quite possibly have never heard of before. Each arm has eyes, or more accurately, eyespots on the ends, and they have thousands of tube feet that they closely coordinate to move. It’s a keystone species which used to have populations around 6 billion. And in a matter of a couple of years, about 5 billion of those vanished, melting away, literally turning to goo. Or at least that’s how SCUBA divers and biologists described it. It almost sounds like an alien science fiction story, but I assure you, it’s r...

Have you ever thought about how or why natural areas, like state or county parks, open space, or wildlife refuges were set aside and saved? Sometimes it seems amazingly unlikely that these places exist.

And it’s too easy to assume that there is no land left to set aside. But today we’re telling the story of Coyote Valley, a land adjacent to the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. I don’t want to spoil the story, but I will tell you it is inspiring and shows just what can happen with the right combination of ing...

I’ve been looking forward to today’s episode for a really long time - and for two great reasons. One, it’s about wildlife forensics, which is an immense field that requires knowledge of everything from wildlife behavior and morphology, to DNA, to crime scene investigation, to policy and the law. I’ve always been a bit of a generalist who likes to deep dive into topics on occasion…so this is a field true to my heart.

And the second reason I’ve been looking forward to it is the guest - forensic wildlife biologist Ashley Bray...

What do parasitic plants, 600 year old oak trees, salmon, and hoverflies have in common? Well, they are some of Griff's, Michelle Fullner’s and my favorite wild organisms!

Today’s episode is a fun conversation with Michelle Fullner, Griff Griffith, and myself, Michael Hawk, where we advocate for our 10 favorite animals and plants. We each bring three species to the conversation…well, not physically. And we had a bit of a game to decide who got to pick the 10th one. All I’m saying is that I still think that aphids would be good at soccer, but you’...

Have you ever wondered what it takes to bring a species back from the brink of extinction? Today, we’re diving into the front lines of one of the most challenging and inspiring conservation efforts of our time, with Sophie Osborn as our guide. This episode unravels the incredible stories of the Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow, and California Condor—three iconic birds with a common thread of survival against the odds.

We’ll explore the daunting threats these birds have faced, and surprisingly, how those same dangers continue to impact us all. Take lead ammunition, for instance—it’s a w...