Ohio Biological Survey

08/18/2026

Amazing work Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves! Congratulations on adding 360 acres of protecting in Jackson County!

08/10/2026

The Ohio Biological Survey is pleased to announce the publication of the long-awaited “Ohio Winter Bird Atlas.” Its hefty 390 pages cover many aspects of the hardy bird species that overwinter here.

Winter is a tough time for many types of wildlife but the challenges that birds face are especially daunting. They face:
an increasingly scarce food supply as winter drags on;
shortened daylight hours to forage; and
their warm-weather shelters have shrunk or disappeared.

Compounding all of the above difficulties for birds in Ohio we often experience long stretches of cold, snow, and wind.

Ohio’s winter birds are worth learning more about. You may purchase the book here:
https://tinyurl.com/4babjupb

08/05/2026

OBS is excited to share that our very own Dr. Gene Kritsky was selected as one of this years Ohio Department of Natural Resources Cardinal Award recipients! Chief Kendra Wecker presented the award on a perfect day at the Ohio State Fair in the Natural Resources Park.

His periodical cicada expertise, impressive publication history and significant contributions to the OBS Naturalist’s Guide book series represent some of Gene’s accomplishments. OBS Executive Director Connie Hausman and Board President Mark Diley were happy to celebrate Dr. Kritsky’s award with him!

07/07/2026

Wetlands are transformers. They heal the land, boost biodiversity, and create thriving habitats for countless species.

Join renowned wetland expert Tom Biebighauser, November 5–7, at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary for our new Create Your Own Wetlands Workshop. Participants will work alongside Tom to build two new wetlands and learn how to create wetlands on properties large or small.

Registration is $295 per person and limited to 20 participants. Sign up now on our website!

06/14/2026

Before you reach for anything, look at what you're actually looking at. Seven of the most common caterpillars in American gardens and yards — and the butterfly or moth each one becomes. 🌿

Seven transformations to recognize:

Black Swallowtail — the green caterpillar with bold black bands and yellow-orange spots on your dill, parsley, or fennel. Leave it. The adult is one of the most striking butterflies in the country.

Mourning Cloak — black with red spots and branched spines, often found on willow, elm, and cottonwood. One of the longest-lived butterflies in North America — adults overwinter and emerge in late winter.

Red Admiral — spiny dark caterpillar on stinging nettles or false nettle. The adult's orange-red wing bands are unmistakable.

American Lady — bristly dark caterpillar often found on pearly everlasting and pussytoes. The adult has distinctive eyespots on the hindwing underside.

Milbert's Tortoiseshell — black and spiny with yellow side spots, found on stinging nettles. Northern species, vivid orange and dark wings.

Cloudless Sulphur — smooth bright green, nearly invisible on its host. Becomes one of the most vivid large yellow butterflies in the US — common from the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast.

Tomato hornworm — the large green caterpillar with diagonal white stripes and a curved rear horn. It becomes the Five-spotted Hawkmoth — a substantial moth with pink and grey patterning and a wingspan approaching five inches. 🌱

Every caterpillar is a future pollinator. Observe before you react.

06/13/2026

OBS released “A Naturalist’s Guide to the Mussels of Ohio” at our late-winter Ohio Natural History Conference:

Authored by Michael Hoggarth (one of our state's top experts on mussels) this guide provides an in-depth look at one of Ohio's common but relatively obscure native fauna. Spoiler Alert: their life histories sometime read like something out of a science fiction story.
The first printing of the book quickly sold out q but you can get it at a special low price on Amazon . . .
https://tinyurl.com/mr2vy5xy

06/11/2026

We're not suggesting that you routinely turn on your porch light and distract moths and other flying nocturnal creatures from going about their business. But if your porch light occasionally attracts one of these beauties, this post is a nice reference identifying some of Ohio's more showy moths. It's worth noting that many small moth species are equally spectacular.

Most people think moths are small, brown, and forgettable. The ten species on this chart are none of those things.

The cecropia moth has a six-inch wingspan. She's the largest moth in North America — bigger than many birds. She flies at night, which is why most people go their whole lives without seeing one.

The polyphemus has eyespots the size of dimes on her hindwings. She's named after the cyclops from the Odyssey. Five inches across, and she's probably been to your porch light without you noticing.

🌿 The connections most people miss:

The sphinx moth hovering at your flowers at dusk — she's the adult form of the tomato hornworm that ate your garden. Same animal, two completely different lives.

The isabella tiger moth is the woolly bear caterpillar that crosses your sidewalk every fall. The "winter prediction" caterpillar grew up and flew to your window.

And the peppered moth — speckled black and white — changed color during the Industrial Revolution. Soot darkened the trees, and the dark moths survived. The textbook example of natural selection is sitting on your porch.

For every butterfly you see, there are roughly fourteen moths you don't 🐾