A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville, from bubbles to ‘Come to Pass,’ a hip-hop play
In a look ahead at a week of Cambridge and Somerville events, there’s plenty of music (including new Sol Y Canto and Clem Snide) and theater (including the hip-hop musical “Come to Pass” and a production of “Eurydice”), and a return of the Evolution of Hip-Hop Festival, Floor Lords Breakdancing and MIT Swapfest, as well as bubbles and mini-horses.
Bald-faced hornets are gigantic and fearsome, able to sting and survive in defending their nest
These yellow jacket wasps get up to an inch long and scary looking, with a a well-deserved reputation for aggressiveness – though only when protecting their nest.
Lightning the way to a break in the weather
During a flash storm at around 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Pia Agliati caught a lightning strike over Harvard Stadium – a dramatic example of recent intense weather that’s due for a break.
Bullfrogs can and will eat almost anything, getting big enough that we then eat them
Bullfrogs will eat just about any animal smaller than they are. Scientists have found in bullfrog stomachs rodents, lizards, snakes, small birds, spiders and even bats – with a tongue that propels out like a slingshot so frogs can use their hands to stuff large prey into their maws.
Alert for Covid and monkeypox? Add West Nile, as Cambridge is now in ‘moderate’ risk category
The risk of West Nile virus infection in Cambridge was raised to “moderate” from “low” on Thursday after positive-testing mosquitoes were detected in Somerville, Boston, Brookline and Waltham.
You can go observe the endearing Atlantic puffin, but time may be running out for the breed and us
Since puffins can live for 30 years or more, one bad season doesn’t doom the species, but a series can spell big trouble for the future of the population – and a series is underway.
The Cooper’s hawk is great hunter of other birds, but reputation as ‘blood-thirsty villain’ is unfair
The much-maligned Cooper’s hawk, like any other bird, is just trying to survive in the manner for which it has evolved. Its habits, even if distasteful to some, help to maintain a healthy, balanced ecosystem.
Red-backed Salamanders are tiny but numerous, and invading fungus could cause a huge die-off
What animals do you think are the most abundant vertebrates in the state? Could they be herring? Sparrows? Cats? Humans? Rats? It’s probably the eastern red-backed salamander – for now, anyway.
Pill bugs aren’t bugs, but they are roly-poly, charmingly weird, harmless and even helpful
Potato bug, roly-poly, doodlebug, sowbug, wood shrimp, pill bug, woodlice – we call these little guys by many names, and most are misnomers: These are not insects at all, but rather tiny crustaceans.
Eastern garter snakes have a skunklike defense and other surprises, but don’t worry about a bite
The state reptile of Massachusetts is the harmless garter snake – well, mostly harmless – which is an easy one to distinguish because of three yellowish stripes that run the length of their dark bodies. They have some unusual-seeming birthing and defense methods, and that forked tongue has some remarkable aspects as well.
