As we celebrate the Halloween season, Rudy Mancke discusses the somber-looking mournful sphinx moth.

NatureNotes

Mournful sphinx moth

Rudy Mancke helps a listener in Myrtle Beach identify a metallic beetle they found.

Fig beetle

On today's NatureNotes, Rudy Mancke helps a listener identify a juvenile black racer. While adult snakes of this species are known for their black coloring, young ones can often be multi-colored.

Young black racer snake

Rudy Mancke discusses pollen season and its effects on both plants and animals.

Pollen

Rudy Mancke discusses the breakdown of a yellowjacket nest.

Yellowjackets

As the world marks All Souls Day and Día de Muertos, Rudy Mancke reflects on the important of death in the natural world and the circle of life.

Death and the circle of life

As we mark All Saints Day, Rudy Mancke discusses the harvest season and South Carolina's species of crabapples.

Crabapples

Happy Halloween! Today on NatureNotes, Rudy Mancke looks at Araneus marmoreus, the marbled orbweaver, which is sometimes called the "Halloween spider" due to the female's orange coloring.

Marbled orbweaver aka 'Halloween spider'

Rudy Mancke helps a listener identify an adolescent summer tanager.

Summer tanagers

Rudy Mancke discusses the hag moth and its larva commonly known as "monkey slugs."

Monkey slugs

Leisure

Naturalist Rudy Mancke, the late host of SCETV's long-running NatureScene, shared his knowledge of plants and wildlife for nearly 25 years on NatureNotes. These 1-minute snippets offer you a chance to find out about diverse topics having to do with the natural world. From the inner workings of our world's ecosystems to plants & animals unique to South Carolina, you'll learn more about the world around you on NatureNotes.