Natural Selections

Think globally, write locally. This blog features essays excerpted from Wild Philly plus new and original writings on the environmental issues of the day. Natural Selections keeps you up-to-date on the nature and environment of the Philadelphia region.

Mike Weilbacher 2/26/25 Mike Weilbacher 2/26/25

The Crocus: Pioneer in the Spring Parade

The first wildflowers of spring are here!

Mike Weilbacher 2/12/24 Mike Weilbacher 2/12/24

The First Wildflower of Spring is Here!

Mike Weilbacher 11/14/23 Mike Weilbacher 11/14/23

Wild Turkeys: The Truth Behind the Bird

Mike Weilbacher 11/9/23 Mike Weilbacher 11/9/23

The First Thanksgiving Menu: Venison, Lobster, and... Passenger Pigeons?

Mike Weilbacher 10/12/23 Mike Weilbacher 10/12/23

Our Most Important Pollinator: the Bumble Bee

Mike Weilbacher 10/4/23 Mike Weilbacher 10/4/23

An Easy Way to Combat Climate Change: Meatless Mondays

Mike Weilbacher 9/21/23 Mike Weilbacher 9/21/23

Goldenrods in the Last Chance Cafe

Mike Weilbacher 9/14/23 Mike Weilbacher 9/14/23

Don’t Flush Our Forests Down the Toilet!

Mike Weilbacher 6/29/23 Mike Weilbacher 6/29/23

Sex and Surprise in a Firefly’s Flash

Mike Weilbacher 5/3/23 Mike Weilbacher 5/3/23

Jack-in-the-Pulpit: a Sequential Hermaphrodite

It’s May, wildflower season in Wild Philly, and one of the easiest to recognize spring wildflowers is Jack-in-the-pulpit, that tall, slender flower with a highly variable striped “pulpit” surrounding the long slender “Jack,” the minister standing to offer a sermon on the forest floor.

Mike Weilbacher 5/2/23 Mike Weilbacher 5/2/23

The Unraveling of the Red Knot

The red knot is one of the region’s most extraordinary birds, facing one of conservation's biggest threats, but sadly flies under the radar of too many people. Too few of us have heard of the knot, and fewer still know its story, which has a deep and ancient connection to another important animal, the horseshoe crab.