If you’ve visited a river or a lake recently, you might have seen some insects in the water. If you took a second look, you might have noticed that some bugs sit on the water. How does that happen?! See for yourself with this experiment.

Illinois is home to many interesting and diverse critters that fly, crawl, swim and walk through our rivers, forests and prairies. But do you know which were chosen to represent the state?

What looks like a lizard but isn't? A salamander. Although salamanders share some physical characteristics with lizards, they have plenty of differences. They aren't even closely related.

Birds migrate, bats migrate, creatures of the oceans migrate, but did you know insects also migrate? Not all insects migrate, but a few of our local species head south for winter.

Creepy-crawly earwigs have a bad reputation. Their name alone can give you the heebie-jeebies! Earwigs? Why are they called earwigs? Surely because they love crawling in small cavities ... like human ears! Luckily, that's not the case. They are actually named for the shape of their wings.

Monee Reservoir is among the most popular Will County preserves. It’s a great place to spend some time fishing or out on the water in a boat. As popular as it may be, it doesn’t get much attention as a hiking destination. It's a great place for a family hike in any season.

When we think about rodents, we usually think first of small creatures, but not all rodents are small. A squirrel is a rodent, and they are certainly larger than mice and gerbils. Muskrats are rodents too. Even beavers are rodents, but they aren't the largest rodent of all. That title goes to the capybara, a curious looking animal that can grow to be twice the size of a beaver!

A person sitting at a table holding up two 2-liter soda bottles connected at their openings to form a tornado model.