Ed Rood Nature Photo: Feathering her nest A female ruby-throated hummingbird stuffs the lining of her nest with the cottony seeds from a cottonwood tree. Female hummingbirds make their nests from soft material, such as moss, lichen, dryer lint and soft plant material, and they use spider webs to knit it together. Hummingbirds craft their nests so they will blend in with the surroundings, and females lay one to three eggs, which take 12 ...
July 12, 2013 - The Ames Tribune
Cotton on your trees? An interesting pest is infesting trees in the area, covering them with tiny puffs of cotton. It is cottony maple scale. This insect creates egg sacks that look like ¼- to ½-inch long balls of cotton on the trees. When there are heavy infestations, whole branches may be covered in white.
July 9, 2013 - The Record-Courier