Grassland Groupies
@grasslandgroupies.bsky.social
Nonprofit dedicated to inspiring the conservation of grasslands through science literacy, curiosity, and fostering bonds between people and their grassland. Based in Wichita, Kansas.
Podcasts: The Best Biome, Filthy Animals (adult content)
Podcasts: The Best Biome, Filthy Animals (adult content)
Oct. 21 is Reptile Awareness Day, and while you are undoubtedly aware of reptiles, are you aware of THIS reptile? No, not Texas horned lizards, I mean THIS particular lizard. It emerged from a peanut M&M-sized egg to gobble ants on our grasslands. We're making you aware of it. You're welcome!
October 21, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Oct. 21 is Reptile Awareness Day, and while you are undoubtedly aware of reptiles, are you aware of THIS reptile? No, not Texas horned lizards, I mean THIS particular lizard. It emerged from a peanut M&M-sized egg to gobble ants on our grasslands. We're making you aware of it. You're welcome!
On the left, a healthy Xyrus grass. On the right, a fungal pseudoflower atop a hijacked plant hoping to lure in unsuspecting pollinators! 😱
This month's Best Biome brings you tales of vegetative body horror that will make your chlorophyll run cold.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
This month's Best Biome brings you tales of vegetative body horror that will make your chlorophyll run cold.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
October 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
On the left, a healthy Xyrus grass. On the right, a fungal pseudoflower atop a hijacked plant hoping to lure in unsuspecting pollinators! 😱
This month's Best Biome brings you tales of vegetative body horror that will make your chlorophyll run cold.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
This month's Best Biome brings you tales of vegetative body horror that will make your chlorophyll run cold.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
The Evergreen Library planting was a success! Our sincere thanks to the 20 helpers that came out to put 31 different native plant species in the ground. Although this library is known to house The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we expect the garden will absolutely thrive when it blooms next spring!
October 7, 2025 at 3:04 PM
The Evergreen Library planting was a success! Our sincere thanks to the 20 helpers that came out to put 31 different native plant species in the ground. Although this library is known to house The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we expect the garden will absolutely thrive when it blooms next spring!
In case you missed it, Nicole's celebration of rattlesnakes on Best Biome was short, sweet, and easy to digest. Just like... well, most things injected with rattler venom. 😌
Catch up now before next week's special Halloween episode drops!
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
Catch up now before next week's special Halloween episode drops!
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
October 2, 2025 at 5:02 PM
In case you missed it, Nicole's celebration of rattlesnakes on Best Biome was short, sweet, and easy to digest. Just like... well, most things injected with rattler venom. 😌
Catch up now before next week's special Halloween episode drops!
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
Catch up now before next week's special Halloween episode drops!
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
On their lecture at Ninnescah Biological Field Station this week, our Friends U. students flipped a number of boards in name of scientific inquiry, finding ringnecks, ribbonsnakes, and a prairie king. Shout out to Station Manager Dexter Mardis for demonstrating proper (and fearless) herp handling!
September 20, 2025 at 5:02 PM
On their lecture at Ninnescah Biological Field Station this week, our Friends U. students flipped a number of boards in name of scientific inquiry, finding ringnecks, ribbonsnakes, and a prairie king. Shout out to Station Manager Dexter Mardis for demonstrating proper (and fearless) herp handling!
Afraid of snakes? On this month's Best Biome, Nicole illustrates how our lovely grassland rattlesnakes have helped humanity more than they've ever harmed it (even offering the cure to some nasty diseases). Now TICKS? Ticks you should be afraid of.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
September 11, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Afraid of snakes? On this month's Best Biome, Nicole illustrates how our lovely grassland rattlesnakes have helped humanity more than they've ever harmed it (even offering the cure to some nasty diseases). Now TICKS? Ticks you should be afraid of.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
The GG's took their Friends University Grassland Ecology class on their first field lab this week! Sightings include: monarch cats prepping for the big trip, bees and beetles crossing paths on gumweed, a coffee-loving pyrausta moth that's maybe a bit undercaffeinated.
Reminder: go look at bugs.
Reminder: go look at bugs.
September 8, 2025 at 7:02 PM
The GG's took their Friends University Grassland Ecology class on their first field lab this week! Sightings include: monarch cats prepping for the big trip, bees and beetles crossing paths on gumweed, a coffee-loving pyrausta moth that's maybe a bit undercaffeinated.
Reminder: go look at bugs.
Reminder: go look at bugs.
Much like Maury Povich, scientists rely largely on egg testing to determine paternity in birds because they're very secretive with their extra-pair passions. The degree to which backyard birds are NOT the father of their broods is staggering.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/ (18+)
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/ (18+)
September 4, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Much like Maury Povich, scientists rely largely on egg testing to determine paternity in birds because they're very secretive with their extra-pair passions. The degree to which backyard birds are NOT the father of their broods is staggering.
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/ (18+)
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/ (18+)
One of the best parts about native gardening is taking the time to sit and watch nature use the space. Sometimes you get lucky enough to capture a bumblebee flying in and the perspective makes her look like a creature feature horror movie star. 🐝
September 1, 2025 at 8:31 PM
One of the best parts about native gardening is taking the time to sit and watch nature use the space. Sometimes you get lucky enough to capture a bumblebee flying in and the perspective makes her look like a creature feature horror movie star. 🐝
Did you know "cuckold", "cuckquean", and even "bigamy" are used as legitimate scientific terms in breeding biology? On this month's Filthy Animals, Rachel explores the complexities of animal infidelity, from birds to beetles. New ep out now! (18+)
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/
August 28, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Did you know "cuckold", "cuckquean", and even "bigamy" are used as legitimate scientific terms in breeding biology? On this month's Filthy Animals, Rachel explores the complexities of animal infidelity, from birds to beetles. New ep out now! (18+)
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/
https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/
American canebrake habitats may have gone the way of many of our world's grasslands, but they're far from extinct. This month's Best Biome takes a look at the people fighting to bring rivercane back. Listen now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
August 21, 2025 at 5:03 PM
American canebrake habitats may have gone the way of many of our world's grasslands, but they're far from extinct. This month's Best Biome takes a look at the people fighting to bring rivercane back. Listen now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
Not long ago, the eastern United States was populated with ample bamboo forests, where bison and elk plowed through the brush like elephants. Nicole tells us the story of America's rivercane ecosystems on this month's Best Biome, available now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
August 14, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Not long ago, the eastern United States was populated with ample bamboo forests, where bison and elk plowed through the brush like elephants. Nicole tells us the story of America's rivercane ecosystems on this month's Best Biome, available now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
Wildflowers captivate. For many like Fuller, the flowers made them pause, consider the prairie, and fall in love with it.
"O, this square mile of prairie is an intoxicant to the soul!" wrote William A. Quayle about his KS prairie.
Fall's eruption of plains wildflowers is here, asking us to pause.
"O, this square mile of prairie is an intoxicant to the soul!" wrote William A. Quayle about his KS prairie.
Fall's eruption of plains wildflowers is here, asking us to pause.
August 9, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Wildflowers captivate. For many like Fuller, the flowers made them pause, consider the prairie, and fall in love with it.
"O, this square mile of prairie is an intoxicant to the soul!" wrote William A. Quayle about his KS prairie.
Fall's eruption of plains wildflowers is here, asking us to pause.
"O, this square mile of prairie is an intoxicant to the soul!" wrote William A. Quayle about his KS prairie.
Fall's eruption of plains wildflowers is here, asking us to pause.
"I enjoyed a sort of fairyland exultation never felt before, and the first drive amid the flowers gave me anticipation of the beauty of the prairies." - Margaret Fuller
I stumbled on a used copy of "The Tallgrass Prairie Reader," whose written accounts of the prairie obviously came home with me. 🧪📗
I stumbled on a used copy of "The Tallgrass Prairie Reader," whose written accounts of the prairie obviously came home with me. 🧪📗
August 9, 2025 at 5:27 PM
"I enjoyed a sort of fairyland exultation never felt before, and the first drive amid the flowers gave me anticipation of the beauty of the prairies." - Margaret Fuller
I stumbled on a used copy of "The Tallgrass Prairie Reader," whose written accounts of the prairie obviously came home with me. 🧪📗
I stumbled on a used copy of "The Tallgrass Prairie Reader," whose written accounts of the prairie obviously came home with me. 🧪📗
Dear scientists: As science communicators, we love sharing your work, jargon and all.
ICYMI, be sure to catch Nicole's fantastic deep-dive on tegus. New Best Biome drops next Thursday! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
ICYMI, be sure to catch Nicole's fantastic deep-dive on tegus. New Best Biome drops next Thursday! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
July 31, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Dear scientists: As science communicators, we love sharing your work, jargon and all.
ICYMI, be sure to catch Nicole's fantastic deep-dive on tegus. New Best Biome drops next Thursday! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
ICYMI, be sure to catch Nicole's fantastic deep-dive on tegus. New Best Biome drops next Thursday! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/the-best-biome/
Way more bee species were visiting that day, but I'll stop myself here. Thanks for checking out the bees, and as a bonus, here's a little guy I haven't identified. Anybody know who she is???
July 28, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Way more bee species were visiting that day, but I'll stop myself here. Thanks for checking out the bees, and as a bonus, here's a little guy I haven't identified. Anybody know who she is???
Finally, a good old-fashioned bumble bee. Brown-belted Bumble Bee, based on the Great Plains Bumble Bee Atlas, because that second abdominal thorax is crescent-shaped with a rusty swoop. FULL pollen baskets on that fella's legs. What a cutie.
July 28, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Finally, a good old-fashioned bumble bee. Brown-belted Bumble Bee, based on the Great Plains Bumble Bee Atlas, because that second abdominal thorax is crescent-shaped with a rusty swoop. FULL pollen baskets on that fella's legs. What a cutie.
TINY BEE ROUND: "tiny dark bee" and "green sweat bee" groups. That tiny little bee is ZOOMing, and she's probably a small carpenter bee. Then there's the itty bitty green, metallic sweat bee just doused in poppy mallow pollen. The purple poppy mallow neighbors the bee balm, and I had to include it.
July 28, 2025 at 1:20 AM
TINY BEE ROUND: "tiny dark bee" and "green sweat bee" groups. That tiny little bee is ZOOMing, and she's probably a small carpenter bee. Then there's the itty bitty green, metallic sweat bee just doused in poppy mallow pollen. The purple poppy mallow neighbors the bee balm, and I had to include it.
This bee's long antennae caught my eye. They're thick and long, curling over its head. And that glassy eyeball! He's a member of the "Chap Leg Bees" group, probably a Long-horned bee (Melissodes) of some sort.
July 28, 2025 at 1:20 AM
This bee's long antennae caught my eye. They're thick and long, curling over its head. And that glassy eyeball! He's a member of the "Chap Leg Bees" group, probably a Long-horned bee (Melissodes) of some sort.
The Eastern Carpenter Bees are so huge compared to the other bees that they are hard to miss. Look at that big head and the shiny abdomen.
July 28, 2025 at 1:20 AM
The Eastern Carpenter Bees are so huge compared to the other bees that they are hard to miss. Look at that big head and the shiny abdomen.
It's crazy how much bee diversity one urban garden can see! This garden of #nativeplants our Bee City Wichita team installed a year ago exploded with bee balm recently. Let's use Xerces' Bee Monitoring Tools to meet some of them. @xercessociety.bsky.social
July 28, 2025 at 1:20 AM
It's crazy how much bee diversity one urban garden can see! This garden of #nativeplants our Bee City Wichita team installed a year ago exploded with bee balm recently. Let's use Xerces' Bee Monitoring Tools to meet some of them. @xercessociety.bsky.social
This month on Filthy Animals, Nicole explains the nature of sexually transmissible cancer, a disease so strange it may have given one good boy a scooch of immortality. Listen now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/
July 24, 2025 at 5:03 PM
This month on Filthy Animals, Nicole explains the nature of sexually transmissible cancer, a disease so strange it may have given one good boy a scooch of immortality. Listen now! https://www.grasslandgroupies.org/filthy-animals/
Nature journal with us this Sunday!
When we journaled last month, you said it felt nice to sit and stay a while, to notice the small things, to feel connected to nature. Experiencing wonder and creativity is a failproof way to bust burnout and recharge, and boy do we need that.
Swanson Park, 9am.
When we journaled last month, you said it felt nice to sit and stay a while, to notice the small things, to feel connected to nature. Experiencing wonder and creativity is a failproof way to bust burnout and recharge, and boy do we need that.
Swanson Park, 9am.
July 17, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Nature journal with us this Sunday!
When we journaled last month, you said it felt nice to sit and stay a while, to notice the small things, to feel connected to nature. Experiencing wonder and creativity is a failproof way to bust burnout and recharge, and boy do we need that.
Swanson Park, 9am.
When we journaled last month, you said it felt nice to sit and stay a while, to notice the small things, to feel connected to nature. Experiencing wonder and creativity is a failproof way to bust burnout and recharge, and boy do we need that.
Swanson Park, 9am.
The senate’s version of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" reintroduces provisions that enable the largest sale of national public land in history. Public backlash to the House version of this selloff worked. Our immediate action is required. Contact your senators. More: http://bit.ly/4kaQer0
June 24, 2025 at 11:02 PM
The senate’s version of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" reintroduces provisions that enable the largest sale of national public land in history. Public backlash to the House version of this selloff worked. Our immediate action is required. Contact your senators. More: http://bit.ly/4kaQer0
Nature journal with us this Sunday for Pride Outside!
Bring a journal, something to sketch with, and a friend. No skill required. We'll sit down with nature & community, and spend time observing deeply through sketches. Meet @ the Sedgwick Co. Extension Office, back corner of the parking lot, 8am.
Bring a journal, something to sketch with, and a friend. No skill required. We'll sit down with nature & community, and spend time observing deeply through sketches. Meet @ the Sedgwick Co. Extension Office, back corner of the parking lot, 8am.
June 20, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Nature journal with us this Sunday for Pride Outside!
Bring a journal, something to sketch with, and a friend. No skill required. We'll sit down with nature & community, and spend time observing deeply through sketches. Meet @ the Sedgwick Co. Extension Office, back corner of the parking lot, 8am.
Bring a journal, something to sketch with, and a friend. No skill required. We'll sit down with nature & community, and spend time observing deeply through sketches. Meet @ the Sedgwick Co. Extension Office, back corner of the parking lot, 8am.