Dealing with insects in your Mexico house and garden
Did you know? The first scientific account of Lake Chapala comes from 1839
The first detailed scientific account of Lake Chapala was written by Henri Guillaume Galeotti. It was based on a visit to Chapala in February-March 1837. The article was published first in French in 18...
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Did you know? Mexico's vultures have very different eating habits.
Vultures (zopilotes in Spanish) are among the most conspicuous birds in many parts of Mexico. Commonly misidentified as eagles, these blackish scavengers can be seen almost anywhere, often in large flo...
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Where The Butterflies Are
Our two friends from AmSoc told Mary and me about going to see the Monarch butterflies. Every year the Monarchs migrate from Canada and the US to their winter home in central Mexico. As they migrate, s...
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Introduction to Michoacán - the soul of Mexico
Michoacán is unique and one-of-a-kind, the perfect fusion of Natural Beauty, Picturesque Towns, Art and Culture. To travel to Michoacán is to take a trip through the extraordinary history, culture and folklore of México. To journey to Michoacán is to discover and learn what is the soul of México.
read moreDid you know? Sheep and environmental damage in Mexico
Belive it or not, the introduction of sheep to Mexico had serious environmental consequences.
After the Conquest, Spanish settlers introduced numerous Old World species into the New World. The mos...
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Monarch Butterflies Tour - Mexico
Monarch Butterfly excursions -
Please note that Tony Burton is no longer organizing Monarch Butterfly excursions.
The area is well described in Tony's book on the region, " Western Mexico - A T...
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Did you know? Mexico is home to more than fifty hummingbird species
Who hasn’t been amazed by the acrobatic antics of hummingbirds? What stunt flyers! They are able to fly not only forwards, but backwards and even briefly upside-down. They can also hover for extended...
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Did You Know? "Tlacuaches" (opossums )
Tlacuaches (opossums) are short-lived but smarter than most people imagine...
Imagine "a monstrous beast with a snout like a fox, a tail like a marmoset, ears like a bat, hands like a man, and feet li...
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Did you know? Dinosaur bones in Mexico
Thousands of dinosaur bones have ben found in northern Mexico.
Bones literally litter the ground. Here's a femur; there's a tibia; vertebrae, ribs, skulls...
Dozens of dinosaurs, including the world'...
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Did You Know? Quetzal Dancers in Puebla, Mexico
The Quetzal Dance is one of the most colorful folkloric dances anywhere in the country. It is also thought to be one of the most ancient. Both the dance and the spectacular headdresses worn b...
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Butterflies by the million : the Monarchs of Michoacán
Every winter, more than one hundred million monarch butterflies fly into Mexico from the U.S. and Canada. On arrival they congregate in a dozen localities high in the temperate pine and fir forests of ...
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Did you know? Mexico has over thirty UNESCO-designated biosphere reserves
A surprising percentage of Mexico's land area is protected in one form or another. A very large number of sites of archaeological or historical importance are managed by the National Institute of Anthr...
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Monarch butterflies in Mexico
Early in 1980, exploring various off the beaten track areas of Mexico looking for potential geography fieldwork sites, one fateful Saturday morning found me standing in the main plaza of the small Mich...
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Did you know? Mexico's largest bird is the American White Pelican
The American White Pelican is Mexico's largest bird, while its relative the Brown Pelican is one of the most fun to watch.
White Pelicans on Lake Chapala;
photo: John Mitchell, Earth Images Foundat...
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Did You Know? Mexico is home to oldest indigenous American domesticated dog breed.
When someone mentions "dogs" and "Mexico" in the same sentence, most people think immediately of the cute Chihuahua, small in proportions and large in personality but commonly dismissed by lovers of larger dogs as a small and unimportant "toy" breed.
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Following The Monarch Butterfly To The Highlands Of Mexico Monarch Butterflies Tour
Following the Monarch Butterfly to the Highlands of Mexico
E. Pluribus Gehrlein.
The other side of the coin
First published in the Adirondack Mountain Sun, Volume 10, Number 19, Februa...
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Did You Know? Some national symbols in Mexico are not what they seem
This month, Mexico celebrates her birthday, the anniversary of her independence from Spain. On the evening of September 15, the annual El Grito ceremony is held in town plazas all across the cou...
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Honeybees: have they emigrated to Mexico?
There's been a big U.S. flap over the fact that honeybees seem to have gone missing. North Americans are becoming alarmed that, without pollination, foods such as almonds, apples, blueberries, peaches,...
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Adventurous Mexico - exploring Mexico's outdoors - climbing, hiking, camping, kayaking and more
Climbing Mexican mountains and volcanoes
Climbing Mexico's volcanoes
Pico de Orizaba (Citlateptl) 5700m 18,700ft
Popocatepl 5452m 17,887ft
Iztaccihuatl 5286m 17,342ft
A Mounta...
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Hike to a coffee plantation - San Blas, Nayarit
When tourists visit tropical Mexico, they are sometimes invited to visit a coffee plantation. My invitation came when I was camping with my family near Aticama, a small village on the Nayarit coast, 10...
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Eat, drink and be merry
Each year, in late March, the visitors from Mexico arrive in southern Canada. They knock lightly on all the windows to let me know of their return. I know that they expect a good breakfast, lunch and d...
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Baja communities play a key role in conservation
Those moments when you can spontaneously interact with a wild animal, one on one, in their environment - whether it's under the ocean, on a mountain, in the middle of the desert - are pretty special, life changing even.
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