U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

When you picture fish sampling, you might think of nets or electrofishing. Light traps are less familiar gear. Light traps are deployed by our biologists in backwater areas and small tributaries that could serve as nursery habitats for larval fish. Each trap is outfitted with a green LED light. Like insects at your porch light, plankton, small fishes, and aquatic invertebrates will be attracted and enter the trap overnight. The Oklahoma Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office is currently using light trapping to determine whether bighead and silver carp are successfully spawning in the Red River system in TX and OK. Thank goodness for good microscopes and genetics tests to help us identify these little eyelash-sized fishes! Photos: USFWS

Get to know three West Coast pikeminnows: Sacramento, Umpqua, and Northern! Our latest podcast episode of "Fish of the Week!" compliments our Colorado Pikeminnow episode from season 3. Our guest, Stewart Reid, specializes in the biology and stewardship of Western fishes. Tune in at https://lnkd.in/eMa_GYrn, Apple podcasts, or wherever else you listen (just search "Fish of the Week!"). 🎧 A Northern Pikeminnow. 📷 Nicholas Bott #AllTheFish 🐟

Exciting news! We are thrilled to announce $48.4 million in grants through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. This will be matched by more than $27.75 million in partner funds. This critical funding will aid in the conservation and permanent protection of over 23,000 acres of habitat, providing a safe haven for 80 listed and at-risk species across 19 states and Guam. Get the full story here: https://ow.ly/KJsV50SuxSC Photo of Indiana bats by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS

Mama wood duck and her twelve ducklings. That's it. That's the post. Have a great weekend! 🎆 Video of wood ducks swimming at Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge by USFWS

WATCH: Gopher snake emerges from the tall grasses, probing the air with its tongue before silently slithering away. The gopher snake, as the name suggests, is known for hunting small mammals like rats and rabbits. They will also eat birds, bird eggs, lizards and insects. When threatened, gopher snakes are known to coil up and do their best to mimic a rattlesnake; but there is no rattle and they are nonvenomous. This snake was spotted at McNary National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Washington, near the confluence of the mighty Columbia and Snake rivers. USFWS video: Lamont Glass Video description: Camera at ground level sees long, tan snake head emerge from tall grasses; it pauses, taking some air samples, then moves away to the right showing its pattern of dark blotches.

We believe it was the great poet Rihanna who once sang, "Beautiful like fireworks in the sky," or something like that. Was she singing about fireflies? Probably. Ok, where were we? Ah yes, happy 4th of July everyone! We're nature nerds, so fireworks for us is the show put on by the synchronous fireflies. Also called lightning bugs, these glowing wonders are a type of beetle. There are only a few species of firefly in North America whose individuals are known to synchronize their flashing light patterns. Photinus carolinus is a variety of synchronous firefly that will sync up their bioluminescence to put on a dazzling display in early summer. Primarily found in Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Pennsylvania, this species of firefly will produce a flash pattern that is a series of 5-8 flashes, followed by a pause of about 8 seconds. This pattern is then repeated. Initially, the flashing appears random, but the period of darkness is synchronized. Scientists studying the synchronous firefly have determined that the males flash in unison as a way for the female to be certain she is responding to one of her species. As more males start joining in, the flashing will also begin to synchronize, and entire sections of the forest will pulsate with light! Photo at Great Smoky Mountain National Park by David Caldwell (sharetheexperience)

Hope your day is filled with plenty of red, white and blue. Happy 4th of July! Photos of northern cardinal, snow bunting and mountain bluebird by USFWS.

Do you have a strong passion for assessing property values and creating more opportunities for outdoor recreation focused on wildlife? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently seeking a Supervisory Review Appraiser! In this position you'll be overseeing a team of appraisers who determine the value of real estate for land conservation projects to expand public hunting, fishing, and wildlife-viewing opportunities for the public. It's perfect for someone who is detail-oriented and has a great deal of experience with real property valuation. Plus, you'd get to play a crucial role protecting amazing places for wildlife and the public. Check it out on USA Jobs at https://ow.ly/aFEU50SuSWS Photo of pronghorn buck in the sage-steppe's fall colors by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Milkweed check! 🌱🔍 How is your milkweed doing? Have you spotted any monarch eggs, caterpillars or butterflies? We found this common milkweed absolutely loaded with caterpillars! Look closely and you'll find all six. 📷 Courtney Celley/USFWS

A back full of babies, a profusion of progeny, a surfeit of scorplings. Scorpling is the word for baby scorpions! Scorpion moms give birth to live babies, which are born with soft exoskeletons. They ride on their mother’s back until their first molt, when their exoskeletons harden enough to help keep them safe. This striped bark scorpion is raising her babies in the pollinator garden at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge near Austin, TX. Photo: Janet Rogal