Published On Thu Dec 3 2009

CHICAGO–Fears that voracious carp will enter the Great Lakes and wipe out other fish have led to demands that the government close the waterway linking the lakes to the Mississippi River, an unprecedented step that could disrupt the movement of millions of tonnes of iron ore, coal, grain and other goods.

Lisa Bendall found these mystery slugs near her Etobicoke home.

LISA BENDALL PHOTO

After Lisa Bendall and her daughter spotted some unusually coloured slugs while walking to school one day, they launched an investigation that has the world of amateur and professional malacologists (that's slug- and snail-watchers to you and me) scratching their heads. "We were in awe," says Bendall, a freelance writer, of the pumpkin-coloured things, which are 10 centimetres long when extended. But she and 10-year-old Emily didn't realize how rare the slugs actually are.

Jesse McLean, Toronto Star staff reporter

Brett James brought the mother of all show-and-tell novelties to his Yorkville office Wednesday: a black widow spider he found in his fridge.

The public affairs consultant was fetching U.S. red grapes from his crisper the night before when he spotted the dime-sized invader.

Using a paper towel, he scooped up the arachnid, which had gone dormant in the fridge's chill, and placed it in a plastic container. Some research on his computer confirmed the spider's identity through the red hourglass marking on its belly.

A `huge surprise' to monarch researchers

Sep 25, 2009 04:30 AM

Joseph Hall, Health Reporter

Monarch butterflies reach out for the sun with their antennae to navigate their miraculous, pinpoint migrations to and from Mexico, a new study has discovered.

"It was a huge surprise," says Dr. Steven Reppert, a University of Massachusetts neurobiologist and senior study author, of the finding.

"We thought we had it nailed," he says of the previous theory – that the butterfly's brain provided its sense of direction.