Spring's Wings
The delicate flutter of the butterfly marks the beginning of Spring -- and triggers a new season of passionate "hunting" among butterfly lovers. Richard Smith, Maryland's reigning expert on Lepidoptera -- the butterfly's scientific name -- travels the state with experts from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in search of species common and rare, with the hope of getting a fix on how Maryland's butterfly population is faring.

Song of the Season
It was 1987 -- the last time Marylanders were a captive audience to the droning summer song of the 17-year cicada. Emerging from their subterranean lairs only to stubbornly cling to bushes, trees and buildings, millions of visiting Cicadas left Marylanders with memorable legacies ranging from marvel to dread. In 2004, this brood of Cicadas will reappear in most of Maryland. Now, though, we know a lot more about these mysterious insects and their curious life cycle thanks to Cicada researcher John Zyla.

Jewels of the Forest
It is an avocation so fraught with potential peril that only a handful of them walk the Maryland woods. Wild mushroom hunters. Why do they do it? These fascinating and, many times -- poisonous -- native fungi are safe only in the hands of expert mushroom hunters, many of whom gather together in their occasional quest for these jewels of the forest.