Rudy Mancke
HostRudy Mancke served as naturalist and co-host of South Carolina ETV's NatureScene, which began its long run in 1978. His field trips, broadcast nationwide, earned him a legion of dedicated viewers. Rudy's knowledge of the complex inner-workings of different ecosystems and his great admiration for the natural world make him the perfect guide. In fact, the National Wildlife Federation and the Garden Club of America honored his commitment to resource conservation with special awards. After retiring from SCETV, Rudy went on to become naturalist-in-residence at the University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Before his work in public broadcasting, Rudy served as the natural history curator at the South Carolina State Museum for 10 years, and was a high school biology and geology teacher. He earned a degree at Wofford College, attended graduate school at the University of South Carolina, and received honorary doctorate degrees from the College of Charleston, Winthrop College, and Wofford College.
He hosted SC Public Radio's NatureNotes from 1999 until his death in 2023 at age 78.
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Listeners hear something that goes bump in the night, but Rudy Mancke says it's just a long-horned boring beetle.
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On today's NatureNotes, Rudy Mancke reflects on a quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The American Notebooks."
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On today's NatureNotes, Rudy Mancke reflects on a quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The American Notebooks."
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Rudy Mancke helps a listener who found a discarded eastern box turtle shell on their deck.
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Rudy Mancke helps a listener who found a discarded eastern box turtle shell on their deck.
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The caterpillar of Antheraea polyphemus, the polyhpemus moth, is known for its bright green coloration.
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Hemidactylus turcicus, the Mediterranean house gecko, is a species of house gecko common to the Mediterranean area which has spread to many parts of the world.
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Nursery web spiders are so named because females of the species build tent-like webs to house their egg sacs as their young are about to hatch.
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Eumorpha pandorus, the Pandorus sphinx moth, is known for its dark markings and narrow wings.
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Neoconocephalus bivocatus, the robust conehead katydid, is one of several katydid species found in South Carolina. It is known for its distinctive head shape and loud, harsh song.