Airport sues to dismiss lawsuit protecting Bell Bowl Prairie. Bee Better Certified gets more funding. Plus a pair of stories about transparent butterflies.
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Conservation
Photo: Cassi Saari
Rockford Airport sues to dismiss lawsuit halting destruction of Bell Bowl Prairie
(WTTW) The Greater Rockford Airport Authority has filed a motion in U.S. District Court to dismiss a lawsuit blocking the airport’s planned expansion of its cargo operations, which would destroy a rare five-acre high-quality remnant prairie in the process. In the newly filed motion, the airport authority, along with the airport’s board of commissioners and Executive Director Michael Dunn argue that Natural Land Institute, long time stewards of Bell Bowl Prairie, had no standing to sue in the first place. Bell Bowl Prairie, is located within the airport’s boundaries. The $50 million expansion project calls for construction of a new road that would slice through the prairie, which is home to a number of threatened plant species, as well as the federal endangered rusty patched bumble bee.
How are these oblong woolcarder bees entering British Columbia?
(Twitter, Dr. Cory Silas Sheffield @CorySilas) “Another #introducedspecies in #BritishColumbia, Anthidium oblongatum, first reported on @inaturalist from 2020, these from 2021 and all from Vancouver area; coming in from east or recent introduction to western coast?”
Map of transparent butterflies highlights biodiversity hotspot in the Andes Mountains
(ScienceDaily, Florida Museum of Natural History) In a new study, researchers created the most detailed distribution map to date of butterflies in the American tropics, showing that areas of highest diversity coincide with regions most threatened by deforestation and development. The study specifically focused on Ithomiini, or glasswing butterflies, a large group with nearly 400 species that occur throughout much of Central and South America. Their ubiquity may make them a good indicator for the fate of other insects in the region.
Survey input will help design seed mixtures for European bees
(Twitter, Pollinators @ScotPollinators) “The University of Freiburg and @LornaCTweets would like your help (in Scotland) with a survey. 31 questions have been devised to help in the process of designing flower mixtures that help ensure a balanced diet for wild bees.”
Economics
Photo: Xerces Society, Jennifer Hopwood
Bee Better Certified gets second round of funding from USDA
(Xerces Society) “As of this past month, the Conservation Innovation Grants program at the USDA awarded Bee Better Certified a second round of funding of $2.5 million to help communicate the stacked environmental benefits of our on-farm certification.”
(Twitter, National Agricultural Statistics Service @usda_nass) “Look out for the 2021 Bee and Honey Inquiry... Survey information will allow beekeepers to analyze data on a state-by-state basis and monitor changes in honey production and value.”
Policy/Law
Photo: Marjolein Toonen
Local bee initiative mowed down by Dutch municipality
(DutchNews) Local nature-lovers and the Amsterdam branch of the pro-animal PvdD have raised concerns after a special ‘bee line’ of flowers was mown away by a council contractor. PvdD councillor Anke Bakker is concerned because the area where residents had planted wild flowers to encourage bees was flattened less than a week after the council itself had placed a sign asking for it to be left alone. “The municipality seems to be completely mired in bureaucracy. If things aren’t right in the computer, things go wrong in practice.”
After a long wait, California butterfly gets protections
(E&E News) It took repeated litigation and years of fluttering around a decision, but the Fish and Wildlife Service today announced Endangered Species Act protections for California’s Hermes copper butterfly. The agency’s final rule lists the butterfly as threatened and designates about 35,027 acres in San Diego County as critical habitat. Conditions associated with climate change get some of the blame for the insect’s vulnerability.
Lithium mine company rips its own research in endangered species fight
(E&E News) A mining company seeking to build a massive open-pit lithium mine in western Nevada put up around a quarter of a million dollars, hoping to prove it could safely move a rare wildflower called Tiehm’s buckwheat out of the mine’s path. Instead it wound up paying for research that could give the federal government the science it needs to protect the flower under the Endangered Species Act. The primary pollinator visitors to Tiehm's buckwheat include wasps, beetles, and flies.
Science
Photo: USGS Bee Inventory Monitoring Lab, Elizabeth Panner
Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification of the mining bee family Andrenidae
(Twitter, Silas Bossert @thecriticalbee) “The first comprehensive phylogenomic study of the mining #bees #Andrenidae... We study the #NaturalHistory of a major group of #Pollinators, their #Diversification, #Biogeography, #DivergenceTimes, and #Taxonomy. This is museum/collections based research...” Original paper
CropPol, a dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination
(Twitter, iBartomeus @ibartomeus) “This is one of the largest efforts we made to move to a more open data culture in pollination ecology” Original paper
How transparency in butterflies and moths helps ward off predators
(ScienceDaily, eLife) Transparent wing patches may do more than allow butterflies and moths to hide – they may also warn predators to leave them alone, suggests a new study.
From burglars to bugs: Anti-theft dye shows promise for insect-tracking studies
(Entomology Today) A fluorescent dye designed for use as an anti-theft tool and aid in forensic criminal investigations also works well for marking insects in mark-release-recapture efforts, a new study shows.
Society/Culture
The alien beauty and creepy fascination of insect art
(Knowable Magazine) Through history and across cultures, insects have inspired artists and challenged viewers to shift their perspective.
One More Thing…
From Joseph J. Bailey @josephjbailey via Twitter. “I’m so glad that I just mistyped a URL. The @BritishEcolSoc may have the best ‘404 Not Found’ page ever...”