‘Injurious weeds’ benefit pollinators more than official plants. Amazon’s canopy contains a dazzling multiverse for insects. U.S. set to extend use of toxic pesticides.
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Conservation
Photo: Brian Brown, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
For insects, the Amazon’s canopy contains a dazzling multiverse
(National Geographic) A new study finds that high in rainforest trees, insects live in ecosystems that vary wildly from the forest floor on up. Iridescent orchid bees are among the multitude of insects that entomologists have collected. “I thought, my God, this is like someone’s discovered another continent!”
(ABC News) Recent research has found that imported European bees widely used in Australia for honey production, agriculture and backyard hives may be putting native bees at risk. Researchers said the introduced species competed with native bees for food. “We should manage honey bees in a sustainable way so that they don’t end up out-competing and causing local or even global extinctions of any native bee species.” Commercial beekeepers disagree. “We don’t really actively take steps to protect native bees, because in my opinion, I don’t think there really is any direct level of competition between European honey bees and native bees.”
The loss of insects is an apocalypse worth worrying about
(Vox) When European colonists first brought cattle and horses to Australia in the late 1700s, they learned a foul-smelling lesson about how useful certain species of beetles could be. As the hoofed animals ate and defecated, manure began piling up across the continent. Without any European dung beetles to break it down, the cow dung in Australia had nowhere to go. “There are lots of tiny little things in this world that hold aloft everything that we value.”
Spring is starting sooner and growing warmer in U.S.
(Yale Environment 360) Spring is beginning sooner in the United States, with 97% of 242 locations across the country experiencing temperature increases since 1970, according to a new analysis. The shift in the start of spring can have consequences for plants and animals, such as migratory birds, which may arrive too early or too late to their breeding grounds.
Economics
Photo: Colin Purrington
Houdini fly alert for owners of mason bee hotels
(Colin Purrington) “If you have an insect hotel, you should check your mason bee nests for Houdini flies (Cacoxenus indagator) before the season starts. These non-native flies consume the pollen inside mason bee nests, causing the bee larvae to starve to death. They are very easy to get rid if have nesting tubes that can be taken apart.”
Apimondia 2022 will move venue from Russia
(Twitter, Apimondia @apimondia) “The Apimondia Executive Council voted unanimously to cancel Apimondia 2022 that was due to be hosted in Ufa, Russia. We are looking into finding an alternative venue in Europe for the Congress to take place this year.”
Policy/Law
Photo: Robin Loznak, Zuma, Rex, Shutterstock
U.S. set to extend use of toxic pesticides that paralyze insects
(The Guardian) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is poised to allow the use of four of the most devastating chemicals to bees, butterflies and other insects to continue in America for the next 15 years, despite moves by the European Union to ban the use of toxins that have been blamed for widespread insect declines. The EPA is widely expected to confirm a proposed plan outlined last year that will extend the use of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin and dinotefuran on U.S. farmland for the next 15 years, even though the agency has noted “ecological risks of concern, particularly to pollinators and aquatic invertebrates”.
U.S. lawmakers release 2022 federal spending deal that falls short on environmental spending
(E&E) The Interior Department would see its funding rise, but the omnibus falls well short of the billions of dollars Democrats wanted for more robust conservation efforts and launching a Civilian Climate Corps. The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management would receive $1.41 billion, about $101 million above current spending. The bill would include increased dollars for several conservation efforts, including $78 million for sage grouse conservation and $31 million for threatened and endangered species.
(Center for Biological Diversity) Because of inflation, the bill’s modest increases to agency budgets are in fact a cut in real dollars from the previous year. The Environmental Protection Agency received an increase of just 3% – far less than President Biden’s request, which would have addressed a decade of spending cuts by Republicans. The Department of the Interior received a nearly 5% increase, which is hundreds of millions less than what the president requested. Funding for endangered species would be left virtually unchanged, with funding for the recovery of the nation’s 1,800 endangered species increasing just $3 million, or $1,600 per species. Funding to address the 400 species still waiting for protection would remain frozen at last year’s level. A rider to prevent the listing of the sage grouse remains for another year even as the bird continues its slide towards extinction.
Pesticide spraying company found liable for pesticide drifts
(AP) A Northern California pesticide spraying company was negligent on at least five occasions its helicopter pilots allowed the toxic chemicals to drift onto neighboring orchards, children playing soccer and a woman standing in her backyard, a judge ruled.
Schools around Ireland aim to Save The Bees as new campaign launches
(Trinity College Dublin) Ireland’s Minister for Rural and Community Development has launched the Save The Bees Campaign in partnership with the All-Ireland Pollinator plan and SuperValu TidyTowns. All 3,241 primary schools in Ireland will be sent a SuperValu Save the Bees Pollinator Pack so they can create their own bee-friendly garden. They contain guidebooks, posters and bookmarks in addition to a pollinator-friendly garden kit with flower seeds and a garden sign.
Austin to become a ‘Bee City USA’ affiliate
(KXAN) The city council of Austin, Texas, unanimously voted to designate the city as a Bee City USA affiliate. The designation means staff members will work to improve bee pollinator habitats and educate the community about the importance of these pollinators.
Science
Photo: Allan Burrows
Research demonstrates the value ‘injurious weeds’ can bring to both pollinators and biodiversity
(British Ecological Society) Researchers compared the biodiversity value of plants classified as “injurious weeds” with those stipulated by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for pollinator targeted agri-environmental options, such as red clover and wild marjoram. Their findings show that the abundance and diversity of pollinators visiting weed species are far higher than DEFRA recommended plants.
Crop diversity alone not correlated with pollinator diversity
(Twitter, Carlos Martínez Núñez @Carlos_marnu) “Crop diversity does not contribute importantly to support rich pollinator communities in agricultural landscapes.” Original paper
Practical methods for assessing insect pollination services provided by sites
(Prof. Jeff Ollerton) “In September 2016, along with 11 other pollinator & pollination scientists, I took part in a two-day workshop held at the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge. The aim was to develop a range of simple, practical methods to enable the valuation of insect pollination services to agricultural crops that are provided by a nature reserves or other natural or semi-natural habitats, for TESSA – the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-Based Assessments... the paper outlining the methods that we developed has been published. It’s open-access and downloadable for free.”
Smokies visitors asked to record plants, animals for science
(AP) Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the U.S. and its nonprofit science research partner, Discover Life in America, need the public’s help with their Smokies Most Wanted program. The initiative allows visitors to help preserve park species by recording sightings on their smartphones using the iNaturalist app.
Society/Culture
Photo: KSNV
‘Mystery droplets’ in east Las Vegas neighborhood identified as bee poop
(KSNV) “Mystery droplets” found in an east Las Vegas neighborhood have been identified, and the culprit is un-bee-lievable. The Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability says samples were collected and sent to a lab for full analysis. Recently the lab returned the results, which found the samples contained pollen grains and multiple species of plants. “Based on content and deposition of the material on surfaces, the samples are identified as bee frass,” the report stated.
New show explores how Texas ‘Bee Czar’ is working to save honey bees one hive at a time
(People) Walter “Bee Czar” Schumacher runs The American Honeybee Protection Agency, a nonprofit that rescues unwanted honey bee hives and relocates them to safe areas.
Technology
Image: Elena Lacey; Getty Images
What will replace insects when they’re gone?
(Wired) The collapse of insect populations could unravel ecosystems. Scientists wonder if robots and drones could fill the gap.
One More Thing…
“How many little bits of paper does it take to #collage an Ashy Mining Bee?” From Marian Hill @hill_marian via Twitter.