Grasshoppers mob a streetlight just a few blocks from the Las Vegas Strip, on July 26. Credit: Bridget Bennett/AFP/Getty Here are five words you definitely don’t want to hear: “It’s not snowing. It’s grasshoppers.” But over the past few days, that’s been the nightmarish scene in Las Vegas. The city’s […]
Bees pollinate many essential crops and are vital for fruit-growers AFP Large areas of central and southern Russia have seen a major decline in their bee populations in recent months. The head of the Russian beekeepers’ union, Arnold Butov, said 20 regions had reported mass bee deaths. The affected regions […]
Travelling at speeds of up to 30mph, the painted lady butterfly migrates 7,500 miles a year BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION/PA A potential mass influx of butterflies to the UK has led to calls for volunteers to help count them. The painted lady butterfly commonly flies to the UK during the summer months, […]
The caterpillars form big clumps and nests on oak trees GETTY IMAGES Germany and the Netherlands are battling many infestations of oak processionary caterpillars, whose tiny toxic hairs can trigger allergic reactions and skin irritation. The mild winter and warm spring this year boosted caterpillar numbers. In Louvain, Belgium, firefighters […]
Yellow jackets built this “super nest” that’s hanging off the roof of this house. Credit: Charles Ray Yellow jackets in Alabama may be in the midst of a colossal craze; they’re making humongous “super nests” that can house 15,000 worker wasps, according to an entomologist there. That’s three to four […]
GETTY IMAGES Scientists have put together a map of the UK’s wasp population, showing the distribution of key species. Data recorded by volunteers gives an insight into where wasps are living in the nation’s grasslands, woodlands and towns. The researchers say wasps are a much maligned insect, which deserve more […]
A single female Wallace’s giant bee was found CLAY BOLT The world’s biggest bee has been re-discovered, after decades thought lost to science. The giant bee – which is as long as an adult’s thumb – was found on a little-explored Indonesian island. After days of searching, wildlife experts found […]
To help draw bees’ attention, flowers that are pollinated by bees have typically evolved to send very strong colour signals. Shutterstock Walking through our gardens in Australia, we may not realise that buzzing around us is one of our greatest natural resources. Bees are responsible for pollinating about a third […]
Beekeepers are struggling to adapt their hives to the use of dicamba, a pesticide that kills many of the flowering plants that bees depend on. DANIEL SCHOENEN/GETTY IMAGES This story originally appeared on Revealand is part of the Climate Deskcollaboration. It was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, […]
RICHARD DUEBEL Chestnuts are increasingly used as a form of replacement protein in vegan and vegetarian diets. But a small, invasive wasp from China is threatening the chestnut harvest in Spain. Now government scientists are considering releasing another non-native insect into the environment to keep the wasp population under control. […]