Worldwide, dead and decaying wood releases roughly 10.9 gigatons of carbon every year. This is roughly 115% of annual fossil fuel emissions, a new study shows. The research, published in Nature, is the first time that researchers have been able to quantify the contribution of deadwood to the global carbon cycle. “Until now, little has […]
By Kristine Grayson The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a deceptively attractive metallic-green adult beetle with a red abdomen. But few people ever actually see the insect itself – just the trail of destruction it leaves behind under the bark of ash trees. These insects, which are native to Asia and Russia, were first […]
Scientists have grown increasingly alarmed about the decline in insect populations worldwide. While some causes — like pesticide use, habitat loss and the climate crisis — are clear, other potential factors, like artificial light at night (ALAN), are more nebulous. Now, researchers writing in Science Advances Wednesday told BBC News they have found the strongest […]
It is clear that the world’s pollinators are under threat. A 2019 study found that almost half of all insects have disappeared since 1970 and 41 percent of insect species are at risk of extinction. Further, one in six bee species have gone locally extinct in at least one area, as AFP pointed out. But […]
By Frank A. Hale The spotted lanternfly was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to 26 counties in that state and at least six other eastern states. It’s moving into southern New England, Ohio and Indiana. This approximately 1-inch-long species from Asia has attractive polka-dotted front wings but can infest and […]
The synchronous display of the Photinus carolinus firefly is so mesmerizing that it draws more than 12,000 visitors a year to one of the species’ chief staging grounds in the Elkmont, Tennessee section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But despite the event’s popularity, many questions remain about how and why the fireflies are able […]
The hot, dry weather baking the U.S. West is causing another problem for the beleaguered region: an overabundance of grasshoppers. The crop-devouring insects are native to the region, and normally their population is too small to cause alarm, The Guardian explained. But warmer, drier winters beginning in 2020 created the ideal conditions for more of […]
In Germany, hope is growing for wild bees and insects. Surprisingly, it’s taking root in the country’s large urban cities, thanks to wildflower meadows being planted precisely to reverse precipitous declines in insect populations. Insects around the world are in danger. A 2020 study published in Science estimated that global bug populations are down 25 […]
In the Great Smoky Mountains, people are traveling and waiting until dusk to get a glimpse of what some have claimed is a life-changing experience: watching a rare, synchronous firefly light show. “I thought it was a somewhat life-changing event,” Rocky Fork park manager Tim Pharis said to WJHL. “I wait all year long for […]
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