This crafty upcycling project converts K-Cups into bubbling fountains that are magnetic to these charming creatures. You'll need a solar pump kit, a straw, a plastic shoebox, glue, scissors, skewers, and a soldering iron to put the project together.
A study by researchers at the University of California Berkeley has found that ethanol is surprisingly common in floral nectar, the sugary fuel that keeps pollinators alive. Yeast feeding on those sugars produces trace amounts of alcohol, and in this study, it showed up in 26 of the 29 plant species sampled.
'Our results show that the next 20 years are critical,' lead author Dr Rob Cooke told the Daily Mail. 'By around 2050, we reach a point where the choices we make on emissions and land use will largely determine whether Britain moves towards a much more degraded or a much more nature‑positive future.'
Individuals allergic to bee stings can safely consume honey because the venom produced by bees is not related to honey. The venom is injected through the stinger, while honey is produced from nectar.
The fierce Maniot people were well described by Patrick Leigh Fermor in his book Mani (1958), but the region has been more recently celebrated in Charles Foster's brilliant The Edges of the World, published in January. In history the Mani was known variously for the relentless and sometimes centuries-long vendettas between its local clans, as a fertile recruiting ground for Mediterranean piracy and as an early outpost for Greek liberation from Ottoman rule.
This study started from a discussion with my co-author and postdoctoral researcher, Sabrina Rondeau, whose recent findings showed that these queens can survive submersion for over a week, which is extraordinary for a terrestrial insect. We wanted to understand how that's even possible.
The show is called The Pollinators. Much of the work draws from her interest in nature, and the pieces in the show reflect on the important work of the planet's endangered pollinators—but there's also a read of them as hybrid creatures with some aspects of the female face and form. They're kind of strange and a little monolithic. They are kind of moth-like and plant-like and relate to endangered species. But they also have neon coming out of their eyes.
An unnamed tourist saw it and told Aidan Moore, who works for Alcatraz City Cruises. Moore told SFGATE that he was initially skeptical, but the guest's iPhone footage left little room for doubt. The video shows, not a sea lion or an otter, but an actual Canis latrans, doggedly dogpaddling, then clambering out of the water, noticeably shaky and struggling to settle tired paws on the craggy rocks.
For its fifth anniversary, 'Secrets of' turns its lens to one of Earth's smallest yet most vital heroes: bees. Far more than pollinators, bees are socially complex, fast-thinking individuals and the most important insects on our planet. Their impact on the natural world and humanity is immeasurable, and we're only just beginning to see how extraordinary they truly are.
Around a third of UK gardeners use pesticides, and our studies found that house sparrow numbers, for example, were nearly 40% lower in gardens where the pesticide metaldehyde was used. By reducing pesticide use, you can actively encourage birds back into your outdoor spaces, as they rely on invertebrates such as slugs and snails as natural prey.
A small, stingless bee may be able to raise coffee yields while fitting into real-world pest control programs, according to a new study from Brazil. In a field study on full-sun arabica farms, researchers reported a 67% higher fruit yield on coffee branches closer to colonies of the native stingless bee Scaptotrigona depilis, compared with branches farther away. The study was recently published in Frontiers in Bee Science.
London is the only place in the UK where you can find scorpions, snakes, turtles, seals, peacocks, falcons all in one city and not London zoo. Step outside and you will encounter a patchwork of writhing, buzzing, bubbling urban microclimates. Sam Davenport, the director of nature recovery at the London Wildlife Trust, emphasises the sheer variation in habitats that you find in UK cities, which creates an amazing mosaic of wildlife.
First came the heavy winter rains that soaked the soil. Then, the sunny weather not too hot, but just warm enough to fuel the growth. A few more winter rainfalls and Southern California could be ripe for an epic wildflower season in the coming weeks and months. And when they bloom the vibrant colors popping from rolling hills as far as the eye can see thousands of people are bound to seek out their beauty, if past years are any indication.
Conservationists have now persuaded landowners to cut hedges in a more gentle rotation, with sections left uncut for up to three years, to enable more eggs to survive over winter. The caterpillars emerge with the foliage in spring and hatch into adult butterflies in July. The brown hairstreak is difficult to spot as a butterfly but every winter volunteers assess its populations by counting its minuscule cream-coloured eggs, which with careful searching are visible on the bare branches of blackthorn.
The world spends 30 times more money destroying nature than protecting it. That's according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that exposes a massive gulf between so-called "harmful investments" and financing that promotes nature preservation. The global environment agency's latest "State of Finance for Nature" (SNF) report is calling to phase out the US$7.3 trillion (6.2 trillion) in global investments that damage nature including into high-emissions energy infrastructure and manufacturing, for example.
