Despite recent news that overwintering monarch butterfly populations have increased 35% in the past year, these graceful creatures are still facing an unsteady future after years of ongoing decline. Monarch butterflies are a migratory species. Eastern monarch butterflies, which make up the vast majority of monarch butterflies in North America, travel from southern Canada and […]
Tag: insecticides
Lawsuit Launched Challenging USDA’s Failure to Protect Endangered Species From Insecticide Sprays Over Millions of Acres in U.S. West
WASHINGTON— The Xerces Society and Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent today to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s secretive Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for failing to properly consider harms to endangered species caused by insecticide spraying across millions of acres of western grasslands. APHIS oversees and funds the application […]
EPA plans to allow the use of insecticides devastating to bees and butterflies to continue in America for the next 15 years
Despite steps by the European Union to limit the use of poisons responsible for widespread insect losses, the US Environmental Protection Agency is prepared to allow the use of four of the most harmful compounds to bees, butterflies, and other insects in America for the next 15 years. Despite “ecological hazards of concern, notably to […]
“Plagues” of Grasshoppers Hit Western US
Drought conditions in the western United States have created great conditions for grasshopper breeding and living. The hoards of grasshoppers are now devouring vegetation as their population numbers increase, CNN reported. Ranchers are worried land could be stripped bare. States like Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana and others are experiencing the onslaught. Scientists point to […]
Why we need birds and how to protect them from extinction
Imagine a world where there were no birds – they’ve all gone extinct. Most of us would consider a spring morning without birds singing and calling or a noticeable absence of feathery creatures soaring through the sky. If you’ve ever witnessed the miracle of a wild bird egg hatching perhaps that is the image you […]
Western monarch butterflies are nearly extinct. California has a plan to save them
In one of the biggest mobilizations of resources and talent ever organized to save an insect, the state of California is teaming with conservation groups, biologists and scores of citizen scientists to rescue the western monarch butterfly from the brink of extinction. To do this, they are placing their hopes on an unassuming, poisonous plant […]
Two pesticides approved for use in US harmful to bees
A previously banned insecticide, which was approved for agricultural use last year in the United States, is harmful for bees and other beneficial insects that are crucial for agriculture, and a second pesticide in widespread use also harms these insects. That is according to a new analysis from researchers at The University of Texas at […]
Petition: Report Shows Pesticides are the Leading Cause of Steep Decline in US Bird Species
A new report has found that the United States bird populations continue to decline, and pesticides are part of the reason. The study shows that neonicotinoid insecticides are linked to reductions in bird diversity, specifically between 2008 and 2014. Source: Link TV/Youtube The use of neonicotinoid insecticides is linked to a reduction of grassland […]