Two Years without Invasive Hornets in Washington State
For the second year in a row, no northern giant hornets were detected in Washington, the state Department of Agriculture reported Dec. 4.
The department recently completed its annual invasive pest survey and will begin removing more than 800 northern giant hornet traps that have been monitored since July. An additional 200 traps were placed throughout the state by federal state and local agencies, community groups and private citizen scientists.
I guess you could say these hornets have... buzzed off.
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"Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered"
The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
“It’s just a devastating decline,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University who was not involved in the new listing. “This is one of the most recognizable butterflies in the world.”
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.
The Monarch Butterfly holds a very important place in my heart as I will always connect them to my mother, who loved flowers and butterflies. On my wedding day I gave the wedding party and my family pins that had butterflies on them in memory of mother, since she had passed before the big day.
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