The Living Fence: Hedgerows as Havens for Insects
32 MinutesGuests: Jessa Kay Cruz
Co-host Matthew Shepherd came from Britain, a country known for its hedgerows. He grew up surrounded by hedges, sometimes many centuries old, crisscrossing the countryside. Early in Matthew's career he helped plant, maintain, and restore miles of hedgerows and got to see up close the wealth of wildlife that live in them. When he moved to America, he was struck by the lack of hedgerows, their place in the landscape frequently filled by barbed wire or other types of fencing. He is very happy to know that this is changing and that there is a movement in this country toward planting hedgerows for their beauty, wildlife value, and economic benefits.
State of the Butterflies in the United States: A Roadmap for Recovery
48 MinutesGuests: Cheryl Shultz, Scott Black
You may already know that butterflies are in decline, but the speed at which it is happening may be surprising. Butterflies are being lost at a rate of 1.3% per year, which means more than one-fifth have disappeared over a 20-year period. These are just a couple of the alarming statistics that emerged from the work of the State of the Butterflies in the United States working group. The group was comprised of scientists from universities, agencies, and the Xerces Society. Their findings have been published in academic journals, including Science. Building on this, Xerces has just released State of the Butterflies in the United States, a report authored by members of the working group that presents a picture of the status of butterflies and offers a vision for how we can reverse the declines.
Bug Banter Live: Building Pollinator Habitat
55 MinutesGuests: Bernardo Niño, Steve Armstead, Emily May, Kevin Burls
One of the most effective ways to contribute to pollinator conservation is to provide the essential components of pollinator habitat. To celebrate Pollinator Week, we invited a panel of Xerces Society experts to help us answer audience questions in this special Bug Banter Live episode.
Pollinator Check-Up: Bee Health and Novel Monitoring Tools
42 MinutesGuests: Dr. Laura Figueroa
In the face of insect decline, it is critical for us to understand pollinator health both in terms of influencing factors and how to monitor those impacts. Today we are specifically focusing on bees.
How Habitat Kits Are Helping Save Pollinators
35 MinutesGuests: Giovanni Di Franco
Creating habitats with native plants is one of the most impactful ways to help invertebrates. One of the programs at Xerces is helping people do just that by providing free habitat kits to communities in several regions of the US.
Stories from the Prairie: Life in a Resilient Ecosystem
47 MinutesGuests: Chris Helzer
Prairies are an ecosystem that historically spanned the center of this continent from the Rocky Mountains to east of the Mississippi and from Texas north to Saskatchewan. Although less than 5% of that prairie remains today, it is critical habitat for a number of invertebrates. Prairies are incredibly diverse and hold many exciting stories.
Greenroofs, Solar Arrays, and Urban Farms: Insect Conservation in Human-Dominated Ecosystems
47 MinutesGuests: Dr. Chelse Prather
Most of the natural world has been altered by humans in some way. Ecosystems that are dominated by humans or man-made structures, such as cities, can still provide meaningful and essential habitat for insects. Today, we are going to discuss research being done in various human-dominated landscapes to answer the question: how do we restore and conserve insects in these ecosystems?
For the Love of Flies: The Unsung Heroes of the Insect World
46 MinutesGuests: Dr. Erica McAlister
Flies are amazing insects that play critical roles in our environment, including pollination, waste disposal, pest control, and as a link in the food web. Flies are greatly diverse in colors, shape, size, and where they live. Butterflies and bees probably generate more enthusiasm, but it’s time to change that.
Plastic Bands, Pesticides, and Deadly Drift: A Study on Mosquito Spray
40 MinutesGuests: Aaron Anderson
Who doesn’t know the high-pitched whine of a nearby mosquito? We know they can be a nuisance, and in many regions, a health risk because of their ability to spread diseases. Some communities do public control campaigns, and increasingly, companies are offering home spraying of yards. But, the insecticides used in these sprays are broadly toxic to insects, and the risk they pose to pollinators isn't fully understood. In the summer of 2023, Xerces did a study looking at how these insecticides spread across the landscape.
The Underground Heroes: Earthworms
49 MinutesGuests: Jennifer Hopwood, Stephanie Frischie
Earthworms. They may elicit memories of digging through the dirt, probably as a child, and picking them up to discover what they are. But what do they do other than slink around and bury themselves in the soil?