When it comes to pollination, bees tend to get all of the buzz. While they are crucial to pollinating many crops, it is...

In a landmark decision on March 18, 2025, the Cluj Court of Appeal suspends the controversial authorizations for illegal neonicotinoids.

(Beyond Pesticides, November 2, 2017) The Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) is Maryland’s state bird and the namesake of its professional baseball team. The Baltimore oriole (and all American orioles) are actually members of the blackbird family, and are related to the tricolored blackbird. For a time, the Baltimore oriole was “lumped” together with the Bullock’s oriole to the west under the name “northern oriole.” The “splitters” have won out again, and the two are recognized as separate species, except in the Western prairies, where they hybridize. In fact, the Baltimore oriole shows more genetic similarities to the Altamira oriole (which lives in Mexico, northern Central America, and a tiny part of Texas), and especially to the black-backed oriole (from Mexico). Fun fact: The Baltimore orioles’ slender beaks allow them to feed in an unusual way. By first piercing soft fruits with their closed bills, the birds open their mouths to cut a strip through the juicy fruit, allowing them to drink the gushing liquid with their brushy-tipped tongues, in a process called “gaping.” Range Baltimore orioles are commonly found during spring and summer months in the eastern and central U.S., and in southern Canada. They will migrate in July to […]

We can all contribute to conservation efforts — sometimes even from our own backyards.

Abstract. The Mojave poppy bee, Perdita meconis Griswold (Hymenoptera: Anthophila: Andrenidae), is a species of conservation concern that is restricted to the e