Bug Squad

"Guess who's back?" butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, asked in his "posse" email today. "Guess, who's back?" has nothing to do with the catchphrases uttered by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jack Nicholson.

It was a whopping 100-fold increase. California's 2021 western monarch Thanksgiving count, directed by the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation, recorded 250,000 overwintering monarchs, as compared to a mere 2000 in 2020.

What do you know about BosWash? It's a name coined by futurist Herman Kahn in a 1967 essay describing a theoretical United States megalopolis extending from the metropolitan area of Boston to that of Washington, D.C.," according to Wikipedia.

Spider alert! If you dislike spiders, you might want to check out the political scene (probably not!), the almond pollination season (yes, it's coming), or ask Siri "When does spring begin? (Answer: March 20) Wait, are you still there?

If insects could celebrate, the California dogface butterfly would be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its designation as the California State Insect. But they can't. So scientists and butterfly enthusiasts will. The history is intriguing.