Picnickers in East Coast woods may get some hungry visitors this summer. But at least they won't ask for sandwiches.
Leaf-eating gypsy moth caterpillars are out in force in parts of the mid-Atlantic following a warm, dry spring - just the kind of weather that can make the insects thrive.
Experts are predicting an especially bad year for trees, primarily oaks, which are the caterpillars' favorite snack. The moths will also munch on 475 types of foliage.
Earth Changes
Four swarms of Asian bees found in Cairns have been cleared of carrying the dreaded Varroa destructor mite but the intruders themselves could pose the beginning of a serious threat to Australian honey bee populations.
Asian bees are known to have found their way into Australian ports at least half a dozen times in the last decade.
This time it's a Javanese strain of the bee and because the latest incursion had lain undiscovered for at least three months, it is unknown how many more swarms might exist and how far afield they may have flown.
Within a one kilometre radius from the first colony, disturbed in the mast of a yacht undergoing repairs after two years docked at a wharf in Cairns, three more swarms were found and the search widened.
Already operating under marginal circumstances, many of Australia's beekeepers can only afford a momentary sigh of relief.
Asian bees are known to have found their way into Australian ports at least half a dozen times in the last decade.
This time it's a Javanese strain of the bee and because the latest incursion had lain undiscovered for at least three months, it is unknown how many more swarms might exist and how far afield they may have flown.
Within a one kilometre radius from the first colony, disturbed in the mast of a yacht undergoing repairs after two years docked at a wharf in Cairns, three more swarms were found and the search widened.
Already operating under marginal circumstances, many of Australia's beekeepers can only afford a momentary sigh of relief.
The loss of millions of acres of grasslands and shrubs nationwide to suburban sprawl and agriculture -- along with a warming planet -- has dramatically reduced the numbers of common birds seen across the United States over the past 40 years, according to a National Audubon Society study released yesterday.
In Massachusetts, several birds seen regularly three or four decades ago, including the Northern bobwhite and the Eastern meadowlark, have all but disappeared, according to the study.
Human encroachment on their habitats has so vastly diminished their populations that specialists now consider it rare to see those birds, as well as several others, according to annual counts.
"It shows how suburban development really affects bird habitats," said Greg Butcher , national director of bird conservation for Audubon. "In many cases the development destroys the habitat outright or causes fragmented spaces for them."
The nationwide analysis looked at data collected by volunteer bird-watchers in the Audubon's annual Christmas Bird Count , which started 107 years ago and is held over a 20-day period before and after Christmas, and the annual North American Breeding Bird Survey organized by the US Geological Survey every June. Combining the data from both surveys produced a snapshot of 550 bird species from roughly 5,000 sites in 48 states, Butcher said. Alaska and Hawaii have had fewer sites and were not included.
In Massachusetts, several birds seen regularly three or four decades ago, including the Northern bobwhite and the Eastern meadowlark, have all but disappeared, according to the study.
Human encroachment on their habitats has so vastly diminished their populations that specialists now consider it rare to see those birds, as well as several others, according to annual counts.
"It shows how suburban development really affects bird habitats," said Greg Butcher , national director of bird conservation for Audubon. "In many cases the development destroys the habitat outright or causes fragmented spaces for them."
The nationwide analysis looked at data collected by volunteer bird-watchers in the Audubon's annual Christmas Bird Count , which started 107 years ago and is held over a 20-day period before and after Christmas, and the annual North American Breeding Bird Survey organized by the US Geological Survey every June. Combining the data from both surveys produced a snapshot of 550 bird species from roughly 5,000 sites in 48 states, Butcher said. Alaska and Hawaii have had fewer sites and were not included.
The shrinking snowcap atop Mount Kilimanjaro has become an icon of global warming.
Perhaps no marine mammal is more adored than California's sleek, swift, shellfish-crunching sea otters. They dart and slither to the delight of visitors at one of Monterey Bay Aquarium's most popular exhibits.
But sea otters, an endangered species, are becoming mysteriously sick, and research biologist Tim Tinker of the University of California, Santa Cruz and others aren't sure why. They see symptoms in the disfigured faces of females and unusually aggressive mating habits in males.
But sea otters, an endangered species, are becoming mysteriously sick, and research biologist Tim Tinker of the University of California, Santa Cruz and others aren't sure why. They see symptoms in the disfigured faces of females and unusually aggressive mating habits in males.
The Maui Department of Water Supply has declared a drought in Upcountry Maui, imposing mandatory water restrictions, while dry conditions are getting worse on the Big Island.
Maui officials Tuesday imposed 10 percent water restrictions on nonagricultural users in Haiku, Haliimaile, Kanaio, Keokea, Kula, Makawao, Olinda, Omaopio, Pukalani, Pulehu, Ulupalakua, and Waiohuli, but gave farmers 30 days grace.
Maui officials Tuesday imposed 10 percent water restrictions on nonagricultural users in Haiku, Haliimaile, Kanaio, Keokea, Kula, Makawao, Olinda, Omaopio, Pukalani, Pulehu, Ulupalakua, and Waiohuli, but gave farmers 30 days grace.
Drought, a fixture in much of the West for nearly a decade, now covers more than one-third of the continental United States. And it's spreading.
As summer starts, half the nation is either abnormally dry or in outright drought from prolonged lack of rain that could lead to water shortages, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly index of conditions.
As summer starts, half the nation is either abnormally dry or in outright drought from prolonged lack of rain that could lead to water shortages, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly index of conditions.
A large cluster of wave clouds spans the Arabian Sea from Oman to India. This cloud formation is likely an undular bore, created by an interaction between cool, dry air in a low-pressure system with a stable layer of warm, moist air.
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| ©Jeff Schmaltz |
After last week's record high temperatures have given way to an even more unusual contrast.
The sun chairs set out in Tynset in Hedmark County were covered in snow on Thursday morning.
"This is extreme. We are after all in the middle of June, and it is especially remarkable given the high temperatures we have just had. I cannot remember similar cases," Øyvind Johnsen at the Meteorologist Institute told Aftenposten.no.
The sun chairs set out in Tynset in Hedmark County were covered in snow on Thursday morning.
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| ©Mali Hagen Røe |
| Recently used summer furniture covered by snow. |
"This is extreme. We are after all in the middle of June, and it is especially remarkable given the high temperatures we have just had. I cannot remember similar cases," Øyvind Johnsen at the Meteorologist Institute told Aftenposten.no.
Global climate change could be causing staggeringly low water levels on Lake Superior, but normal variations in weather could also be behind the drop, say officials charged with monitoring lake levels.
Either way, weather is the reason for this year's unprecedented decline and it's going to take long periods of above-average precipitation to get things back to normal, insists David Fay, Canadian member of the International Lake Superior Board of Control.
Shallow docks have been left high and dry this year and swimmers have been forced to walk further to get wet, as Lake Superior dropped to 53 centimetres below normal for the beginning of June and 40 centimetres below last year's level. That's just 10 centimetres higher than the record low, recorded in 1926.
Either way, weather is the reason for this year's unprecedented decline and it's going to take long periods of above-average precipitation to get things back to normal, insists David Fay, Canadian member of the International Lake Superior Board of Control.
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| ©Michael Purvis |
| Low water levels are visible at Point Des Chenes, northwest of the Sault, where Lake Superior has receded far from the beach this year. |
Shallow docks have been left high and dry this year and swimmers have been forced to walk further to get wet, as Lake Superior dropped to 53 centimetres below normal for the beginning of June and 40 centimetres below last year's level. That's just 10 centimetres higher than the record low, recorded in 1926.
