Bug Banter with the Xerces Society

Tired of mowing your law? We have good news - you don’t have to, and the bees (and fritillary butterflies) will thank you for it! Mowing your lawn less frequently can provide habitat for pollinators, especially in early spring. But, is that enough? What can we do to turn No Mow May into meaningful conservation of pollinators and other wildlife?

Joining us to talk about the trendy No Mow May Campaign is Bug Banter co-host M...

In this episode of Bug Banter, we are going underwater to highlight an invertebrate that isn’t an insect — the freshwater mussel. These animals may not be well-known but are powerhouses in our freshwater ecosystems, playing a critical role in our lakes and rivers.

We’re joined today by not only one but two guests! — Emilie Blevins and Jack Fetters, who are both conservation biologists on the Endangered Species team at the Xerces Soc...

For many of us, if we were asked to describe a place that is good for bees, I suspect that we’d talk about somewhere that is open, sunny, and full of flowers — a garden, meadow, prairie, or hedgerow, maybe. The chances are that forests wouldn’t be high on that list. However, forests provide important resources for bees.

In this episode, we are joined by Kass Urban-Mead to talk about forests and bees. Kass works for the Xerces Societ...

Spend time in a garden and you’ll probably hear the buzzing of a bumble bee. These charismatic bees pollinate many of the foods and flowers that we love and, similar to other bees, their populations are in decline. Fortunately, there is a community science program to help us better understand the abundance and distribution of bumble bees across the US.

To talk more about this we are joined today by Rich Hatfield. Rich is deeply invo...

Light pollution. Go outside at night and you’ll notice them — lights on buildings, in gardens, along streets, glowing on the horizon. It might not seem like much, but this is changing the world for animals that rely on darkness. Imagine evolving for millions of years with only the stars and moon and now being faced with a landscape full of additional light. 

What happens to insects when the night is full of light? Can fire...

Fireflies. Just the word evokes for many people memories of summer evenings filled with magic and awe. From their flashy mating displays to their glowing larvae, these iconic insects have captured our hearts. Unfortunately, fireflies have started to disappear from the landscape. What is causing this decline and what can we do to help?

Joining us this week to talk about incredible insects is Richard Joyce. Richard is an Endangered Sp...

We’ve previously talked about overwintering monarchs seeking refuge in warmer climates, but what do other butterflies do during the winter? Do they also migrate? Do all butterflies overwinter as adults? If so, where do they hide — in leaves or rock piles or up in the trees? If not, how do they survive — what do these warm-loving butterflies do during the winter?

To answer these questions and help us explore the world of wintering bu...

We are all familiar with beetles. Look around your home or neighborhood and you’ll find them, but how familiar are we? What makes a beetle a beetle? How many different species are there? What role do they play in our world? 

To help us explore the world of beetles is Jennifer Hopwood, who works for the Xerces Society as a Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist – a job title that doesn’t really encompass all that she doe...

No bee is as popular as the honey bee. When we think of a bee, many of us think of this charismatic social bee that lives in large colonies, does the wiggle dance, produces the honey we love, and pollinates many of our crops. Although honey bees can be found all over North America, they only arrived in the 17th century by way of European settlers. Aside from honey bees, in North America, thousands of native bees can be found on the...