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And bees. And dragonflies. And beetles. Soon a snake will be slithering into the mix, too. But the undisputed hero of Kingdom, the new collection from Sonoma County, Calif.–based designer Jennifer Dawes, is the monarch butterfly. The monarch’s population has declined to such an extent that it currently qualifies as an endangered species, and its vulnerability is what sent Dawes on this gemstone flight of fancy in the first place.
“I learned about the potential extinction of the monarch butterfly while I was at our local feed store,” she says. “They were releasing some that just emerged out of their chrysalis. I was shocked to hear that they were about to be put on the endangered species list. The reason why is because of destruction to their milkweed habitat along their migratory route as housing expands into their territory, plus the use of pesticides and herbicides. Since learning this I have been working on creating a butterfly sanctuary on my property with milkw
Posted: Mar 15, 2021 6:00 AM ET | Last Updated: March 15
New this year, Guelph will collect yard waste throughout the spring, summer and fall. The first pickups start this week for people with grey carts, but one pollinator expert says people may want to wait to clean out their gardens because pollinators and other beneficial insects are likely overwintering in hollow stems, under leaves and in the soil.(John Robertson/CBC)
Ground-nesting bees exposed to imidacloprid pesticide produced fewer offspring
An insecticide used to control pest infestations on squash and pumpkins significantly hinders the reproduction of ground-nesting bees valuable pollinators for many food crops, a new University of Guelph study has revealed.
This first-ever study of pesticide impacts on a ground-nesting bee in a real-world context found female hoary squash bees exposed to imidacloprid dug 85 per cent fewer nests, collected less pollen from crop flowers and produced 89 per cent fewer offspring than unexposed bees. Because they re not making nests and not collecting pollen, they cannot raise offspring, said Dr. Susan Willis Chan, a post-doc in the School of Environmental Sciences (SES), who conducted the study with Dr. Nigel Raine, holder of the Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation in SES. That means imidacloprid-exposed populations are going to decline.
Credit: Dr. Nigel Raine/ University of Guelph
An insecticide used to control pest infestations on squash and pumpkins significantly hinders the reproduction of ground-nesting bees valuable pollinators for many food crops, a new University of Guelph study has revealed.
This first-ever study of pesticide impacts on a ground-nesting bee in a real-world context found female hoary squash bees exposed to imidacloprid dug 85 per cent fewer nests, collected less pollen from crop flowers and produced 89 per cent fewer offspring than unexposed bees. Because they re not making nests and not collecting pollen, they cannot raise offspring, said Dr. Susan Willis Chan, a post-doc in the School of Environmental Sciences (SES), who conducted the study with Dr. Nigel Raine, holder of the Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation in SES. That means imidacloprid-exposed populations are going to decline.