Surviving Winter: What Heat-loving Butterflies do during the Cold Months

Midnight Entomology: Unveiling the Secrets of Nocturnal Insects

As humans, we often think of the world through the lens of daylight - when we are most active. But at night, an entire world of insects comes to life and we are missing out!

To help us explore these nocturnal creatures is Emily May, Pollinator Conservation Specialist on our Pesticide team at Xerces. You might recognize Emily from our last episode, as a special guest co-host.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

No Mow May: A Starting Point, Not the Finish Line

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 Matthew Shepherd. Matthew has been with the Xerces Society for a quarter century, working on pollinator conservation in towns and cities. We are also joined by special guest co-host Emily May, Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Specialist.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Floater, Sheepnose, and Cat’s Paw: Exploring the Fascinating World of Freshwater Mussels

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 Society. Emilie serves as the lead on all freshwater mussel conservation work and Jack serves as a specialist on western freshwater mussel conservation work at Xerces.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Buzzing Canopies: Forests' Vital Role in Supporting Pollinator Diversity

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 Society as a pollinator conservation specialist and NRCS Partner Biologist based in Philadelphia. From there, she collaborates with communities in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions to plan, design, install, and manage habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects. She also climbed a lot of trees to study bees while completing her PhD at Cornell.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Bumbling Through Nature: Exploring the Fascinating Life History and Community Science of Bumble Bees

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 involved with studying and protecting bumble bees in his role as a Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist with the Xerces Society. You may also remember Rich from a previous Bug Banter, when we had a conversation about honey bees.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.