A version of this article originally appeared in Radio Heads, the weekly newsletter from The Show. Want more good stuff like this delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe now.
Did Mark Brodie’s story this week on mosquitoes finding ways to survive extreme heat in the Valley give you the ick? You are not alone.
It’s finally nice enough to be out in the garden or off on the trail — and if you’ve been eaten alive by our least favorite Culicidae, welcome to the club.
Bugs may bug, but they also play a crucial part of our ecosystem, whether they’re pollinating plants, eating each other, or being eaten by local wildlife. My colleagues at The Show aren’t afraid to dig in to find experts on our neighboring mosquitoes, bees, cicadas and more.
Here are a few of our favorite conversations:
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Karen McMullanRoger McMullan recently published a graphic novel called “Cicadapocalypse.” Ominous title notwithstanding, Roger’s goal is to make people fall in love with what he calls “derpy little bugs.” -
Ryan BelnapThe moral of our next story might be that people have always liked shiny things. A team of archaeologists here in the Southwest have found jewelry artifacts made from iridescent beetles, apparently a status symbol in ancient times. -
Murphy Woodhouse/KJZZMonarch butterflies are on their way to the endangered species list. Will it be enough to save them?Late last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took an important step toward putting the monarch butterfly on the endangered species list. The initial petition to do it came out over a decade ago. -
Murphy Woodhouse/KJZZMonarchs might be the most iconic of butterflies — the ones that come to mind when you think about our fluttery friends. But the plant they need to live is in decline.
