Backyard and Beyond

Chomping at the bit here for some insect life after months of winter. Sure, I’ve seen a few flies all winter long.
And I took this picture of this Polyphemus Moth cocoon in December, but saw it still going strong (i.e. just sitting there) the other day. This is the only one of these I’ve seen this winter. I spotted about half a dozen last winter. And last summer was a good one for the adults (although I never saw one).
These farm animals were out of the hives the other day in temps in the mid 40s, albeit in bright sun.
The cellophane bee slope under snow. Come back in May.

Speaking of the lower end of the food chain, far from the madding crowd of charismatic megafauna, misinformation is a real problem in the fight for biodiversity. Read this on “misplaced conservation” that actually decreases species targeted for help, waste resources, and confuse the pubic, among other negative outcomes.