Category: Final Project Concepts / Projects 2017
Insects and Ecosystems — Julie, Srishti, Leah
This article mentions that the total weight of flying insects is plummeting–down 75% in the last 27 years– spelling doom for larger ecosystems. Researchers trapped insects in “Malaise traps” and began weighing the total catch. However, it was only recently that researchers began examining these weights across decades, and realized the extreme drop in total weights.
We’re thinking about how small individual insects are, while their collective impact on ecosystems is crucial.
Bees making (beautiful) blue honey after gathering dyed sugars from trash. This reflects the increasing lack of food to support bee populations, as biodiversity and planted areas decline–forcing bees to find food from unusual sources.
A similar article mentions paper wasps building nests with construction paper.