News of the Natural World

There is a lot of news of interest to nature and outdoors-types in Science Daily today.


BEES - First there are new reports about the sudden lack of honey bees to pollinate fruits and vegetables. Science Daily reports that "in the United States, half a million to a million colonies out of a total 2.4 million colonies have died this winter."

Habitat loss and disease in Europe together with a 50% drop in managed honeybee colonies in North America created a global phenomenon known as the ‘pollination crisis’.

Cornell and other research universities are making plans to investigate the cause and the federal government is considering investing tens of millions of dollars for competitive grants to programs targeting honeybees' health. Medicare for bees but without the paperwork.

SPIDERS - Entomologists at Louisiana State University report that brown widow spiders are becoming more common in Louisiana. They are as poisonous as the black widows.
brown widow-Dr. Chris Carlton, Louisiana State Arthropod Museum
The brown widow spider has a yellow-to-orange hourglass marking on the underside of its abdomen and hangs out in brush piles.

CARROTS - The seed catalogs are full of carrots in yellow, orange, red and purple but they have not caught on with the grocery buying public, no less the restaurant eating public.
Now that scientists have released study results that indicate these rainbow carrots have more healthful properties than tomatoes and other vegetables, maybe a demand will be created.
Specifically -
Xanthophylls in yellow carrots linked with good eye health.
Lycopene in red carrots is believed to guard against heart disease and some cancers.
Anthocyanins in purple carrots are considered to be powerful antioxidants that can guard cells from the destructive effects of free radicals.

More pressure to eat your carrots. Fall seems to be the best time to plant carrots in zone 7. Next time you see seeds pick some up to plant in September when the remnants of the summer vegetables come out.