In July, the decline of the migratory monarch butterfly was once again in the spotlight. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classified migratory monarchs as endangered, naming habitat loss and climate change as major factors for their decline. In the...
Meet Circe and Muon! They are two specially-trained dogs used in ecological research who are helping Desert Botanical Garden, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the Smithsonian find rare and endangered orchids growing in southern Arizona. The research canines are on the hunt...
Join the September EcoQuest: Tracking Tamarisk Beetles. Join the EcoQuest WHAT TO OBSERVE:Find and map as many tamarisk beetles (larvae too!) (Diorhabda spp.) and tamarisk trees (Tamarix spp.) as possible. Tamarisk beetles, or salt cedar beetles, are small leaf...
Join the August EcoQuest: Palms on Parade Find and map as many palm trees as possible.Join the EcoQuestSee them on iNaturalist. WHAT TO OBSERVE: Any and all palm trees (Arecaceae). Palm trees have a long history in metro Phoenix. They are an iconic part of the...
July 2022 EcoQuest: The Leaf Connection IMPORTANT: Be sure to include the hashtag #theleafconnection in the notes section of your observation. WHAT TO OBSERVE: Any kind of leaf, whether on the ground, trees, bushes, flowering plants or other spaces in nature that...