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among dozens if not hundreds of spanish broom seed pods, at least a third was covered in these aphids (Aphis cytisorum). surprisingly, no predators in sight, which makes me think either they got really lucky with the spot they picked or they taste awful because they could not have been more numerous or accessible. i could've gobbled up a few
(July 10th, 2025)
Center for Biological Diversity: PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge in Oregon today confirmed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s
Excerpt from this press release from the Center for Biological Diversity:
A federal judge in Oregon today confirmed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s legal duty to consider preventative measures — rather than a “spray first, ask questions later” approach — in its program allowing insecticide spraying to kill native grasshoppers and crickets on millions of acres in 17 western states.
The court’s rulings also require APHIS to be more open with the public about where, when and why it is spraying pesticides on public lands.
“We’re looking ahead to an APHIS grasshopper program that centers non-chemical prevention as a primary focus, because pesticides also harm bees, butterflies, and all the other wildlife that depend on insects,” said Sharon Selvaggio, pesticide reduction specialist at the Xerces Society. “The court’s rulings will help keep public rangelands and wildlife healthy for the long term.”
In August 2024 the court ruled that APHIS violated the law by focusing only on spraying pesticides to suppress grasshoppers and Mormon crickets under the program, which seeks to prevent these insects from competing with livestock for forage. It also found unlawful APHIS’s state-level environmental assessments for Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
“The court’s message is clear. APHIS can no longer blanket millions of acres of western rangelands and important wildlife habitats with toxic pesticides and only then question the impacts of its actions,” said Andrew Missel, staff attorney at Advocates for the West. “For far too long, the agency has acted above the law. This should serve as the start of a new chapter for APHIS. We will be watching closely.”
Today’s judgment finalizes the court’s ruling in the remedies phase requiring APHIS to complete a new environmental impact statement covering the 17-state program within two years. Importantly, the court also confirmed that APHIS has a legal duty to use integrated pest management — an approach to managing pests that combines multiple strategies to minimize economic, health and environmental risks — in controlling grasshopper populations. This should mean a reduction in harm to sensitive rangeland pollinators, especially native bees, butterflies and moths, and all the species that rely on them for food, including imperiled greater sage grouse.
After paying people to leave, USDA scrambles to fill positions https://www.npr.org/2025/05/03/nx-s1-5384961/usda-deferred-resignation-federal-workers-aphis
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has opened up 73 jobs to internal candidates. They include roles just vacated by people wh
I find a stranger in you
meme tweening
A Predation in human skin (2025-2026)
Hey guys! I'm back with a redesign of my old character to add to my novel.
THEODOR MATEO GONZALES KUMAR
He so chubby and green flag (Almost)
If you want to know more about him, ask!
Sprite lol
(This oc belongs to @droolphobia !!!)
HIIIIIII!!!! I drew aphis as a thank you for your super nice comments on selene!!! I hope it's alright that I drew aphis 😓 I wanted it to be a surprise 😮 🐟🕴your super nice compliments made me so grateful that I just had to create a gift for you 🧍♂️
Center for Biological Diversity: GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.— The federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to s
The federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to spray toxic insecticides within treasured and significant landscapes of the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona to kill native grasshoppers.
The areas being considered include portions of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, and the newly designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
“This is a dangerous plan that could kill creatures that are key to northern Arizona’s unique biodiversity, which these national monuments were designated to protect,” said Taylor McKinnon, Southwest director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The federal government needs to stop downplaying the extinction crisis and back off its reckless plan to smother biodiversity hotspots with toxic pesticides.”
One out of every 10 plant species in the Colorado Plateau region is found nowhere else on Earth.
The agency's draft environmental assessment omits mention of the national monuments and unique species and habitats they were designated to protect. These species include rare bees, butterflies and other creatures found nowhere else, like the Kaibab monkey grasshopper and House Rock Valley chisel-toothed kangaroo rat, specifically named in the August proclamation establishing the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument.
APHIS oversees and funds the application of multiple pesticides on rangelands to prevent native grasshoppers and Mormon crickets from competing with livestock for forage.
The proposed insecticides — carbaryl, diflubenzuron and chlorantraniliprole — are indiscriminate. In addition to the grasshoppers the agency is targeting, the insecticides can also kill bees, moths and other insects. Spraying can harm entire ecosystems by disrupting pollination and can harm populations of birds, reptiles and mammals who feed on grasshoppers and insects.
Although grasshoppers and Mormon crickets can be locally abundant from time to time, native plants and other wildlife evolved with these cycles. Introducing pesticides to eliminate native grasshoppers is a shortsighted, quick fix that fails to consider the complex interrelationships within these delicate ecosystems.
The agency’s draft analysis shows that it has failed to consult with affected Tribes with ties to the Grand Canyon area. The Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, which proposed the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument, includes members of the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Tribe of Paiutes, Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Shivwits Band of Paiutes, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Zuni Tribe and Colorado River Indian Tribes.
“It’s so important that APHIS honor the promise made to work together with Tribal nations to protect the sacred spaces and resources within the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Monument when it was established less than six months ago,” said Sharon Selvaggio, pesticide program specialist with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “We call on the agency to protect natural systems on Tribal and public lands by employing nonchemical management that allows humans and wildlife to thrive.”
In March 2023 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a draft biological opinion from NOAA Fisheries showing that carbaryl is likely to jeopardize 37 species protected under the Endangered Species Act, and harm 36 designated critical habitats.
While Arizona is not home to any of the species named in that report, the findings show the extreme harm carbaryl poses to endangered fish and other species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is charged with protecting endangered plants and animals, has not yet completed a proper analysis of the potential harms from the APHIS proposal. Potentially vulnerable endangered species in Arizona include Chiricahua leopard frogs, western yellow-billed cuckoos, Gila chub, black-footed ferrets and Siler pincushion cacti.
APHIS is accepting comments on the proposal until 4 p.m. MST on Feb. 2.
huge news for giant african land snail quarantine zone B fans
From: Pantalogia. London : J. Walker, 1819
AE5 .P2 1819 vol. 1
