It was worrying enough that the pandemics of Covid-19 and anti-racism protests were piling on top of seasonal wildfires and hurricanes. In fact, I was already thinking we were in the plague throes of the kinds God inflicted on the Ancient Egyptians.
Then came this:
As summer nears, 2020 has another trick up its sleeve. This time, it’s cicadas. A lot of cicadas.
In parts of southwestern Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia, it’s nearly time for a brood of the insects to emerge for their once-in-17-year mating season. As many as 1.5 million cicadas could emerge per acre. And did we mention the bugs are known for their distinct — and overwhelming — chirping?
(NPR, May 23, 2020)
And that was soon followed by news of the looming murmuration of yet another locust-like bugger:
Dubbed the ‘murder hornet’ to the annoyance of entomologists, the predator earns its nickname from its proclivity to nab a honeybee, bite off the bee’s head carried home to nourish young hornets. Raiding parties of several dozen Asian giant hornets can kill whole hives containing thousands of bees in a few hours.
Those are just some of the details that make V. mandarinia the newsiest stinging invader in years. It’s a fierce little predator, though not as apocalyptic as “murder hornet” headlines have suggested.
(Science News, May 29, 2020)
Well, as long as these hornets stick to their diet of bee’s heads, I suppose the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Still, these latter-day plagues might just be Mother Nature’s way of telling us to abide all stay-at-home orders a bit longer; you know, like for the rest of the year! Indeed, Mother Nature might be saying she can’t breathe.
The environment thrives as people follow stay-at-home orders. With billions of people around the world under stay-at-home measures, one unexpected impact is its effect on the environment. The air is cleaner and wild animals are reclaiming their natural habitats.
(NBC, April 18, 2020)
Just sayin’.
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