Wildlife

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Insect indecision: Which should be Michigan’s state bug?

By Indri Maulidar | November 11, 2019

By Indri Maulidar
Capital News Service

What’s orange, flies to Mexico every year and was recently proposed as a Michigan icon? It’s the monarch butterfly. Four Michigan senators recently introduced a bill to make the monarch butterfly Michigan’s state insect. The idea, pushed by a group of schoolchildren from West Bloomfield School District, has some support. But others think that there are many other more suitable insects.

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Isle Royale squirrels may have swum from mainland

By Eric Freedman | November 5, 2019

Isle Royale’s abundant red squirrels were once considered a localized subspecies. But the latest DNA testing tells a different story.

Birds

Identifying waterbird hotspots in the Great Lakes is important for birds’ survival, a study shows

By admin | November 1, 2019

A recent study done in the Great Lakes highlights the importance of waterbird hotspot conservation.

The Buzz

Wasp recruited for Michigan stink bug fight

By admin | October 31, 2019

Sometimes you have to fight invasive species with outside help.

Fish guts show changes on the Lake Huron menu

By Michaela Kratofil | October 24, 2019

Alewives were once an important food source for top predators and popular gamefish such as salmon and lake trout. But Great Lakes populations of the small fish started to decline in the early 1980s.

bees

New non-native bee discovered in Illinois, Minnesota

By Eric Freedman | October 10, 2019

Scientists have found a new species of non-native wild bee in Illinois and Minnesota.

Capital News Service

Mighty 4-inch crayfish can be bold or shy

By Eric Freedman | October 8, 2019

Crayfish have personalities—and they can shape how well the critters can escape from their predators, such as largemouth bass.

Fish

The dose is in the bite: silent effects of parasitic sea lamprey

By Michaela Kratofil | October 7, 2019

The research could have implications for estimating how many lake trout are in the Great Lakes.

Wildlife

Michigan lawmakers push for moose hunt in national park

By Eric Freedman | September 23, 2019

Four lawmakers want the Michigan House of Representatives to adopt a resolution urging the National Park Service “to establish a moose tag lottery hunt” to help control the island’s growing moose population.

Asian carp

Favorite food not on the menu? No problem for Asian carp – they eat almost anything

By Ray García | August 21, 2019

Study says lack of a picky-palate could help them spread and disrupt native ecosystems.