Coffee cherry update

My coffee cherries are turning red! They are getting ripe, and you know what that means...harvest time soon! I'm thinking I will have to harvest in batches, since one is already ripe and the rest are just starting to turn red. Other branches are still all green.

Panda poop could save the planet

I may be (slightly) obsessed with pandas, and there is some good news on the panda front. Their poop may help solve the energy crisis. Apparently they have enzymes that help break down plant material  called cellulose--this cellulose is what is problematic for using biofuels for energy. It is difficult and costly to break down. But now, pandas to the rescue! The enzymes they use to break down bamboo and extract energy from it could be used for biofuel. Way to go, pandas (and panda researchers). More info:

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/10/giant-pandas-could-help-solve-the-global-energy-crisis

The Turtle and the Tree

Sea turtles nesting in Florida had to contend with an invasive tree on their beaches, the Australian pine. The pine was taking over beaches and deterring turtles from nesting. Here's a cute little restoration success story from NOAA:

http://oceantoday.noaa.gov/turtleandthetree/welcome.html

What's killing the bees?

By now, everyone has heard of the bee problem: bees in North America and Europe are suffering huge losses, a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Since 2006, beekeepers have been finding their colonies diminished, leaving fewer bees per hive. We rely on honeybees to pollinate a lot of the food we eat, and scientists and beekeepers have been trying to figure out what is causing the collapse.

There have been a lot of news stories about potential causes--pesticides, parasites, disease...all of these things kill bees but no one has really tracked down the root of the problem. Neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides that seem to be harming bees, were banned recently by the EU for 2 years. However, that might not be the real culprit. There was an article in Time recently that gave a nice overview of the possible causes, and I'm going to summarize that here.

Neonicotinoids (pesticides)  
Evidence for:        
-present on pollen and bees
-highly toxic to bees            
-can be absorbed from the soil
-persist for years after application

Evidence against:
-no direct link to CCD
-France has restricted use since 1999, and still has CCD
-Australia uses, and doesn't have high CCD rates

Varroa mite  (parasite)                                      
Evidence for:
-demonstrated bee killer

Evidence against:
 -not all CCD hives have mites

Fungal infections                                                   
Evidence for:
-known to kill bees              

Evidence against:
-not all CCD hives have infections

While pesticides no doubt are harmful to bees, we don't have enough evidence to conclude that pesticides cause CCD. Still, it's enough to make me want to eat organic. The other scary thing to think about is the fact that North America's native bees, such as bumblebees, have no keepers replenishing their colonies or taking care of them Bumblebees are also dying off in massive numbers. Why???

There is a lot more information out there on this topic. Here are a few links:

http://www.xerces.org/neonicotinoids-and-bees/
http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572

Sinkholes

What's up with all the sinkholes lately? I don't know a lot about them, but this is terrifying: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23793499

New mammal species: the olinguito

You may have heard by now, but a new species of mammal was announced yesterday by the Smithsonian. It is called the olinguito, or Bassaricyon neblina. It is related to raccoons and escaped scientists' notice for a long time because everyone thought it was just another olingo, a small mammal native to Central and South America. But no, the museum specimens were misidentified, and it turns out it is not an olingo. It also happens to be extremely cute. 

UPDATE: the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a meme surrounding the olingo. http://nmnh.tumblr.com/

Cool insect

My mom took this photo in northern Minnesota. Anyone know what it is?