An interesting species was added to the BWorks Martha’s Vineyard Atlas of Life project on iNaturalist last weekend: Vespula vidua, sometimes known as the widow yellowjacket.
Flies — the order Diptera — tend to be either ignored or reviled by humans. But this diverse group of insects, with about 17,000 known species in North America, is of enormous ecological importance.
With mild weather finally forecast for this week, odds are good that the year’s earliest butterflies will be on the wing.