Wings Magazine

There seems to be a constant flow of bad news about environmental losses and declining wildlife populations. But there are also individuals and organizations working to create positive change, helping to turn the tide and bringing hope for the future.

Moths are all around us. They share our natural areas and gardens, and sometimes they share our food crops, and even our clothes. Love them or despise them, moths play profoundly important roles in our environment—as pollinators; as food for songbirds, bats, and other wildlife; as part of the clean-up crew that recycles organic waste; and more—and they deserve our conservation attention.

At the core of wildlife conservation is the need to ensure that animals have somewhere to feed, breed, and shelter—that is, habitat. Making that habitat the best it can be may mean balancing many issues, which sometimes include human needs. In this issue of Wings, our writers consider the challenges of light pollution, honey bees in North America, and facilitating agriculture in urban areas.

Understanding the natural history of the species we work with is the foundation of our efforts to protect invertebrates and their habitats. We at Xerces are completely en­thralled by the amazing behaviors, intriguing relationships, and eye-catching beauty of these animals. This issue of Wings features bees, butterflies and wasps, and dragon­flies. We hope you find them as entrancing as we do.

Xerces Society staff share a passion for protecting insects and other invertebrates, but also a fascination with the diverse and intriguing behaviors of the animals that we work with. This issue of Wings looks at some of the ways in which we interact with insects as well as ways that we collaborate with individuals and communities to make conservation a success.

The Xerces Society marks its fiftieth birthday this December. This is a time to reflect on what has been achieved and the people who contributed to our success, but it is also important to look ahead at how we can continue this vital work. The articles in this issue of Wings describe initiatives that move us in new directions.

This year we are celebrating our fiftieth anniversary. Since it was launched in 1971, the Xerces Society has grown to become a widely respected organization, leading the way on the protection of insects and invertebrates in North America and beyond. The articles in this issue reflect our growth and achievements over the last half century.

Forests and woodlands are valued worldwide for their environmental benefits and economic products. In this issue we explore three very different forest environments and the insects they support: old-growth coniferous forests in the Pacific Northwest, eastern broadleaf forests in New Jersey, and ancient woodlands in England.

The importance of tackling climate as part of an invertebrate-conservation agenda is underscored by modeling studies that show the impact of climate change on the small creatures that sustain us. Depending on the amount of warming, as much as 49 percent of invertebrates may disappear from half of their current ranges.

“Protecting the life that sustains us” is not just a tagline for the Xerces Society; it is the principle that guides us every day. We hope that the articles in this issue of Wings will help to explain why this is important and illustrate some of the diverse ways in which we work to embody this principle. Thank you for your support of our work.

In a time of growing environmental threats, what we do in our home towns and neighborhoods is increasingly important.

Grasslands are among the most threatened habitats; easy to build upon or plow up, they are often the first to go. This issue of Wings looks at the beautiful wildlife that grasslands support, and some of the management problems faced by conservationists.

Conservation is sometimes seen as taking place in a distant wilderness or requiring a lot of time. In this issue of Wings we look at conservation in urban areas and how you can take action in your own neighborhood to make a difference.

What happens on farmland affects the health of wildlife, and changing how agricultural lands are managed can have a broad and profound influence on populations of bees, butterflies, and a host of other animals.

The Fall 2016 issue of Wings presents a series of articles by Xerces staff members describing some of the work we do, from local efforts to ones that are international in scope.

The Xerces Society began as a butterfly conservation group, and, although the organization's work has expanded greatly, Lepidoptera remain at the heart of our efforts. This issue of Wings looks at our past, current, and future work on conserving butterflies.

Our Fall 2015 issue of Wings Magazine is devoted to the subject of pesticides, their impact on invertebrates, and consideration of alternative in controlling insect "pests".

Roads are ubiquitous in the modern landscape. This issue of Wings examines some of the consequences they carry for insects and other invertebrates.

This issue of Wings is mostly about butterflies and moths: their importance as pollinators; how atalas disappeared from south Florida and then returned; and the challenges in captive rearing of endangered invertebrates such as the quino checkerspot.