Pollinator

Beekeepers say it can be especially challenging to raise honeybees in the Midwest. Parasites, pesticides and extreme weather like drought are contributing to colony loss.

It's no secret that honey bees are busy-bodies. They're transported all across the country to pollinate various crops, and now they're returning to Michigan for the summer.

It’s an approach promoted by other states and the federal government as a way to create important habitat for pollinators. But it’s not as simple as scattering a few seeds around solar panels.

Elly Maxwell is an entomologist at Dow Gardens in Midland, she is all abuzz about “pollinators.”What is a pollinator? We may have learned about “the birds and the bees” in school, but Elly concisely explains it again.

Wildlife officials are taking public comment on a draft plan to help reverse a decline in Monarch butterfly populations. Michigan is one of more than a…