Flora and fauna: Bat researchers won respect; senators fight the lanternfly; writer tends her garden; fireflies at risk ...

Flying fox bats rest in trees in Tamworth, Australia.
(Photo by Kathleen Flynn, Propublica)

Tenacious bat researchers like Australian Peggy Eby found a way to predict pandemics, but first, they had to overcome a lack of scientific support. "Eby found like-minded scientists, and the team, led by women, persisted. They cobbled together grant after grant, battled burnout and kept impatient funders at bay," reports Caroline Chen of ProPublica. "A decade after Eby’s government grant proposal was shot down, they published a groundbreaking paper in the journal Nature that demonstrated it was not only possible to predict" spillover of a virus from bats to humans, "but it might be preventable. Only then did it become obvious just how important Eby’s quiet fieldwork truly was."

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A spotted lanternfly
(Photo by Ted Shaffrey, AP)

Not all polka dots are cute and harmless. Meet the spotted lanternfly. "A bipartisan group of senators unveiled a proposal aimed at addressing the spread of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive species they warn poses 'a significant threat to the U.S. agricultural economy,'" reports Julia Mueller of The Hill. "'Spotted lanternflies ravage crops that are critical to Pennsylvania’s economy including grapevines, apples, peaches, hops, and more,'” said Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)."

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"Swastika Mountain needed a new name. It wasn’t a nod to the Nazis, but that didn’t make the Oregon peak any less controversial. This is how—and why—wild places get renamed in the U.S.," reports Joel Mathish of National Geographic.

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Like human lives, gardens evolve and change over time. Sometimes they have to be moved to thrive, but if tended, they will grow and change with the seasons. "A garden, of course, is made up of living things, changing all the time. But it's been fun to every year change the space itself, too, every year finding ways to make things just a little better," writes Jenny Schlecht of Agweek. "Radishes, peas and lettuce already have started poking their heads through the soil, and most of the tomato and pepper plants are hearty and healthy. It'll all continue to grow and change day by day, and I can't wait to be outside to watch it."

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Introducing "Sheep Shorts!" Pants for sheep! BAaaaah! Not really. Sheep shorts are clips of good times raising lambs and sheep and enjoying rural life in Eastern Kentucky. Check them out here. 

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Fireflies are one of nature's most delightful insects. But they are struggling to survive. "Experts offer tips on how to make a home for the beloved bioluminescent insects in your own backyard—from creating a microhabitat to keeping your off," reports Amy McKeever of National Geographic.

(Firefly photo by Taylor Kennedy, Sitka Productions, Nat Geo Image Collection)