I’ve blogged in the past about the severe drought in Southern California, which has kicked fire season off early. It’s also putting a serious damper on spring flora and fauna activity. The L.A. Times reports:
Seasonal ponds are cracked dry, leaving no haven for some frog eggs or fairy shrimp to hatch. Some flower-dependent butterflies are staying dormant for another season. Plants aren’t bearing berries; some oak trees aren’t sprouting acorns. Bees are behaving strangely.
Ranchers are sending a stronger signal to the economically-minded: The grass is too dry for cattle to graze, and ranchers are selling cows cheap or moving them out of state.
Not only are bees “behaving strangely”—their numbers are way down around the globe—but they have no flowers to pollinate, and no pollination means no honey. So it’s official: California is not the land of milk or honey.
