star Be part of April 1–30! star
Come make iNaturalist observations for the Early Flyers Data Quest! Matthew Liebman, US EPA New England Regional Laboratory, will lead this walk. Meet outside Franklin Park Zoo's Giraffe Entrance on Pierpont Road By locating and identifying nine species of early flying insects along the urban to rural gradient, you'll help the “Early Flyer” quest gather information about how warmer temperatures in cities influence nature’s calendar. Spring is coming sooner in the city due to the urban heat island effect. You can help us study the extent to which our neighborhoods are being influenced by higher temperatures by using our early flying butterflies, moths and bumblebees as indicators. These insects play a crucial part in our ecosystems including their role as pollinators. Many plants depend on them for reproduction.