Sure, mosquitos are an important link in the food chain for amphibians, birds and other insects, but they’re annoying, they’re persistent and they can actually kill you. Two researchers at Western Carolina University are working on a faster, cheaper, more reliable method to identify which ones will. 

Local author Jim Costa will present his new book, “Darwin and the Art of Botany: Observations on the Curious World of Plants,” at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 

Treatments for spongy moth (formerly known as the gypsy moth) infestations in several areas across North Carolina will start as early as June 7 and could continue through June 20, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

For many people who grew up in the eastern United States, the soft yellow blink of fireflies drifting over dusky fields and lawns is synonymous with summer, a nostalgic symbol of warmth and childhood. But few would guess that the common eastern firefly (Photinus pyralis) is one of more than two thousand firefly species worldwide. 

During the summer of 2011, billions of cicada eggs hatched inside tree twigs across the Southeast. The hatchlings, called nymphs, dropped down and burrowed into the ground, where they’ve been sucking on tree roots ever since. 

They can eat just about anything and multiply like crazy. They live all over the world, in a variety of environments — wherever you go, they’re likely nearby. 

Red maples are popping, and it appears spring has sprung. As the weather improves, local beekeepers’ hives are buzzing back to life. 

(This piece is a follow-up to a previous “Up Moses Creek” column published Sept. 13 and available online at smokymountainnews.com/outdoors/item/36356-yellow-jacket-muse.)

One afternoon last month I went to look for wide, flat rocks in the woods above our house.