{"bugs/bugs":[{"id":"european-honey-bee","name":"European Honey Bee","scientific":"Apis mellifera","wiki":"Western_honey_bee","group":"bee","origin":"non-native","danger":"mild","dangerNote":"Stings when defending the hive; a worker dies after stinging. Africanized honey bees, established in Texas since 1990, defend their nests far more fiercely and can chase people about 1,300 feet. Stay away from any swarm or wild hive, and call a beekeeper or live bee-removal service to relocate it. Dangerous to anyone allergic.","idTips":"A fuzzy amber-and-brown bee about half an inch long, with a banded abdomen and pollen baskets on the hind legs. Lives in large perennial colonies in hives and tree cavities. Not native, but the main managed pollinator.","habitat":"Everywhere flowers bloom; gardens, fields, and roadsides across {place}; nests in hives and hollow trees.","diet":"Nectar and pollen from a huge range of flowers, including Common Sunflower, clovers, and Lantana.","hosts":[],"facts":["It is not native to North America. It was brought by European settlers.","A worker can only sting once because its barbed stinger tears free and kills it.","A colony communicates the direction and distance of flowers with a 'waggle dance.'","It pollinates many crops but can compete with native bees for flowers."],"refs":[{"label":"Wikipedia: Africanized bee","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee"}]},{"id":"american-bumble-bee","name":"American Bumble Bee","scientific":"Bombus pensylvanicus","wiki":"Bombus_pensylvanicus","group":"bee","origin":"native","danger":"mild","dangerNote":"Gentle; stings only if grabbed or the nest is disturbed, and can sting more than once.","idTips":"Large, fuzzy black-and-yellow bumble bee. The thorax is yellow in front with a black band between the wings, and the abdomen has two or three yellow bands before a black tip. The Common Eastern Bumble Bee, rare here, has just one yellow band on the abdomen.","habitat":"Prairies, pastures, roadsides and gardens; nests on the ground in thick grass or old rodent burrows.","diet":"Nectar and pollen; a key pollinator of tomatoes, peppers and native wildflowers like Purple Coneflower, Bee Balm and Wild Indigo.","hosts":[],"facts":["It 'buzz-pollinates,' vibrating flowers to shake loose pollen. Essential for tomatoes and peppers.","It is the most common bumble bee on the Texas coast, where many northern bumble bees can't take the heat.","Its numbers have fallen sharply across North America, and it is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.","Its colonies last a single season; only new queens survive the winter, alone, to start the next one."],"factRefs":{"2":[{"label":"Wikipedia: Bombus pensylvanicus","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_pensylvanicus"}]},"atRisk":{"status":"IUCN Vulnerable; a federal listing decision is due by June 2027","threats":"Once one of the most common bumble bees in North America, it has dropped by about 89% in relative abundance and vanished from at least eight states, with the steepest losses in the north. Wildflower-rich prairie, meadows and field edges have been turned into monoculture cropland, lawns and pavement, taking away its flowers and nest sites. Insecticides such as neonicotinoids, diseases spread from commercially raised bumble bees, low genetic diversity and climate change add to the losses.","quiz":[{"q":"What is a main cause of the American Bumble Bee's decline?","a":"Prairies and wildflower meadows turned into monoculture farms, lawns and pavement","wrong":["Hummingbirds out-competing it for nectar","Native milkweeds that trap and kill its workers","Too many wildflowers blooming in the fall"],"why":"It nests in thick grass and needs flowers from spring to fall. Huge fields of a single crop, kept free of 'weeds', offer neither, so prairie and meadow loss is one of its biggest threats."},{"q":"Which farm and garden chemicals are linked to the American Bumble Bee's decline?","a":"Insecticides such as neonicotinoids","wrong":["Compost and mulch","Lime used to sweeten soil","Fertilizers made from fish"],"why":"Neonicotinoids and other insecticides can harm bumble bees' foraging, learning and colony growth, even at doses that don't kill them outright."},{"q":"How have commercially raised bumble bees harmed wild American Bumble Bees?","a":"Greenhouse colonies spread diseases and parasites to wild bees","wrong":["They stole all the queens from wild nests","They interbred with them until none were left","They ate the wild bees' honey stores"],"why":"Bumble bees reared for greenhouse pollination can carry pathogens like the parasite Nosema bombi, which is found more often in declining bumble bee species."}]},"refs":[{"label":"U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: American bumble bee","url":"https://www.fws.gov/species/american-bumble-bee-bombus-pensylvanicus"},{"label":"Xerces Society: American Bumble Bee","url":"https://xerces.org/endangered-species/species-profiles/at-risk-bumble-bees/american-bumble-bee"},{"label":"IUCN Red List: Bombus pensylvanicus","url":"https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/21215172/21215281"}],"range":"ALL -24b -23a"},{"id":"carpenter-bee","name":"Eastern Carpenter Bee","scientific":"Xylocopa virginica","wiki":"Xylocopa_virginica","group":"bee","origin":"native","danger":"mild","dangerNote":"Males hover and bluff but cannot sting; females can sting but almost never do.","idTips":"A large bee resembling a bumble bee but with a shiny, hairless black abdomen (bumble bees are fuzzy all over). Males have a yellow face patch and hover aggressively near eaves. Bores round nest holes in bare wood.","habitat":"Around wooden decks, fences, eaves and dead trees where females excavate nest tunnels.","diet":"Nectar and pollen; sometimes 'robs' nectar by slitting the base of long tubular flowers.","hosts":[],"facts":["Its shiny, bald black abdomen separates it from the fuzzy bumble bee.","The hovering, dive-bombing bees at your eaves are stingless males.","Females drill nearly perfect round holes into bare wood to nest.","It is an important native pollinator despite its reputation as a wood pest."],"range":"ALL -24f -24b -23a"},{"id":"paper-wasp","name":"Red Paper Wasp","scientific":"Polistes carolina","wiki":"Polistes_carolina","group":"wasp","origin":"native","danger":"mild","dangerNote":"Stings to defend the nest and can sting repeatedly; otherwise not aggressive away from the nest.","idTips":"A slender reddish-brown wasp with long trailing legs and smoky wings. Builds an open, upside-down umbrella nest of gray paper cells under eaves, grills and branches. Hovers and flies with legs dangling.","habitat":"Eaves, porch ceilings, shrubs and nest boxes; forages widely in gardens.","diet":"Adults sip nectar; they hunt caterpillars and other soft insects to feed their larvae. Useful natural pest control.","hosts":[],"facts":["Its open, umbrella-shaped paper nest hangs from a single stalk, unlike the enclosed ball of a hornet.","It is a major predator of pest caterpillars, hunting them to feed its young.","Only females sting, and mostly when the nest is disturbed.","Colonies are founded each spring by overwintered queens."],"range":"ALL -25i -24f -24b -26c -23a"},{"id":"eastern-cicada-killer","name":"Eastern Cicada Killer","scientific":"Sphecius speciosus","wiki":"Sphecius_speciosus","group":"wasp","origin":"native","danger":"mild","dangerNote":"Huge but very docile; males can't sting, females sting only if grabbed. Not a threat despite the size.","idTips":"A very large (up to 2 in) wasp with a rusty head and thorax and a black abdomen marked with pale yellow bands. Flies low over bare, sunny soil in mid-summer. Males patrol territories; females dig burrows.","habitat":"Bare, sunny, sandy soil; lawns, slopes and garden edges where females dig nest burrows.","diet":"Adults drink flower nectar and sap; females paralyze annual cicadas to stock their burrows for larvae.","hosts":[],"facts":["Despite its intimidating size it is one of the gentlest wasps around people.","A female hunts and paralyzes cicadas, dragging them into underground burrows as larval food.","Appearances in July–August coincide with peak annual cicada song.","The ground-patrolling, bluffing individuals are harmless, stingless males."],"dietQuiz":{"prompt":"What do ADULT Eastern Cicada Killers eat?","answer":"Flower nectar and tree sap"},"range":"ALL -24f -24b -23a"},{"id":"black-and-yellow-garden-spider","name":"Black-and-Yellow Garden Spider","scientific":"Argiope aurantia","wiki":"Argiope_aurantia","group":"spider","origin":"native","danger":"harmless","dangerNote":"HARMLESS. A bite is no worse than a bee sting and happens only if squeezed.","idTips":"A large orb-weaver with a striking black-and-yellow patterned abdomen and long legs, sitting head-down in the center of a big circular web. The web often has a bold zigzag silk band (stabilimentum) down the middle.","habitat":"Gardens, tall grass and sunny shrubs where it strings large orb webs between stems.","diet":"Flying insects; grasshoppers, flies, bees and moths caught in the web.","hosts":[],"facts":["The bold zigzag of white silk in its web is called a stabilimentum.","It is a beneficial garden predator that eats many pest insects.","It rebuilds much of its web each night, eating the old silk.","It is harmless; its reputation comes purely from its large size and bold colors."],"range":"ALL -24f -23a"},{"id":"southern-black-widow","name":"Southern Black Widow","scientific":"Latrodectus mactans","wiki":"Latrodectus_mactans","group":"spider","origin":"native","danger":"venomous","dangerNote":"VENOMOUS. A glossy black spider with a red hourglass on the underside of the abdomen. Bites are serious but rarely fatal; seek care. Shy and web-bound, it bites only when pressed against skin.","idTips":"A shiny, round-bodied black spider with a red HOURGLASS marking on the underside of the abdomen (males and juveniles are smaller with lighter markings). Builds a messy, strong, tangled web low in sheltered spots. Hangs upside down in the web.","habitat":"Dark, undisturbed places: woodpiles, sheds, meter boxes, under eaves, in flower pots and outdoor furniture.","diet":"Insects caught in its tangle web.","hosts":[],"facts":["The red hourglass is on the UNDERSIDE of the abdomen, so you see it when the spider hangs upside down.","It is shy and non-aggressive, biting only when trapped against skin. Common when reaching into stored items.","Its venom is a neurotoxin; bites cause severe cramping but are rarely fatal with modern care.","Wear gloves when moving woodpiles, pots and stored items where it hides."],"range":"ALL -24f -23a"},{"id":"brown-recluse","name":"Brown Recluse","scientific":"Loxosceles reclusa","wiki":"Brown_recluse_spider","group":"spider","origin":"native","danger":"venomous","dangerNote":"VENOMOUS. A tan spider with a dark violin shape on its back and only SIX eyes in three pairs. Bites can cause slow-healing wounds; seek care. Very reclusive. Bites are uncommon.","idTips":"A small, uniformly tan-to-brown spider with long legs, a dark violin-s