I took this photo of a cosmos being pollinated by an urbane digger bee in my backyard in the Los Carneros region of Napa Valley in the fall. It demonstrates the essential role backyards can play ...

I was out in the countryside trying to find interesting flowers to photograph when I came across this beautiful bumble bee collecting pollen from a thistle, Scotland's emblem.

Climate Lab is a Seattle Times initiative that explores the effects of climate change in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The project is funded in part by The Bullitt Foundation, Jim and Birte ...