Is the abundance of insects unusual? Updates from around the state with picking and weather impacts.

Frost exposure and poor pollination are behind expectations for a less than ideal season, according to research institute Luke. Bilberry patches at particular risk are in the regions of South Karelia, Kainuu, Keminmaa, Ylitornio, as well as certain areas of Central and South Ostrobothnia.

Alaska is one of the only places in the world where peony flowers grow in the summer months. But the unusually cold, wet weather this year is delaying the blooms by weeks.

Amid severely restricted fishing on the Kuskokwim River, one bright spot has been abundant sockeye salmon runs at 30,000 fish daily near Bethel.

Several thousand pink salmon were caught in one net in connection with the extraction of the blacklisted fish. Too many Pink Salmon in the oceans and rivers threaten other species of salmon in Norway.

While many Bering Sea crab populations find themselves in freefall, Dungeness crab is breaking records in regions that used to hardly see them.

A total of 94 brown bears, five black bears and five wolves were killed in the program that began May 10 and ended June 4, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said this week. That’s more than four times the number biologists predicted would be taken. State biologists also say disease and changing food supplies might be a bigger factor overall.

King and summer chum runs are forecasted to be poor, with little to no harvestable surplus available.

However, numerous fishermen say the assessment of a decline in the stock doesn't match what they're seeing on the water, where haddock appear to them to be plentiful.

Kuujjuaq, Quebec experienced record-breaking temperatures this week. Locals say hunting practices and the ability to travel on the land are being significantly reduced by the thaw.

"In our country Afghanistan I have observed that the level of water is decreasing day by day."

As engineers and government officials try to locate the source of a sewage leak into the Capilano River, the Squamish Nation and a group of volunteers who monitor waterways on the North Shore say they are worried about the effect on young salmon in the river.

December should have sea ice development in Norton Sound. But no sign of ice yet this year. Several storms have moved northward across the western Bering Sea and brought strong winds and bouts of above freezing weather to the Teller area and all of the Bering Strait region.

More than 1,000 domestic poultry and hundreds of wild birds have died or needed to be euthanized in the state since early spring. Since the first case of a deadly strain of avian flu was detected in Alaska in May, more than 1,000 domestic poultry and hundreds of wild birds have died or needed to be euthanized.

Biologists struggle to single out a leading cause of the caribou population’s decline. Increased wolf predation, changed migration patterns and climate warming affecting food sources can all influence the herd. “It’s going to be another rough winter again this year without caribou,” Selawik resident Norma Ballot said.

Norwegian fruit farmers are seeking compensation for poor harvests due to extreme weather conditions, with over 1,000 farmers applying for compensation this year, compared to under 500 last year, as cold weather destroyed crops in the west and north, while drought hit the east and inland areas.

October flew by leaving us with a couple of light snowfalls. November came around with something slightly more impressive, but it wasn't the same. Mid December decided to make up for all of the snowfalls that we missed all at once, it seems like.

Record-setting drought conditions have left many of B.C’s streams and waterways too low for salmon to swim up to spawn. Heiltsuk First Nation leaders say hundreds of fish were found rotting in a creek in Bella Bella, B.C., usually teeming by fall with migrating pink and chum salmon.

Federal officials have declared a drought-related disaster in Rhode Island while New England’s second-largest city is restricting outdoor water use as the drought in the Northeast worsens.

Eight counties on the coast have gone from moderate to severe drought status since last week, according to the latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, almost one-third of the state remains in moderate drought, and wells across the state are beginning to run dry.