What's The Impact Of Early Blooms? MELISSA BLOCK, HOST: So
whatever happened to March coming in like a lion? It's been
downright lamb-like lately, more like May or June temperatures
than March. The colors tell the story on the weather map, a huge
swath of orange and yellow across much of the country. It was 81
degrees in Omaha and Chicago earlier this week. And it's been so
warm here in Washington, D.C., that the famed cherry blossoms
will be at peak bloom weeks earlier than normal. Which got us
wondering - how does an early bloom affect plants? And what does
it mean for bugs? Jake Weltzin has some of the answers. He's an
ecologist and the executive director of the USA National
Phenology Network. Jake, welcome to the program. DR. JAKE
WELTZIN: Thank you very much, Melissa. BLOCK: And let's define
phenology. Just a bit here: The shorthand, I gather, is nature's
calendar. You're looking at the effect of climate on the
lifecycles of plants and animals. WELTZIN: Sure, phenology is
sort an old-fashioned term for t