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The cottonwoods and alders on the left and ponderosas and perennial grasses on the right framed the trail as if it were the subject of a painting, drawing our eyes up the valley. Mary was celebrating the variety and vigor of the riparian understory when I saw Iris sidestep a stick ahead of us. Iris leaves no stick unturned, so my curiosity was piqued. As we approached, I could see it was a rubber boa!

There are five different species of Hummingbird Clearwing Moths in the United States. Unlike most moths that are active at night, these members of the sphinx moth family fly during the day, making them much easier to observe than their nocturnal relatives.

We pause our berry gathering to more closely examine the kinnikinnick. On many parts of the shrub, the smooth, leathery green leaf margins are accented by bulbous, yellow-red growths. Unmistakably, these are galls, tumor-like growths of the leaf tissue. Each gall was induced by a manzanita leaf-gall aphid (Tamalia coweni), a female aphid who probes along the leaf to form a tiny home.

You’ve probably seen it before, even if you didn’t know exactly what you were looking at: some black, woody growth on cherry or plum trees. Black knot fungus, or Apiosporina morbosa, is a fungal agent that invades young trees of the Prunus genus, including most hard-pitted, fruit-bearing trees like cherries, plums, apricots, and peaches.

The only joint appearance with congressional candidates Ryan Zinke and Monica Tranel was quite animated. Both have new TV ads out — featuring a snake and a rodeo. And Dems seem torn over who to support in the eastern district race.

In the western U.S. House primaries, The Zinke-Olszewski race was surprisingly close, and Tranel's margin of victory over Neumann was surprisingly large. What's in store for the general election? Will Montana Dems show up?

Super PACs may be following the law but are they playing fair? Ryan Zinke's new ad wants to reassure voters he doesn't live in California. Democrats may have to reckon with a deceased candidate winning the eastern congressional district primary. And the contested western congressional district could boost voter turnout in this mid-term election. Listen now on Campaign Beat.

Another round of thoughts and prayers from political leaders. The Supreme Court race turns explicitly partisan. The commissioner of political practices says state leaders need to join the fight against election disinformation. And the health department issues an emergency rule to keep trans Montanans from changing their birth certificates.

Former vice president Mike Pence makes an unannounced visit to the Capitol. New restrictive voting laws are back in effect. Democrat Cora Neumann rails against "rich outsiders." Schools superintendent Elsie Arntzen wants to cut the number of required school counselors.

Sen. Steve Daines wants to protect kids from gay TV characters, and compares women to sea turtles and eagles. Ryan Zinke touts his record as former Interior Secretary in a new ad, despite being fired from that job. And Democrats Cora Neumann and Monica Tranel get testy over a super PAC attack ad.