(Photo reconstruction credit: Thomas Geissmann / Fauna & Flora International)

In celebration of long-gone Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who created modern system of plants and animal names and classifications, The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and a committee of scientists from around the world announced its top 10 new species discovered in 2011.

Brace yourself: This year's list includes some of the nastiest and strangest animals, plants, and bugs from Brazil, Myanmar, the Dutch Caribbean, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Spain, Borneo, Nepal, China and Tanzania -- and they're bound to make an impression.

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Jason Gibbs/Cornell University

Just in time for the forecasts to hit triple digits and for us all to stock up on deodorant and tank tops, scientists say they've discovered and are now analyzing the Lasioglossum gotham, casually called the "sweat bee."

Yes, instead of flowers or melty popsicles, the sweat bee is attracted to the salty beads on human skin, and, according to entomologist John Ascher, use humans as a "salt lick."

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NASA

Mercury's not in retrograde and all seems normal on the astronomical charts, but through the lenses of highly specialized cameras, astronomers caught something slightly unusual on the Sun's surface over the weekend. More >>

​Now, we're not big believers in signs and superstition, but the abundance of bizarre in our own town (of course) and nationwide had us wondering... What's up with iPad apps for cats? Huff-able caffeine? The Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts allegedly defacing another artist's work during a gallery show? The headache we've all had since downloading Instagram?

Thanks to this website, the mystery is solved.

Carry on.

Lilia Menconi

Lookout Mountain

As spring makes a quick appearance in Arizona, the days for camping and hiking are perfect (and numbered).

Luckily, there are tons of places in the Valley where you can take advantage of the natural beauty, gorgeous weather, and off-the-beaten path hikes. Here are just 10 of our favorites:

10. Usery Mountain's Wind Cave Trail
The 1.6-mile trail is fairly easy; it's the most popular hike in the area. There are few rough spots where you have to navigate over some big rocks, but the gentle grade (only 820 feet) and long switchbacks make, at least the first half, a big piece of $6 cake. The second half begins to climb up the rock's face toward the cave. (In the morning it's almost completely in the shade, which is a nice refresher.) And to top it off, along the way, hikers can trot along to the soothing sounds of nature -- the wind rolling over the desert floor, bees buzzing, birds chirping ... the occasional round of gun shots (thanks to the shooting range, of course).

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Jamie Peachey

Phoenix's unfinished "Papago Intermodal Transfer Station" underneath Deck Park.

​It's no secret that we're big fans of what lies beneath. Last year, "underground" was the theme of our Best of Phoenix issue -- we even created an interactive map of Phoenix that includes photos and interviews with local archaeologists and creatives from underground scenes. More >>

Clint McHale died on May 4, 2011, after a fall he took at Camelback Mountain. A planned sign at the mountain park will help educate visitors about safety.

​A new sign being planned for Camelback Mountain will likely memorialize falling victim Clint McHale with a picture, but don't call it a memorial, says one Phoenix official.

"It'll be more like an educational or information sign," says Kathi Reichert, deputy director for Phoenix's Parks and Recreation department. "It talks about safety and staying on the trail."

But if it's approved by her boss, Jim Burke, the acting director of the department, the sign will also feature McHale's picture and a short message about him.

The sign will likely be installed at the mountain by May, sometime around the one-year anniversary of McHale's death.

McHale had been hiking with a friend on May 4 when the two decided to scale one of the mountain park's many vertical cliffs.

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CrossFit Fever via flickr creative commons

All gyms are not created equal. If the high-tech treadmills and state-of-the-art weight training equipment haven't brought expected results, CrossFit could be the answer.

Military special operations and police academies have turned to CrossFit gyms since 2005, and mainstream versions of the workout routine have multiplied to the thousands since 2010. 

The high-impact, low machine-use system brings chiseled results to the Valley.

Check out nine local CrossFit resources after the jump ... 

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Image: Ray Stern

One of the options being considered by the City of Phoenix to ease traffic jams in the parking lot near Camelback Mountain's Echo Canyon trailhead is to eliminate parking there entirely.

If that happened, a new parking lot with 232 spaces could be created where 44th Street curves east to McDonald Drive.

Or, maybe the city would build that new parking lot, but also expand the Echo Canyon trail parking lot to 176 spaces, up from the current 66.

The city's Parks and Recreation board will ultimately decide from among a range of options now on the table. Board members are scheduled to review various construction concepts and comments from the public about them at a public meeting at 5 p.m. on January 26 in the Phoenix City Council chambers.

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