This post International Cooperation Boosts Prep for Invasive Insects Before They Arrive appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
New research shows how emphasizing collaboration and local knowledge in China can advance preparation for responding to invasive insects that could threaten North American tree species.
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This post Tick Blitz: How Community Science is Helping New York State Monitor Ticks appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
With a little bit of training, 59 citizen scientists in New York collected more than 3,700 ticks across 15 counties in a two-week period in the summer of 2021, greatly expanding the reach of professional tick researchers at the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases. The "New York State Tick Blitz" is now an annual project and a model that tick-surveillance programs elsewhere can follow.
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This post Next Time You Eat a Kiwifruit, Don’t Thank a Bee appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Honey bees and bumble bees excel at pollinating wide varieties of plants and crops, but kiwifruit is not one of them. A study investigating kiwifruit pollination methods found fruit developed on barely 3 percent of bee-pollinated flowers, leaving artificial pollination (by human hand) as the primary choice for kiwifruit growers.
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This post Curious About Edible Insects? There’s a Free Online Course for That appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
The first-ever massive open online course (MOOC) on edible insects was launched in March, based on one entomologist's popular university course. Learn more about the development of the "Edible Insects" MOOC and what it offers to online learners around the world.
The post Curious About Edible Insects? There’s a Free Online Course for That appeared first on Entomology Today.
This post How One Entomologist Found Work-Life Balance in an Industry Career appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Meet entomologist Alix Whitener, Ph.D., U.S. field development manager at FMC Corporation, avid runner and skier, active ESA volunteer, and subject of the next installment of our "Standout Early Career Professionals" series.
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This post Scale Insects on Urban Trees Benefit Spiders, Other Natural Enemies in Plants Below appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Two new studies find even more benefits to tolerating scale insects on urban trees, boosting the abundance of a variety of spiders and attracting predator insects that serve as natural enemies of other pests in both trees and nearby plants.
The post Scale Insects on Urban Trees Benefit Spiders, Other Natural Enemies in Plants Below appeared first on Entomology Today.
This post Why Entomology Students Should Get Active in Education and Outreach appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Getting people excited about insect science and inspiring the next generation of entomologists are worthy goals on their own, but leading education and outreach programs can be a valuable professional experience for any entomology student, as well. One entomology master's student shares her experience and advice on getting involved in community education and outreach.
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This post U.S. Quinoa Crops Threatened by Little-Known Fly Pest appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Quinoa's emergence as an attractive, climate-resilient crop in the U.S. has been met with a fresh challenge from a stem-boring fly species, Amauromyza karli, previously known in Canada. While research is scant on this new pest, a new profile in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management outlines what we know—and what we need to find out—about reducing its impact on quinoa.
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This post The State of Insect Resistance to Transgenic Bt Crops appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Crops engineered to produce insecticidal proteins from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have had many noteworthy successes in the past 25 years, but resistance to Bt crops has evolved in numerous instances, as well. A new research review examines global patterns of resistance to Bt crops and outlines strategies for maximizing sustainability of this important tool for pest management.
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This post What’s in a Nest: Scavenger Turns Major Pest in Chicken Houses appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Lesser mealworm beetles (Alphitobius diaperinus) evolved to live in bird nests, and in broiler chicken houses their populations explode. A new pest profile in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management outlines why lesser mealworms are exceptionally challenging to manage in chicken houses and identifies key research needs for future progress.
The post What’s in a Nest: Scavenger Turns Major Pest in Chicken Houses appeared first on Entomology Today.
This post Another Non-Native Mosquito Species Adds to Growing List in Florida appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Mosquito researchers in Florida report the presence of in the state of Culex lactator, a species previously known from Central and South America. The arrival adds to the growing list of non-native mosquito species finding their way into Florida—a worrying trend for public-health entomologists.
The post Another Non-Native Mosquito Species Adds to Growing List in Florida appeared first on Entomology Today.
This post RNAi Insecticide Offers Promise for Managing Colorado Potato Beetle appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
A study evaluating one of the first insecticides developed to use RNA interference as a mode of action finds significant effects on mobility, pupation, and reproduction of the target insect, the Colorado potato beetle.
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This post Spider Solidarity: Scientists Discover New Species With Unprecedented Social Behavior appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Sociality in spiders is quite rare, but a new species found in Madagascar takes it a step further. Isoxya manangona kite spiders build large colonies of webs, all connected by a central silk line where multiple adult males gather harmoniously. Researchers suggest the males could be "lekking," gathering in a group to perform mating displays for females, a behavior never before seen in spiders.
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This post Plant Pollen May Be Important Food Source for Some Mosquitoes in U.S. appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Larvae of the southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) fared well in a new study when fed a diet of corn or pine pollen. The findings suggest corn pollen could help the species— key vector of West Nile virus in the U.S.—thrive in habitats near agricultural areas.
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This post In Defense of Clothes Moths, Marvels of Evolution appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Though they cause headaches for dining on your wardrobe, webbing clothes moths are unique creatures with fascinating specialized biology. They can eat hair and metabolize their own water. They can chew through plastic and digest mercury. And that's not all. An entomologist studying these moths makes a case for appreciating their evolutionary feats.
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This post Nitro-Nosh: Why Termites’ Molted Exoskeletons Never Go to Waste appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Termites' wood-heavy diet offers little nitrogen, a critical nutrient for growth and reproduction. But their exoskeletons are nitrogen rich, and new research shows that eating shed exoskeletons after molting is a core strategy for recycling nitrogen throughout the termite colony and boosting the queen's egg-laying.
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This post A Mandibleful of Plastic: Study Asses if Microplastic Consumption Harms Mosquitoes appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
As tiny plastic particles infiltrate seemingly every environment on Earth, researchers are examining their effects on creatures big and small. A new study finds mosquito larvae may be resilient to microplastic consumption, but further research is needed.
The post A Mandibleful of Plastic: Study Asses if Microplastic Consumption Harms Mosquitoes appeared first on Entomology Today.
This post Evidence for Biodiversity Insurance Hypothesis: More Species Are Indeed Beneficial appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
A multi-year study of wild bee species pollinating fruit crops finds significant variance year-to-year in the species mix and more species needed to maintain threshold pollination levels over multiple years than in any single year. The analysis offers clear evidence that greater biodiversity yields greater ecosystem resilience.
The post Evidence for Biodiversity Insurance Hypothesis: More Species Are Indeed Beneficial appeared first on Entomology Today.
This post How One Entomologist Turns Biological Control Into Real-World Results appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Meet Nicole Quinn, Ph.D., entomologist at the University of Florida, expert in insect biological control, and subject of the next installment of our "Standout Early Career Professionals" series.
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This post White-Eyed Fruit Flies: How Improvements in Gene Editing Could Aid in Pest Management appeared first on Entomology Today - Brought to you by the Entomological Society of America.
Researchers are refining methods for applying gene-editing technology CRISPR/Cas9 in species of fruit flies, which could soon lead to useful advances in management of fruit fly pests like the sterile insect technique.
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