Latest Insect Stories
A new study in the current issue of The Annals of the Entomological Society of America helps scientists better understand how organisms depend upon one another In the world of insects, high risk of attack has led to the development of camouflage as a means for survival, especially in the larval stage. One caterpillar may look like a stick, while another disguises itself as bird droppings. Though crypsis may have its advantages, University of Florida researchers uncovered some of the most...
No one likes being bitten by whining mosquitoes, but have you ever considered what the experience is like for them as their cold-blooded bodies fill with our warm blood? Now researchers reporting online on December 15 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have uncovered the mosquitoes' secret to avoiding heat stress: they give up cooling droplets of their hard-won meals. The study shows for the first time that blood-feeding insects are capable of controlling their body temperature,...
Looking to avoid confrontations with bed bugs? You will be better off not shaving your legs according to researchers in the UK. Twenty-nine volunteers bravely tested the theory by Michael Siva-Jothy, from Sheffield University’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, BBC News is reporting. Siva-Jothy found that more layers of both long and short body hair near the surface appeared to work as a deterrent to the blood-sucking insects, with the finer hairs acting as an early warning...
Wheat's genetic resistance to Hessian flies has been failing, but a group of Purdue University and U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists believe that other plants may soon be able to come to the rescue. The Purdue and USDA research team developed a method to test toxins from other plants on Hessian fly larvae. The test simulates the effect of a transgenic plant without the lengthy and costly procedures necessary to actually create those plants. "For years, people have tried to...
As bed bug populations spread throughout the United States, scientists at ASTMH meeting release new research on their biology and behavior New research on the bed bug's ability to withstand the genetic bottleneck of inbreeding, announced Dec. 6 at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) annual meeting, provides new clues to explain the rapidly growing problem of bed bugs across the United States and globally. After mostly disappearing in the US in the 1950s, the...
Research conducted at the University of Michigan College of Engineering may lead to the use of insects to monitor hazardous situations before sending in humans. Professor Khalil Najafi, the chair of electrical and computer engineering, and doctoral student Erkan Aktakka are finding ways to harvest energy from insects, and take the utility of the miniature cyborgs to the next level. "Through energy scavenging, we could potentially power cameras, microphones and other sensors and...
Assured Environments is unveiling a more user-friendly website. The redesigned website conveniently breaks out information for commercial and residential customers. This new educational website aims to be helpful to anybody with pest problems, questions or concerns. New York, NY (PRWEB) November 03, 2011 Assured Environments, New York’s largest and oldest pest control firm, has built a solid reputation for its professional, environmentally-friendly pest management solutions. Now...
Scientists have found that a genetically modified mosquito could help tackle dengue fever and other insect-borne diseases. Researchers found that the genetically modified males mated successfully with wild females in a dengue-affected part of the Cayman Islands. They said that mating has not been proven in the wild, and could cut the number of disease-carrying mosquitoes. The World Health Organization (WHO) believes there may be 50 million cases every year. Scientists realized in...
Bed bugs, largely absent in the U.S. since the 1950s, have returned with a hungry vengeance in the last decade in all 50 states. These insects have developed resistance to pyrethroids, one of the very few classes of insecticide used for their control. A research team at Virginia Tech has discovered some of the genetic mechanisms for the bed bug's resistance to two of the most popular pyrethroids -- deltamethrin and beta-cyfluthrin. The discoveries will accelerate efforts to understand the...
ATLANTA, Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As Halloween nears, kids dressed up as vampires, ghosts and goblins aren't the only creepy creatures people can expect to lurk around their homes. Atlanta-based pest control leader Orkin notes that cooler temperatures mean cockroaches, spiders, centipedes and rodents might seek refuge in your house. And, according to Orkin's recent Omnibus survey, Americans fear some of these pests the most. "Seasonal changes can drive many pests indoors for food,...
Latest Insect Reference Libraries
Image Caption: I took this picture myself on 7th March, 2007. John E. Hill 04:23, 7 March 2007 (UTC) Specimen caught by Jim Symes in Laura, Queensland. It measures over 16 cm from its' head to the end of its' body and is the largest recorded specimen of this species so far. John E. Hill 11:12, 22 March 2007 (UTC). Credit: John E. Hill/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) The giant centipede (Ethmostigmus rubripes) can be found in Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, China, Southeast Asia, and the...
Image Caption: Scutigeromorph centipede, probably Allothereua maculata. Credit: Chris Bloke / Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0) Allothereua maculate is a species of house centipede that can be found in Australia. Its range extends from Queensland to Western Australia, an area where it is commonly found. It prefers a habitat within moist woodland areas or urban areas. It can reach an average body length of up to one inch. Its body is dark brown in body, with darker striped marking the fifteen...
The Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria), is the most widespread species of locust. It occurs throughout Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It was once very common in Europe but has now become rare there. Because of the vast geographic area it occupies, which comprises many different ecological zones, numerous subspecies have been described. However, not all experts agree on the validity of some of these subspecies. Pigmentation and size of the migratory locust vary according to its...
Pentatomidae is a family of insects that includes some of the stink bugs and shield bugs. If disturbed, stink bugs will emit a pungent, bad-smelling liquid, whose rancid almond smell is due to cyanide compounds. Their antennae are 5-segmented, which gives the family its name. Their bodies are usually shield-shaped. Many stink bugs and shield bugs are considered agricultural pest insects, because they can create large populations; they suck plant juices and damage crop production, and...
A cicada is any of several insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Homoptera, with small eyes wide apart on the head and transparent well-veined wings. Cicadas live in temperate to tropical climates. Taxonomy There are many thousands of cicada species. The largest are in the genera Pomponia and Tacua. There are some 200 species in 38 genera in Australia, about 100 in the Palaearctic and exactly one species in England, the New Forest Cicada (Melampsalta montana), which is widely...
