Latest Insect Stories

Flying insects' altitude control mechanisms are the focus of research being conducted in a Caltech laboratory under an Air Force Office of Scientific Research grant that may lead to technology that controls altitude in a variety of aircraft for the Air Force."This work investigates sensory-motor feedback mechanisms in the insect brain that could inspire new approaches to flight stabilization and navigation in future insect-sized vehicles for the military," said Dr. Willard Larkin,...

Head lice shrivel in study as device hits the marketFour years after the LouseBuster prototype made headlines when research showed the chemical-free, warm-air device wiped out head lice on children, a new study reveals that a revamped, government-cleared model is highly effective."For a louse, it's like sticking your head out a window at 100 miles an hour; they're going to get dried out," says University of Utah biology Professor Dale Clayton, senior author of the study and a...

In Australia, when crossing from one state to another, travelers may encounter a quarantine stop and may be required to forfeit recently purchased fruits and vegetables as a hedge against invasive pests. But in the U.S., crossing state lines is free wheeling, according to researchers from the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, who evaluated the threat of invasive pests to states from within the country."We concluded that the immediate threat from known invasive insect pests is greater from...

New Findings Suggest Species' Interactions Don't Always Promote DiversityBiologists have long thought that interactions between plants and pollinating insects hasten evolutionary changes and promote biological diversity. However, new findings show that some interactions between plants and pollinators are less likely to increase diversity than previously thought, and in some instances, reduce it.Findings, published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, show that local populations of one of...

By Daniel Stolte, University of ArizonaA newly identified relationship between a fly and a weedy mustard-type plant promises to answer many long-standing questions surrounding the evolutionary arms race between plant-eating insects and their host plantsScientists trying to get a grip on the arms race between plant-eating insects and the defenses put up by their hosts just got a boost from new research by a University of Arizona entomologist published in the early view edition of Molecular...

British scientists have created genetically modified sterile mosquitoes in an experiment to kill off others in their species, and researchers are hopeful that early field trials could help to stave off the rapid spread of dengue fever. This is the first time genetically altered mosquitoes have been set loose in the wild, after years of lab experiments and calculations. But while scientists believe the trial could lead to a breakthrough in halting the disease, critics argue that mutant...

Plants that can pollinate themselves are more likely to go extinct, says new study of nightshade plant familyMany plants can pollinate themselves and reproduce without the aid of a mate, thanks to having both male and female parts. But the short-term perks of being able to go it alone come with long-term costs, says a new study in the journal Science. The reason is because plants that can pollinate themselves are more prone to extinction, scientists say.Flowering plants are incredibly...

TEMPE, Ariz., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- "You've just entered another dimension - a dimension of insects, a micro dimension, where milkweed bugs, assassin bugs, crickets and fruit flies crawl, walk or fly side by side to show off features that are the envy of the insect world and quite possibly beyond." This isn't the opening narration of the late 1950s television series "The Twilight Zone," but the introduction of a video announcing the 2010 Ugly Bug Contest. Last year's Ugly Bug Contest...

Cockroaches can skitter through a crowded under-the-sink cabinet, eluding capture or worse, making the insects a model for rescue robots that would creep through the debris of disaster in search of survivors.But learning how they use all six legs at the same time to walk, run and turn has been a difficult and time-consuming task. Until now.Using a pair of high-speed cameras and a custom computer program, researchers at Case Western Reserve University are able to simultaneously extract...

VENTURA, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- As the bed bug epidemic continues to strengthen its grip on North America, ThermaPure®, (www.thermapure.com) the industry pioneer that developed the heat treatment process currently being used to effectively kill the blood-sucking pests and their eggs, has been awarded another patent from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (US 7,690,148 B2 - Hedman, issued April 6, 2010). "This is a really exciting new patent because it combines two highly...