The latest news about entomology, brought to you by the Entomological Society of America
By Kevin Fitzgerald Every autumn, the Migration Festival takes place at Lighthouse Point on the seacoast of Connecticut near New Haven. It’s a celebration of flying creatures: birds, butterflies, and dragonflies. This event is a cooperative effort sponsored by the New Haven Parks, Recreation, and Tree Department; New Haven Bird Club; Audubon Connecticut; Menunkatuck Audubon […]
A new article by Michael Ferro and John Plakidas describes a new species of fly that was collected in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Neostenoptera appalachiensis is a gall midge, and it is the first record of the genus Neostenoptera in the New World. The specific name, appalachiensis, means “from the Appalachians” in Latin, in […]
The release of tiny insects to combat an invasive weed is paying off, according to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Scientists from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service released arundo gall wasps (Tetramesa romana) and arundo scale insects (Rhizaspidiotus donacis) several years ago as part of a biocontrol program to kill a […]
By Josh Lancette A new species of sand fly, dubbed Psathyromyia elizabethdorvalae, has been discovered in Brazil and could be a potential vector of leishmaniasis, a disease spread by sand flies that can result in skin sores and damage to internal organs. The new sand fly is described in the Journal of Medical Entomology. The […]
By Paul H. Williams, Jiaxing Huang, and Jiandong An Bumble bees are well known for being among the most important pollinators in the world’s north-temperate regions. Perhaps more surprisingly, half of the world’s bumble bee species are concentrated in just one country, China. With an area only slightly smaller than the U.S., China has almost […]
