Can Genetically Modified Trees Save American Forests?
By Richard Levine Yesterday I attended the sixth North American Forest Insect Work Conference, a meeting that has been held every five years since 1991. This one is taking place […]
Biological Control in Brazil is Used on an Area that is Larger than Belgium
By Alexandre Diniz, José Roberto Postali Parra, and Aloisio Coelho Jr. Some biological control programs involve large-scale rearing of millions insect predators that are released near agricultural crops. In Brazil, […]
Tiger Moths Use Acoustic Aposematism to Deter Bat Predators
Acoustic warning signals emitted by tiger moths to deter bats, a behavior called acoustic aposematism, was previously proven to occur in the laboratory. Now researchers from Wake Forest University have […]
Video: This is What a Major Termite Swarm Looks Like
In March 2016, Thomas Chouvenc, a research assistant at the University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, noticed a major swarm of Asian subterranean termites (Coptotermes gestroi) in […]
A Cockroach and a Cacophonous Case of Careless Characters
By Dominic Evangelista As a subject editor for the journal Zookeys, I recently officiated one paper that recounted an incredible story. The paper by Xin-Ran Li and Zong-Qing Wang addresses […]
In Subterranean Termite Colonies, Older Workers Change the Diapers
By Thomas Chouvenc Well, they don’t exactly change diapers, but when it comes to the latrine and nest sanitation, old termites are in charge. Age polyethism, where workers change tasks […]
How Do Cicadas Know When to Emerge from the Ground?
By Kevin Fitzgerald If you’ve never seen a cicada, you’ve certainly heard them, filling summer days and nights with their loud, raspy love songs. If you’ve seen any, you’re not […]
A Nearly Extinct Butterfly Makes a Comeback in South Florida
By Richard Levine An article published in the journal Florida Entomologist tells the story of a butterfly that was nearly gone, but is now recovering. In fact, it’s doing so […]
Did the Malaria Parasite First Evolve in the Insect Vector or the Vertebrate Host?
By John P. Roche Malaria is a terrible problem, killing nearly half a million people per year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. This serious disease is caused by a protozoan parasite […]
Video on How to Make Delicious Cockroach Tapioca
By Richard Levine This week I attented the joint annual meeting of the Entomological Society of Brazil and the Latin American Congress of Entomology in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil. One day […]
A Report from the Summit on the Aedes aegypti Crisis in the Americas in Brazil
By Richard Levine Yesterday, March 13, 2016, nearly 70 scientists, public-health officials and other participants attended the Summit on the Aedes aegypti Crisis in the Americas, a one-day meeting convened […]
This Dragonfly’s Migratory Route is Even Longer than the Monarch Butterfly’s
A dragonfly called Pantala flavescens that is barely an inch and a half long appears to be the animal world’s most prolific long distance traveler, flying thousands of miles over […]
Adding Pheromones to Baits Helps Control Invasive Argentine Ants
By Josh Lancette Argentine ants have been marching across the United States for the past few decades, despite the best pest control efforts. However, the authors of a new study […]
Radio Tagging Bumble Bees to Figure Out What the Buzz Is All About
By Jeremy Hemberger Bees are on a lot of folk’s minds these days, and for good reason. They provide pollination services to over 70% of the crops worldwide, helping to […]
The Aedes aegypti Mosquito Was a Problem Way Before the Zika Virus
By Richard Levine Today I wrote a guest article for the Oxford University Press blog. What do Napoléon Bonaparte, Walter Reed, the Panama Canal, and the Zika virus all have […]
Old Data May Provide New Insights on Honey Bee Populations
By Josh Lancette Over the past decade, beekeepers in the U.S. and other countries have had problems keeping their bees healthy. Some of the potential causes of their problems include […]