Lab Study Shows Asian Longhorned Tick Can Spread Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that the invasive Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) can, at least under lab conditions, acquire and transmit the bacteria that cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Gaga for Gum: Study Shows Sticky Mixture Distracts Fruit Fly Pest
A food-grade gum substance shows promise as a new tool for managing the invasive spotted-wing drosophila. The flies don't get stuck, but the scent interferes with their reproductive behavior, and the gum can last up to three weeks in the field.
Eastern Grape Leafhopper: Not a Picky Eater, But Only Has Eggs for Grapes
A new guide in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management profiles the eastern grape leafhopper and outlines a variety of IPM methods for managing the common pest of North American vineyards.
Bark Beetles With Identity Issues: Reclassifying the Cryphalini
A new paper provides the biggest bark beetle reclassification in decades and helps us better understand the incredibly diverse world of tiny bark beetles.
Big, Beautiful, and Confusing: Deciphering the True Hornets
A new key to the genus Vespa includes dozens of close-up photos to help users sort through and ID potential invasive species like the Asian giant hornet.
Study Shows Elevation Affects Fly’s Use as Natural Enemy of Invasive Weed
In Nepal, the gall-inducing eupatorium gall fly (Procecidochares utilis) is deployed as a biological control agent against the invasive weed Ageratina adenophora. A new study by researchers at Tribhuvan University and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management shows size and abundance of galls induced by the fly are influenced by elevation, knowledge that can help in fine-tuning P. utilis-based biocontrol efforts.
For an Understudied Ant Genus, Two Researchers Choose a “Bird Guide” ID Tool
The Rasopone genus of tropical leaf-litter ants gets a thorough taxonomic revision, and the researchers behind the long-term project present their identification manual in a "bird guide" format rather than the traditional dichotomous key.
To Control Lekking Fruit Flies, Male Size Matters (Except When it Doesn’t)
A study of two significant pest fruit fly species finds that the size of males influences female mating choice in one of the species, but not in the other—important knowledge for fine-tuning management efforts for both species via the sterile insect technique.
Making a Case for Safer Ways to Fight Rice Pests in the Greater Mekong
A new report in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management shares the successes and lessons learned from an advanced biological control-based IPM program that is helping rice growers in China, Laos, and Myanmar manage pests in more environmentally and economically sustainable ways.
Significant Reduction in Tick Bites Found via Permethrin-Treated Clothing
A two-year randomized control field trial among outdoor workers showed permethrin-treated clothing reduced the incidence of bites from blacklegged ticks, the primary vectors of Lyme disease, by as much as 65 percent.
There’s an App for That! Digital Image Analysis Counts Flies
ImageJ, an open-source image processing program from the National Institutes of Health, enables quick, accurate counts of small arthropods for vector surveillance, say researchers at the University of Illinois.
Why Forensic Entomologists Say Crime-Scene Investigators Should Carry Cans of Tuna
When fly larvae are collected from a corpse at a crime scene, they still need to eat so they can be raised to adulthood and identified to species. A new study says a simple can of tuna could be an easy and cost-effective solution for keeping the larvae alive until a forensic entomologist can conduct analysis.
Temperature Extremes May Undermine Biocontrol of Emerald Ash Borer
Sudden cold waves may be lethal to overwintering larvae of two parasitoid wasp species used for biological control of emerald ash borer, while the borer larvae appear to more easily weather the extreme cold.
Rolled Cardboard Makes a Handy Insect-Sampling Tool
A group of researchers gets creative with some simple materials: strips of cardboard, rolled up and tied with string. Affixed to tree trunks or limbs, the "trunk refugia" show promise as a simple and inexpensive tool for sampling tree-dwelling insects and arthropods.
Deep Tracks Only: Radio Telemetry Blazes a Path for Monarch Habitat Restoration
Tracking monarch butterfly movements by tagging them with tiny radio transmitters reveals flight patterns that may help researchers align habitat restoration with the natural behaviors of this iconic butterfly.
White Fringetrees Likely to Withstand Attacks by Emerald Ash Borer
Though found to be a secondary host of invasive emerald ash borers in North America in 2014, white fringetrees are more likely than ash trees to survive infestation by the beetles, according to a new study by researchers at Wright State University.