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.
To Reduce Tick Encounters, Where You Dump Your Leaves Matters
Raking leaves out to the yard edge may increase tick numbers there, according to a new study by researchers looking at how landscaping practices impact tick abundance.
New, Fast DNA Method Spots Pesticide-Resistant Ticks
In its effort to keep cattle fever ticks from escaping quarantine in five counties along the southern Texas border, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed an overnight DNA test that can detect ticks' genetic indicators of resistance to permethrin, a common pesticide used to manage ticks.
How to Tackle an Invasive Species Crisis? Build a Collaborative Team
The arrival of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) drove a far-reaching, collaborative response by researchers, integrated pest management professionals, government agencies, and growers. A new article in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management looks back at this experience to share lessons learned for future invasive-species response efforts.
Alfalfa Leafcutting Bees Like Nests That Face North, Study Shows
An experiment with four-sided nest boxes for alfalfa leafcutting bees showed small variations in environmental conditions from one nest-cavity location to another make a big difference in the bees' nesting preferences and number of offspring.
Study Details Mechanics of Flea Beetles’ Big Jumps
The tribe of leaf beetles known for their incredible jumping strength use a powerful catapult-like mechanism to spring away from looming predators. A team of Chinese and U.S. scientists illustrate the biomechanics of these beetles' jumps in a new study and say the findings could hold lessons for bio-inspired robotics.
Different Tick, Same Repellents: CDC Study Shows How to Avoid Asian Longhorned Tick
New research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that DEET and other repellents approved by the EPA for use against native ticks are also effective against the invasive Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis).
Study Shows How Prescribed Burns Benefit Bees
Freshly burned longleaf pine forests have more than double the total number of bees and bee species than similar forests that have not burned in over 50 years, according to new research from North Carolina State University.
Nuptial Gifts and Other Romantic Gestures of the Bug World
In honor of Valentine's Day, here's a look at recent entomological research on how some insects and other arthropods woo one another with gifts.