How a Honey Bee’s Waggle is Inspiring Aerospace Design
Engineers may recognize the internal muscle structure of a honey bee abdomen for its resemblance to a Stewart platform, a mechanical device that enables six degrees of freedom in movement. Researchers who have found its natural equivalent in bees say the discovery is already informing their work in designing articulating nose cones for rockets.
Building-Wide Pest Management Program Stops Cockroaches From Moving Nextdoor
A study of the spatial distribution of German cockroaches in a high-rise apartment building found infestations were clustered in groups of adjacent units. But a building-wide integrated pest management program can be successful in eliminating most infestations and, importantly, stopping the cockroaches from migrating from one apartment to the next.
New Guide Details Pest-Management Practices for Longan
A major fruit export from Vietnam, longan has been well studied in Southeast Asia, but a new profile in the open-access Journal of Integrated Pest Management offers a compilation of longan IPM research for potentially new audiences.
Mandarin Boom Means Citrus Pest Management Must Evolve
The rise in popularity of mandarin oranges has outpaced knowledge of how integrated pest management (IPM) for them might differ from that of larger oranges. New research combines field study with years of data from citrus groves and shows that mandarins stand up surprisingly well to insect pests.
Spectroscopy Opens Potential for Ultra-Early Pest Detection in Crops
Researchers at Purdue University are developing new ways to apply spectroscopy in service of greater food security. By analyzing light reflected by plants, they can detect compounds the plants produce soon after they face an insect pest attack or other stressor.
New Review Examines the Promise of Habitat Management for Pest Control
In a new special collection on trap and cover crops in integrated pest management, experts review the latest research on various habitat-management methods and their applications in both deterring pest populations and fostering natural enemies of crop pests.
How Milkweed Location Influences Monarch Egg-Laying and Survival
A study examining monarch butterflies' preferences for laying eggs on milkweed in cropland, open ground, or prairie—as well as predation rates on eggs in those settings—offers some mixed signals for monarch-conservation efforts.
Forest Service Crews Double as Tick-Surveillance Teams in Collaborative Study
A partnership between the University of Tennessee and the USDA Forest Service is a proof-of-concept for collaborative tick-surveillance programs.
Survey Shines Light on Beekeepers’ Efforts to Manage Varroa Mites
Nonchemical Varroa-management methods are more common among small-scale beekeepers, but chemical varroacides show wide use among all types.
Why IPM Adoption is Lower in Developing Countries
Integrated pest management comes with a variety of benefits, but its mix of methods can present complicated choices to growers low on resources and agricultural advice. A new report in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management outlines some potential solutions.
Wolbachia-Infected Mosquito Release Shows Encouraging Results
A pilot program in a 150-acre zone in Miami in 2018 released as many as 375,000 Wolbachia-infected male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes per week for six months and succeeded in reducing the female Ae. aegypti population by more than 75 percent.
Psyllid Movements Revealed Via Gut Content Analysis
Tracking the movements of the diminutive pests is a challenge, but a new study shows that DNA analysis of psyllid gut contents can reveal what plants psyllids have fed on, thereby pinpointing the non-crop "whistle stops" psyllids make before infesting crop fields.
New Guide Offers IPM Tips for Japanese Beetles in Soy and Corn
An invasive species established in the eastern United States for more than a century, the Japanese beetle is making its way into Midwestern soybean and corn fields. A new review in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management offers a guide to the pest's biology and behavior and methods to fend it off.
New Study Highlights Ups and Downs in Tick Management
A new study examines two host-targeted tick-control methods, and one shows a distinct advantage, but it's likely not cost-effective for the typical homeowner.
Mixing Lawn Grass Varieties Could Trim Fall Armyworm Infestations
A simple change in the choice of grass varieties for lawns of St. Augustinegrass could be a key tool for fending off fall armyworm infestations, according to new research. While no single St. Augustinegrass cultivar rises above the rest in resisting infestation, mixing varieties may confer some benefits, as fall armyworms clearly preferred single-cultivar plantings in a series of lab tests.
New Guide Offers Latest in Carrot Weevil Management
Carrot weevil (Listronotus oregonensis) is a pest of carrots as well as parsley and celery. A new profile in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management gathers a variety of IPM methods for fending off carrot weevil and highlights where research is needed to better understand its biology and behavior.