Skip to content

Tag: environmental entomology

Approximately two dozen spotted lanternflies amass in a sunny spot on the side of a tree in a shady forest.

Does Multiple Mating Help Spotted Lanternflies Spread?  

Producing offspring from multiple fathers can add much-needed genetic diversity to populations of invasive insects, which often arise from a small number of individuals. New research confirms such multiple paternity occurs in spotted lanternflies, though to what degree it aids their spread needs further study.

Several multi-colored honey bee hive boxes sit in rows in a small clearing between rows of blueberry bushes in a field near a dirt road on a sunny day.

Even on Farms, Bees Look For a Balanced Diet

A study of managed bumble bees and honey bees on a blueberry farm finds that most of the pollen they collect comes from other plants, suggesting that supplementing crops with a diversity of nearby plant types makes for healthier bees.

Nine-part 3x3 collage image with overhead views of nine dark-colored beetles. While varying in exact shape and color, they are all mostly black in color with long abdomens covered by vertical-lined wing shields. Some of the beetles are slightly iridescent.

Ground Beetles Key Allies for Slug Control in Conservation Agriculture

Slugs are a common headache for corn and soybean growers following the conservation agriculture practices of limited tillage and frequent cover cropping. A new study finds that, among slugs' natural enemies, ground beetles provide the best control, and growers should consider practices that attract ground beetles to their fields.

a fuzzy bee, yellowish-brown in color, perches vertically on a grass blade next to the edge of a piece of corrugated plastic sheet, which is blue-ish green in color.

Is This Non-Native Mason Bee an Invasive Species?

What makes a non-native species "invasive"? And can a typically beneficial insect like a bee be deemed a threat to native species? Researchers explore these questions in a new review of the expansion of the non-native mason bee Osmia taurus since its U.S. arrival in 2002 and its effects on closely related native species.