The latest news about entomology, brought to you by the Entomological Society of America
By John P. Roche Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), is an invasive fruit fly species from eastern Asia, first seen in the United States in 2008. The species is devastating to fruit crops, causing economic losses in the U.S. of hundreds of millions of dollars. Spotted wing drosophila feeds on a wide range of host […]
To slightly modify an old adage, you can catch more flies with increased levels of acetoin, acetic acid, and ethanol than with methionol. Specifically, the fly in question is spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), an invasive pest in North American and Europe that attacks several fruit crops. A lure for catching and monitoring in D. […]
As the managed honey bee industry continues to grapple with significant annual colony losses, the Varroa destructor mite is emerging as the leading culprit. And, it turns out, the very nature of modern beekeeping may be giving the parasite the exact conditions it needs to spread nearly beyond control. In an article published yesterday in […]
By Thomas Chouvenc, Ph.D. The Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus) is an infamous termite pest species, but it is also an interesting model for studying the evolution of termites and complex behaviors in eusocial insects. A study published in January in Environmental Entomology investigated the social behaviors of workers in young and old termite colonies […]
By Josh Lancette New research published this week in the journal Environmental Entomology shows that planting wildflowers next to almond orchards does not cause fewer honey bees to visit the orchard. This finding is important because it shows wildflower plantings can help keep bee populations healthy while also not harming almond crops. “Establishing flowering field-edge […]
