The latest news about entomology, brought to you by the Entomological Society of America
By Andrew Porterfield For more than 50 years, the light trap—an incandescent light source attached to an insect collector—has been the standard for sampling potentially disease-carrying mosquitos. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other insect control agencies and organizations worldwide have used the light-bulb trap apparatus to attract and count a wide […]
By Leslie Mertz Step 1: Complain about how bad the mosquitoes are this year. Step 2: Purchase a can of bug spray to keep mosquitoes away. Step 3: Use it once and be disgusted by the greasy feel and weird smell. Step 4: Put the can in a closet, never to be used again. Step […]
Michael Reiskind, Ph.D., found inspiration for entomological research at a gas station. “Several years ago, I noticed an Aedes albopictus adult resting on the water in a windshield wash basin at a gas station,” he says. “Closer inspection revealed that she was just emerging from a pupa, which means that these habitats were capable of […]
As concerns over Zika virus have grown since 2015, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has turned to local public health professionals to compile data on distribution of the two primary mosquito species capable of transmitting the virus, Aedes aegypti (the primary vector for Zika) and Aedes albopictus. Their findings highlight both […]
By Meredith Swett Walker A neighborhood watch generally keeps an eye out for potential burglars and vandals, reporting them to local law enforcement when spotted. But if you want to improve safety and health in your neighborhood, it may be wise to keep an eye out for small pockets of water that collect in objects […]
