A Coast-to-Coast Tour Lands One Entomologist on the Home Team
Meet Hamilton Allen, Ph.D., BCE, the Florida Regional Technical Director for HomeTeam Pest Defense, a national specialty brand of Rollins, Inc. Within his role, Allen provides technical and operational expertise, implements training programs, and ensures that each of the 10 branches within his region adhere to federal, state, and local pesticide application guidelines. Allen is the subject of the next installment of our "Standout Early Career Professionals" series.
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s an Ecological Field Study!
In a recent study in Germany, targeted delivery of insecticides by unmanned aerial vehicles was effective against oak processionary moths. Researchers say such drones are suitable for aerial spraying during field studies and may open new doors for "precision forestry."
For Mass-Rearing Sterile Fruit Flies, Fewer Males Means More Efficient Mating
Sometimes, less is more. Case in point: the mass-rearing program that produces millions of sterile Mexican fruit flies (Anastrepha ludens) for managing wild populations. Scientists refining the effort find that a lower ratio of males to females in mating cages leads to higher fecundity and fertility in the females—and higher cost-effectiveness for the operation.
How a Team of Grad Students Built a Mobile App for Entomologists
LeafByte is a free, open-source mobile app for quickly measuring leaf damage caused by herbivorous insect pests. If you've ever considered building a mobile app to aid in your research, here's a first-hand account from the Cornell entomology student who took LeafByte from idea to action.
Attract-and-Kill Strategy Shows Promise for Managing Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
By using the brown marmorated stink bugs' own aggregation pheromone, the pests can be lured into a condensed area, thereby reducing the area that a grower must spray with insecticide. A two-year study in apple orchards suggests the method could soon become economically feasible.
Boric Acid Kills Bed Bugs, But Only When They Eat It
Boric acid dust is a common tool in urban pest management, but a new study shows external exposure is minimally effective against bed bugs. When bed bugs ingest boric acid, though, few survive.
Could Insecticide Netting Help Manage Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Infestations in Homes?
New research on brown marmorated stink bug behavior indicates they prefer darker surfaces, doorways, and the north and east sides of homes—and that insecticide-treated netting offers potential as a means of nuisance control.
Fluid Termite Bait Aims to Combine Best of Both Management Methods
A new termite-control method currently in development looks to combine the advantages of a liquid insecticide application with the comprehensive impact of existing solid termite bait systems.
Insect Identification: Experts and Guides to ID That Bug You Found
So, you want to know what that bug is. Here at the Entomological Society of America, we know the experts. Check out this list for a variety of resources for bug and insect identification.
Stinking Here and There: The Painted Bug Bagrada hilaris Goes From Crops to Homes
The sting bug species Bagrada hilaris, sometimes known as the painted bug or bagrada bug, arrived in Chile in 2016 and has quickly become a pest of crops—but, for the first time, it has also begun to infest homes, as reported this month in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Fighting Flies With Flies: An In-Depth Look at the 2016 Screwworm Outbreak Response in Florida
The return of the screwworm to Florida in 2016 was a surprise, but entomologists with the USDA and local, state, and international partners were prepared to respond. A new, in-depth report in the Journal of Medical Entomology shares a detailed account of their work re-eradicating the pest via the sterile insect technique—plus new lessons learned along the way.
How an “Insect Ecologist at Heart” Got Focused on Pest Management Research
Lauren Diepenbrock, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University and soon to be an assistant professor at the University of Florida, says she enjoys "figuring out how insects, particularly invasive species, make use of the available resources to be successful."
Eastern Larch Beetle Outbreak Just Keeps Going When Winter’s Not So Cold
The current outbreak of eastern larch beetle in northern Minnesota is going into its 18th year, and researchers have found that at least some eastern larch beetles are able to reach maturity without requiring an overwintering period. In short, warmer winters mean eastern larch beetle is killing trees faster than it can be managed.
Bait-Stricken Termites Still Heed Call to Molt in Their Central Nest
A recent study at the University of Florida found that termites baited with an insecticide known as a chitin synthesis inhibitor will still follow their natural compulsion to return to their central nest to molt, an important factor in the efficacy of such baits.
This is What 2,000 Termites Eating a Model House Looks Like
A visual analogy created by termite researcher Thomas Chouvenc, Ph.D., illustrates the damage termites can wreak upon a house. Given a small, two-dimensional wooden replica of a house (30x20 cm, 2 mm thick), a colony of 2,000 Formosan subterranean termites took only three weeks to consume it.
Study ID’s Several Bed Bug Repellents That Could Keep Your Luggage Pest-Free
Travelers' luggage is an attractive harbor for bed bugs, which then hitch a ride to new locations. In the search for effective bed bug repellents, researchers at Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and Bedoukian Research, Inc., have found that DEET as well as several naturally derived compounds could protect luggage from attracting stowaway bed bugs.