An Inside Look at How the Varroa Mite’s True Diet Was Discovered
Some researchers willing to question conventional wisdom, some crafty experimentation, and some high-tech microscopic imagery all add up to a discovery about the Varroa destructor mite that upends years of understanding about how it parasitizes honey bees.
Bt Corn Adoption Benefits Other Crops, Too
A new study of 40 years' worth of data from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States finds that widespread adoption of insect-resistant Bt corn has reduced pest damage and the need for insecticide applications in offsite, non-Bt crops such as pepper, green beans, and sweet corn, as well.
Cicadas Race to Catch Up With Their Evolving Endosymbionts
In cicadas, a world of microbes has evolved to provide them nutrients. Researchers at the University of Montana have discovered that a cicada bacterial endosymbiont, Hodgkinia cicadicola, has split into at least two dozen lineages within cicada cells, in an apparent case of nonadaptive evolution.
Another Step Forward in Genetic Engineering of Mosquitoes
The disruption of mosquitoes' cuticle, wing, and eye development is “proof of concept" for a new advance in the genetic engineering method known as CRISPR/Cas9.