Insects

Beetles get by with help from their friends

harminka — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:46:51 -0500

Cooperation between insects and bacteria suggests inter-species collaboration may be common in many ecosystems

Jumping insects use archery techniques

harminka — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:47:24 -0500

Froghoppers, also known as spittlebugs, are the champion insect jumpers, capable of reaching heights of 700 mm - more than 100 times their own body length.

Biocontrol Insect Exacerbates Invasive Weed

harminka — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:00:17 -0500

Biocontrol agents, such as insects, are often released outside of their native ranges to control invasive plants. But scientists in Montana have found that through complex community interactions among deer mice, native plants and seeds, the presence of an introduced fly may exacerbate the effects of the invasive plant it was meant to control.

Entomologists play matchmakers for cerambycid beetles

harminka — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:02:44 -0500

Cerambycid beetles, also known as long-horned beetles, can cause severe damage to standing trees, logs and lumber. How then might they be promptly detected and their numbers swiftly controlled?

Ecologists assess the impact of people on pollinators

harminka — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:14:00 -0500

Most of the world's plant species rely on animals to transfer their pollen to other plants. The undisputed queen of these animal pollinators is the bee, made up of about 30,000 species worldwide, whose daily flights aid in the reproduction of more than half of the world's flowering plants.

Researchers explore genetic basis of social behavior in ants

harminka — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:14:20 -0500

Understanding how interactions between genes and the environment influence social behavior is a fundamental research goal. In a new study, researchers at the University of Lausanne and the University of Georgia have shed light on the numbers and types of genes that may control social organization in fire ant colonies.

Wasps and bumble bees heat up, fly faster with protein-rich food

harminka — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:37:52 -0500

Good pollen makes bees hot, biologists at UC San Diego have found. Wasps warm up too when they find protein-rich meat, a separate experiment has shown.

Insect warning colors aid cancer and tropical disease drug discovery

harminka — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:59:42 -0500

Brightly colored beetles or butterfly larvae nibbling on a plant may signal the presence of chemical compounds active against cancer cell lines and tropical parasitic diseases, according to researchers at Smithsonian's Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

Bee disease a mystery

harminka — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:35:26 -0500

Scientists are one step closer to understanding the recent demise of billions of honey bees after making an important discovery about the transmission of a common bee virus.

Unlocking genome of world's worst insect pest

harminka — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:45:11 -0500

Scientists from CSIRO and the University of Melbourne in Australia, and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, are on the brink of a discovery which will facilitate the development of new, safe, more sustainable ways of controlling the world’s worst agricultural insect pest – the moth, Helicoverpa armigera.

Honeybee dance breaks down cultural barrier

harminka — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:48:44 -0500

Asian and European honeybees can learn to understand one another's dance languages despite having evolved different forms of communication, an international research team has shown for the first time. The findings are published this week in the journal PLoS ONE.

Altruism in social insects is a family affair

harminka — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:22:00 -0500

The contentious debate about why insects evolved to put the interests of the colony over the individual has been reignited by new research from the University of Leeds, showing that they do so to increase the chances that their genes will be passed on.