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    News and Articles on Insects

    Archives: Insects

    CASE, Friends of Hudson discuss Lafarge permit application  Nov 24, 2009
    Dr. Stone has already found high levels of mercury in animals, plants and insects in several areas. On average, Stone said, it s not unusual to find levels of mercury at 50 parts per billion (ppb); downwind from Ravena, Stone said he found about eight times that much in surface soil testing, as well as elevated levels of calcium. (Hudson Register Star, NY)

    Insect Resistance to Bt Crops Can Be Predicted, Monitored and Managed  Nov 24, 2009
    24, 2009) Since 1996, crop plants genetically modified to produce bacterial proteins that are toxic to certain insects, yet safe for people, have been planted on more than 200 million hectares worldwide ... However, since insects can evolve resistance to toxins, strategies must be implemented to ensure that Bt crops remain effective ... The refuge strategy (growing non-Bt crops near the Bt crops) can slow the evolution of insect resistance by increasing the chances of resistant insects mating... (Science Daily)

    * Scientists confirm new world record for pollination  Nov 24, 2009
    But new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals it is a world champion among insects. The previous longest recorded distance for an insect transporting pollen was roughly 9km. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)

    Lawyer: Khmer Rouge Chief "Enjoyed" Murder  Nov 24, 2009
    "You can smash insects and animals but you can't smash human beings, because one day they will come back, one way or another, or their successors to demand a reckoning," he said. As he watched the proceedings, Duch showed no emotion. (CBS News -- World)

    State seeks court order for Crawford tire pile cleanup  Nov 24, 2009
    The DEP issued an order April 24 giving DeMaison five days to control insects in the areas where the tires were being stored and 120 days to remove the tires. The order also gave DeMaison 45 days to minimize the fire threat to the tires and to remove all other solid wastes and 120 days to submit a plan to remediate areas containing contaminated soil. (Erie Times-News, PA)

    Like Israel but Colder: The Jewish Autonomous Region of Russia  Nov 24, 2009
    Life in the valley was made especially difficult by blood-sucking insects of several varieties. The prospecting committee reported that people wore nets and eventually adjusted to the insects, but the cattle suffered terribly. (Slate)

    Passionate About Purple  Nov 24, 2009
    Sources of red dye included madder plants, kermes and cochineal insects, lacs (from the cocoon of the lac insect), the lichen known as orseille or orchil and berries such as blueberries and blackberries. Blue dyes were made from indigo, woad and logwood. (Suite101.com)

    Butterfly proboscis to sip cells  Nov 23, 2009
    The insects' liquid food -- drops of water, animal tears, and the juice inside decomposed fruit -- spans nearly three orders of magnitude in viscosity. Pumping liquid through its feeding tube would require an enormous amount of pressure. (EurekAlert!)

    Modern-day farmer  Nov 23, 2009
    Mr. Eubank doesn't give his cattle antibiotics or growth hormones nor use commercial products to kill insects: "I'm using something that is natural and a lot cheaper, too.". His farm isn't certified organic because that would limit what he can do on his farm. (The Augusta Chronicle)

    BYO Handyman  Nov 23, 2009
    After making sure any insects or diseases are eradicated, kill weeds in the bare spot with Roundup. Remove dead weeds to get rid of weed seeds. (The Palm Beach Post)

    Gardening: Cactus can provide that winter color  Nov 23, 2009
    It is a favorite of the tiny cochineal scale insects that reproduce and live within patches of sticky, white cottony fuzz. When crushed, a bright red commercially-used dye is produced. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)

    Movember is for jerks  Nov 23, 2009
    Running rivers are naturally and ecologically healthy but billabongs soon become polluted and attract blue-green algae and heaps of insects. My instinctive superficial suspicions were confirmed by Wikipedia, which is a website where members of the public contribute to knowledge on various topics. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Business)

    It's bug-eat-bug solution to save hemlocks  Nov 23, 2009
    The adelgids are insects about the size of the period at the end of a sentence, Mausel said ... Experimentation showed the beetle was specialized to feed on hemlock woolly adelgids and not on other beneficial insects, so federal and state governments approved its use in nature. (San Francisco Chronicle)

    * FEATURE: Couple embraces organic farming  Nov 22, 2009
    Another major challenge is pest control, as pests thrive in Taiwan s hot, humid summers and its winters are not cold enough to stop the proliferation of insects ... The rest is more often than not destroyed by insects, and if the weather is unfavorable, there is usually nothing left to harvest, Lin said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)

    • The hearing you save may be your own  Nov 22, 2009
    For those who have never experienced tinnitus, the closest description I can come to is the collective sound of millions of tiny insects on a summer evening in rural areas of the Great Plains or the eastern forests ... To me, the insects are music to my ears, masking the obnoxious sounds in my head ... Or would you rather listen to a noise akin to that made from a million tiny insects, every waking moment for the rest of your life. (Juneau Empire)

    What does it take to save a species? Sometimes, high-voltage power wires  Nov 22, 2009
    A loud, steady buzz of insects interrupted her identification of native shrub species. A dragonfly careened in the air toward her. (Boston Globe)

    Viggo Mortensen is the face of desolation and intense determination in ‘The Road’  Nov 22, 2009
    There were also insects. Lots and lots of insects ... So when he and Smit-McPhee found a Mexican grocery store that had insects for eating, some with vinegar, some peppery, most of them fried, they had a bug buffet. (Boston Globe)

    Termites Create Sustainable Fungus Farming  Nov 22, 2009
    14, 2008) All species of termites are social insects, like ants. Entomologists have listed over 2000 species across the world and more than one-third of them live in Africa. (Science Daily)

    Active Hearing Process in Mosquitoes  Nov 21, 2009
    Insects have evolved diverse and delicate morphological structures in order to hear the naturally low energy of a transmitting sound wave. In mosquitoes, the hearing of acoustic energy, and its conversion into neuronal signals, is assisted by multiple individual sensory units called scolopidia. (Science Daily)

    Bug that dines on kudzu has pluses, minuses  Nov 21, 2009
    So far, no sightings of the bug have been reported outside Georgia, but state and federal officials are closely watching the insects. The state Department of Agriculture is working with UGA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to learn more about the bean plataspid and what might be done to control it, Assistant Agriculture Commissioner James Sutton wrote in an e-mail. (Athens Banner-Herald)

    Book Review Lenny and the Big Red...  Nov 21, 2009
    As Lenny walks he finds several different insects hiding under rocks, leaves, sticks and in other places ... The illustrations are bright, stylised images of the insects Lenny finds and their hiding places as well as images of Lenny with his big red kinan. (Suite101.com)

    Brevard Naturally: Be thankful for natural beauty in our backyards  Nov 21, 2009
    That also includes the interesting insects we encounter on a daily basis ... I don't find these big insects often, but just last week my son and I encountered half a dozen pairs of them mating on the local tennis court at night. (Florida Today)

    * Butterflies defy typhoon, amaze conservationists  Nov 21, 2009
    In recent years, the MNSA Administration has regularly organized guided butterfly-watching tours to allow more wildlife enthusiasts to admire the insects close up. Wu said a biennial butterfly-watching program would run from Dec. 12 to March 6. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)

    Predator Beetle to Battle Hemlock Pest  Nov 20, 2009
    19, 2009) Hemlock woolly adelgids (HWA) -- aphidlike insects that have destroyed stands of hemlocks throughout the East Coast -- were first identified in hemlocks in the central Finger Lakes in summer 2008 and then in trees in Cornell Plantations' natural areas in early spring 2009 ... To battle the hemlock-killing insects, a team of entomologists has released one of the adelgids' natural predators as a local case study ... As HWA spread through the Northeast, the insects flourished and... (Science Daily)

    Science photos  Nov 20, 2009
    Photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in spectacular portraits of insects and arachnids, taken very up close and personal. View images from a contest on the National Mall that has 20 university teams competing to build the best solar-powered home. (MSNBC -- Technology)

    Study Raises Concerns About Outdoor Second-Hand Smoke  Nov 20, 2009
    19, 2009) Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking areas might be creating a new health hazard. The study, thought to be the first to assess levels of a nicotine byproduct known as cotinine in nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors, found levels up to 162 percent greater than in the control group. (Science Daily)

    * BASE REACTION  Nov 20, 2009
    But they will also acknowledge just how much time, effort and money they can require: A tortoise needs its heat and lighting; a horse needs shoeing and a regular supply of straw; an iguana needs its supply of insects; a chicken needs grit and corn; a dog needs its delousing powder; a cat needs a scratch tower. And then theres the insurance, the vets fees and the annual cost of food and bedding. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)

    Southern California citrus quarantine expansion a plus for Imperial County growers  Nov 20, 2009
    Citrus trees in parts of the county have been under quarantine for more than a year to prevent the spread of Asian citrus psyllid, which are brown, dusty-colored insects about 3 millimeters to 4 millimeters long and can carry a disease that has decimated citrus crops ... None of the insects found in California have carried the disease, he said ... The insects have spread to parts of Central America, Mexico and states like Florida, Texas and California, he said. (El Centro Imperial Valley Press, CA)

    Bugs could bite citrus business  Nov 20, 2009
    Tiny insects from Mexico, but with Chinese origins, could put Arizona s citrus industry in a world of hurt not to mention Valley nurseries and tree farms already challenged by the sluggish economy ... The Asian insects have not spread beyond their first detection points in Yuma and have not been spotted in the Valley, Oxley said ... He said palm trees grown in Florida that he purchases are subject to regular quarantines to keep various diseases and insects from spreading about the U.S.. (Phoenix Business Journal, AZ)

    Chemical Weapons in the Animal King...  Nov 20, 2009
    Yet it is also an effective defence against predation from other insects, releasing a repellent gas, thick and gluey in constituency, which is used to gum up the legs, jaws and antennae of the other insect. Unable to sting its prey, other species of ant spray poison from the gaster, a part of the abdomen, which contains a poison gland opening at the tip. (Suite101.com)

    Bees Can Learn Differences in Food's Temperature, Study Finds  Nov 20, 2009
    24, 2006) Up to a third of our food supply depends on pollination by domesticated honeybees, but the insects are up to five times more efficient when wild bees buzz the same. (Oct. (Science Daily)

    Best wine could be a green one  Nov 19, 2009
    Biodynamic farming is regenerative and dependent on interactivity with other crops, trees, animals and insects. Energy radiating from the moon, stars and planets also plays a role. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)

    How Crops Survive Drought  Nov 19, 2009
    When insects ingest parts of a plant digestion turns proteins. . (Science Daily)

    Four teachers named U.S. Professors of the Year  Nov 19, 2009
    They work about seven hours each day, examining vegetation, habitats, insects and the stream. They compile a 150-page report at the end of the course and submit it to the federal agency. (USA Today -- News)

    Extinct Moa Rewrites New Zealand's History  Nov 19, 2009
    18, 2009) The evolutionary history of New Zealand's many extinct flightless moa has been re-written in the first comprehensive study of more than 260 sub-fossil specimens to combine all known genetic, anatomical, geological and ecological information about the unique bird lineage. That lineage ended only about 600 years ago after a journey through time that most likely began about 80 million years earlier on the prehistoric supercontinent of Gondwana, according to the study published in... (Science Daily)

    Home, yard and garden, 11-18: Lady beetle turned out to be a literal stinker  Nov 19, 2009
    Published: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 10:04 AM EST Unlike insects in general, humans appreciate lady beetles ... Their color, polka-dot markings and even the name lady probably contribute to our positive attitude about these insects ... When it comes to eating, these insects are not very ladylike. (Vincennes Sun Commercial, IN)

    Entities fly in Gila trout to Ariz. stream  Nov 19, 2009
    Good news for a fish whose diet consists of aquatic insects such as caddis flies, mayflies, and beetles. George Andrejko/Arizona GFD. (ESPN -- Outdoors)

    Insect Discoveries Prompt Quarantines  Nov 19, 2009
    SAN DIEGO -- Newly established quarantines are in place in Fallbrook and Valley Center following infestations by two crop-damaging insects, the California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Wednesday. The discovery of three Mediterranean fruit flies led to the establishment of a 79-square-mile quarantine in the Fallbrook area, according to the CDFA.. (TheSanDiegoChannel.com, CA)

    * Straight talk on GM crops crucial  Nov 19, 2009
    It has been shown in other countries that GM crops resistant to disease and insects can halve farmers insecticide costs and increase the yield on well-developed crops by 30 percent or more ... As a result of longstanding policy restrictions, Taiwan has failed to actively research and develop GM crops for food and animal feed that are resistant to disease and insects and can endure stressful environments while reducing fertilizer use. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)

    Natural super glue found on asparagus spears  Nov 19, 2009
    Since other insects specialize in producing their own egg glue for particular vegetables, the research could lead to better pest control and might inspire more natural bonding products ... Photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in spectacular portraits of insects and arachnids, taken very up close and personal ... While insects are producing their natural super glue, Roose and his team are producing what they call "supermale" asparagus, which are "plants that produce only male offspring when... (MSNBC -- Environment)

    Insects invade Buker School third grade  Nov 19, 2009
    Insects invade Buker School third grade - Hamilton, MA - Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle ... Insects invade Buker School third grade ... Insects invaded the Buker third grade last week, when Bugworks brought their educational science enrichment program to the school. (Hamilton Wenham Chronicle, MA)

    Get more: National/World  Nov 19, 2009
    Bug spray that produces a fog to kill insects is likely to blame for the death of a 10-month-old South Carolina boy and his critically injured 2-year-old brother, authorities said. Tags. (WJRT, MI)

    Neb. court: Ex-worker can sue Union Pacific  Nov 18, 2009
    She said she was wearing long pants, a sweater and insect repellant but was overwhelmed by swarms of the insects. "You couldn't stand still because the mosquito(e)s were so bad. I had to ... walk and watch the train as it went by and wave my arms," she said in court documents. (Casper Star-Tribune, WY)

    Kudzu-munching bug also threatens US bean crops  Nov 18, 2009
    With cooler temperatures killing many of the plants it eats, the insects have been seeking shelter for the winter, holing up in attics or cracks in wood siding. But researchers are preparing to keep tabs on them when they reappear in the spring. (KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8, OR -- Business)

    Paris exhibit serves revisions of Old Masters  Nov 18, 2009
    Each of the nine photos is paired with images of fanciful insects a grasshopper with butterfly's wings, a bee with an ant's head. The show, which runs in Paris through the end of November, is expected to travel to New York, London and Saint Petersburg. (MSNBC -- Lifestyle)

    Bumping Off Bedbugs without Poison  Nov 18, 2009
    Bed bugs, tiny little rust-colored insects of the Cimicidae family, live by feeding on the blood of humans and other warm-blooded hosts ... Modern insecticides are proving to be somewhat ineffective against bed bugs, he reports, adding that insects can also develop some level of resistance to insecticides in general. (Scientific American)

    HINGHAM YESTERDAYS: Three arrested for evading liquor duty charges  Nov 18, 2009
    If the floors of a closet are wiped off with gasoline or benzene after being scrubbed it helps to keep off insects. A good cleanser for hard wood is to wash it with a clean flannel wet in turpentine and rub lightly afterward with boiled linseed oil. (Hingham Journal, MA)

    Spend the new year in old Florida  Nov 18, 2009
    Raccoons will make short work of leftover cooked food, but toss it well away from the clearings to keep insects from gathering at cooking spots. Each sporting its unique set of features, the more pronounced coastal structures hold mini-ecosystems with a multitude of crustaceans and invertebrates, along with pinfish, mullet, grunts and squirrelfish. (ESPN -- Outdoors)

    Brains: Bigger Not Necessarily Better  Nov 18, 2009
    18, 2009) Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London ... Research repeatedly shows how insects are capable of some intelligent behaviours scientists previously thought was unique to larger animals ... Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London. (Science Daily)

    Are Female Mountain Goats Sexually Conflicted Over Size of Mate?  Nov 18, 2009
    29, 2009) Scientists have found new evidence to explain how female insects can influence the father of their offspring, even after mating with up to ten males. A team has found that female crickets are able to. (Science Daily)

    'Green Porno' with Isabella Rossellini  Nov 18, 2009
    Her fascination with insects started when she bought a book to learn how to kill the aphids that were ruining her roses. She was astonished to learn they reproduced sexually or by cloning, and then studied which bugs kill aphids. (San Francisco Chronicle)

    Shoo, Fly: Bugs Like Nice Stockton Temps  Nov 17, 2009
    The insects are coming in swarms, and people are noticing at home, where they work, and where they eat. Part of the problem is the good weather, which has stretched into mid-November, but the temperatures are starting to cool. (KCRA 3, CA)

    Gardening: Cactus can provide that winter color  Nov 17, 2009
    It is a favorite of the tiny cochineal scale insects that reproduce and live within patches of sticky, white cottony fuzz. When crushed, a bright red commercially-used dye is produced. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)

    Slideshow: Immersed in study  Nov 17, 2009
    The class, focused on the study of inland waters like lakes and streams, had students testing the quality of several local water bodies, collecting and identifying aquatic insects, creating trout habitat on the AuSable River and learning the operations of a fish hatchery and the wild history of Northern Michigan. Along the way they camped overnight, piloted canoes down the Sturgeon River and donned waders to scoop bugs and position logs along the banks of the AuSable and Black rivers. (Gaylord Herald Times, MI)

    Stuck on geckos  Nov 17, 2009
    These apartments are equipped with moist boxes, water bowls, hiding areas (usually just a simple Styrofoam container), food bowls (which are filled with a variety of insects, including mealworms, superworms and crickets) and calcium bowls in short, everything you need to keep a gecko healthy and happy. To him, the gecko is the perfect pet. (The Star Online, Malaysia)

    Cleveland House of Horrors  Nov 17, 2009
    "Depending on the type and number of insects on a body, I might be able to get an estimate on the postmortem interval, or the time passed between death and body discovery," said Keiper, adding that he is one of only 20 U.S. forensic entomologists. Keiper, who called Sowell's home "infested," said that it could take him weeks to determine when the victims died. (ABC News -- Business)

    Palo Alto High principal reflects on 'egg wars'  Nov 17, 2009
    The other "mess"(had it occurred where it always had--a setting where the squirrels, insects and birds would have loved the broken egg mess) should be viewed as the fun fountain it has always been for so many students. Perhaps if we were more tolerant of some types of messes we'd have less of other types. (Palo Alto Online, CA)

    Ancient Trees Grow Faster as Temperatures Rise  Nov 17, 2009
    31, 2006) New University of Washington research suggests insects' ability to adapt to warmer temperatures carries an unexpected consequence -- more. . (Science Daily)

    Biotech crops cause big jump in pesticide use: report  Nov 17, 2009
    They said adoption of genetically engineered corn and cotton that carry traits resistant to insects has led to a reduction in insecticide use by 64 million pounds since 1996. Still, that leaves a net overall increase on U.S. farm fields of 318 million pounds of pesticides, which includes insecticides and herbicides, over the first 13 years of commercial use. (Scientific American)

    New Insights Into the Physiology of Cockroaches  Nov 17, 2009
    A research team from the Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, led by professors Amparo Latorre and Andr;s Moya, has shown why the German cockroach (Blatella germanica) eliminates excess nitrogen by excreting ammonia, in contrast to most terrestrial insects that commonly produce uric acid as a waste compound ... This research also suggests an evolutionary convergence at the level of biochemical functions in the cockroach and other omnivorous insects ... The scientists... (Science Daily)

    Are Sterile Mosquitoes the Answer to Malaria Elimination?  Nov 17, 2009
    17, 2009) The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), the release of sexually sterile male insects to wipe out a pest population, is one suggested solution to the problem of malaria in Africa ... Speaking about this new, freely available resource, Benedict said, "The SIT has proven highly effective over large areas when used against other insects. We produced this supplement because we believe that the technique has been overlooked as an anti-mosquito method. Its efficiency in low vector-population... (Science Daily)

    The darkness  Nov 17, 2009
    " But the spread of artificial light - and the way it has eroded our sense of real darkness - means most people don't give a split second of thought to stars in the sky, says Mr Owens, "whereas it was a big part of people's lives just a couple of hundred years ago". The issue of light pollution has become a rallying cause for environmentalists in recent years, with the British Astronomical Society running a Campaign for Dark Skies. But in just seven years between 1993 and 2000, light pollution... (BBC News -- UK)

    Tiny insect brains can solve big problems  Nov 17, 2009
    Photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in spectacular portraits of insects and arachnids, taken very up close and personal ... Insects may have tiny , but they can perform some seriously impressive feats of mental gymnastics ... According to a growing number of studies, some insects can count, categorize objects, even recognize human faces all with brains the size of pinheads. (MSNBC -- Environment)

    MSU teaches nutrition to preschoolers  Nov 16, 2009
    In the flower garden, we grew sunflowers, butterfly bushes and other plants that attract interesting insects and hummingbirds. The experience in that garden helps them interact with nature and learn more about the environment, Trader said. (The Clarion-Ledger)

    'Bad Romance' breakdown  Nov 16, 2009
    Clearly, Gaga s been having nightmares where insects mate with Beaker from The Muppet Show ... Clearly, Gaga s been having nightmares where insects mate with Beaker from The Muppet Show. (New York Post -- Entertainment)

    In battle to save hemlocks, hope rests on a beetle  Nov 16, 2009
    The adelgids are insects about the size of the period at the end of a sentence, Mausel said ... Experimentation showed the beetle was specialized to feed on hemlock woolly adelgids and not on other beneficial insects, so federal and state governments approved its use in nature. (Boston Globe)

    Self-Cleaning Silicone Gel Insect Wings  Nov 16, 2009
    Insects are incredible nanotechnologists ... One of the advantages of this approach is that no prior "design" of the surface of the material is needed and so the team can exploit the enormous diversity of surface types from different insects and so produce materials with specific characteristics ... (July 10, 2009) New research using high-speed digital imaging shows that, at least for some insects, wings that flex and deform, something like what happens to a heavy beach towel when you snap it to... (Science Daily)

    Genetics give fingered citron a hand  Nov 16, 2009
    The branch collar contains cells that help the tree compartmentalize the wound to prevent entry of insects and disease. Finally, I should say that "limbing up," while often necessary for shade and other ornamental trees, is best avoided in the case of fruit trees, since you want to be able to reach the fruit. (San Francisco Chronicle)

    Green Heating and Cooling Technology Turns Carbon from Eco-Villain to Hero  Nov 15, 2009
    In other words, why aren't herbivores, such as insects and grazing animals, more successful at eating the world's green leaves, also known as plant. (Jan. (Science Daily)

    Worms turned into hermaphrodites  Nov 15, 2009
    We understand how evolution tweaks simple traits, like a giraffe's neck [getting] longer and longer over time," he said. "But most of the most important changes - the creation of the eye, the development of feathers in birds, wings in insects - involved the creation of novel traits. "The better we understand this, the better we can understand the kinds of changes that created humans from our ancestors.". (BBC News -- Science)

    What’s killing the bats?  Nov 15, 2009
    All the bat species under siege by white-nose syndrome voraciously feast on night-flying insects like moths, beetles, and leafhoppers that damage agricultural crops and defoliate trees. Fewer bats mean fewer insects consumed, which, in turn, could increase the need for pesticides -- which could set off other unforeseen environmental consequences ... The insect-eating ability of bats is staggering: Little browns and other species can consume up to half their body weight in insects a night. (Boston Globe)

    Dogs show its how you finish that counts  Nov 15, 2009
    Will our resurgent Bulldogs put him and the insects in their place. lanier. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Sports)

    Caffeine's Magical Effects, Wondrou...  Nov 15, 2009
    Caffeine protects by plants from chewing insects by causing insect paralysis and death. Caffeine has important properties. (Suite101.com)

    We have met the enemy  Nov 15, 2009
    By 1730, Virginia was exporting hundreds of tons of beeswax to Europe every year, and the insects were helping settlers unroll clover-covered pastures across the New World. Nowadays keepers truck their bees all over the United States: The same hive might pollinate Washington apples and Maine blueberries in the same year. (Boston Globe)

    Yard and Garden: Tips for care of house plants during winter  Nov 14, 2009
    Note: if you see tiny insects flying around the plant, they are probably fungus gnats, which means you are watering too much. When the top inch of soil is dry, it is time to water. (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)

    Authorities: DNA links woman to babies' remains  Nov 14, 2009
    Bug spray that produces a fog to kill insects is likely to blame for the death of a 10-month-old South Carolina boy, and his 2-year-old brother was critically injured by the fumes, authorities said Monday. Anderson County Deputy Coroner Don McCown said the boys' mother had been using foggers in their single-wide mobile home in Williamston, in the northwest part of the state, because of an insect problem. (Fresno Bee -- Nation)

    New Orchid Deception Found: Wearing The Scent Of Hornet's Prey  Nov 14, 2009
    11, 2008) Air pollution from power plants and automobiles is destroying the fragrance of flowers and thereby inhibiting the ability of pollinating insects to follow scent trails to their source, a new study. . (Science Daily)

    • Woodpeckers supply services to various forest neighbors  Nov 14, 2009
    Insects, of course, are an important source of protein to early-arriving adult migrants and, later, to growing chicks ... Sap wells also feed a variety of wasps, bees, and other insects. (Juneau Empire)

    Medieval Animal Trials & Executions...  Nov 14, 2009
    Local courts generally tried individual domestic animals, while the Church dealt with wild animals and swarming insects. Occasionally they tried a werewolf, but always in human form. (Suite101.com)

    Bat-eared Fox Facts Otocyon megal...  Nov 14, 2009
    As well as a way to disperse excess heat from the body, the large ears of the bat-eared fox are also used to listen to the movement of insects and other prey ... Bat-eared foxes can move their lower jaw up and down five times per second, which allows then to eat many insects rather quickly ... In addition to insects, which is the prominent food in their diet, termites in particular, bat-eared foxes also eat snakes and other reptiles, rodents, bird eggs, and fruit. (Suite101.com)

    Big profit from nature protection  Nov 14, 2009
    a Costa Rican study showing that areas of intact forest increase the yield of coffee farms by 20% because they shelter pollinating insects. a grassland conservation area in New Zealand that supplies the Otago region with free water that would cost $100m per year to bring in from elsewhere. (BBC News -- Business)

    Donald Harington, novelist of surrealism in the Ozarks  Nov 14, 2009
    That place, Stay More, whose residents Mr. Harington called Stay Morons, turned out to be a strange one, populated by shrewd hillbillies, reclusive millionaires, an itinerant motion-picture projectionist, a candidate for governor who wants to abolish hospitals and schools, and, in The Cockroaches of Stay More, talking insects who constitute their own Ozark subsociety. Don Harington is not an underappreciated novelist, the poet Fred Chappell told The Democrat-Gazette. (Boston Globe)

    "Blow flies pick up the gases omitted by bodies during decomposition at such a high speed that these insects are truly the first responders on a crime scene."  Nov 13, 2009
    Insects at Crime Scene Could Help Establish House of Horrors Timeline ... "Depending on the type and number of insects on a body, I might be able to get an estimate on the postmortem interval, or the time passed between death and body discovery," said Keiper, adding that he is one of only 20 U.S. forensic entomologists ... Keiper looks primarily for the larvae of blow flies, a species of insects that he said is one of the most important drivers of. (ABC News)

    Can A Plant Be Altruistic?  Nov 13, 2009
    27, 2008) Ecologists have discovered that subterranean and aboveground herbivorous insects can communicate with each other by using plants as telephones. Subterranean insects issue chemical warning signals via ... When insects ingest parts of a plant digestion turns proteins. (Science Daily)

    SPECIAL REPORT: Welcome to the Clone Farm  Nov 13, 2009
    "When you're genetically modifying a plant, creating a seed that perhaps has a resistance to insects, that's different than cloning, and maybe modifying a sentient being," said Chris Waldrop, director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America. "There are different ethical, religious, and moral issues that a society has to grapple with before they move forward on such a technology.". (The Star Online, Malaysia)

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