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insects

11/24/2018 / By Isabelle Z.

SHOCK: 50% of freshwater insects are contaminated with microplastics

We tend to hear quite a bit about fish suffering from plastic contamination, with images of whales washing up on beaches with stomachs full of plastic bottles becoming an all-too-common sight these days. However, even animals that aren’t big enough to ingest water bottles are still suffering from plastic pollution. Recent research highlighted the shocking […]

10/27/2018 / By Ralph Flores

Mosquitoes balance taste with risk: Study finds they can remember your smell, and if you tried to swat them

There are a few insects, or animals for that matter, that can top our disdain for mosquitoes. They’re pretty much everywhere, and that bite – a reaction in part to their mouthparts impaling you and drinking your blood – is nothing short of annoying to most people. What’s worse: They seem just to fly away right before […]

10/24/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Looking at alternative approaches to pest control

In response to the devastating huanglongbing disease sweeping through California’s citrus orchards, researchers are testing a biological control program. They are using two wasps from Asia that are natural enemies of the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri), an invasive species of insect that spreads the bacteria responsible for the disease. The study was supported by the University of California Riverside. […]

09/30/2018 / By Isabelle Z.

Monsanto’s weedkiller BOMBSHELL: It murders honey bees, too, contributing to global collapse of the food supply

Monsanto likes to promote the idea that GMOs can solve world hunger. At first, many wanted to believe that they could indeed provide an answer to this devastating problem, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that they’re actually having the opposite effect. In fact, Monsanto’s popular weed killer glyphosate, which is regularly used on genetically modified […]

09/24/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Our sense of smell may be linked to our risk of neurological disorders

Researchers from West Virginia have come across a connection between the sense of smell and the chances of developing brain disorders. In their recently published study, they found that movement of the wings of moths affected the animals’ olfactory sense, which in turn affected their brains, an article in News Wise stated. This discovery could […]

09/14/2018 / By Rhonda Johansson

Cleanliness can prevent bugs as well as germs: Bed bugs love dirty laundry, study finds

Low-cost traveling has opened the doors to a lot of things, like bedbugs. So says Dr. William Hentley from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences and his team of researchers. His study, published in Scientific Reports, concluded that global bedbug dispersal has been facilitated by dirty laundry being left exposed in […]

09/07/2018 / By Rhonda Johansson

Moving away from chemicals: Consumer demand for cleaner food has researchers exploring plant-based extracts to protect against insects

The concept of achieving food independence is a lofty goal, but one which will not likely happen in the near future. It is evident that we still need to rely on big food manufacturers for our daily meals, even as we pray that what we put into our mouth is not laced with the various […]

08/23/2018 / By Michelle Simmons

Natural pest management: Peach farmers are reducing crop loss to stink bugs by planting grains to lure them away

Scientists from Auburn University in the U.S. found a way to manage pest naturally. They discovered that planting different grain crops attract pests away from the fruit, resulting to lesser crop loss. For the study, the research team analyzed six winter host crops and six summer host crops as possible trap crops or attractant crops for […]

06/15/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Mathematical model shows how ants behave when faced with an obstacle

You have probably seen a troop of ants hauling chunks of food many times their size and weight back to their home colony. A new mathematical model developed by Israeli researchers can predict the actions the insects will adopt when they run into an obstruction while transporting that food, an article in Science Daily stated. […]

06/14/2018 / By RJ Jhonson

Honeybees “smell” dead individuals and remove them from the colony to protect their young

Honeybees are known to “clean up” dead individuals and remove them from the hive. A study by researchers from the University of British Columbia looked into the mechanisms that drive this behavior and examined how it can be used to breed healthier colonies. Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are highly social insects known for their extreme devotion […]

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