By David Suzuki David Suzuki Foundation People sometimes get bugged by insects, but we need them. They play essential roles in pollination, combating unwanted agricultural pests, recycling organic matter, feeding fish, birds and bats, and much more. They’re the most … Continue reading →

Last week, the New York Times dropped a terrifying story: Asian Giant Hornets, or "murder hornets" as more J. Jonah Jameson-esque researchers like to call them, have been identified in Western Washington. These insects can grow up to 2 inches long, can rip the heads off an entire hive of honeybees in a matter of hours, and have dagger-like stingers that pierce beekeeper suits to deliver a sting that sears like molten acid.…

N-Substituted (6-haloalkylpyridin-3-yl)alkyl sulfoximines are effective at controlling insects.

The present invention relates to an pesticidal composition comprising an effective amount of a sulphur; an effective amount of at least one insecticide selected from the group consisting of cartap fipronil, pirimicarb, buprofezine, thiachloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin, diafenthiuron, novaluron, flubendiamide, spirotetramat, thiamethoxam, imidacloprid or salts thereof, and at least one agrochemically acceptable excipient.

An insect-resistant protein exhibiting a sufficient resistance to insects; an insect-resistance gene encoding the insect-resistant protein; a recombinant vector containing the insect-resistance gene; a host cell and a plant cell having the recombinant vector transfected thereinto; a transformant transformed by the insect-resistance gene and a method for producing the same; a protein recovered thereby; and an insect-resistant agent comprising them as active ingredients. In accordance with the present invention, the insect-resistant protein is derived from a plant.

A rotary spray head assembly includes a motor having an output shaft and a housing through which the output shaft at least partially extends. The housing includes an inlet communicable with a source of fluid. The rotary spray head assembly also includes an annular skirt extending from the housing, a passageway through the skirt having a first end in fluid communication with the inlet and a second end, and a hub coupled for co-rotation with the output shaft. The hub includes an annular groove into which the annular skirt at least partially extends, a circumferential interior surface at least partially defining the groove, and an aperture through the circumferential interior surface. Fluid introduced into the annular groove through the second end of the passageway is discharged outwardly through the aperture.

An insect repellent compound that includes naturally occurring oil that emits an odor which repels insects is described. The compound is not harmful to animals, to humans or to the environment. The compound may be incorporated into materials such as yarn that is woven to form a mesh. The material may be used for making an animal mask, for screen doors and other applications. A method of making the compound and incorporating it into materials and products is described.

A refrigerator and an anti-insect unit accommodating a repellent and installed on a refrigerator leg for supporting a refrigerator cabinet, thereby repelling or eradicating insects from the refrigerator and a space for accommodating the refrigerator.

The present invention relates to a composition comprising a neonicotinoid-based compound having a high degree of insecticidal activity, a surfactant, and an organic solvent, which is capable of demonstrating stable effects and in which the types and amounts of surfactant and organic solvent are adjusted so as to prevent chemical damage in numerous types of trees. In addition, the present invention relates to a method for preventing damage to trees by harmful insects of numerous types of trees by injecting this composition into a tree trunk and allowing the chemical to circulate within the tree body.

The $300,000 effort could take place between now and June depending on weather conditions and the moths' hatching season, officials said.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne find fruit flies in temperate areas of Australia are building a resistance to common insecticides.

Volunteer detection dogs have been trained to find the endangered alpine stonefly at Falls Creek, an insect measuring just 50 millimetres in length.

Edible insects are praised as a sustainable form of snack, but that is not their only drawcard, with some Territorians reporting that they are 'crunchy and full of flavour'.

The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling insects in the past 30 years, according to researchers whose big picture study of global bug decline paints a disturbing but more nuanced problem than earlier research.

The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling insects in the past 30 years, according to researchers whose big picture study of global bug decline paints a disturbing but more nuanced problem than earlier research.

Belgian waffles may be about to become more environmentally friendly.

Good news for bugs that weigh less than a sesame seed.

You'll have to declare brutal warfare on the ants in your yard while embracing a tiny parasitoid wasp that eats its living prey from the inside out.

When did you last see a glow worm? Most likely, quite some time ago. Depending on how young you are, you may have never seen one at all. Those light-emitting insects, Wordsworth's "earthborn stars", have been declining in the UK for decades. That means that scientists now see them in fewer places, and even in those pockets where conditions are right for them, there are fewer of them to be found.

Asian baseball, Grimes' baby, scary invasive insects -- how well did you follow the news this week? Take the UPI News Quiz for May 8, 2020.

Leipzig : W. Engelmann, 1867.

It’s not quite a meat dress, but Kaikaia gaga does boast some impressive horn-like appendages

The researchers gathered data from 166 surveys of insect abundance around the world, mostly conducted since the 1980s

A destructive, invasive beetle that kills ash trees, the emerald ash borer (EAB), has been confirmed in Delaware, making it the 28th state to have found the insect. The statewide impact is expected to be minimal, as ash trees make up only around two percent of Delaware's tree stock and the state has been preparing for more than a decade. State forestry and plant health officials are providing advice to homeowners, municipalities and civic groups at de.gov/ashtrees.

Amber from the Cretaceous period trapped a leaf-footed bug with extremely long and wide antennae, which may have helped disguise the insect or confuse predators

While an alarming 9 per cent of insects on land are being lost each decade, the state of the world’s insects is much more nuanced than warnings of an insect apocalypse

ABSTRACT

Mobile elements—plasmids and phages—are important components of microbial function and evolution via traits that they encode and their capacity to shuttle genetic material between species. We here report the unusually rich array of mobile elements within the genome of Arsenophonus nasoniae, the son-killer symbiont of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis. This microbe’s genome has the highest prophage complement reported to date, with over 50 genomic regions that represent either intact or degraded phage material. Moreover, the genome is predicted to include 17 extrachromosomal genetic elements, which carry many genes predicted to be important at the microbe-host interface, derived from a diverse assemblage of insect-associated gammaproteobacteria. In our system, this diversity was previously masked by repetitive mobile elements that broke the assembly derived from short reads. These findings suggest that other complex bacterial genomes will be revealed in the era of long-read sequencing.

IMPORTANCE The biology of many bacteria is critically dependent on genes carried on plasmid and phage mobile elements. These elements shuttle between microbial species, thus providing an important source of biological innovation across taxa. It has recently been recognized that mobile elements are also important in symbiotic bacteria, which form long-lasting interactions with their host. In this study, we report a bacterial symbiont genome that carries a highly complex array of these elements. Arsenophonus nasoniae is the son-killer microbe of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis and exists with the wasp throughout its life cycle. We completed its genome with the aid of recently developed long-read technology. This assembly contained over 50 chromosomal regions of phage origin and 17 extrachromosomal elements within the genome, encoding many important traits at the host-microbe interface. Thus, the biology of this symbiont is enabled by a complex array of mobile elements.

Simon Tapper, Joseph J. Nocera, and Gary Burness

Climatic warming is predicted to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, which may reduce an individual's capacity for sustained activity due to thermal limits. We tested whether the risk of overheating may limit parental provisioning of an aerial insectivorous bird in population decline. For many seasonally breeding birds, parents are thought to operate close to an energetic ceiling during the 2-3 week chick-rearing period. The factors determining the ceiling remain unknown, although it may be set by an individual's capacity to dissipate body heat (the heat dissipation limitation hypothesis). Over two breeding seasons we experimentally trimmed the ventral feathers of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor, Vieillot, 1808) to provide a thermal window. We then monitored maternal and paternal provisioning rates, nestling growth rates, and fledging success. We found the effect of our experimental treatment was context-dependent. Females with an enhanced capacity to dissipate heat fed their nestlings at higher rates than controls when conditions were hot, but the reverse was true under cool conditions. Control females and their mates both reduced foraging under hot conditions. In contrast, male partners of trimmed females maintained a constant feeding rate across temperatures, suggesting attempts to match the feeding rate of their partners. On average, nestlings of trimmed females were heavier than controls, but did not have a higher probability of fledging. We suggest that removal of a thermal constraint allowed females to increase provisioning rates, but additionally provided nestlings with a thermal advantage via increased heat transfer during maternal brooding. Our data provide support for the heat dissipation limitation hypothesis and suggest that depending on temperature, heat dissipation capacity can influence reproductive success in aerial insectivores.

There is an ongoing need for safe and effective anti-bedbug compounds. Here, we tested the toxicity of three antimicrobial agents against bedbugs when administered orally. We reveal that doxycycline has direct insecticidal activity at 250 μg/ml (0.025%) that is particularly strong against immature bedbugs and appears to be independent of antimicrobial activity. Future studies to determine the mechanisms behind this property could be useful for the development of orally active insecticides or anti-bedbug therapeutics.

They say the hornet “hype" reminds them of the “killer bees” scare of the 1970s

A new title from Smithsonian Books highlights the diversity of Earth's 10 to 100 million insect species

Earth's insect population has shrunk by 27 per cent in the past 30 years, researchers have found.

The health of insect populations globally is far more varied than previous research suggested.

The Trendlines Group has invested in early-stage startup Insectta, headquartered in the city-state.

The post SG Digest: Trendlines invests in Insectta; d:tribe Capital backs Australian AI startup appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

Are crops that produce their own pesticides as scary as they sound?

"It's not just about the bees, it's about the survival of humanity"

The Royal College of Art graduate students show their (environmental) stuff at the year-end show.

From ants and pantry moths to black flies and fruit flies, these non-toxic DIY solutions are safer and more eco-friendly than traditional pesticides.

Pestival, is a weekend festival packed with art, music, talks and workshops, celebrating insects in art, and the art of being an insect. It starts from the fact that eighty percent of creatures on earth are insects, the 'pests' without whom humans

Part art, part meditative process, these works are created with plant material harvested from the artist's urban garden.

A taste-test between the two kinds of fat had a surprising outcome.

And it's available now across the UK.

An article in the latest issue of the journal Current Science raises serious questions about the long-term viability of genetically-modified Bt cotton to actually do what it's intended to do, increase pest resistance.