When I check out the stats on our blog, I often look at the search terms that people use to find our blog. A couple of days ago, I noticed that someone searched for “the difference between bed bugs and ticks,” and I thought, that’s a great question! So I’m going to try to answer it.
Filed under: Insects, Urban IPM | Tagged: bed bugs, bed bugs and ticks, bedbugs, difference between bed bugs and ticks, ticks | 1 Comment »
The Regional IPM Centers were one of several award recipients at the IPM Symposium. This post presents the recipients and their background.
Filed under: Insects, Invasive species, Pesticides, Urban IPM | Tagged: Awards of excellence, IPM Achievement awards, ipm symposium, Regional IPM Centers, Tom Green | Leave a Comment »
Agricultural pests have long been considered one of the greatest threats to food security. Insect pests and diseases cause about a 40% loss in global production each year. And scientists warn that the problem will probably get worse.
Filed under: Insects, Invasive species, Resistance | Tagged: Coffee leaf rust, Coffee wilt disease, colorado potato beetle, Desert locust, Khapra beetle, mountain pine beetle, Potato blight, Ug99, Witches' broom disease, Worst pest list | Leave a Comment »
A new study, done by scientists at the University of Georgia, suggests that one of the secrets to controlling the hemlock woolly adelgid may be at the top of the tree.
Filed under: Insects, Invasive species | Tagged: Adelges tsugae, hemlock biocontrol, hemlock woolly adelgid, Laricobius nigrinus, Sasajscymnus tsugae, University of Georgia hemlock study | Leave a Comment »
In the Ngara district in northwest Tanzania is a small village with some of the ideal conditions for mosquitoes. Villagers lack the income to pay for the typical mosquito protection. Many are wary of chemical sprays used on their property or inside the house. Because the village was nearly ideal for mosquitoes, it was also ideal for a group of British researchers who wanted to test the effectiveness of an exotic invasive plant on repelling mosquitoes.
Filed under: Insects, Invasive plants, Invasive species | Tagged: Concern nurseries, Concern Worldwide, Invasive plants, Lantana, Lantana camara, malaria prevention, mosquito cotrnol, Ngara, Tanzania | Leave a Comment »
Although the cost of invasive species has not sparked nearly as much debate as has the possibility of global warming, the combination of the two has bred some interesting research. In New Zealand, for example, a group of scientists recently examined what effect warming temperatures would have on the invasive Argentine ant, and whether native ant populations could recover if invasive ant colonies disappeared.
Filed under: Insects, Invasive species | Tagged: Argentine ant New Zealand, Argentine ants, climate change, global warming, invasive species | Leave a Comment »
You don’t have to travel very far to find a healthy offering of Christmas trees. In the Southern US, Fraser firs are among the favorite. I’m going to focus on a topic that few people want to think out—pests and diseases that can affect Christmas trees.
Filed under: Insects, Invasive species | Tagged: balsam twig aphid, balsam woolly adelgid, Christmas trees, fraser fir, NC Christmas trees, phytophthora cinnamomi | Leave a Comment »
If biocontrol has so many advantages, why do some people shudder at the mention of a new introduction of an insect or parasitoid that may save a crop or forest tree from certain destruction? Simple. Any time that any living organism is set free in a foreign habitat, that organism presents its own risks.
Filed under: Insects, Invasive species, Resistance, Uncategorized | Tagged: biocontrol, biological control, Cactoblastis cactorum, Compsilura concinnata, Florida cactus, gypsy moth, Large white, Larinus planus, prickly pear, silkworm | Leave a Comment »
In the November 2011 issue of Scientific American, two scientists discuss the pros and cons of using genetically modified mosquitoes to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses. In the article, biologist Mark Q. Benedict and Helen Wallace, the director of GeneWatch UK, illuminate the issues surrounding the release of genetically modified insects into the wild.
Filed under: Insects, Pesticides | Tagged: biocontrol, dengue fever, genetically modified organisms, GMOs, mosquito control, mosquitoes, Scientific American mosquito article | Leave a Comment »
For those of us who have ever visited a country where the risk of dengue fever was fairly high, the news on National Public Radio a few weeks ago was good news indeed. A group of scientists have discovered a virus that will render a mosquito incapable of transmitting dengue fever. After several years of testing, scientist Scott O’Neill of Monash University is planning to release the virus—which is typically carried by fruit flies—in several countries where dengue fever is prevalent.
Filed under: Insects | Tagged: biocontrol, biocontrol agents, biological control, dengue fever, Monash University, mosquito control, mosquitoes, National Public Radio, Scott O'Neill | Leave a Comment »
