The pollen's structure suggests that the plants were pollinated by insects: most likely beetles as bees would not evolve for another 100 million years.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Zurich. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The disease is caused by a parasite that enters the animals'blood as a result of the bite of the Tsetse fly.
and the bacteria are resistant to being grown in the laboratory the only option for halting transmission of citrus greening has been to apply chemical pesticides to control the insect that spreads the bacteria Dandekar said.
These bacteria are carried from tree to tree by two species of the citrus psyllid a winged insect that is about one-eighth inch long
As the citrus psyllid feeds on a leaf it can pick up the bacteria from a diseased tree
However the citrus psyllid that transmits the bacteria was first found in California in 2008
Changes among the plants can be seen as they respond to cabbage white butterfly caterpillars and stinkbugs introduced during the experiment.
The fibers are so small in diameter that prey insects easily become entangled in them without any glue needed.
when a genetically modified trait passes from a crop plant to a closely related weed the weed gains the crop s engineered benefit#resistance to pests for example#only in the presence of the offending insects.
either selectively neutral in wild plants or if they have a benefit it depends on environmental factors like insects diseases
When wood is injured such as by an insect or is being dried like we do dried with kiln lumber the torus
#African caterpillars resistant to GM maizelike many other transgenic crops Bt maize synthesises its own pesticide:
Perfect#Except when insect populations develop resistance to the toxin! To date management strategies implemented to delay the evolution of resistance have been successful.
Notwithstanding the success of these strategies IRD scientists and their South african partners have revealed now that a major pest of maize the moth Busseola fusca has developed an unusual defense mechanism against Bt toxin in South africa.
This result recently published in the journal PLOS ONE suggests that insect resistance management should be tuned more finely to local pests
and should go beyond the simple implementation of refuges for Bt-susceptible moths. Bt maize and resistance developmentgenetically engineered maize is created by introducing a gene into the plant genome that expresses a toxic protein from a bacterium i e.
which destroys the gut of any moth larvae eating the plant. The technique is effective and unlike wide spectrum pesticides it only targets larvae of moths.
However sooner or later insect species may be able to develop a mechanism of resistance against any pesticides.
Bt maize is not fundamentally different in this regard and in order to delay the evolution of resistance in pest populations the concept of maintaining refuges for Bt susceptible moths was developed.
Non-Bt maize fields are protecting Bt maize fieldsthe refuge strategy consists of planting a small proportion of land with non-Bt maize;
the aim being to maintain pockets of insects that remain susceptible to the toxin. In line with other known cases of Bt-resistance resistance in Busseola fusca was expected to involve modification of the cells in the gut wall
Since the probability of resistant individuals arising in the field is low any resistant insects surviving on Bt maize will mate with one of the many Bt-susceptible individuals originating from the refuge area
since 1995 with resistance yet to develop among lepidopteran pests. The exception to the rulehowever about seven years after Bt maize was introduced to South africa in the late 1990's scientists observed resistant Busseola fusca caterpillars
and more importantly these resistant insects seemed to reproduce and spread rapidly. To explain this phenomenon scientists in South africa together with IRD researchers crossed resistant South african moths with susceptible moths imported from Kenya where Bt maize is commercialized not yet.
The offspring developed perfectly on Bt maize and were as resistant as the South african resistant parents.
Unlike everything known so far this resistance evolved in the field was inherited as a dominant trait.
The moth does not seem to have followed the expected pattern of adaptation. At this stage there are several hypotheses as to the nature of the mechanism
In the long term new Insect Resistance Management strategies likely more complex should be developed against Busseola fusca.
Such perspectives could include a more diverse array of toxins for the control of pest populations possibly supplemented with a biological component such as pathogenic fungi or parasitic wasps.
#X-ray science taps bug biology to design better materials and reduce pollutionbug spray citronella candles mosquito netting--most people will do anything they can to stay away from insects during the warmer months.
Researchers using the cutting-edge X-ray technology at the U s. Department of energy's Advanced Photon Source (APS) were able to take an inside look at several insects gathering results that go beyond learning about insect physiology and biology.
What they found could provide a blueprint for a material used for artificial ligaments a chemical-free way to protect crops from insects and a new insight on how human muscles function.
Most people know the caddisfly as the artificial bug on fly fishing lures. But few know that these real caddiesflies spin an adhesive silk underwater to build nets to capture food and build protective shelter.
and physics at Arizona State university and author of a study in Biomacromolecules that examined caddisfly silk.
They found that at the molecular level caddisfly silk differs greatly from other terrestrial spun silks such as those from spiders or silkworms.
Caddisfly silk is phosphoratelated meaning that after the amino acid chain that makes up the silk is created phosphate molecules bond to the chain.
Putting grasshoppers on a diet Grasshoppers eat up crops but farmers may soon have a chemical-free way to protect their plants from these voracious pests by turning their natural growth cycle against them.
which an insect sheds its skin in order to mature to its next life stage a grasshoppers insides become essentially too large for its outer shell.
This compresses the grasshopper's tracheal system and makes it difficult for it to breathe.
As a result the team saw a reduction in the number of jumps per minute for the grasshoppers about to molt
versus those that were not suggesting that a compressed respiratory system causes a reduction in mobility.
From this Kirkton hypothesizes that a lack of oxygen delivery to the grasshopper's body is a trigger for molting.
Storing grains or crops at low oxygen levels would limit the oxygen the insects get
and reduce the overall lifespan of the insect Kirkton said. The key to discovering the connection between oxygen
and quantify the functioning respiratory system of an intact living insect in real time. Kirkton published recently in the Journal of Comparative Physiology his look at the respiratory system of the American grasshopper during periods right before molting.
While Kirkton says that more research needs to be done he thinks that this finding is applicable to a wide-range of insects
which means a universal and chemical-free pest control method may be on its way. Muscled mothsalthough few gym rats want to admit it whispery moth wings
and bulging human biceps aren't that different. What we learn from them can teach us more about human muscle mechanics to potentially improve physical therapy treatments
But logistically looking at the protein structures within a moth's muscle cells is no easy task.
The experiment setup involved gluing a moth by its thorax to a support structure attaching a series of electrodes to its flight muscles to trigger its wings to beat at a rapid pace
The results shed light on more than the mechanics of moth flight--it may redefine our understanding of how our own muscles function.
and author of a study in Science that examined the cross bridge cycling in the muscles of moths had to seek out Thomas Irving.
and experience hooking up insects to gizmos--that helped Daniel pull together this experiment. What they found was that
when a moth flaps its wings a bit of a tug of war is happening at a molecular level.
and his team observed that the top of the moth's thorax which is the muscle that makes the wings move was cooler on top than on the bottom.
This energy transfer process allows the moth to fly without expending a large amount of energy. Daniel says that the presence of elastic energy was not a surprise.
and no insect would be able to maintain that kind of energy output. However this study uncovers a new mechanism for this elastic energy storage one based on temperature differences.
At a molecular level a moth's muscle is not very different than a human's meaning that elastic energy may serve a much larger role in human muscle function than researchers previously thought.
and shirts to prevent skin irritation while keeping allergy-causing stinging insects away. Choose Wisely--The worst allergy offenders might be in your own yard.
#Model of dangerous bee disease in Jersey provides tool in fight against honeybee infectionsscientists at the University of Warwick have modelled an outbreak of the bee infection American foulbrood in Jersey using a technique
which could be applied to other honeybee diseases such as European foulbrood and the Varroa parasite. As well as modelling how bee infections spread the method also allows scientists to simulate various disease control interventions in order to measure their efficacy.
which affects the larval stage of honeybees. It can cause the death of an entire hive within a matter of monthsthe Jersey data covered 450 honeybee hives their location
and their owners from which the researchers built a computer simulation which modelled the speed at
Honeybees are one of the most important bee species in the world in terms of their contribution to food production through pollination.
which can wipe out a hive within a few months. By understanding how it is spreads from hive to hive we then have a good basis to formulate interventions.
This is the first rigorous statistical analysis carried out on a honeybee disease epidemic that we are aware of.
The model suggests that just under half of the 2010 Jersey infection spread was attributed to transmission by owners between their own hives.
The researchers suggest that distance between colonies was another important factor in the spread of the disease with the disease mostly spreading between hives less than 2km apart.
The model also simulated the impact of different control strategies on controlling the epidemic and found that the measures taken by authorities in Jersey at the time--to inspect
Leafcutter ants for example carry bacteria that help prevent other fungi from contaminating their fungal gardens.
and mammals with uses that include home insect control insect-repellant clothing dog and cat flea shampoos mosquito control and agriculture.
but a new protein discovered in the venom of Australian tarantulas can also kill prey insects that consume the venom orally.
The protein is strongly insecticidal to the cotton bollworm an important agricultural pest according to research published September 11 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Glenn King and Maggie Hardy from the Institute of Molecular
The small protein named orally active insecticidal peptide-1 (OAIP-1) was found to be highly toxic to insects that consumed it with potency similar to that of the synthetic insecticide imidacloprid.
Cotton bollworm a pest that attacks crop plants was more sensitive to OAIP-1 than termites and mealworms
These and other insect pests reduce global crop yields by 10-14%annually and damage 9-20%of stored food crops
Alternately the authors suggest the genes encoding these peptides could be used to engineer insect-resistant plants
or enhance the efficacy of microbes that attack insect pests. King elaborates The breakthrough discovery that spider toxins can have oral activity has implications not only for their use as bioinsecticides
and aroma could give insect pests the bootthe citrus flavor and aroma of grapefruit--already used in fruit juices citrus-flavored beverages
and prestige perfumes and colognes--may be heading for a new use in battling mosquitoes ticks head lice
and bedbugs thanks to a less expensive way of making large amounts of the once rare and pricey ingredient scientists say.
A new product based on nootkatone would have multiple advantages over existing mosquito repellants based on DEET said Richard Burlingame Ph d. who presented the report.
Nootkatone is a broad-spectrum ingredient that has been shown to be effective as a control agent for mosquitoes ticks and bedbugs.
and kills insects and should not have the toxicity concerns that exist for DEET. Burlingame who is with Allylix Inc. a renewable-chemical firm in Lexington Ky. spoke at a symposium entitled Biopesticides:
The need for a more economical source of nootkatone intensified after scientists at the U s. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered nootkatone's effectiveness in controlling ticks mosquitoes and other insects.
Allylix is now working with scientists at CDC to develop nootkatone for commercial use as an insect-control agent.
Nookatone also works in a new way so it can be used against insects that develop resistance
The next step involves getting approval from the U s. Environmental protection agency to sell nootkatone for insect control.
and not because of the risk of a nasty sting an expert on the health of those beneficial insects said in Indianapolis today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Set aside the fact that the honeybee's cousins--hornets wasps and yellow jackets--actually account for most stings said Richard Fell Ph d
. Despite years of intensive research scientists do not understand the cause nor can they provide remedies for
what is killing honeybees. Some estimates put the value of honeybees in pollinating fruit vegetable and other crops at almost $15 billion annually Fell said.
Without bees to spread pollen from the male parts of plants to the female parts fruit may not form.
Farmers use honeybees to pollinate more than 100 different fruit and vegetable crops around the country in an approach known as managed pollination It involves placing bee hives in fields
when crops are ready for pollination. The biggest impacts from decreased hive numbers will be felt by farmers producing crops with high pollination requirements such as almonds.
Consumers may see a lowered availability of certain fruits and vegetables and some higher costs explained Fell.
He discussed the ongoing decline in honeybee populations in the U s . and some other countries--a condition sometimes termed colony collapse disorder (CCD).
Although honeybees have been doing better in recent years something continues to kill about 1 in every 3 honeybees each year.
Some of the leading theories about the cause of CCD include the use of certain pesticides parasites diseases and overall hive nutrition.
Honeybees are not the only species of bee that can be used in managed pollination. If colonies continue declining Fell believes that there will be an increase in the use of other species including the bumble bee and alfalfa leafcutter bee.
In addition they are not as easily managed for pollination as the honeybee. The major advantages of using honeybees are ease of movement both in
and out of orchards or fields as well as the ability to manage colonies for higher populations.
Honeybee colonies can be moved from one crop to another in a single season something that cannot be done easily with bumble bees
If we can gain a better understanding of the factors causing honeybee decline we may be able to apply this knowledge to protecting other species. Fell cited funding from the Virginia Department of agriculture and Consumer Services the National Honey Board the Virginia Agricultural
#How bedbugs shrug off pesticides and simple measures to deal with itthe bedbug's most closely guarded secrets--stashed away in protective armor that enables these bloodsucking little nasties to shrug off insecticides
and thrive in homes and hotels--are on the agenda today at a major scientific meeting in Indianapolis.
In a talk at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) scientists are describing identification of the genes responsible for pesticide-resistance in bedbugs
and the implications for millions of people trying to cope with bedbug infestations that have been resurging for more than a decade.
The bedbug presentation is part of an international research award symposium at the ACS National Meeting
The surprise discovery we never expected is that most of the genes responsible for pesticide resistance in the bedbug are active in its outer skin-like shell or cuticle.
This is the unique adaption that has not been discovered in cockroaches termites ants or other insects.
The bodies of bedbugs she explained are extremely flat before the creatures slurp up a meal of human blood.
That profile adapts bedbugs for a life of hiding in the seams of mattresses upholstered chairs the lining of suitcases and other concealed locations.
But it also creates a vulnerability to environmental toxins giving bedbugs an unusually large surface area where pesticides can enter their bodies.
--and accounts for the difficulty in squashing a bedbug. But research by Zhu's team and others has established that it's also a metabolic hot spot to protect against insecticides.
Zhu's team sifted through the bedbug's genome--its complete set of genes--to identify the genes responsible for this pesticide resistance.
They studied 21 populations of bedbugs from cities in Ohio and Kentucky (Cincinnati Lexington and Louisville) that were plagued with bedbug infestations.
We took advantage of cutting-edge next-generation genetic sequencing technology that's now available. It enabled us to perform quickly an analysis that would have taken years in the 1990s--a genome-wide analysis of the insecticide-resistance related genes in bedbugs.
They found 14 genes that in various combinations help bedbugs survive pesticide treatments with pyrethroid-type insecticides.
Most were active in the bug's cuticle and block or slow an insecticide from reaching the nerve cells where it can kill.
In addition to this first-line of defense Zhu's team discovered that bedbugs have developed a second layer of protection.
In case insecticides slip past the armor other genes kick in to prevent the toxins from attacking the nervous system.
New pesticides alone however will not be enough to cope with the bedbug resurgence. Zhu cited evidence that bedbugs in laboratory colonies exposed to lethal doses of pyrethroids begin to develop resistance within a few generations
which can be less than one year. It reminds us how quickly a new insecticide can become ineffective she said.
In the future efficient bedbug management should not rely on any single insecticide. We need to combine as many chemical
She cited specifically integrated pest management for bedbugs approaches in which careful use of pesticides combines with other common-sense measures.
Those include removing bedroom clutter where bedbugs can hide frequent vacuuming of dust and other debris washing bed linens in hot water
and colors derived from beetles. Speakers at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society recently described how natural colors used centuries ago are making a resurgence in response to consumer preferences manufacturers'needs
and red colors derived from insects explained Stephen T. Talcott Ph d. who spoke at the session.
and the carmine reds extracted from cochineal insects. Those include sustainability and ease of production. Cochineal insects feed on a certain type of cactus native to South america and Mexico.
It takes about 2500 bugs to produce one ounce of cochineal extract used in ice creams yogurts candy beverages and other foods.
However PSP anthocyanins are difficult to extract. Talcott reported on development of a new process that extracts larger amounts of pigment from PSPS.
Ecological theory suggests that these simplified landscapes should have more insect pest problems due to the lack of natural enemies and the increased size and connectivity of crop-food resources.
Coffee beans around the world however are threatened by the pervasive beetle. The insect burrows into the beans
and eats its way out ruining the beans. It originated in Africa and has made its way into nearly every major coffee-producing country.
It's the only insect that competes with us for coffee beans Karp said. It's the most damaging insect pest by far causing some $500 million in damage per year.
Stanford biologists have been studying the intersection of nature and agriculture in Costa rica since the 1990s in part because of the vast amounts of land in that country dedicated to coffee production.
and thus a greater biodiversity of insect-eating birds fared better under attack from the insects.
A'not-so-glamorous'experimentto quantify the benefit birds provide to plantations the researchers first calculated coffee bean yield--the amount of healthy beetle-free beans that could be harvested--of infected plants that were housed in bird-proof cages
versus yield from infected plants in the open where birds were eating the beetles. Next they needed to confirm
which species of birds were eating the beetles and whether the birds required forest to survive.
Crop pests include fungi bacteria viruses insects nematodes viroids and oomycetes. The diversity of crop pests continues to expand
For example warming generally stimulates insect herbivory at higher latitudes as seen in outbreaks of the Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) that has destroyed large areas of pine forest in the US Pacific Northwest.
#Targeting mosquito breeding sites could boost malaria control efforts in Africa and Asiaa malaria control method that targets mosquito larvae and pupae as they mature in standing water could be an important supplementary measure in the fight against the disease according to a new report.
The Cochrane review--led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in collaboration with Durham University and other researchers in the UK and US--is the first systematic review looking at using larval source management (LSM) to control malaria
LSM is a method that targets immature mosquitoes found in standing water before the females develop into flying adults that are capable of transmitting malaria.
making temporary changes to mosquito habitats to disrupt breeding for example by clearing drains to make the water flow;
However this success is threatened now by factors such as a growing resistance to insecticides among mosquitoes.
Complementary methods of mosquito control such as LSM may become increasingly necessary in helping tackle the disease
and rice paddies where mosquitoes breed and building dams flushing streams and removing water containers from around people's homes.
and rural areas of Africa and Asia--wherever it is possible to target a sufficient proportion of mosquito breeding sites.
The tremendous progress made in malaria control in the last decade is threatened now by mosquito resistance to the insecticides available for long-lasting insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying.
Thus additional methods are needed to target malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. Our research shows that larval source management could be an effective supplementary intervention in some places.
One study included in the review was from The gambia where mosquitoes were breeding in large swamps and rice paddies;
and wedding veil material as insect netting. Anemaet and Middleton were inspired to create an easier method by their field research on baldcypress tree swamps.
Baldcypress swamps are an ecosystem that once spread across the southeastern and eastern United states. They are currently being restored in some areas of the Gulf Coastal plain after years of degradation from agriculture saltwater intrusion and pests like the tent caterpillar.
#Beetles modify emissions of greenhouse gases from cow patscattle contribute to global warming by burping
But now researchers from the University of Helsinki have found that beetles living in cow pats may reduce emissions of the key greenhouse gas--methane.
Now researchers from the University of Helsinki have found that beetles living in the cow pats may reduce emissions of methane.
In fact there are probably as many beetle species living in dung as there are bird species on this planet.
Of the dung beetles living in Northern europe most spend their entire lives within the dung pats.
We believe that these beetles exert much of their impact by simply digging around in the dung.
and the tunneling by beetles seems to aerate the pats. This will have a major impact on how carbon escapes from cow pats into the atmosphere.
If the beetles can keep those methane emissions down well then we should obviously thank them
but the implications also quite worrying says Eleanor Slade a researcher commuting between teams working on dung beetles in both Helsinki and Oxford.
When you combine the current increase in meat consumption around the world with the steep declines in many dung beetle species overall emissions from cattle farming can only increase.
#Ecologists get first bumblebees eye view of the landscapeecologists have produced the most detailed picture yet of how bumblebees use the landscape thanks to DNA technology and remote sensing.
The results--which come from the largest ever study of wild bumblebee nests--could help farmers
and policy makers ensure the countryside is suited better to the needs of these vital but declining pollinators.
Despite their size and often conspicuous colouring bumblebees are difficult to study in the wild
To work out how far bumblebees forage from their nests a team of ecologists from the Centre for Ecology
and Hydrology (CEH) University of East Anglia University of Bristol and Institute of Zoology instead took advantage of bumblebees'unusual genetics.
All workers in a bumblebee colony are daughters of a singly-mated queen which means they are related highly in genetic terms.
The team sampled DNA non-lethally from live wild bumblebees including 2577 worker and 537 queen bees of five different species. Back in the laboratory they genotyped the samples
The maps allowed the team to estimate the location of each colony as well as how far each bumblebee travelled to find food.
By using the secrets hidden within the DNA of bumblebees we can start to understand how queens
For example reducing the distance that bumblebees have to fly to find food might increase their chances of survival into the next generation
Our findings could help land managers to plan schemes to help conserve bumblebee populations in both agricultural
and other pollinators is less than 0. 1%of the total managed area. Bumblebees are among the most important pollinators of many food crops and wild plants.
The next stage of the research is to use mathematical models to produce a bees'eye view of the landscape.
Dr Claire Carvell the project leader says Ultimately we want to be able to predict which types of landscapes work best for bumblebees
The research is funded by the national Insect Pollinators Initiative. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by British Ecological Society (BES.
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