Deltamethrin fipronil and spinosad widely used pesticides in agriculture and home pest control were applied to healthy honeybees and proved toxic to some degree irrespective of dosage.
#Bees under threat from disease-carrying bumblebee imports, research revealsstricter controls over bumblebee imports to the UK are required urgently to prevent diseases spreading to native bumblebees
and honeybees scientists have warned. The call follows the discovery of parasites in over three-quarters of imported bumblebee colonies they tested.
The study-the first of its kind in the UK-is published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
While wild species of bees and other insects pollinate many crops commercially-reared and imported bumblebees are essential for pollination of greenhouse crops such as tomatoes.
They are used also to enhance pollination of other food crops such as strawberries and are marketed now for use in people s gardens.
The trade is large and widespread: 40-50000 commercially-produced bumblebee colonies#each containing up to 100 worker bees#are imported annually to the UK
and more than one million colonies are sold each year worldwide. The team of researchers from the universities of Leeds Stirling and Sussex bought 48 colonies of buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) from three European producers.
Some colonies were a subspecies native to the UK and others were nonnative. All were meant to be disease-free
Screening revealed that the imported bumblebee colonies carried a range of parasites including the three main bumblebee parasites (Crithidia bombi Nosema bombi and Apicystis bombi) three honeybee parasites (Nosema
apis Ascosphaera apis and Paenibacillus larvae) and two parasites which infect both bumblebees and honeybees (Nosema ceranae and deformed wing virus). After the screening tests the team conducted a series of carefully controlled laboratory experiments to find out
whether the parasites carried by the commercially-produced bumblebee colonies were viable and able to infect other bees.
Lead author of the study Peter Graystock of the University of Leeds explains:##oewe found that commercially-produced bumblebee colonies contained a variety of microbial parasites
which were infectious and harmful not only to other bumblebees but also to honeybees.##The results suggest current regulations
and protocols governing bumblebee imports are not effective. Currently Natural England licences are required only for the nonnative subspecies.
Although the licences require colonies to be disease free colonies arriving in the UK are screened not to ensure compliance
and the regulations do not apply to imports of the native subspecies. The study argues that producers need to improve disease screening
while regulatory authorities need to strengthen measures to prevent importation of parasite-carrying bumblebee colonies including checking bees on arrival in the UK
As well as increasing the prevalence of parasites in wild bumblebees and managed honeybees near farms using the commercially-produced bumblebees continuing to import bumblebee colonies that carry parasites is also likely to introduce new species
or strains of parasites into some areas the authors warn. According to co-author of the study Professor William Hughes of the University of Sussex:#
#oeif we don t act then the risk is that potentially tens of thousands of parasite-carrying bumblebee colonies may be imported into the UK each year and hundreds of thousands worldwide.
and Japan suggests that parasites introduced by commercial bumblebees may be a major cause of population declines of several bumblebee species including Bombus dahlbomii in Argentina and Bombus terricola and Bombus pensylvanicus in North america.
#New Anagnorisma moth species from beautiful Binaloud Mountain Iranresearchers described a new species of Noctuidae moth from Iran which is described the fifth species of the genus Anagnorisma.
During an expedition at high altitude of above 2500 m of northeastern Iran on a cold night in late summer 2012 a couple of undescribed specimens of Anagnorisma moths were collected.
Owlet moths (Family noctuidae) are a large worldwide group of more than 20000 species of nocturnal lepidopterans attracted to lights
Larvae of some species are known as cutworms and live in the soil near the soil surface
Despite this parasitized bees were expelled not from the hive which the authors say supports the hypothesis that stressed bees leave the hive altruistically to prevent the spread of infection.
This study from INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) investigated the effect of parasitization on honey bees living in hives at Avignon.
Individual bees were infected with either the ectoparasite Varroa which lives on the bees or endoparasite Nosema
and reintroduced to the hive. After a few days the effect of infection on bees and their behavior was monitored.
Hydrocarbons on the cuticle of bees provide a'family'scent allowing bees from the same hive to recognize each other.
--and they were expelled not from the hive. Dr Cynthia Mcdonnell who led this study commented Parasitized bees tend to leave the colony earlier to perform foraging activity
We found that parasitized bees were attacked not by their nestmates suggesting that they leave the hive voluntarily perhaps in response to the changes in gene expression in their brains.
Many animals and insects can see polarized light and use it for navigation communication and more.
and insects that see polarized light said Franã§ois L onard at Sandia National Laboratories one of the lead researchers on the study.
As the landing place for early American colonists and continuing with the industrialization and proliferation of cargo imports the Northeast has been receiving invasive forest insects far longer than anywhere else in the nation.
In terms of invasive forest insects tree species diversity works against Northeastern forests. The Northeast has an abundance of diverse hardwood tree species
and 65 percent of the insect and pathogen invaders included in this study colonize hardwood tree species said Liebhold a research entomologist with the U s. Forest Service's Northern Research Station.
Had these nonnative insects disembarked in a forest that is predominately pine for example most wouldn't have survived to become the damaging nonnative forest pests that they are today.
Establishment of both European and Asian forest insects and pathogens in North america has likely been facilitated by the similarity of the flora among these three continents the study suggests.
In the most populated corner of the United states inadvertent human assistance has enhanced greatly insects'ability to spread from the initial point of invasion throughout a region.
and insect-resistant crops based on RNA interference now in exploratory development may have to be tested under elaborate procedures that assess effects on animals'whole life cycles rather than by methods that look for short-term toxicity.
however successfully artificial interfering RNAS that target genes in insect pests slowing their growth or killing them.
The safety concern as with other types of genetic modification and with pesticides generally is that the artificial interfering RNAS will also harm desirable insects or other animals.
and germination rate to the speed of growth the competitive ability and the resistance against herbivores like caterpillars.
Accordingly plants that were defended well against voracious insects were the most successful ones in the long run. Our results are in line with general theories on community assembly
#Snakes devour more mosquito-eating birds as climate change heats forestsmany birds feed on mosquitoes that spread the West Nile virus a disease that killed 286 people in the United states in 2012 according to the Centers
Birdsalso eat insects that can be agricultural pests. However rising temperatures threaten wild birds including the Missouri-native Acadian flycatcher by making snakes more active according to University of Missouri biologist John Faaborg.
and causes increases in algal blooms greenhouse gases and insects like mosquitoes that carry disease.
#Second door discovered in war against mosquito-borne diseasesin the global war against disease-carrying mosquitoes scientists have believed long that a single molecular door was the key target for insecticide.
This door however is closing giving mosquitoes the upper hand. In this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a team of researchers led by Michigan State university has discovered a second gateway that could turn the tide against the mosquitoes'growing advantage.
For many years pyrethroid insecticides have been deployed in developing countries to fend off diseases such as malaria dengue fever and more.
because they eliminate mosquitoes while having few if any side effects on humans said Yuzhe Du MSU electrophysiologist and one of the lead authors.
Our discovery of a second receptor in the mosquitoes'sodium channel gives us a better understanding of how the insecticide works at a molecular level as well as could lead to ways to stem mosquitoes'resistance to pyrethroids.
Mosquitoes don't die from the toxin per se. They die from sodium overdose. With the door jammed wide open their cells gulp down sodium which overexcites their nervous system and eventually leads to paralysis and death.
In the last decade growing resistance in mosquitoes has been detected in many countries. At the molecular level resistance appears as mutations in the primary receptor in the sodium channel that allow mosquitoes to survive exposure to the insecticide.
The discovery of the second receptor in the sodium channel however opens up more avenues to increase pyrethroids'effectiveness.
One of the keys to the success of this research was our cloning of a mosquito sodium channel for the first time said Ke Dong MSU insect toxicologist and neurobiologist and the paper's senior author.
The revelation not only explains much of pyrethroid resistance found in mosquito populations worldwide but also helps answer why they affect insects but not humans and other mammals.
Since this is a growing issue with cockroaches bedbugs fleas potato beetles and other crop pests the discovery could lead to benefits for the pest-control industry and farming.
Our finding may ultimately improve global prediction and monitoring of pyrethroid resistance in mosquitoes and other arthropod pests Dong said.
It could have broad impacts in agriculture and medicine that affect people's lives especially in developing countries.
or to escape predators and search for terrestrial prey such as crickets. Bass are stranded only temporarily on land
which include the well-known bug MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). New Staph strains are emerging in people who have close contact with livestock animals
#Insecticide causes changes in honeybee genes, research findsnew research by academics at The University of Nottingham has shown that exposure to a neonicotinoid insecticide causes changes to the genes of the honeybee.
The study published in the online journal PLOS ONE supports the recent decision taken by the European commission to temporarily ban three neonicotinoids amid concerns that they could be linked to bee deaths.
There is growing evidence connecting the decline in the honeybee population that pollinates one-third of the food that we eat
and insecticides but this is the first comprehensive study to look at changes in the activity of honeybee genes linked to one of the recently banned neonicotinoids imidacloprid.
and showed that a very low exposure of just two parts per billion has an impact on the activity of some of the honeybee genes.
The researchers identified that cells of honeybee larvae had to work harder and increase the activity of genes involved in breaking down toxins most likely to cope with the insecticide.
Such changes are known to reduce the lifespan of the most widely studied insect the common fruit fly
and lower a larva's probability of surviving to adulthood. Dr Stã ger said: Although larvae can still grow
This is a very significant piece of research which clearly shows clear changes in honeybee gene activity as a result of exposure to a pesticide
and have welcomed the recent approach by the European commission to temporarily ban three neonicotinoid pesticides as this will allow for research into the impact on both pollinators and agricultural productivity.
#Caterpillars attracted to plant SOSPLANTS that emit an airborne distress signal in response to herbivory may actually attract more enemies according to a new study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Plant science.
A team of researchers from Switzerland found that the odor released by maize plants under attack by insects attract not only parasitic wasps
which prey on herbivorous insects but also caterpillars of the Egyptian cotton leafworm moth Spodoptera littoralis a species that feeds on maize leaves.
These volatile organic compounds are known to be attractive to parasitoid wasps that lay their eggs inside other insects killing them Plants appear to use this strategy to fight back against herbivorous insects by calling for their enemies'enemies.
In contrast herbivorous insects tend to avoid the herbivore-induced volatile organic compounds. Adult moths and butterflies avoid food plants that are under attack by conspecifics.
This seems adaptive because it reduces both competition and the risk of predation by parasitoids.
But we found that S. littoralis caterpillars are attracted actually to the odor of damaged maize plants even
To determine what kind of odors the caterpillars preferred the researchers let the caterpillars chose among several odors by placing them in an olfactometer a device consisting of four tubes connected to a central chamber with each tube introducing an airflow carrying a different odor.
The caterpillars were more than twice as likely to crawl towards the odor from maize plants under attack by conspecifics than towards undamaged plants especially
and the caterpillars had fed already on maize. So what might be the advantage to the caterpillars of moving towards plants that are infested already?
When S. littoralis caterpillars drop from a plant they are highly vulnerable to predators and pathogens in the soil as well as to starvation.
The advantage seems to be fallen that caterpillars can quickly rediscover the plant on which they fed.
The caterpillars feed less and move more when exposed to high concentrations of the volatiles.
By moving away from freshly damaged sites they can minimize risk of predation and avoid competition explained Prof.
Turlings and colleagues propose that hungry S. littoralis caterpillars do the best of a bad job by moving towards volatile organic compounds released by damaged maize plants.
but at least the caterpillars are assured of a suitable plant. Adult moths on the other hand are much more mobile
and take little risk exploring the environment to discover the best food source --so they avoid maize that is already under attack.
#Aerial mosquito spraying study finds no immediate public health risksin what researchers say is the first public health study of the aerial mosquito spraying method to prevent West Nile virus a UC Davis study analyzed emergency
This week mosquito control officials said the region's recent rainstorms and warming temperatures have increased stagnant water and favorable conditions for mosquitoes
which will likely magnify the incidence West Nile virus and the risks of human transmission.
The mosquito-borne disease first appeared in the state about 10 years ago. It already has been detected in dead birds
and mosquitoes in at least 10 counties in recent weeks including Sacramento and Yolo. However the adult mosquito population has yet to increase to levels that require aerial spraying over heavily urbanized areas as was done in the Sacramento region in previous years.
Unfortunately West Nile virus is endemic in California and the United states and the controversy of mosquito management will likely arise every summer said Estella Geraghty associate professor of clinical internal medicine at UC Davis
and lead author of the study. Findings from studies such as this one help public health and mosquito control agencies better understand the risks and benefits of their practices.
West Nile virus has become an increasingly serious problem throughout the United states and may become more of a threat as the climate warms.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention West Nile virus is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in the United states. The virus is transmitted to humans and animals through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Mosquitoes become infected with the virus when they feed on infected birds. In California around the time of the study#2004 and 2005#hundreds of people were sickened by West Nile virus
Integrated mosquito management#a method to control mosquitoes through targeted interventions based on mosquito biology that includes surveillance of mosquito activity reducing breeding sites such as neglected swimming pools
and the killing of larval and adult mosquitoes#are used all in California to control the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus
. When local methods prove inadequate aerial spraying is used to rapidly reduce large adult mosquito populations.
the chemical is derived from an African chrysanthemumand acts by blocking chemical signals at nerve junctions in insects.
and to kill fleas and ticks in pets. Exposure to the pesticide has been reported to pose risks to human health including skin
The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District provided the aerial spraying data. Story Source:
and some growers apply large quantities of numerous pesticides to deter a wide range of animals and insects from encroaching on their crops.
because unlike their larger bodied relatives in other parts of the country that eat larger prey their diet consists of small mammals birds carrion insects fungi and other plant material.
or dying insects and small mammals are often found. In this study scientists reported on the amount of poisons found at over 300 illegal plots
and some growers apply large quantities of numerous pesticides to deter a wide range of animals and insects from encroaching on their crops.
because unlike their larger bodied relatives in other parts of the country that eat larger prey their diet consists of small mammals birds carrion insects fungi and other plant material.
or dying insects and small mammals are often found. In this study scientists reported on the amount of poisons found at over 300 illegal plots
Experiments conducted on the fruit fly Drosophila by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have shown that hunger not only modifies behaviour but also changes pathways in the brain.
Also the fruit fly Drosophila changes its behaviour depending on its nutritional state. The animals usually perceive even low quantities of carbon dioxide to be a sign of danger
However rotting fruit and plants--the flies'main sources of food--also release carbon dioxide. Neurobiologists in Martinsried have discovered now how the brain deals with this constant conflict in deciding between a hazardous substance and a potential food source taking advantage of the fly as a great genetic model organism for circuit neuroscience.
In various experiments the scientists presented the flies with environments containing carbon dioxide or a mix of carbon dioxide and the smell of food.
It emerged that hungry flies overcame their aversion to carbon dioxide significantly faster than fed flies
--if there was a smell of food in the environment at the same time. Facing the prospect of food hungry animals are
therefore significantly more willing to take risks than sated flies. But how does the brain manage to decide between these options?
and should therefore be generated outside the mushroom body in the fly's brain: previously the nerve cells in the mushroom body were linked only with learning
However when the scientists temporarily disabled these nerve cells hungry flies no longer showed any reaction whatsoever to carbon dioxide.
The behaviour of fed flies on the other hand remained the same: they avoided the carbon dioxide. In further studies the researchers identified a projection neuron
In fed flies nerve cells outside the mushroom body are enough for flies to flee from the carbon dioxide.
If mushroom body or projection neuron activity is blocked only hungry flies are concerned no longer about the carbon dioxide explains Ilona Grunwald-Kadow who headed the study.
The results show that the innate flight response to carbon dioxide in fruit flies is controlled by two parallel neural circuits depending on how satiated the animals are.
If the fly is hungry it will no longer rely on the'direct line 'but will use brain centres to gauge internal and external signals
Differences in the relative abundance of certain bacterial species in the rootworm gut help the adult rootworm beetles feed on soybean leaves
This boost in digestive finesse allows rotation-resistant beetles to survive long enough to lay their eggs in soybean fields.
These insects they have only one generation per year said University of Illinois entomology department senior scientist Manfredo Seufferheld who led the study.
What allowed this insect to adapt so fast? These bacteria perhaps. Controlling rootworms is an expensive concern faced by all Midwest corn growers said study co-author Joseph Spencer an insect behaviorist at the Illinois Natural history Survey (part of the Prairie Research Institute
at the U. of I.).Yield losses the use of insecticides and corn hybrids engineered to express rootworm-killing toxins in their tissues cost U s. growers at least $1 billion a year.
In a 2012 study Seufferheld Spencer and their colleagues reported that rotation-resistant rootworm beetles were better able than their nonresistant counterparts to tolerate the defensive chemicals produced in soybeans leaves.
This allowed the beetles to feed more and survive longer on soybean plants. The researchers found that levels of key digestive enzymes differed significantly between the rotation-resistant and nonresistant rootworms
but differences in the expression of the genes encoding these enzymes did not fully explain the rotation-resistant beetles'advantage.
To test this hypothesis graduate student Chia-Ching Chu analyzed the population of microbes living in the guts of rootworm beetles collected from seven sites across the Midwest.
The beetles'gut microbial structure corresponded to the insects'level of activity (rotation-resistant rootworms are usually more active)
To determine whether the microbes were in fact giving the rotation-resistant beetles an advantage the researchers dosed the beetles with antibiotics.
Low-level exposure to antibiotics had no effect on any of the beetles but at higher doses the rotation-resistant beetles'survival time on soybean leaves fell to that of the nonresistant beetles.
Antibiotics also lowered the activity of digestive enzymes in the rotation-resistant beetles'guts to that of their nonresistant counterparts.
The message of the research Seufferheld said is that the gut microbes are not just passive residents of the rootworm gut.
They are very active players in the adaptation of the insect he said. The microbial community acts as a versatile multicellular organ.
In the 1980s widespread gypsy moth infestation in Pennsylvania led to the death or near death of large stands of oak trees in the state forests especially in south-central Pennsylvania.
In parts of the state forests there were no roads in areas associated with the gypsy moth devastation said Kasson.
or two older female ailanthus trees near areas where foresters removed trees following the gypsy moth infestation
The research is a follow-up to her team's award-winning 2012 study of the ways that plants use their internal circadian clocks to defend themselves from hungry insects.
That study found that Arabidopsis thaliana--a widely used model organism for plant studies--begins ramping up production of insect-fighting chemicals a few hours before sunrise the time that hungry insects begin to feed.
and insect resistance and he said'Well I know what time of day I'll eat my vegetables!'
when they would be accumulating the anti-insect chemicals but I knew that some of those chemicals were known to be valuable metabolites for human health so
What we have shown is that keeping the internal clock ticking is advantageous with respect to insect resistance
and Wassim Chehab found they could manipulate cabbage leaves to increase their production of anti-insect metabolites at certain times of day.
versus pattern position in a group of bumblebees that have searched never for nectar before i e. flower-naive bees.
#The sun moth: A beautiful new species Stenoloba solaris from Chinascientist describe a new striking species of moth from China with an engaging wing pattern.
The new species Stenoloba solaris has inspired its name by the orange circular patch on its wings that resembles the rising sun. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys.
The newly described sun moth belongs to the Family noctuidae also known as owlet moths which refers to their robustly built bodies.
With more than 35000 known species out of estimated possibility for more than 100000 in total total they constitute the largest Lepidoptera family.
Several of the species from the family have economic importance with their larva living in the soil and feeding on the bases of some crops such as lettuce and cabbage.
Other species have caterpillars which have the extraordinary ability to feed on some poisonous plants the chemicals contained in
which would definitely kill other insects. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Pensoft Publishers.
Pesticides are used in domestic environments to control infestations of insects or other living creatures explains Sabrina Llop from the Higher Public health Research Centre (CSISP) in Valencia the leading author of the paper.
These other measures included cockroach traps powder insecticide and chemical methods such as wave devices. Only 1%of women used insect repellents during pregnancy. 10%of pregnant women used outdoor insecticides such as in gardens or vegetable plots and yards with plants:
#The discerning fruit fly: Linking brain-cell activity and behavior in smell recognitionbehind the common expression you can't compare apples to oranges lies a fundamental question of neuroscience:
In the fruit fly the ability to distinguish smells lies in a region of the brain called the mushroom body (MB.
CSHL Associate professor Glenn Turner and colleagues have mapped now the activity of brain cells in the MB in flies conditioned to have Pavlovian behavioral responses to different odors.
--whether a person or a fly--in order to serve as a basis for making vital decisions.
and visualize individual neurons in the insect brain. Kenyon cells receive sensory inputs from organs that perceive smell taste sight and sound.
Kenyon cells make up only about 4%of the entire fly brain and are extremely sensitive to inputs triggered by odors in
if they could link these signals with actual behavior in flies. The team used an imaging technique that allowed them to view the responses of over 100 Kenyon cells at a time
This correlated well with the behavior of the flies: when brain activity suggested the flies had difficulty discerning the odors their behavior also showed they could not choose between them.
The activity of these cells also accounts for flies'ability to discern novel odors and group them together.
This was determined in a generalization test in which the degree to which flies learned a generalized aversion to unfamiliar test odors could be predicted based upon the relatively similar activity patterns of Kenyon cells that the odors induced.
Being able to do this type of'mind-reading'means we really understand what signals these activity patterns are sending says Turner.
Imaging a population code for odor identity in the Drosophila mushroom body is published online in Journal of Neuroscience on June 19 2013.
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