Weevil infestations caused postharvest losses as high as 50 percent until Purdue University researchers discovered that storing the cowpeas in airtight containers could preserve the crop for up to a year.
and insects, germinate seeds, and allow farmers to add manure. Near-desert plots are transformed gradually into small, narrow fields in
They include everything from making vaccines that don t have to be refrigerated to preventing mosquitos from transmitting malaria.
or resist insect pests. This has allowed farmers to increase yields and spray less pesticide than they might have otherwise.
a plant modified to produce a bacterial toxin that discourages destructive bollworms and cuts down on the need for pesticides.
The key is an alarm pheromone that some species of wild plant have evolved to mimic the chemical warning signals put out by aphids#a major crop pest in the temperate zones
Putting the genes for this defense into wheat has created a crop that could trick the insects into thinking that they are in peril and drive them away.
Unlike Bt cotton and other existing GM organisms, such a crop would need no insect-killing chemical for protection from pests.
Our immune systems need bugs. They rely on early encounters with germs to learn how to protect our bodies.#
and also reduce the number of insects and weeds. The soil needs to be changed once every year to keep the garden in a great state...
and sending out product tainted with antibiotic-resistant bugs. Photo credit: TRAP The Real Art of Protest Via Mother Jones Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati
making contest, Classes on making wreaths, walking sticks, vegetable gardens, butterfly gardens, native plants and hypertufa Madison County Public library::
and was quickly spreading a literal bug across state and national lines to Ohio, Minnesota, and Ontario.
Honeybees pollinate nearly one-third of the food we eat but they have been dying at unprecedented rates because of a mysterious phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder (CCD).
The situation is so dire that in late June the White house gave a new task force just 180 days to devise a coping strategy to protect bees and other pollinators.
It had previously been impossible to pack all the things needed to make a robot fly onto such a small structure and keep it lightweight.
Honeybees alone contribute more than $15 billion in value to U s. agricultural crops each year. But Robobees are not yet a viable technological solution.
the tiny bots have to be able to fly on their own andtalk to one another to carry out tasks like a real honeybee hive.
The hive must be resilient enough so that the group can complete its objectives even if many bees fail.
the devices aren meant t to replace natural pollinators forever. We still need to focus on efforts to save these vital creatures.
Where are you a little over a year after it was announced that the first robotic insect took flight?
meaning it flies without being tethered and without the need for anyone to drive it. We ve been building a larger version of the robot
Last month, Greenpeace released a short video that imagines a future in which swarms of robotic bees have been deployed to save our planet after the real insects go extinct.
Will robot bees eventually be able to operate like honeybee hives to pollinate commercial crops? Ma:
You could replace a hive of honeybees that would otherwise be working on a field of flowers.
nano-netting will provide a fibrous support structure that is visually non-intrusive but capable of keeping out insects, birds,
After eliminating the possibility of fleas, he decided to try a dog food recipe his wife found online.
but backers of the technology say the data they collect from identifying insect problems, watering issues, assessing crop yields
as long as they get a waiver and fly them within a specific area. We are concerned about any (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) operation that poses a hazard to other aircraft or to people and property on the ground,
and this requires talented people who know how to scale things back in an orderly fashion. 7. Feedback Loopers Those who can devise the best possible feedback loops. 8. Backlashers Ever new technology will have its detractors,
. Impact Minimizers 7. Demand Optimizers 8. Secondary Opportunity Developers 9. Feedback Loopers 10. Construction Teams PRTS have the potential to become the largest infrastructure project the earth has seen ever,
Worker bees tend to follow predictable daily schedulesthey don t call them drones for nothingleaving the beehive at certain times, foraging for pollen,
Over the past decade, millions of bees have died as entire beehives have turned suddenly into tombs, a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD.
say, by flying a circuitous path to and from the beehive, it may point to exposure to something in the environment,
as bees are social insects that communicate the location of pollen to other bees in the beehive.
and return to their hives. The sensors appear to have no impact on the bee s ability to fly
#17-Year Cicadas Are Buzzing In! What to Expect The U s. Northeast is about to be snowed under by cicadas.
Don't worry though it's normal. The pesky invasion is just so unusual that people tend to forget about it.
After 17 years underground the so-called Brood II cicadas are about to have their time in the sun. Millions of these root-sucking insects will come out into the open
This brief overpopulation of cicadas in April and May is supposed to overwhelm what predators are able to eat explained Jim Fredericks the National Pest Management Association's director of technical services.
6 Crazy Facts About Cicadas Bird species raccoons possums foxes and whatever can get their mouths on these things can eat their fill
These insects cause no harm to humans or to property although occasionally a car parked under a cicada-infested tree could get covered in small droppings.
They are literally everywhere crawling over every tree every building everywhere. It's an amazing number of individual animals said Chris Hartley an entomologist at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House of the Missouri Botanical garden.
Hormones drive the cycle Cicadas (erroneously called locusts) are backed large dark insects related to aphids and leafhoppers.
They typically grow to about 2 inches (5 centimeters) in size and they are loud:
The United states hosts several cicada species. Many of them emerge every year but there are also distinct populations that only mature every 13 or 17 years.
when the cicadas will emerge biologists believe. After cicadas emerge from the ground and mate the females lay eggs at the edges of tree branches
which can damage the branches on a small tree. A single female can produce hundreds of eggs across several batches.
In annual cicadas these stages pass quickly while 13-or 17-year cicadas see a much more prolonged childhood In the case of these cicadas they are triggered to not produce the hormones essential for becoming an adult until those numbers of years have passed Hartley said.
It's all in their genes and their development and that is the adaptation that they have acquired to achieve these mass emergences.
Few underground life studies It's difficult to study the cicada cycle as much of it takes place underground.
when the cicadas are still nymphs. Most mortality takes place in the first or second nymph stage said Chris Simon a cicada researcher at the University of Connecticut.
There's competition for feeding space underground. The cicadas may die in battle fighting with each other for food
but nobody knows that for sure yet. They have digging claws that can dig through hard dirt
The 13-and 17-year cicadas are the only ones that spend such a long period as juveniles except for insects that diapause
Some beetles for example have been recorded emerging from furniture imported from Asia decades before she said. Follow Elizabeth Howell@howellspace. Follow Livescience@livescience Facebookâ & Google+.
</p><p></p><p>How did the Madagascar hissing cockroach got its name? Well it hisses of course.
The giant insect forces gas through tiny breathing pores called spiracles on its thorax and abdomen.
The cockroaches hiss when surprised when challenging other cockroaches to a fight and when trying to attract mates.</
</p><p></p><p>Modern bras didn' t come into fashion until the corset fell by the wayside in the late 1800s.
#4 Immune Boosting Tips for Back-to-School Season Strep throat double ear infections and yet another nasty stomach bug.
</p><p>Colony collapse disorder has resulted in the deaths of more than 10 million beehives in North america since 2007 but still remains fairly mysterious to scientists.
and other pollutants along with the homogenization of the bees'diet as farmers increasingly use hives to pollinate monoculture (one crop) fields —
Modern technology allows humans to extract sugar from a wide range of sources including sugar cane maple trees beehives
when the cause simply wasn't cool earning the moniker Green Hornet for his support of environmental causes.
#7 Insects You'll Be Eating in the future As the human population continues to inch closer to 8 billion people feeding all those hungry mouths will become increasingly difficult.
but to consume insects. As if to underscore that claim a group of students from Mcgill University in Montreal has won the 2013 Hult Prize for producing a protein-rich flour made from insects.
The prize gives the students $1 million in seed money to begin creating what they call Power Flour.
We will be starting with grasshoppers team captain Mohammed Ashour told ABC News on Monday (Sept. 30.
Earlier this year the Food and agriculture organization of the united nations (FAO) released a report titled Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security.
The document details the health and environmental benefits derived from a diet supplemented by insects a diet also known as entomophagy.
and other sources here's a list of seven edible insects you may soon find on your dinner plate.
7 Perfect Survival Foods Mopane caterpillars Mopane caterpillars the larval stage of the emperor moth (Imbrasia belina) are common throughout the southern part of Africa.
Harvesting of mopane caterpillars is a multi-million dollar industry in the region where women
and children generally do the work of gathering the plump little insects. The caterpillars are boiled traditionally in salted water then sun-dried;
the dried form can last for several months without refrigeration making them an important source of nutrition in lean times.
And few bugs are more nutritious: Whereas the iron content of beef is 6 mg per 100 grams of dry weight mopane caterpillars pack a whopping 31 mg of iron per 100 grams.
They're also a good source of potassium sodium calcium phosphorous magnesium zinc manganese and copper according to the FAO.
Chapulines Chapulines are grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium and are eaten widely throughout southern Mexico. They're often served roasted (giving them a satisfying crunch)
The grasshoppers are known as rich sources of protein; some claim that the insects are more than 70 percent protein.
Researchers have noted that the gathering of Sphenarium grasshoppers is an attractive alternative to spraying pesticides in fields of alfalfa and other crops.
Not only does this eliminate the environmental hazards associated with pesticide sprays it also gives the local people an extra source of nutrition and income from the sale of grasshoppers.
Gallery: Dazzling Photos of Dew-Covered Insects Witchetty grub Among the aboriginal people of Australia the witchetty grub is a dietary staple.
When eaten raw the grubs taste like almonds; when cooked lightly in hot coals the skin develops the crisp flavorful texture of roast chicken.
Though people often refer to the larvae of several different moths as witchetty grubs some sources specify the larval stage of the cossid moth (Endoxyla leucomochla) as the true witchetty grub.
Termites Want to get rid of the termites gnawing at your floorboards? Just do like they do in South america and Africa:
Take advantage of the rich nutritional quality of these insects by frying sun-drying smoking or steaming termites in banana leaves.
Termites generally consist of up to 38 percent protein and one particular Venezuelan species Syntermes aculeosus is 64 percent protein.
Termites are also rich in iron calcium essential fatty acids and amino acids such as tryptophan. African palm weevil A delicacy among many African tribes the palm weevil (Rhychophorus phoenicis) is collected off the trunks of palm trees.
About 4 inches (10 centimeters) long and two inches (5 cm) wide the weevils are fried easily pan
because their bodies are full of fats though they're also eaten raw. A 2011 report from the Journal of Insect Science found that the African palm weevil is an excellent source of several nutrients such as potassium zinc iron and phosphorous as well as several amino acids and healthy
monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Stink bugs Their name certainly doesn't lend itself to culinary appeal
but stink bugs (Hemiptera order) are consumed throughout Asia South america and Africa. The insects are a rich source of important nutrients including protein iron potassium
and phosphorus. Because stink bugs release a noxious scent they are eaten not usually raw unless the head is removed first
As an added benefit the soaking water which absorbs the noxious secretions can then be used as a pesticide to keep termites away from houses.
Mealworms The larvae of the mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) is one of the only insects consumed in the Western world:
The nutritional value of mealworms is hard to beat: They're rich in copper sodium potassium iron zinc and selenium.
Mealworms are also comparable to beef in terms of protein content but have a greater number of healthy polyunsaturated fats.
what an animal looks like (dragonfly). This last category however is where the naming scheme can become misleading.
Is a dragonfly a true fly? No it belongs to the Order odonata along with damselflies whereas true flies (house flies fruit flies etc.)
belong to the Order diptera. And is a dragonfly a dragon? That's probably a more obvious no.
Here is a list of seven other imaginative but potentially misleading animal names: A seahorse might slightly resemble a horse without the fur
and with a different kind of tail but it is really a fish that belongs to the Syngnathidae family along with pipefishes and leafy sea dragons.
To be fair to whoever came up with the common name seahorse it's a bit more accurate than the direct translation of the animal's Latin genus name Hippocampus
and tigers often associated with the jungles butâ rainforest-dwelling arthropodsâ (a group that includes insects arachnids and crustaceans all of
#72,000 Ladybugs Released in Mall of America Ladybug ladybug fly away home the nursery rhyme advises.
And some 72000 ladybugs have found a home within the Mall of America where mall managers have released the insects inside the fully enclosed shopping and entertainment complex.
But aphids the pesky insects that feed on plants thrive inside the Mall of America's many landscaped areas.
Aphids however have a natural enemy: Ladybugs members of the coccinellid family of beetles which are valued by gardeners for their habit of eating pests like aphids.
Ladybugs are what I like to call sort of a biological defense system Lydell Newby the Mall of America's senior manager of environmental services told local news station KARE 11.
The mall has released ladybugs in the past as an alternative to commercial pesticides the International Business times reports. Though some shoppers have complained that the ladybugs might fly onto food a mall spokesperson noted that the insects tend to spend their lives on plants not human food.
Ladybugs (sometimes called ladybirds) make ideal pest control agents inside an enclosed area like a mall or a greenhouse Treehugger notes.
In an outdoor garden however they're likely to disperse. Ladybug populations throughout North america have been changing rapidly for reasons that may include climate change and land-use patterns.
The Lost Ladybug Project is an effort (partly funded by the National Science Foundation) to track the insects'population across the continent.
The Mall of America has other green initiatives: It converts its restaurants'fryer fat into biodiesel fuel for the mall's security vehicles according to the site's MOABLOG.
And though it's located in the Twin cities area (known for brutal winter weather) the complex has no central heating system.
or a bug is going around.</</p><p>If drinking water seems boring then put a little pizzazz into your glass
Insects Come to the Table Mealworms wax worms and crickets may not be obvious choices for Turkey Day
but at a special event this week bug aficionados can taste new insect-y twists on Thanksgiving staples such as pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce.
The Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in New orleans is cooking up insect-filled Thanksgiving treats at their cafe called Bug Appã tit this Tuesday (Nov 26) and Wednesday (Nov 27.
The Thanksgiving snacks will include a mealworm-filled cornbread stuffing wax worm cranberry sauce and a dessert of cricket pumpkin pie said Jayme Necaise director of animal
and visitor programs at the museum. Patrons will be offered samples of treats along with a small cube of turkey.
Those who like what they tried can ask for seconds. See Images of the Buggy Treats Healthy option Insects are chock-full of protein
and nutrients such as iron and magnesium and unlike beef or pork most bugs require little energy water or space to raise.
Harvesting bugs such as grasshoppers from crops can be an easy way to reduce pesticide use.
As a result many experts believe that raising insects for food will be a key environmentally friendly way to feed the 11 billion people on the planet by 2100.
The insectarium routinely serves bugs to its patrons in dishes such as mealworm-filled six-legged salsa and chocolate chirp cookies
which are made with crickets. But for Thanksgiving we wanted to kick it up a notch
and do something a little special for our guests Necaise told Livescience. Â The mealworms tend to have an earthy taste similar to pumpernickel or other earthy breads.
Wax worms which are the larva of moths live in beehives and eat exclusively beeswax so they have a slightly sweet taste.
Like all insects which have an exoskeleton the first bite is crunchy but the inside is soft akin to the inside of a corn kernel the overall taste is a bit like almond paste Necaise said.
The crickets are typically pan-roasted. They get very crispy and crunchy and they taste like a dry roasted nut with some likening their flavor to walnuts
or pecans Necaise said. Each of the dishes are usually about 25 percent insect and 75 percent traditional ingredients because higher percentages of bug parts could be a bit of a shock to an unaccustomed palate Necaise said.
If you take a mouthful of crickets it takes a while to chew it because of the exoskeleton Necaise said.
Hardcore bug eaters however can always ask for extra cricket on the side. Humane and sanitary The insects are purchased from commercial suppliers who raise them predominantly for the pet food industry (reptiles
and birds are particular fans). The bugs are raised in sanitary conditions and eat an organic diet.
They're fed only the finest fruits and vegetables and meal bran Necaise said. To prepare the insects the best option is to put them into bags in the freezer where their metabolism slows down they go to sleep
and then eventually die painlessly Necaise said. Those who are interested in making their own buggy treats at home can take a look at the museum's brochures which list suppliers for the insects
and include recipes for some of their most popular dishes Necaise said. Follow Tia Ghose on Twitterâ and Google+.
+Â Followâ Livescience@livescience Facebookâ & Google+.+Original article onâ Livescience Ã
#A few Tree Species Dominate Amazon Rain forest The Amazon is the largest and most diverse rain forest in the world about 10 percent of all known species On earth dwell there
but only a few dozen of the Amazon's thousands of tree species rule the jungle researchers recently found.
#'Alien'Argentine Ants May have met Their Match Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) are among the most aggressive invasive insects in the United states
. But after pushing out native ant species in local ecosystems across the country the little conquerers may have met finally their match.
Researchers found evidence that another alien species the Asian needle ant (Pachycondyla chinensis) is chipping away at The argentine ants'stronghold.
Asian needle ants have already been found from Alabama to New york city to Oregon and their venomous stings can cause allergic reactions in some humans.
While studying a supercolony of Argentine ants in North carolina researcher Eleanor Spicer Rice then a doctoral student at North carolina State university spotted some Asian needle ants a strange sight as Argentine ants usually attack other
ants in their territory. To investigate further Spicer Rice and Jules Silverman a professor of entomology at NC State studied how the two species were spread across a 116-acre (47-hectare) office park in Morrisville N c. Gallery:
Stunning Photos of the World's Ants In 2008 they found Argentine ants in 99 percent of the sample sites within the study area
while Asian needle ants were found in just 9 percent of the sites. By 2011 The argentine ants'reach dropped to 67 percent of the sample sites
while the Asian needle ants had expanded their territory to 32 percent of the sites. The two species shared 15 percent of the sample points the researcher said.
This is the first time we've seen another ant species take territory from Argentine ants Spicer Rice said in a statement.
She explained that Asian needle ants might have an edge because they start reproducing earlier in the spring
while Argentine ants remain quite dormant until late April or May. The Asian needle ant is moving into forests and urban environments at the same time.
And because it is active at cooler temperatures it could move into a very broad range of territory Spicer Rice said.
The researchers say it's not known how Asian needle ants displace other ant species
but their spread could have negative consequences for local ecosystems especially if they push out native ant populations that play a crucial role in dispersing plant seeds.
The team is now studying why Argentine ants are not fighting back against Asian needle ants according to a statement from NC State.
Argentine ants have invaded only to retreat in other parts of the world. They once posed a multi-million dollar pest-control problem in New zealand
but researchers in 2011 found that huge colonies of the ants had disappeared possibly because inbreeding may have left them vulnerable to disease.
#Ancient Bees May have Been Wiped out with the Dinosaurs The ancestors of modern carpenter bees may have vanished from Earth roughly 65 million years ago around the same time the dinosaurs were wiped out a new study finds.
Researchers examined the DNA of four types of carpenter bees belonging to the group Xylocopinae from every continent except Antarctica to search for clues about their evolutionary relationships.
Since there are no reliable fossil records for carpenter bees the researchers used a technique called molecular phylogenetics.
and learn how pollinators and plants respond to natural disturbances. If we can understand what happened in the past it can help us understand the current perturbations and loss of diversification.
A modern rodent species that had very similar ornaments on its teeth the African dormouse are seedeaters that also eat some fruit as well as worms arthropods creatures such as insects
After analyzing the structure of these grains the researchers suggested that the associated plants werepollinated by insects most likely beetles as bees did not evolve until about 100 million years later.
However about 60 percent of this pollen came from plants that are pollinated by insects such as bees suggesting they may inadvertently have hitched along in a bee product such as beeswax instead of getting intentionally added to the medicine.
How Peafowls Do it Peacocks and peahens ogether known as peafowls are world famous for the peacock's enormous flashy train
which it uses to woo females. But what else does the mating behavior of peafowls involve?
Outside of the breeding season peafowls roam around in small groups that typically consist of five or six peahens and one or two peacocks.
Peacocks set themselves up in individual display areas that are fairly spread out hey remain in acoustic contact with each other
When a peahen enters the peacock's area he will direct his display at her
To further entice his prospective mate the peacock will conduct a rattling display where he shakes his quills causing them to make a sound.
Recently Yorzinski and her colleagues discovered that peahens ignore most of a peacock's display train
and symmetry which could yield clues about the peacock's age and fitness. The upper portion of the train on the other hand may help peahens spot peacocks across large distances or over dense foliage.
If the peahen accepts the peacock's advances she will crouch down on the ground.
The peacock will then perform a hoot dash where he rushes toward the peahen while making a really loud call.
Yorzinski previously found that this copulation hoot might function to attract other females. Finally the peacock will climb onto the peahen's back and transfer sperm by pressing his cloaca (waste and reproductive orifice) against her cloaca.
Mating complete the pair departs ways to mate with other peafowls. Â Follow Joseph Castro on Twitter.
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