Category Archives: News
Would you want your child to be an entomologist?
None of my children showed the slightest interest in being an entomologist when they grew up. In some ways I don’t blame them. I know very few rich or famous entomologists. You probably won’t be asked to sit on a bank board, or have a hospital wing named after you. But entomology does have its benefits as seen in a new brochure published today by the Entomological Society of America. I remember that when I informed my father that I had decided that I wanted to become an… Read More →
A new threat to honey bees?
The domesticated honey bee’s life is anything but easy. Enslaved by humans to produce honey (for which their hives are regularly raided), uprooted to lead a nomadic life traveling on flatbed trucks from field to orchard, worked year-round, attacked by various mites, fungi and now exotic viruses, is it any wonder that some bees are collapsing from the sheer weight of it all? This accumulation of multiple stresses is, in fact, the current best guess by bee researchers on what is causing the much dreaded “colony collapse disorder”,… Read More →
First scorpion sting antidote
Scorpions are one of those icons of life in Texas. It’s hard to imagine Texas without its droughts, twisters and hurricanes, floods and venomous wildlife. But when it comes to scorpions, Texas is not the riskiest place to live. Arizona and parts of New Mexico are home to the deadliest scorpion, and the target of a new antidote called Anascorp, recently approved by the FDA. Marketed as the first antidote for scorpion stings, Anascorp, Centruroides (Scorpion) Immune F(ab’)2 (Equine) Injection, is made from the plasma of horses immunized… Read More →
Posted in Household pests, Interesting insects, News
Tagged antidote, Centruroides, scorpion
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Does size matter?
I saw a great image today got me ruminating about size in insects, the measurements we use for size, and the concept of size in general. The picture below appeared recently in combination with a news story and is of one of the smallest insects in the world. It is placed, for size reference, next to an amoeba and a Paramecium for scale. You remember amoebas and Parameciums from elementary or middle school science classes right? Found in pond water by the kajillions, but only really visible under… Read More →
Little Spartina bug common now in east Texas
Try as we might, we can’t escape nature. That might be the lesson for many folks who live near rural areas in east and central Texas. This week I’ve had several calls about a small black insect invading homes. Scientifically it’s known as Ischnodemus falicus, a member of the Lygaeid or seed bug family. This insect has been invading homes in Tyler and the northeastern Texas counties and has also been reported from the College Station area. It is an example of a typical fall invader–not dangerous or damaging… Read More →
Posted in Household pests, Interesting insects, News
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Protect your trees from borers, water!
This summer’s high temperatures and drought have been tough on trees. As a result, many of us will experience increased problems with tree-infesting insects like borers and possibly scales. While insects don’t always need a devastating drought as an excuse for attacking a tree, stresses like drought increase the risk of subsequent pest damage. For this reason, this recent video from the Texas Forest Service is especially timely, and a good reminder to take care of your trees before you notice an insect problem. Before you water your… Read More →
Cirque du Insecte
I’ve been feeling a little guilty about not posting more in the past month, so to make up to my subscribers I thought I’d broadcast a link to this very clever YouTube video posted a couple of days ago by SnapDragon Cell phones. After watching the video I wondered what kind of person gets to come up with these fantasies and make them a reality? Since this is advertising, I assume it wasn’t just done by someone with too much time on their hands. To whoever’s responsible I… Read More →
Posted in Interesting insects, News
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Icky ticks
What could be more icky than finding a tick on yourself, your child or your pet? Now there’s a new web application called “TickApp” that provides quick information about everything you need to know about ticks. Researchers and extension specialists at Texas A&M University developed TickApp as a smart-phone friendly website to provide information about ticks. Anyone with access to the Internet at home or on their smart phone can access it at http://tickapp.tamu.edu. “Ticks are blood-feeding parasites capable of causing irritation, inflammation and infection in animals and… Read More →
Ash borer destroys, Texas deploys
A story in Time magazine last month covered the toll being exacted on American urban forests by the emerald ash borer, the latest in a string of illegal immigrant destructive insects. According to the story, the toll of dead trees will likely surpass those felled by Dutch elm disease by the end of this year, making it the most destructive forest insect ever to invade North America. So what is the threat to Texas forests? Probably not as great as that being experienced in the east-central states where… Read More →
