Author Archives: p-porter
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 →
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 →
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. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciEjYvwwQZs[/youtube] Before you water… 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. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPwDkVnF-YQ&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] 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… Read More →
Baaaad boy! Bad snails.
Seems like every month brings a new horror story in the land of exotic pests. This one is fascinating and illustrates how a seemingly innocuous action like bringing some soil, seeds, plants or other critter home from vacation can have unforeseen and disastrous consequences. Giant African land snails have been found for the second time in the Miami, Florida area. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Science, the last time this happened was in 1966 when a boy smuggled a few snails into Miami as pets. After… Read More →
Aquatic aphids
One of the things I love about my job is that there’s always something new to learn. And one of the things I appreciate about the Insects in the City News Updates is that it gives me someone to share the things I learn with. My discovery this week is aquatic aphids. Most long-time gardeners know that aphids are pretty adaptable. Tiny sap-feeders, sometimes erroneously called plant lice, aphids are one of the most common pests of flowers, trees and vegetable gardens. Normally found on stems and leaves,… Read More →
Click beetles gone wild
Some of the most interesting, and sometimes amusing, household insects that cross my desk are ones that aren’t in the pest control handbook. We call these “occasional invaders”, and they are outdoor insects that seemingly accidentally find their way indoors. So far the accidental invader of the month is the click beetle. Over the past week or two I’ve had nearly a half dozen calls about insects fitting the description of click beetles getting into homes. One woman complained about the click beetles in her bed. This is… Read More →
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 →
Rose rosette disease transmitted by a mite
This weekend I regretfully cut down two rose bushes on the side of my home. Within a relatively short period of time they had begun to show symptoms of rose rosette, a fatal virus disease of roses. I had never heard of rose rosette until a recent sample arrived from the Denton County Extension office. Horticulture agent Janet Laminack wanted to know if the sample was rose rosette. The symptoms seen on these rose cuttings, I learned, were classic: excessive thorn production, leaf distortion and excessive branch development,… Read More →
