Category Archives: News
New(ish) enemy of Coreopsis
Some of you may be lovers of the spritely flower called Coreopsis. If so, bad news. A tiny leaf-feeding beetle with the tongue-twsting name of Phaedon desotonis has been showing up in occasional outbreaks around the state. I recorded one in Caddo Mills, TX (Hunt Co.) this month two years ago, and blogger Sheryl Smith Rogers reported (and photographed) an infestation last week in her backyard in Blanco Co. (west of Austin). Mike Quinn provides two more links to information on this native pest for those of you who would… Read More →
Sewers and mosquitoes
A recent article in the Journal of Medical Entomology on mosquitoes and sewers caught my eye–yep, I know, most people would skip that one. But the study does shed light on an important public health topic, namely factors that can influence the spread of West Nile virus (WNV) and other mosquito-borne diseases. Allison Garner (University of Illinois-Urbana) and colleagues conducted their study in a Chicago area residential community during the summer of 2010. They looked at mosquito breeding in sewer catch basins over the course of a summer. Sewer… Read More →
Finally. A mild winter pest emerges?
Whenever there’s a slightly unusual weather pattern I can predict the calls. “So what’s the mild weather going to do to the pests?” “Did the cold snap in January kill all the bugs?” “Will all this rain mean more insects?” The truth is that most Texas insects are pretty well adapted to our coldest weather, and also darned difficult to predict. Sometimes entomologists will venture a guess for a reporter, and might even be right more often than not. I’ve learned, however, to be a little more circumspect in… Read More →
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 →
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 →
