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In this NPR Science Friday video, scientists Greg Sutton and Malcolm Burrows, of the University of Cambridge, filmed fleas jumping.  They then sorted through different theories of how they jumped and concluded that fleas use their feet and not knees to push off the ground and jump on your cat or your dog. The high speed photography is amazing and I especially liked the slo-mo- photography of a flea’s jump compared to the blink of a human eye. An adult flea can jump approximately 13 inches, a little… Read More →

Dormant season applications of horticultural oil can be an effective tactic to kill scale insects and their eggs during the winter months. But with the rapid onset of warm spring weather, the window of opportunity is relatively small in north Texas and many other parts of the state. Armored scale like obscure and gloomy scale are especially difficult to treat during the summer months, so the dormant season when leaves are off the trees is an excellent time to treat with a dormant oil. Oils are physical poisons,… Read More →

Over the river, and through the wood, To Grandfather’s house we go; GPS shows the way to hotels to stay through the white and drifted snow. Over the river, and through the wood— Oh how the bed bugs bite! They sniff out our toes and bite our nose And hop in our luggage tonight. If you’re among the 10 million plus Americans planning a car trip this Christmas, don’t forget bed bugs. In case you haven’t heard, bed bugs have been as busy as Santa’s elves this year,… Read More →

According to a recent online discussion among Texas entomologists, add the tiny lacewing larva to the long list of  outdoor critters that can bite and irritate people.  Joe Lapp, spider enthusiast from Austin, TX, recently reported seeing a lacewing larva at the site of a prick-like sensation on his arm while outdoors.  The bite itched over the next two days and left a little red mark, similar to a mosquito bite.  This prompted others to report similar experiences. We normally think of lacewings as beneficial insects–which they are. … Read More →

A mini-debate has been running recently among the small community of entomologists who work with insect pests of turf and ornamental landscapes.  It has to do with the growing emergence of green golf courses and a recent story/video at time.com on the Chambers Bay links golf course on Puget Sound in Washington.  The discussion was interesting and reveals some of the subtleties of varying opinions on the green movement. Chamber’s Bay is a sustainable, all-fescue, Scottish-links-style course that was built on a reclaimed gravel pit.  The course uses… Read More →

A few years ago, some of you may remember, a park ranger at Lake Tawakoni State Park (about 50 miles east of Dallas, TX) reported a giant spider web built by an incredible number of spiders.  The discovery was reported around the month before Halloween, so of course the media made a big deal of it and pictures and stories went viral around the world.  The site attracted thousands of pilgrims, some from as far away as Europe.  For a full account of the excitement, click here. According… Read More →

A news item caught my eye today.  In the story from Science Daily, University of Guelph researchers Rebecca Hallett and Christine Bahlai compared the effectiveness and environmental impact of organic pesticides to those of conventional and novel reduced-risk synthetic products on soybean crops.  The result?  The two organic pesticides had a greater overall impact on the environment, including unintended mortality of beneficial insects. The point of the research is not to try to say organic pesticides are always inferior, or to strike a blow for conventional pesticides, but… Read More →