insects

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Researchers Name Fly After ... Beyonce

It has a big golden butt

(Newser) - It's been quite a week for Beyonce. First, Blue Ivy and now the honor of having a horse fly scientifically named in her honor. The Scaptia (Plinthina) beyoncea fly hails from Australia, and, crucially, it has a golden rear end. "It was the unique dense golden hairs on...

Body Hair Is Bedbug Warning System

 Body Hair Is Bedbug 
 Warning System 
STUDY SAYS
Dec 19, 2011 11:35 AM CST

Body Hair Is Bedbug Warning System

Our layer of fine hairs aids parasite detection: study

(Newser) - Scientists who wondered why human skin still boasts as many follicles as that of great apes—ours, of course, grow hair much, much finer—believe our species' continued hairiness serves as an alarm system that protects us from bedbugs and other biting insects, the Economist finds. The researchers, who shaved...

New York's State Bug Reappears

Native ladybug had been missing for decades

(Newser) - It had been almost 30 years since anyone had seen New York’s state bug in New York—so long that legislators almost changed the official insect. But on July 30, a volunteer with the “Lost Ladybug Project” discovered a nine-spotted ladybug in Amagansett. Now, enough have been found...

Insects, Diseases Invaded US Borders After 9/11
 Insects, Diseases 
 Invaded After 9/11 
ap study
Oct 10, 2011 7:13 PM CDT

Insects, Diseases Invaded After 9/11

Tiny terrors infect food supply, bump prices

(Newser) - America's obsession with terrorism after 9/11 has left our borders prone to the tiniest of invaders, an AP study finds. Focused on guns and bombs, inspectors have overlooked foreign insects and plant diseases that menace the country's food supply, send prices soaring, and leave pesticide residue on food....

United Nations Probes Benefits of Insect Diet

 Insects: Our 
 Next Food Craze?   
 
'Guardian' blog
Sep 17, 2011 4:16 PM CDT

Insects: Our Next Food Craze?

UN agency considers benefits of a critter diet

(Newser) - Cambodian deep-fried tarantula, anyone? A chocolate ant wafer or curried cockchafer? Such meals are already popular in many nations, but now the UN is investigating whether we should all munch on the critters. In his Guardian blog, Fraser Lewry says stats favor an insect diet: After all, the world population...

Get Ready for Even More Stink Bugs

Scientists consider introducing Asian wasp to kill invading crop-destroyers

(Newser) - If your town is already overrun with stink bugs, bad news: There's little relief in sight. Last year, the non-native brown marmorated stink bug sunk its proboscis into the Mid-Atlantic apple crop, ruining $37 million of fruit; after that, they swarmed into local houses to hibernate. Now they've...

City-Loving Mosquitoes Invade the US

Asian invaders like metro areas and bite during the day

(Newser) - Apparently mosquitos have big-city dreams, too. American cities are under siege by so-called "urban mosquitos" that are attracted to metropolitan areas, are ferocious, and bite during daytime. One big offender is the Asian tiger mosquito, which first arrived in the US in 1985 via eggs hidden in a shipment...

Scientists Find Inflatable Shark, 300 New Species

Treasure trove of strange new creatures discovered by scientists

(Newser) - No, it's not a pool toy. Researchers have discovered a new species of inflatable shark, along with more than 300 other previously unknown varieties of creatures dwelling in the Philippines. Among the finds: the shrimp-eating shark that fills itself with water to inflate and scare off predators; dozens of...

Coming Soon: 13-Year Cicadas

It's gonna get loud in the South

(Newser) - We saw their parents in 1998; now the 13-year cicadas are emerging again from underground. Get ready for raucous mating calls and shells everywhere, advises the Herald-Review of Decatur, Illinois. (The 13-year cicadas stay mostly in the South but hit parts of Illinois and Indiana.) “They are out...

Breakthrough Promises Vastly Better Bug Repellents

New compound 'thousands time more effective than DEET'

(Newser) - Life may soon get a lot tougher for mosquitos and other bugs that like to dine on human blood. Researchers have discovered a compound that completely jams an insect's sense of smell, making it much harder for mosquitos to find their prey, Discover reports. Early tests suggest that the...

Termites Devour $225K at Indian Bank
 Termites Devour $225K at Bank 
Apr 27, 2011 4:02 AM CDT

Termites Devour $225K at Bank

Staff at Indian bank accused of 'laxity'

(Newser) - Staffers at an Indian bank were perplexed by a 10 million rupee shortfall until the culprit was discovered: termites. The insects had found their way into a storeroom in the old wooden building and munched their way through bank notes worth some $225,000, reports the BBC . Bank officials say...

Save the World: Eat a Spider
 Save the World: Eat a Spider 
Apr 19, 2011 5:14 AM CDT

Save the World: Eat a Spider

Spiders, ants, locusts so much easier on the environment than cattle

(Newser) - It sounds creepy, but one of the best ways to save the world could be turning to creepy crawlies. Western gourmands generally find dining on bugs unpalatable, but for some 2.5 billion people in the world, especially in tropical regions, spiders and insects have long been part of the...

Virus Wiping Out Crickets Raised for Snakes

Cricket farms being forced out of business

(Newser) - These are hard times for America's cricket farmers, and unless a virus is brought under control, they could become hungry times for pet snakes. The virus has swept through farms, killing millions of the crickets raised for pet reptiles and zoo animals, and driving several farmers out of business, the...

Bedbug Mess Brings Work to NYC Actors

... helping people clean apartments before extermination

(Newser) - At least one group of New Yorkers has benefited from the city's bedbug problem: out-of-work actors, many of whom have taken jobs as extermination preparers, the Wall Street Journal reports. They "have great personalities and follow directions well," says the owner of one company who hires them to...

Jiminy Cricket! Insect Has World's Biggest Cojones

It's got biggest testicles, in terms of body weight

(Newser) - Even the most well-endowed men have nothing on the tuberous bushcricket, or katydid, which UK biologists say holds the world record for the creature with the largest testicles—at least in relation to the weight of its body. At 14% of body weight, this would be equivalent, in human terms,...

Scientists Discover New Insect on Easter Island

It's rare good news on the damaged island

(Newser) - A new insect species has been discovered in a cave on Easter Island, a significant find given that most of the island's indigenous life has gone extinct, reports LiveScience . The insect is so new it has yet to be named, but it's a type of book louse about the size...

5 Creepy Facts About Bedbugs
 5 Creepy Facts About Bedbugs 
Jul 31, 2010 9:29 AM CDT

5 Creepy Facts About Bedbugs

They have a smell...that comes from their feces

(Newser) - Bedbugs are back in a big way, with infestations closing at least two stores in New York City recently. AOL News lists five things you should know about these creepy crawlers:
  1. They smell: If you can smell their sweet, musky scent, chances are you’ve already got an infestation
...

Try Some Locusts on Your Pizza
 Try Some Locusts on Your Pizza 
Apr 19, 2010 4:00 PM CDT

Try Some Locusts on Your Pizza

Australians beset by plague of insects try to make the best of it

(Newser) - When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you swarms of locusts, make pizza. One enterprising politician in the Australian state of Victoria, which is under siege by the aggressive insects, collected a garbage bag full to be used in place of pepperoni and meatballs. "You can't...

Bedbug Dogs Sniff Out Bloodsuckers

Trained hounds in high demand as infestations rise

(Newser) - The resurgence of an old pest has created new jobs for dogs. Bedbug infestations have soared in American cities over the last four years, creating boom times for exterminators, especially those using canny canines trained to detect the tiny suckers. Handlers say the dogs can expertly sniff out infestations and...

Crazy Ants Swarm Gulf Coast
Crazy Ants Swarm
Gulf Coast 
Sep 5, 2009 5:15 AM CDT

Crazy Ants Swarm Gulf Coast

Tiny, frenetic munchers invade homes, snack on electrical wiring

(Newser) - Billions of "crazy ants" are munching their way through Gulf Coast counties in Florida and Texas, the Wall Street Journal reports. The tiny insects, believed to have originated in the Caribbean, happily make their homes in human dwellings and are tough to dislodge once they move in. The...

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