insects

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Midwest Fights Weeds With Bugs

Biological control takes a food-chain approach to invasive plants

(Newser) - Officials in the Midwest are returning to a tried-and-true technique to fight invasive plants, the Chicago Tribune reports. Biological control uses natural enemies to rein in pests, and importing a tiny brown beetle in the 1990s brought under control a fast-spreading European weed, known as loosestrife, that was terrorizing agriculture....

Save the Planet: Eat Bugs
 Save the Planet: Eat Bugs 
May 31, 2008 9:06 AM CDT

Save the Planet: Eat Bugs

Switching from beef to protein-packed bugs could help combat climate change

(Newser) - Chowing down on creepy-crawlies is a concept that's likely to nauseate most Americans, but insect eats may be the way of the future, Time reports. The critters are rich in protein and far more efficient to raise than cows or pigs, making them a possible solution to the problem of...

Scientists Building Better Bug Spray

Pepper compounds keep mosquitoes away 3 times longer than top dog DEET

(Newser) - Researchers have found bug repellents that keep mosquitoes from biting for up to 73 days, WebMD reports. Compounds found in pepper kept bugs away nearly three times as long as industry leader DEET, which manages just 17.5 days under the same conditions—though a normal human would sweat or...

Crazy Ants Munch Through Houston

Shocking new ants species chewing up electrical equipment

(Newser) - Houston, you have an ant problem. Billions of ravenous ants have invaded the city and are chomping their way through the city's electrical equipment, causing shorts and failure, AP reports. The previously unknown species—dubbed "crazy raspberry ants"—apparently arrived in Texas on a cargo ship. The invading...

Sundance Abuzz With Bug Porn
 Sundance
 Abuzz With
 Bug Porn 
OPINION
May 11, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

Sundance Abuzz With Bug Porn

Rossellini stars in Sundance Channel's take on mating practices of bugs

(Newser) - For those unclear about the birds and the bees (the actual ones), the Sundance Channel is screening “green porno videos” on its website, reports Mother Jones blogger Jen Phillips. The series features Isabella Rossellini, breaking out of her usual indie cocoon, carrying out the mating rituals of the snail,...

Bee Die-Off Threatens Dinner, Dessert

Colony collapse means trouble for fruits, nuts—and ice cream

(Newser) - The ongoing mystery of the diminishing honeybee population is threatening an important part of the American diet: ice cream. Bee colonies have been disappearing at a rapid rate, potentially causing problems with supplies of vegetables as well as fruit and nuts, which Haagen Dazs says may keep it from offering...

55M Monarchs Can't Be Wrong
55M Monarchs Can't Be Wrong
Feb 11, 2008 4:58 PM CST

55M Monarchs Can't Be Wrong

Internal clock of 1-ounce butterfly sheds light on human sense of time

(Newser) - The 1-ounce monarch butterfly may have a thing or two to teach us: Each year, some 55 million monarchs make a 4,000-mile multigenerational journey from Canada to Mexico, returning to the same forest, often the same tree, without relying on GPS. How? The insects rely on a unique internal...

Did Bug Bites Do in Dinos?
Did Bug Bites Do in Dinos?
Jan 9, 2008 1:07 PM CST

Did Bug Bites Do in Dinos?

Disease-carrying insects may have contributed to dinosaur extinction

(Newser) - Disease-carrying insects may have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs around 65 million years ago, entomologists write in a new book. Scientists found malaria and other parasitic pathogens in insects preserved in amber, and the same parasites were found in fossilized dinosaur waste, the Guardian reports. New plants, pollinated...

New Approach Targets Tough Parasitic Illness

Insect-borne disease infects 11M annually

(Newser) - A new way to test for Chagas disease offers hope for combating the insect-borne ailment, which can otherwise go unnoticed for years, Reuters reports. The new method involves screening children in small areas where exterminators find the most disease-carrying bugs instead of having to test bigger populations. The disease infects...

Vacuuming Sucks Fleas to Doom
Vacuuming Sucks Fleas to Doom
Dec 19, 2007 2:36 PM CST

Vacuuming Sucks Fleas to Doom

Professor finds fleas' journey into cleaner is a one-way trip

(Newser) - Does vacuuming kill fleas? The answer is yes, according to a retired Ohio professor, the Columbus Dispatch reports. In a study he did years ago for an appliance company, Fred Hink sucked up 100 fleas at a time with a vacuum cleaner and was surprised to find very few of...

Roaches Fooled by Robots, Follow Their Lead

Cockroaches follow 'pied piper' impostors

(Newser) - Scientists have created robot cockroaches that genuine roaches accept into their communities—and even follow. The robots were covered in roach scent and programmed to like the same things roaches do—darkness and the company of other cockroaches. A Belgian theoretical biologist Jose Halloy and his colleagues found that the...

Bedbugs Make Bloodthirsty Comeback
Bedbugs Make Bloodthirsty Comeback
Aug 20, 2007 5:36 PM CDT

Bedbugs Make Bloodthirsty Comeback

Once thought gone for good, pests are on the rebound in US

(Newser) - Despite admonitions about not letting the bedbugs bite, Americans are doing just that, and infestations are being reported across the country. Once thought wiped out by the now-banned pesticide DDT, the insects have been found in hospitals, schools, and even high-end residences, the Times of London reports. "Saturday Night...

Stories 161 - 172 | << Prev