Monthly Archives: March 2012

Flea-ting Winter

Posted on March 31, 2012 by jjneal

Winter in Indiana and much of the eastern US was mild and fleeting. The lack of cold temperatures and warm late winter weather is good for heating bills. However, the warm weather is also good for fleas. Cold weather is … Continue reading →

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Friday Cat-erpillar Blogging

Posted on March 30, 2012 by jjneal

The velvetbean caterpillar is an occasional pest of soybean in the Southern US.  Soybean plants  are well protected against many insect pests and in many years can be grown without insecticide treatments.  The soybean is protected by substances called proteinase … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Caterpillar Blogging, Environment, Food | 2 Comments

Red Dye, Yellow Journalism

Posted on March 29, 2012 by jjneal

The natives of North America cultivated plants and animals (including insects) that are unique to North America. An important insect is the cochineal scale insect which feeds on the prickly pear cactus. The cochineal scale can produce up to 24 … Continue reading →

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West Nile Virus

Posted on March 28, 2012 by jjneal

Satellite images of the earth are widely available today and have led to advancements in landscape ecology. Given an area on a map, can entomologists and ecologists predict the flora and fauna that can be found in area (but not … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Environment, Health, Pest Management | 1 Comment

Robber Flies

Posted on March 27, 2012 by jjneal

Robber flies are voracious predators of other insects. The robber flies have a distinctive cleavage between the eyes on the top of the head and many have hairs on the front of the head called a mystax. The robber flies … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, by jjneal, Environment | 4 Comments

Mosquito Winter

Posted on March 26, 2012 by jjneal

Winter in Indiana usually brings a reprieve from mosquitoes.  However, late this winter (March 2012), temperatures reached 80F (high 20s C). As a result, we had plenty of mosquitoes during the last days of winter.  Warm winter temperatures are often … Continue reading →

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Overwhelming Appetite

Posted on March 26, 2012 by whitames

Among the many members of the Order Hymenoptera, the large stinging wasps are the best known.   One fascinating wasp is the tarantula hawk, The State Insect of New Mexico.  “Tarantula hawk” most commonly refers to the Pepsis formasa and Pepsis thisbe, species of … Continue reading →

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