Monthly Archives: February 2013

Living With Reflective Colors

Posted on February 21, 2013 by jjneal

Insects can produce conspicuous colors with reflected light. If light is reflected in a narrow band, as in Morpho Butterflies, it will produce a color in the wavelength reflected. The wavelengths reflected are a product of microscopic ridges on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomaterials, by jjneal | Leave a comment

Living With Ant Jokes

Posted on February 20, 2013 by jjneal

Why did the Ant cross the road? To get away from the chicken. Why did the Fire Ant cross the road? To eat the dead chicken. How many ants does it take to fill an apartment? Ten-ants. What do you … Continue reading →

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Living With Insect Immunity

Posted on February 20, 2013 by jjneal

Insects must defend against pathogens such as bacteria. Beetles produce peptides such as attacins and coleoptericins that have bactericidal activity. The expanded pathogen defenses of the Multicolored Lady Beetle,* Harmonia axyridis, includes ten attacins and 15 coleoptericins. Attacins bind to … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomaterials, by jjneal, Environment | 1 Comment

Living With Insect Defense

Posted on February 18, 2013 by jjneal

Some insects must survive the winter as adults and must have good defenses against fungi and other pathogens. This includes Harmonia axyridis the “Asian” or “Mulitcolored” Lady Beetle. Like most lady beetles, Harmonia feeds on aphids during the summer. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomaterials, by jjneal, Health | Leave a comment

Beetles Living With Climate Change

Posted on February 17, 2013 by jjneal

Global temperatures are on the rise with many areas of North America experiencing winters that are much warmer than normal. Climate change affects the composition of plants and animals in ways that are only understood in hindsight. Forests in Western … Continue reading →

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Living With Added Chitin

Posted on February 16, 2013 by jjneal

The cuticle of insects and other arthropods contains chitin, the second most ubiquitous carbohydrate polymer on planet (#1 is cellulose found in plants). Chitin protects arthropods from microorganisms and has other preservative properties. These properties could be useful for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomaterials, by jjneal, Food | Leave a comment

Friday Cat-erpillar Blogging: Living With Ants

Posted on February 15, 2013 by jjneal

The Large Blue (or Cuckoo) Butterflies of the genus Maculinea, gather a small amount of food from plants and the vast majority as parasites of ant colonies. The caterpillars feed for a short time on Gentian plants, then drop to … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, by jjneal, Caterpillar Blogging, Environment | Leave a comment