Monthly Archives: July 2016

Protesting With Insects

Posted on July 31, 2016 by jjneal

Activists upset with the arrest of immigrants at London food restaurants retaliated by releasing locusts, crickets, and cockroaches at two restaurants last Friday. The restaurants closed, but reopened Saturday after a slight delay as the establishments were treated with insecticides by … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, News, Pest Management, Policy | 1 Comment

Pollinating With Flies

Posted on July 30, 2016 by jjneal

Flowering plants are associated with bees in our popular culture. Flowers primarily pollinated by bees often have bright colors and a sweet odor. However, many other insects such as flies are important pollinators . Flowers primarily pollinated by flies produce … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Environment, News | 1 Comment

Living With Dog Day Cicadas

Posted on July 29, 2016 by jjneal

The Dog Day Cicadas emerge as adults during the dog days of summer and begin serenading. In much of the midwestern US, cicadas provide the loudest background sounds. There are many species of cicada, all singing different songs and sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, by jjneal, Environment | 2 Comments

Living With Tachinids

Posted on July 28, 2016 by jjneal

At our 2016 Butterfly Encounter, we observed many large, black flies visiting flowers. Their flight and behavior is similar to bumblebees and they are easily mistaken.  They are Tachinid flies in the Genus Leschenaultia. They are parasitoids of caterpillars and … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, by jjneal, Environment | 1 Comment

Living With Snails

Posted on July 27, 2016 by jjneal

Gardeners often think of snails and caterpillars eating their plants because almost all of the over 150,000 or so species of caterpillars eat plants. However, an odd assortment of about 200 caterpillars do not eat plants. They are predators on … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Environment | 1 Comment

Insects As Feed

Posted on July 26, 2016 by jjneal

Commercial food production in the US and Canada is tightly regulated. The appearance of problems such as Mad Cow Disease that can be transmitted in animal feed have reinforced the importance of testing and research into effects of feed on … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Food, Health | 1 Comment

Living With Blackness II

Posted on July 25, 2016 by jjneal

Black colors in insects can be important to the appearance of insects and their visual communication. Many aposematic (warning coloration) insects have the color black combined with red, orange or yellow. Black outlines around a region of bright color can … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, Biomaterials, by jjneal | 1 Comment