Monthly Archives: August 2016

Praying With Mantids

Posted on August 31, 2016 by jjneal

Baseball players are a superstitious lot. A praying mantis appeared at a KC Royals game at the beginning of August, a night when the Royals rallied to win and began a turnaround. The mantid hung out in the dugout and … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Sports | 2 Comments

Cicada Killer Conquest

Posted on August 31, 2016 by jjneal

Female cicada killer wasps, Sphecius speciosus, make nests in the ground.  A single larva, feeding on large an insect prey provided by the mother develops in each nest. Around the nesting area, males perch and hover, fighting other males and … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, by jjneal, Environment | 3 Comments

Living With Genetically Modified Mosquitos

Posted on August 29, 2016 by jjneal

Scientific knowledge has advanced technology to a stage where mosquitos can be genetically engineered for sterility. The technology derives from decades of research on Wohlbachia, a strain of bacteria that can produce sterility in many insect species. Wohlbachia is known … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Health, Pest Management, Policy, Zika | 1 Comment

Living With Insect Photography

Posted on August 28, 2016 by jjneal

Olympus held their last Bioscapes contest in 2014. Its purpose was to promote microscopy.  Promotions have moved off the web and onto social media. OlympusBioscapes still posts numerous colorful and compelling images of living organisms including many insects. The Fairy Wasp (left) is … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, behavior, by jjneal, Environment | 1 Comment

Too Hot To Trot

Posted on August 27, 2016 by jjneal

The mid August heat wave in New York City was accompanied by sightings of American Cockroaches flying through the air. We commonly think of the large American Cockroaches as running on the ground in basements, under refrigerators under cabinets and hiding … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, by jjneal, Environment | 1 Comment

Living With Yeast

Posted on August 26, 2016 by jjneal

Stag beetle larvae feed on rotting wood. Wood is plentiful and contains mostly carbohydrate useful for providing energy but many other essential nutrients are present only in small concentrations. Wood feeding insects often harbor microorganisms that can aid in digestion … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Giants of the Past

Posted on August 25, 2016 by jjneal

The maximum size of arthropods has increased and decreased in the distant past in response to changing composition of earth’s atmosphere. 300 million years ago, the oxygen concentration in earth’s atmosphere may have been greater than 30% (compared to about 21% … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Environment, Taxonomy | 2 Comments