Category Archives: History

Living With Grain Storage Pests

Posted on May 24, 2017 by jjneal

Grain elevators are used to store grain for future shipment. Large concentrations of grain in protected conditions create an ecosystem for insect colonization. The pests vary with geography, but many pests are distributed globally, having made their way around the … Continue reading →

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

Living With Temitophiles

Posted on April 30, 2017 by jjneal

Social insects have “guests” that take up residence (uninvited) in the nest. Several species of beetles can be found within termite mounds. Fossils of termitophile beetles are present in Baltic amber indicating that beetle-termite relationships date to at least 19 … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, History, Taxonomy | 1 Comment

Living With Chitin

Posted on April 21, 2017 by jjneal

Chitin is a polysaccharide that is a major component of arthropod cuticle. Chitin is ubiquitous and the second most abundant polysaccharide on our planet next to cellulose. Molted exoskeletons, dead insects and mites can litter our environment with chitin dust. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomaterials, by jjneal, History | 1 Comment

Living With Greenhouse Biological Control

Posted on April 1, 2017 by jjneal

Since the beginning of agriculture, humans have endeavored to protect plants from adverse environmental conditions by growing them indoors. As greenhouse technology improved more sophisticated greenhouses flourished. Victorian England featured elaborate greenhouses built by wealthy individuals for botanical studies. Growing … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, History, Pest Management | 1 Comment

Bats, Cave, Cavemen, Bed Bugs

Posted on January 5, 2017 by jjneal

The common bed bug Cimex lectularius has two host races. One race is associated with humans, the other with bats. Bedbugs were parasites of bats long before the evolution of humans. Tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago, human … Continue reading →

Posted in Bed Bugs, by jjneal, Environment, History | 1 Comment

The Costs of Zika

Posted on November 22, 2016 by jjneal

The Zika Virus epidemic continues and will impose costs into the future. The World Health Organization has moved Zika off its “Emergency” list and onto its chronic problems list. Hopes of a quick containment have been replaced by a long … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, History, Zika | 1 Comment

Redi For Insect Biology

Posted on September 24, 2016 by jjneal

Francesco Redi was a poet and a physician, a learned man in 17th century Florence, Italy. He is considered by some to be the author of the “experimental control” and the author of parasitology. He had a particular interest in … Continue reading →

Posted in by jjneal, Environment, History | 1 Comment