Posts Tagged ‘pest control’
Spray-on fungus could kill bed bugs
PENN STATE (US) — Rather than harsh chemicals, the answer to a bed bug infestation may be a fungus, say entomologists. Continue…
Wednesday, November 21, 2012 12:40 - 6 Comments
Earth & Environment - May 14, 2012 11:08 - 0 Comments
Natural land a welcome mat for ladybugs
MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Having large tracts of natural habitat around crop fields invites pest-gobbling ladybugs, which could save farmers an estimated $4.6 billion a year on insecticides. (more…)
Health & Medicine - May 9, 2012 12:53 - 0 Comments
Control killer fly with satellite tracking
MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Scientists have developed a plan to effectively control the tsetse fly using satellite images of Kenyan landscape and by monitoring tsetse movement. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 6, 2012 16:31 - 2 Comments
Finally! A fungus that fights fire ants
U. FLORIDA (US) — After years of searching, scientists may have identified a fungus to control fire ant infestations. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jan 18, 2012 12:08 - 0 Comments
Bitter orange trees taste yucky to bugs
CORNELL (US) — Orange trees engineered to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of bugs may protect Florida’s $9 billion citrus industry from a deadly bacterial disease. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jul 15, 2011 14:08 - 1 Comment
Biofuel crops good for pest control
MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Having a single, dominant crop rather than a variety of wild plants has resulted in more pests and insecticide use. Planting perennial bioenergy crops may offset the negative effects. (more…)
Top Stories - Apr 29, 2011 12:43 - 0 Comments
Ouch! Bug killer from scorpion venom
MICHIGAN STATE U. (US) — Pests be warned. Researchers are hopeful scorpion venom can be used to develop potent insecticides. (more…)
Top Stories - Mar 30, 2011 11:16 - 2 Comments
Chemical war: How plants starve bugs
MICHIGAN STATE (US) — In the ongoing battle between plants and the pests that love to eat them, a few plants respond with lethal force, producing an enzyme that starves attackers. (more…)
Top Stories - Feb 28, 2011 12:47 - 0 Comments
Fungus tooled to fight malaria
U. MARYLAND (US) — Spraying mosquitoes with a genetically engineered fungus shows promise for dramatically reducing malaria infections. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jan 31, 2011 21:34 - 2 Comments
Genomes of menacing ants sequenced
UC BERKELY (US) — By sequencing the genome of the highly invasive Argentine ant—and of three other ant species—researchers have uncovered a how-to guide for being an unstoppable pest. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Dec 29, 2010 13:48 - 1 Comment
Home is where the pest threat is
PENN STATE (US) — An invasion from insect pests is likely to be home grown. A study reported in Nature Communications finds the greatest threat comes from neighboring U.S. states not other countries. (more…)
Science & Technology - Nov 3, 2010 13:24 - 3 Comments
Modified corn spreads the love around
U. MINNESOTA (US) — Transgenic corn’s resistance to pests benefits even corn that has not been genetically modified, according to new research. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Sep 6, 2010 23:42 - 0 Comments
Pest control à la nature on coffee farm
U. MICHIGAN (US)—A 10-year study of an organic coffee farm in Mexico has uncovered a web of intricate interactions that buffers the farm against extreme outbreaks of pests and diseases. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Aug 9, 2010 13:44 - 0 Comments
Ladybugs gobble up ‘fearless’ aphids
CORNELL (US)—Aphids that are raised on plants genetically engineered to emit a compound that warns of a predator, become so accustomed to the chemical they no longer respond to it—even when a predator is really present. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 23, 2010 11:47 - 1 Comment
Pesky aphid thrives despite weak defenses
EMORY (US)—Pea aphids, expert survivors of the insect world, appear to lack major biological defenses, according to the first genetic analysis of their immune system. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 3, 2010 14:05 - 1 Comment
Better traps are bad news for mosquitoes
YALE (US)—Researchers have discovered more than two dozen scent receptors in malaria-transmitting mosquitoes that detect compounds in human sweat, a finding that may help scientists to develop new ways to combat a disease that kills 1 million people annually. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jan 15, 2010 17:53 - 0 Comments
Pest with an appetite for biofuel crops
U. ILLINOIS—The western corn rootworm beetle, a pest that feasts on corn roots and corn silk and costs growers more than $1 billion annually in the U.S., also can survive on the perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus, a potential biofuels crop that would likely be grown alongside corn, researchers report. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jan 14, 2010 16:28 - 0 Comments
Genomes of ‘smart bomb’ wasps sequenced
U. ROCHESTER—By sequencing the genomes of three wasp species that kill pest insects, a team of scientists is hopeful they will discover features that could be useful to pest control and medicine—that will enhance our understanding of genetics and evolution. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Nov 3, 2009 0:36 - 2 Comments
Good vs. bad in battle of the bugs
PENN STATE (US)—The control of spider mites, which damage tree leaves, reduce fruit quality and cost growers millions of dollars in the use of pesticide and oil spraying, is being biologically controlled in Pennsylvania apple orchards with two tiny insects known to be natural predators. (more…)
