bomb-sniffing bees

"LOS ALAMOS, NM - NOVEMBER 30: Tim Haarmann, principle investigator with the Stealthy Insect Sensor Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory, checks on his bomb-sniffing honey bees November 30, 2006 at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Using Pavlovian-like techniques, researchers are taking advantage of the bees' keen sense of smell and their love of nectar to produce weapons in the war on terror." (from here)

CREEEPY!!!

Cyborg insects, controlled by computer.
http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/mg19726461.800-the-cyborg-animal-spies-hatching-in-the-lab.html

Mantislandia

If there is nothing else you can rely on in life, at least there are the autumn mantises of Chevalier Woods! They are out in force, The invasive and large "Chinese" mantis (I feel like a race traitor talking about them in these terms.... )were everywhere - you couldn't walk a meter without seeing one (or not seeing one is the case it was actually sitting there right in front of your nose and you were oblivious).

Some native Carolina mantises were out as well, and overall it was a good insect time. They were having a good time too and good be found eating bees and wasps with abandon:

In fact, looking at the top's of all the Queen's Anne's Lace it was like Cloud City of Star Wars fame, all the buzzing flies, wasps, bees, bugs and butterflies.

Monarch season did not disappoint either, at least if you were as diligent as Sam in tracking them down with net.


And Bumblebees? HUGE!


Kara also spotted a toad (a spotty toad at that) - and some snakes and even field mice could be found, depending on what kind of piece of wood you turned over

120 million year old ant still living!

German biologists have discovered a new species of ant they believe is the oldest on the planet, dating back around 120 million years.

"It's by far the most spectacular find of my 26-year career," said museum biologist Manfred Verhaagh on Tuesday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080916/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_ant;_ylt=AlsYss0fYhK6_NztrqKS4QcPLBIF

mantids can take down humming birds

maybe this is old news, but i am still impressed.

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyardbirds/hummingbirds/mantis-hummer.aspx

The inaugural insect trip of the fall insect course went well! The dragonflies were the welcoming committee, hundreds flying all over acres and acres of Montrose Beach Park and the bird sanctuary as well. What was with this swarming? Theories are out there and there as numerous as dragoflies themselves (and of course obligatory YouTube footage is as well) but the jury may still be out.

They were still hard to catch, but the sheer number made it more possible than usual - like the endless herds of bison out on the western range back in the late 1800's, getting one was simply a matter of time to bag one.

Of course there are always all the "dragonfly" themed songs to keep one company of an autumn afternoon as well: like this one, a creepy anime bootleg one, and of course the best one by the band Vitapup.

Odd caterpillars, milkweed bugs, grasshoppers, wasps, bees, earwigs and all the like were also enjoying the park. It was a hexapodarific day for collecting.

"Theater of Insects" exhibit

This week (Sept. 2nd) in Washington DC at the National Academy of Sciences a very interesting photography show is opening up: The Theater of Insects. This exhibit shows the work of Jo Whaley
who photo-collages insects and environments into ambience of a six-legged kind.

Its hard to deny how photogenic these little beasts are. Tho see images from the exhibit, check out here!

christmas in Belize

(this is just a pic i found on the internet, i'll post the ones i took when i can upload them)
As I am walking through the forest outside of Placencia, Belize (in the Toledo district), I notice very tall yet bare pine tree-looking trees scattered throughout the landscape. I ask my Belizian friend Francisco what kind of trees they are. They are in fact pine trees but they are not supposed to look like this, he says. He goes on to tell me that these trees are plagued by a beetle, Dendroctonus Frontalis, or the tree killer.
The attack starts out with the female beetle boring into the bark up to the phloem or living tissue under the bark of the tree. She then constructs a chamber and releases a pheromone which attracts the male. After he and the female mate, she then begins to construct tunnels under the bark where she lays up to 160 eggs. As she lays her eggs, she covers them with dust or frass. This is the main damage caused to the tree: she introduces a fungi called Blue Stain, which she has a mutual or symbiotic relationship with. The blue stain destroys the living tissue of the tree causing it to suffocate due to no nutrients being able to reach the upper part of the tree, and therefore causing this wonky looking Christmas tree. I haven’t yet checked Francisco’s facts, but i am choosing to accept this info untill i get time to double check them.
i looked for the beetles but couldnt find any for my collection.

Cricket Fighting

While doing some research on crickets, I found a number of YouTube videos relating to the gambling sport of cricket fighting, which is ancient and is still practiced in China (and maybe other places?). Here are just a few of 'em!

CRICKETS FIGHT:






FIGHTER CRICKET CARE:


--Julia

Scientists Can Control The Sexuality of Fruit Flies

http://perezhilton.com/?p=10249

I found this bug news on an unexpected source, Perez Hilton. His source was Nature Neuroscience so it should be reliable. Essentially the scientists who conducted the study found that male fruit flies with a certain gene mutation would court other male fruit flies.

“Based on our previous work, we reasoned that GB mutants might show homosexual behavior because their glutamatergic synapses were altered in some way,” Featherstone said. “Homosexual courtship might be sort of an ‘overreaction’ to sexual stimuli.”

To test this, the researchers genetically altered synapse strength, independent of GB. They also gave flies drugs to alter synapse strength. As predicted, they were able to turn fly homosexuality on and off, within hours."

-Daniel

Radio Lab

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2005/02/18

At the above address, you can listen to or download an episode of the science radio show "Radio Lab." This episode, entitled "Emergence," focuses on society insects and synchronous behavior (focusing on fireflies, ants, and bees). Good show!

awesome close ups of insects

So my friend found this guy from Germany named Martin Amm on deviant art and he takes some really beautiful photos of insects so i'm posting them!

http://www.struller.deviantart.com/

















-Erin

Mike Libby's Insect Lab

So I picked up a magazine called "Hi Fructose" because i liked the cover and in it there was an article about this guy named Mike Libby:

"Mike Libby, the founder of Insect Lab, is known for combining nature and industry into very versatile specimens. Mixing science fact with science fiction--Libby has given physical form to ideas that others have only dreamed of.
Insect Lab is the name of the studio where Libby combines the mechanics of man with the mechanics of nature. Libby customizes real insects with antique watch parts and electronic components, offering specimens that come in many colors, sizes and shapes; each insect is individually adorned-- no two insects are ever alike. Through dedication and the lust for the fantastic, Libby has given physical life to creatures that have stalked the imaginations of authors, artists, comic book fans and moviegoers for decades.
In a sense, Libby creates cyborg insects that contain all the complexities of their natural form along with the complexity of human ingenuity. One could say that his creations also ask questions about mortality and bio ethics. Philosophy aside, Libby's creations are simply fun. His creations come in two presentation formats, custom black shadow boxes or glass bell jars with a dark wooden base. Both are archival and only acid free materials are used. Each display is signed and labeled, providing specimen name, parts and number. Mad science or art? You be the judge."
-Brian Sherwin




make sure to check out the website:
www.insectlabstudio.com

-Erin

Flies Evasive Move Traced to Sensory Neurons

ScienceDaily (Dec. 6, 2007) — When fruit fly larvae are poked or prodded, they fold themselves up and corkscrew their bodies around, a behavior that appears to be the young insects' equivalent of a "judo move," say researchers. They now trace that rolling behavior to neurons resembling those that sense pain.
The larvae display the same rolling behavior when attacked by tiny parasitoid wasps, the new report also shows, occasionally even managing to flip their assailants onto their backs. Those parasitoid wasps will lay eggs inside fly larvae. When the eggs hatch, the larval wasps devour the fly young from the inside out.
"We have identified a specific set of sensory neurons in the fly larva whose function is to protect the animal from injurious things in the environment," said W. Daniel Tracey of Duke University Medical Center. "These neurons look a lot like our own sensory neurons that trigger painful sensations when we encounter potentially tissue-damaging heat, mechanical or chemical stimuli."
Nonetheless, Tracey said, they "really don't think" that insects feel pain. Rather, it reveals that the larval nervous system has circuitry that encodes an innate escape behavior--probably more akin to a reflex, as occurs when a person touches a hot stove. In that case, the hand pulls away before any pain is actually felt.
The researchers earlier found that noxious heat or mechanical stimulation triggered the larvae to roll, a motion completely distinct from that the insects otherwise use to get around. In the new study, Tracey's group used a "genetic trick" to turn neurons on and off by using pulses of blue light. That allowed them to zero in on the specific sensory neurons that triggered the escape behavior--which have very fine, highly branched nerve endings just beneath the larvae's outer surfaces.
Surprisingly, the larvae initially roll toward the offending heat or prodding, they found. That led them to suspect the move might be a defense against prevalent parasitoid wasps. Consistent with that theory, they document that larvae can escape attack of one wasp species by rolling.
The findings are a useful reminder, Tracey said: "Biologists that spend their days in the lab often view their organisms as laboratory animals. We need to remember that they come from nature. They didn't originate in plastic vials on the shelf."

-" insect equivalent of a judo move"- i thought this was clever -lol alex

silkworm factory

just a video on a silkworm factory...making silk. :)







-ashley

Insect Artists

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/17/AR2007081700603.html
He Lets Creepy-Crawlies Get Their Feet Wet as Painters
By Nick Thomas
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, August 19, 2007; Page N01






This article is about Steven Kutcher. He is a man who started out as a "bug wrangler" for movies and came up with the idea to let his insect paint for him. We all need a gimmick and it sounds like he's got it made in the shade.





-Daniel

Your very own Dragonfly Robot

Sharper Image has now brought technology to the task of giving us what we all have wanted: flying insect companions!:

Termite Guts to the Biofuel Rescue!

"Biofuel" is seen by many as the answer to our growing and voracious fuel needs. The US is pushing corn as a source of ethanol for vehicles, but the actual environmental benefits of this have been questioned by many...

What if we could instead use material that is already considered waste - lie used paper of scrap wood? The article below shows have termites and their lovely symbionts may point towards a solution of this kind:

ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2007) — Termites -- notorious for their voracious appetite for wood, rendering houses to dust and causing billions of dollars in damage per year -- may provide the biochemical means to a greener biofuel future. The bellies of these tiny beasts actually harbor a gold mine of microbes that have now been tapped as a rich source of enzymes for improving the conversion of wood or waste biomass to valuable biofuels.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071121145002.htm

British Scientists Find Ancient Fossil of What Once Was the World's Biggest Bug

The term "bug" is being used liberally here, but what were are talking about are:

"Eurypterids, or ancient sea scorpions, are believed to be the extinct aquatic ancestors of today's scorpions and possibly all arachnids, a class of joint-legged, invertebrate animals, including spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks."

This fossil find is truly remarkable. Giant Carboniferous dragonflies have some competition in town!

The full article is here:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3895047

Robot 'pied piper' leads roaches

On the heels on me mentioning th robot bee used to test the Waggle Dane Hypothesis in class, here is another interesting robo-insect interactions! An excerpt:

"A robotic cockroach can act as a 'pied piper' to its flesh-and-blood counterparts, persuading the real insects to hide in unusual places.

European scientists introduced tiny autonomous robots into an "arena" where cockroaches were allowed to run free.

They wanted to see whether the robots would be accepted by the insects and whether they could influence their collective decision-making process.

The results were reported in the academic journal Science.

The robots - built by Jose Halloy, from the Free University in Brussels, Belgium, and colleagues - do not look at all like cockroaches.

But by covering the robots in filter paper infused with cockroach pheromones, the researchers were able to fool the

animals into thinking the automatons were genuine members of their group."

The rest of the article can found here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7097267.stm