entomology

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2023-10-08 @ 20.11.11 ∈ In English

‘Like butter for bears’: the grizzlies who dine on 40,000 moths a day
Full of fat – some biologists call them “bear butter” – they’ve proved to be an important source of food for the region’s grizzlies. Biologists estimate about 200 bears each year feast on moths in the eastern portion of the carnivores’ range. Each gram of moth offers bears about eight calories, which means some bears will eat up to 40,000 a day.
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2023-10-05 @ 15.06.49 ∈ In English

(The paper has video.)

Bumble bees drop to shake off Asian hornets
Bumble bees have a remarkably successful method for fighting off Asian hornets, new research shows. When attacked, buff-tailed bumble bees drop to the ground—taking the hornets down with them. This either causes the hornet to lose its grip, or the bee raises its sting and tussles until the hornet gives up.
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2023-10-05 @ 15.01.04 ∈ In English

Meadow spittlebug’s record-breaking diet also makes it a top disease carrier for plants
New research fueled in part by citizen scientists reveals that the meadow spittlebug—known for the foamy, spit-like urine released by its nymphs—can feed on at least 1,300 species of host plants, more than twice the number of any other insect.
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2023-09-27 @ 18.30.48 ∈ In English

The Secret to Beetles’ Unfathomable Diversity
The evolution of a chemical defense gland allowed the most diverse group of beetles to repel predators and go on to conquer wholly new environments
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2023-09-06 @ 16.39.17 ∈ In English

Scientists spice up their anti-mosquito weaponry with mustard
Of the four seed meal types, garden cress proved the most lethal, killing more than 95 percent of mosquito larvae after only 24 hours and 100 percent in less than 48 hours. All seed meals were toxic to the larvae, except for a pennycress treatment that had been heated.
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2023-08-24 @ 13.56.07 ∈ In English

Bold and beautiful: Amazing Creatures in the new LEGO® Ideas The Insect Collection
The natural world is filled with outstanding beauty. From the largest creatures to the smallest, the colors and shapes of nature are often as spectacular as they are diverse, and nowhere is this diversity more on display than in the wonderful world of insects. To celebrate these beautiful creatures, we’re proud to release the LEGO® Ideas The Insect Collection.
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2023-07-26 @ 18.44.06 ∈ In English

Spraying just 12% of the room kills 85% of mosquitoes, study shows
The hotter the room, the further down the mosquitoes tended to rest, as the lower part of the room is typically cooler. Spraying just in this bottommost zone could kill over 85% of the mosquitoes in the house, according to the author's estimates—especially if this zone is colored black, as Aedes aegypti are known to prefer to perch on dark surfaces.
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2023-06-30 @ 13.22.42 ∈ In English

Artificial neural network study explains why biting flies are attracted to blue objects
[The ANN, trained to process visual information in a way similar to that of the fly brain, had] trouble telling the difference between blue objects and animals. This suggested that an inability to distinguish between animals and blue objects is the reason for the attraction to blue objects by flies.
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2023-06-30 @ 13.18.11 ∈ Suomeksi

A new species of mosquito found in Finland, official count of species now at 44
A species of mosquito not previously recorded from Finland has been discovered in the coastal municipality of Pori. Culex modestus has become the 44th mosquito species found in Finland, and the northernmost record of the species in Europe.