GGA Blog

What Are Those Small Green Creatures In My Pantry? The thought of finding live organisms rooting around in your pantry is not a pleasant thought, but for many people, the presence of bug-like creatures dwelling within kitchens is a day-to-day reality. These creatures are unofficially referred to as grain beetles. These beetles look like reddish brown alfalfa seeds. In addition to crawling within cupboards and on top of countertops, these beetles can also fly around your kitchen, as well as other rooms within a home. Surprisingly, these beetles are quite common

The Ants That Make The Lives Of All Other Insects Miserable There is an ant in existence that can force all other ants to vacate an entire ecosystem. This menacing ant is known as the Asian needle ant. As you may be able to guess already, this needle ant is not native to the United States. Nobody knows exactly how the Asian needle ant arrived in the US, but experts were able to determine that these ants arrived on US soil from Japan. Entomologist first discovered needle ants within American forests during the 1930s, where they were observed to be traveling through forests located within the Eastern region of the US. These ants are unique in that they are capable of migrating from forests and into residential areas without being hindered by natural predators. These nonnative ants have since been found within a variety of different environments, including people's yards where they are often found to be hiding out within potted plants. This is problematic since needle ants cause many insects to vacate forest environments

The Spider That Looks Like a Disco Ball I certainly never expected to come across a spider that could double for a disco ball, but it seems Australia is home to a lot of insects that seem like they could only exist in fantasy novels. The mirror spider, also known as the sequined spider

The Forensic Entomologists That Investigate Insect Contaminated Food There have always been televised programs that portray the nature of police work, and this has been the case even when the popularity of television was in its infancy several decades ago. During recent years, however, television programs shifted to portraying the nature of forensic police work. There exists too many TV shows to name that follow this popular trend. The job of a forensic detective appears quite glamorous, but in reality, the field of forensics is not solely limited to crime solving. There exist many types of forensic science, one of which is known as forensic entomology. Within the field of forensic entomology there exists many subgroups. For example, stored-product forensic entomology is one of the lesser-known types of forensic entomology. Forensic entomologists working within this particular field focus on finding the source

Termites Inspire Growth Instead Of Destruction For A Change Most people know termites as tiny destructive creatures, but termites are also capable of creating large tunneled structures that can reach heights of several feet. This ability has served as a model for engineers looking to create robots that could work together in order to build structures. Recently a group of engineers studied the social behavior of termites in order to build a fleet of robots

Be happy that you are not an insect, because insects are, more often than not, brutal creatures that kill without compunction. In the insect community there exists many different methods

Sometime during the 1950s a rumor started to circulate about praying mantises. The rumor said that killing a praying mantis was illegal, and a violation of this law would result in a steep fine. Basically, many people used to believe, and some still do today, that praying mantises are protected under the law. Of course, this is just a myth since there has never been a law

Are Insects Larger In The Tropics? If you had to guess where the world's largest insects thrive, then you would probably find yourself imagining exotic locations with very little human activity, such as tropical jungles. Perhaps some would guess that Australia is home to the largest insects, while others would insist that South America contains the world's largest bugs. However, both would be right, as any region near the globe's midsection would definitely contain super-huge bugs. The experts agree that the largest bugs can be found

Termite Populations Are Expanding, But Why? We hear a lot about termites, and they are certainly common in the United States, but where? When it comes to ticks, for example, most of the American public knows that ticks are commonly found in the northeast portion of the US, as well as a few other regions. However, most Americans have no clue as to where termite populations thrive. Perhaps this is because termites do not cause disease like ticks can, so knowing where to find dangerous ticks is a matter of public health. But despite the fact that termites don't spread disease, termites can still cause tragic, and life changing problems. Therefore, knowing if you live in a region where termite populations are high can only be a benefit. In the United States, the most common