GGA Blog

Many people assume that moths pollinate plants during the night, and that moths have a taste only for nectar. However, some researchers are learning that this is not the case with all moths. For example, calyptra is a genus of "vampire moth," and, as you can guess, enjoys the taste of human blood

A company known as HiProMine (HPM) is planning on using insects to create everything from cosmetic products to fuel for space missions. The variety of different bugs that are kept at HPM feed off of waste from meat, fruit and other types of food waste that is gathered from nearby food industries. It turns out that different insects can produce

Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on earth as they are responsible for thousands of deaths a year. They spread terrible and deadly diseases. As a result of the danger that many types of mosquitoes pose, there has been, and are currently many scientific efforts aimed at solving the problems caused by mosquitoes. Surprisingly, an island once belonging to Marlon Brando has lead the scientific effort

The Victorian Era during the nineteenth century made plenty of room for various types of insects that Europeans at the time found absolutely fascinating

Insect wings, whether belonging to a butterfly, mosquito or a dragonfly, appear to be composed of seemingly fragile material that could tear easily. Although insect wings are rather easy to puncture, researchers from Trinity College in Dublin found that insect wings are nevertheless quite durable.

Have you ever heard of an insect known as a tarantula hawk? Maybe you recognize the strange insect name as being the state insect of New Mexico. Or, perhaps, you have spotted one of these behemoths in the dessert, which you would not forget about being as its sizable frame makes it a rather terrifying creature to encounter. This creature does not look like a tarantula or a hawk, but it does sport a quarter inch long stinger that can transmit a feeling of pain so intense that the Schmidt sting pain index ranks the TH's sting as a four, and a four indicates maximum pain that cannot be surpassed. So if you do see one of these guys in the desert doing their thing, it would probably be best not to approach it, despite its reported lack of aggressiveness. This insect's stinger is meant for more than just pain and intimidation, it is also the mother's primary tool for laying her eggs.

With the Zika virus having entered the U.S. it is more important than ever to wear your insect repellent. And to aid in this effort towns are also doing mass spraying of pesticides throughout neighborhoods. But, did you know that you can help ward away those mosquitos in your own garden. There are a number of plants that help keep those disease-spreading mosquitos away

You may be familiar with the annual Burning Man festival that takes place in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Usually this famous festival goes off without a hitch, however, this year they've been infested with swarms of stinking, biting bugs that are somehow finding a way to survive the extreme heat and burning hot sun. At first no one could figure out what kind of bugs were ruining the fun, but new information has surfaced and the pest has been found out. It looks like there are actually two species of bugs bugging Burning Man

Carnivorous plants need to procreate too. How do they do this? Why through pollination, of course. They grow flowers for insects to pollinate when they are ready to reproduce. Unfortunately, this involves the very insects that they also lure into their clutches and eat. So, how do these plants that are known for eating insects get those very insects to also pollinate them so that they can continue to thrive as a species? They somehow need to be able to still trap and eat insects without ruining their chances of getting pollinated