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Researchers Change An Ants Social Behaviors After Altering Its DNA Ants are well known eusocial insects. Their colonies operate with an efficiency that makes humans look lazy by comparison. So how do ants communicate in order to assign particular tasks to particular ants? Does ant communication operate beyond human perception? Sure, there are workers, soldiers, and queens, but colony cooperation, and many group efforts that ants aim to achieve depend on some ants doing very specific things. Can ants get sick of their jobs and just quit? What would happen if an individual ant went out on its own to explore the world, leaving the colony behind? Well, if you know much about ants, then you should know that they cannot survive well on their own. In fact, an ant without its colony, is a dead ant. Recently, a study aimed to show what would happen if one particular ant could not behave properly within their colonies. What they found would likely not surprise you, as insects are cruel creatures. A group of morbidly curious researchers from Rockefeller University altered an ants genetic makeup in order to ultimately change its behavior

We all know that termites go after wood, and the wood in your home is certainly no exception. But are there many other commonly used materials within homes that are susceptible to termite damage? Unfortunately, there are many home construction materials that termites will attack, and this goes for construction materials that do not contain wood. For example, pest control professionals and handymen alike have both taken note of termite damage to laminate flooring

Termites Are The Oldest And Most Fierce Of All Eusocial Insects There are many modern similarities between termites and ants. People often have a difficult time telling the two insects apart. This is no small wonder to entomologists since ants and termites likely interacted during the course of evolution. Termites are one hundred million years old, whereas ants are ninety nine million years old. It turns out that a one million year difference in evolutionary development makes a big difference when it comes to predator-prey relations. By the time ants arrived on the scene, termites were ready to battle

Termite Colonies Can Be Found In The Unlikeliest Of Places Termites are tough little creatures, as they can survive in harsh areas that do not offer much in the way of sustenance. We all know that most types of termites build colonies in dirt, and survive on the cellulose that is located within available plant matter. But what happens when termites find themselves in areas where no wood, or plant matter of any kind, is located? Will they end up surviving these situations? Entomologists and pest control professionals are commonly asked questions relating to termite survival. Many people have spotted large groups of termites residing on small areas of soil that had been surrounded by concrete. Most of the time people will notice this seemingly odd situation while walking through parking lots. One individual reported seeing what looked like "millions" of termites swarming from one small dirt island located within a concrete parking lot. No matter how dire a situation may seem for a termite colony stranded within a concrete parking lot, there is no way termites could swarm unless they had access to plenty of cellulose

An Unlikely Origin For An American Insect Pest Insect pests are not at all uncommon in America, and many of them are not native. There are a variety of different ways in which insects arrive in America from other countries. Invasive insects often arrive in America by hitching rides on shipping vessels. Some invasive insects have even managed to populate America by becoming attached to single individuals flying by plane from overseas territories. We often hear of exotic insect pests coming to the US from Japan, China, Africa and even Europe. It seems that many of America's insect pests came from tropical and warmer regions of the world where the climate favors most forms of insect life. But what about regions of the world that are less mild? For example, has anyone ever heard of an invasive insect from a Scandinavian country? Or how about Russia? Russia is the largest country in the world, so it seems likely that America would have at least a few insect pests that are natural Russians. Then again, since Russia and America are not typically trading partners, native Russian insects could not have arrived in America via shipping vessel. However, there are, indeed, insect pests in America that call Russia home. The most well known Russian insect pest in America is, arguably, the wheat aphid

The Chikungunya Virus May Be The Next Insect-Borne Disease To Fear In America For the past two years American health officials have been focusing on the spread of the Zika virus within North America. Fortunately, it looks like health officials have Zika under control within the US, as infection rates have dropped to nearly zero. However, Zika is only one of many mosquito-borne diseases that have negatively impacted different regions of the world. Many Americans are well aware of this fact. But many Americans are also under the impression that other mosquito-born diseases are only problematic in far away regions of the world. However, this assumption is not accurate, as America is not far away from certain regions where the chikungunya virus has ravaged certain populations. For example, the Dominican Republic has seen recent outbreaks of a new form of the chikungunya virus. Researchers from the University of Florida have recently assessed the probability of similar outbreaks occurring within the US, especially within the state of Florida. The results of their studies are causing concern among American health officials. There are two mosquitoes that spread the chikungunya virus. One of these mosquitoes is the aedes aegypti

Are You Dreaming About Insects? Have you ever had a dream featuring creepy crawlies

Researchers May Have Found A Way To Monitor And Trap An Sneaky Insect Pest Imagine how damaging insect pests used to be back when science had not furnished mankind with pest control methods. Thankfully, in these modern times, insects can be trapped, killed and even monitored in order to keep crops insect-free. The world is full of insect pests that would surely keep fresh produce from ever reaching our local grocery stores if it were not for the decades of agricultural research that has led to a greater understanding of insect pest behavior. It is important to know which insects are pests, and what types of vegetation these insect pests prefer, and are able to access. This is why monitoring insect pests is crucial for determining which plants are at the most risk of incurring damage. Insect pests must also be successfully trapped in order to reduce insect pest populations. Traps also allow researchers to gather large amounts of particular insect pests so that they can be properly studied. For example, by trapping insect pests, researchers can apply various insecticides in order to determine which mixtures are the most effective at killing particular insect pests. Although there are not too many insect pests that can avoid traps and monitoring programs, there are a few that can. The harlequin bug