Threats to health reduced with Bt corn hybrids
...an be increased by insect damage in crops. Insect larvae chew on stalks andkernels, creating wounds where fungal spores can enter the plant. Onceestablished, these fungi often produce mycotoxins. Some mycotoxins such asfumonisin, can be fatal to horses and pigs, and are probable human carcinogens."Lower m...Desert bees hedge their bets, wait for the wet
...opted a patient reproductive strategy. Desert bee larvae patiently lie in wait in the desert soil for a cha...entomologist Bryan N. Danforth, not all the viable larvae emerge in any one year of diapause, and their "coming out" is triggered by rain. Writing in the Oct......roughly one gram, survive largely on the pupae and larvae of ants. "Theonly place you can find huge numbers of these are in ant nests," pointed out Kley, "so they search them out and rob the nest." Unlike their snakecousins, threadsnakes are chowhounds, tucking into meals at a rapid rate, with three or four...NYU researchers find that genetically engineered corn releases insecticidal toxin into soil
...in is present in the plant's tissues and kills the larvae of caterpillars that attack the plant. It was previously believed that the Bt toxin molecule was too large to be released through the plant's root system. Recently it was shown that the toxin is also present in the pollen of Bt corn and that when t......ed that after a 50-day planktonic larval duration, larvae would have been swept tens or hundreds of kilomete...tous that the same techniques work to track marine larvae by analyzing the trace quantities of metals. He explained that geochemists have demonstrated strong ...Tube worms in deep sea discovered to have record long life spans
...ms grow very slowly over a longtime and that their larvae need to settle on exposed substrates, which maynot be easy to find on the muddy floor of the Gulf," Bergquist explains."If you destroy one of these communities, it likely would take a long timeto come back if it comes back at all."...Beetle uses fecal defense against predators
...Instead of leaving excrement lying around, as most larvae do, this species has developed an overhead sewer system. The thatch grows as the larvae metamorphoses, and for some reason that we don't understand, the fecal shield deters most predators ...Blister beetles use sex and subterfuge to infiltrate bee's nests
...able mode of host-finding," newborn blister beetle larvae of the species Meloe franciscanus mimic female bee.... This is the first reported instance of parasitic larvae cooperating to mimic female host species, report San Francisco State University scientists in the Ma...Chemical discovered that causes plant tumors
...s position it helps to prevent the emerging weevil larvae from burrowing into the pea pod. It may also fall off, dry out or be eaten by predators, the researchers said, and it reduces the chance that the pea weevil will actually succeed in infesting a pea."It's pretty obvious this is a natural defense mecha...Endangered butterfly needs proper habitat, special nectar
...e leaves in May. The eggs hatch in June. The young larvae drop down into the soil a few weeks later and the following March, the caterpillars crawl up and eat the plant's young leaves. Then they molt several times before reaching the pupa stage and final metamorphosis into a butterfly. The butterflies live ...Giant jellies invade Gulf of Mexico threatening shrimp fishery
...t these jellies will feed directly on the eggs and larvae of the area's fish, shrimp and crabs. And doing so could have a serious effect on the commercial fisheries on the coast," says Monty Graham, senior marine scientist and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant-funded researcher at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in...Colorado set to fly biomedical experiments on September shuttle flight
...ntis on Sept. 19. In the fruit fly experiment, larvae in differing stages of development will be placed ...nown as "reporter genes" will be injected into the larvae prior to flight, making their nervous systems glow, said Stodieck, also an associate research profes...Researchers receive federal funds to study marine organisms and potential products on oil platforms
...g this technique, scientists can determine whether larvae that settle at platforms are the offspring of local adults there, or were produced elsewhere. "By sampling potential source populations directly, we hope to be able to specify the actual points of origin for organisms living on platforms," said Schmi...ORNL instrument could spell doom for Asian beetles
... Beetles could be slowed or perhaps stopped with a larvae detection system being developed by researchers at...re out boring into trees, where they lay eggs. The larvae start eating the trees cambium, the layer that generates new cells, disrupting its nutrient-transpor......es and lays its eggs on them. When the eggs hatch, larvae grow and spend about a month chewing the roots." To protect rice plants from water weevils, Hall and his colleagues insert insect-killing genes in the seeds of rice plants. Ideally, when the plants grow, these genes produce insect-killing proteins in...... by environmental and nutritional influences cause larvae to activate the genes necessary to fulfil their de...o establish exactly which genes were active as the larvae developed. From the outset, the team found that those larvae destined to become queen bees appeared...Hessian fly genomics research will benefit wheat farmers, others
...cells from the insect. This causes the Hessian fly larvae to starve. Almost everywhere one grows wheat youll find this insect, with the possible exceptions of Australia and Japan, he says. The fly is out there, and when environmental conditions are just right, such as a cool, wet spring and if you have a fi...Scientists see early indications of lobster decline
...monitoring three different lobster life stages: 1) larvae in the water, 2) newly settled individuals on the ...monitoring region. Similar trends were detected in larvae in New Hampshire and new settlers in Rhode Island. The larvae and settlement studies suggest widespr...Scientists study life of economically important blue crab
...coast, to release the microscopic crab larvae. The larvae go through a series of developmental stages in coastal waters before traveling to the estuaries. Blue crabs, which can grow to about 9 inches width, live in coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia to Argentina. In the United States, abo...All specialized insect predators not suitable for biological control
...e meal moth population. The virus infects the moth larvae either when they eat infected food or the carcasse...ce to disease increases with age so that the older larvae are immune to the virus. Also, viral infection while sometimes fatal can be sublethal allowing ...