Length of sex act in flies dictated by genetics
...switch off" the biological clock in the male gypsy moth and cause them to become sterile. However, when it comes to mating behavior in fruit flies, light was not an issue. There was no change in the response in flies exposed to constant light. This demonstrates that "period" and "timeless" regulate mating...Increasing international insect threat to stored food
...s. "A box of chocolates containing a single moth larva is worse than worthless," Mr Rees says. "It may result in a fine from the environmental health department, negative publicity and lost consumer trust in a brand, and legal action." Mr Rees says that the introduction of an insect to poor ...New model explains why costly insect 'outbreaks' hard to predict
...at reproduces the unpredictable outbreaks of gypsy moth populations more accurately than any model yet. "We used gypsy moths as our example, but this theory should apply to any forest insect that has outbreaks," said Greg Dwyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of ecology and evolution at the University of...Study reveals evolution on the (butterfly) wing
...d eyespot patterns among a number of butterfly and moth species -- including species that have such patter...utterfly, Gulf fritillary, cabbage white, hornworm moth and pink bollworm. The biologists concentrated on following the activity of two genes, called Notch ...Altered expression of key developmental genes underlies evolution of butterfly wing patterns
...Researchers studying gene expression in a range of moth and butterfly species report this week that a certain class of wing patterns has likely evolved through seemingly simple alterations in the timing of various types of gene expression. The class of wing patterns in question, so-called "intervein" patt...New study in moths shows insects not entirely ruled by instinct
... the activity of the proboscis a long tube that a moth uses for feeding when the insects were exposed to... an odor that was associated with food and how the moth responded behaviorally to that odor. The moths were restrained in plastic tubes, leaving the antenna...Global warming may cause songbirds to avoid certain foods
... "Those secondary compounds are absorbed by gypsy moth caterpillars that feed on the plant's leaves, whic...tion, he said that if birds avoid feeding on gypsy moth caterpillars, for instance, an uncontrolled population of the caterpillars could result in more seve...UCR's Thomas Miller awarded prestigious medal from Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
... line of economically important cotton bollworm, a moth called Pectinophora gossypiella (pink bollworm). Among his many discoveries are: the development of plasmids suitable for the transformation of butterflies and moths; the clarification of the resistance mechanisms on the level of genetic expression o...Sometimes no result is good result for science
...hedrosis virus of Autographa californica, a common moth species whose caterpillar feeds on alfalfa, sugar beets, tobacco and tomato crops. The insect has played an important role in research on viruses and their use as an environmentally friendly means of pest control, since the polyhedrosis virus was ori...Insect antibiotics Resistance is futile!
...moth, also known as the silkworm moth, the largest moth in North America. Since insects do not have an immune system as humans do, they rely on polypeptide antibiotics like Cecropin A to fight off infections. These proteins are highly selective they readily kill bacteria, but are harmless to human and ot...Expert talks on invasive species Wednesday in D.C.
...national program toreduce entry of the Asian gypsy moth and its relatives intoNorth America. Phyllis Windle, senior scientist for the Global EnvironmentProgram at the Union of Concerned Scientists, on theinvasive-species policy landscape and high-priority NGOactions....Scientists find new way to assess where cotton-killing pests develop
...ology, like corn. Thus, looking at these ratios in moth wing tissue can provide clues to where the moths grew up, the researchers assert. And knowing where the moths develop gives researchers clues to how refuges - plants that are not treated with insecticides - are working to put the brakes on the evolut......hinned stands contributed to a greater richness of moth populations. "Taken together, these studies suggest that thinning may have positive results for plants and animals if the methods used protect shrubs, hardwoods, large trees, and old trees," Tappeiner said. Pat Muir, a professor of botany at OSU, s...Insect infestation models may shed light on insect and disease outbreaks
...oth larvae. When the larva pupates, rather than a moth appearing, the adult form of the wasp emerges. Eventually, as resources improve, the budmoth population increases to reach pest levels and, because the larvae totally defoliate an area, the outbreak moves on and travels in waves through the Alps mov...Sex-pheromone link to insect evolution
...species," says Roelofs, whose paper, "Evolution of moth sex pheromones via ancestral genes," will be published on the web site of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (Sept. 9-15, 2002.) The Cornell co-authors on the paper are: Weitian Liu, research associate in entomology; Guixia Hao, pos...Study offers a rare view of how species interactions evolve
...ship between a common wildflower and a little gray moth is yielding new insights into how species coevolve... history is entwined with that of an inconspicuous moth called Greya politella. The moth is both a pollinator of L. parviflorum flowers and a consumer of it...Predators drive evolution of virtual prey appearance
...ings had relatively similar cryptic markings. The moth images were overlaid on a complex, granular backgr...sed on the way wing patterns are coded for in real moth genetics. "The behavior of predators, in this case blue jays preying on computer- generated images o...Lobster sniffing: how lobsters' hairy noses capture smells from the sea
... of Kansas in Lawrence, described how the silkworm moth uses its wings to fan odors efficiently through its feathery antennae. Koehl and her UC Berkeley colleagues also study the hairy noses of crabs and mantis shrimp. These feathery or hairy structures are used for more than smelling. Many animals have f...Flower chemicals attract some insects but deter others with toxic warning
... They offered to larvae of the Utheisa ornatrix moth (also called the rattlebox moth) filter-paper discs soaked with chemicals from plants the insects normally relish. Then the caterpillars were offered paper disks also soaked with DIP chemicals. The ultraviolet-absorbing chemicals deterred most of th......nsects such as the mountain pine beetle or tussock moth were native to Pacific Northwest forests and served an essential role in keeping them healthy. When trees became too crowded the insects would eliminate weaker trees and reduce competition. But since the beetles' reproductive pheromones only carried ...