Every entomologist since the beginning of time has had someone come running up to her and yell “I saw an albino cockroach! It was amazing! Are they rare? Are they different? Is it a new species?!? I wish I had a camera! You would have loved it!”
Oh, to be young and naive again. You hear this exclamation, chuckle to yourself and move on. You see, this isn’t an unusual occurrence in the least–in fact, every single cockroach goes through this “albino” stage several times throughout its adult stage.
Insects have their skeletons on the outside, so in order to get any bigger, they have to shed their exoskeletons and go through a vulnerable stage while they get bigger.
The exoskeleton is what gives most of these insects their coloring, as well. So when the exoskeleton is shed, the pigment is shed with it. As the new, bigger skeleton hardens, it darkens from white to brown or black, and the bigger, badder, no-longer-albino cockroach can go back to its insect-like ways.
These photos of a newly molted cockroach were taken by Ester Beatriz. Nice job, Ester!
Scientists are mining a previously untapped resource for fuel: termite guts. Termites, those annoying buggers that eat us out of house and home, have the ability to break down cellulose–the substance that makes up the cell wall in woody plants. Many animals are unable to digest cellulose (mmm…fiber!) so it is a great biological feat to digest this substance and extract the nutrients.
Termites don’t do this on their own, however. They have a symbiotic relationships with bacteria that live in their digestive tracts. Its these bacteria that produce the enzymes to breakdown cellulose. Termites give the bacteria ready access to wood, and absorb the nutrients.
Entomologists are now tapping this resources to try and create biofuels. What a brilliant idea! I am of the personal opinion that insects can cure all human problems–but then I’m biased.
Here’s an interesting little tidbit: mosquito saliva is bad for you. It has long been known that various viruses, including malaria and west nile virus, are spread by mosquitos; the virus resides in the mosquito’s mouth parts and is injected into the host during a bite. But scientists have recently discovered that exposure to uninfected mosquito saliva can alter the course of subsequent infection. A case of west nile virus is much worse in animals that have been bitten by “clean” mosquitos (those not carrying the virus) in the recent past. Here’s a great reason to wear your bug repellent all the time!
Would you look at these beautiful pictures!I just love this site–and they help you figure out how to take pictures of this caliber on your own.
So I’m lying in bed, recouperating from my surgery, and I turn on Discovery, right into Dirty Jobs, season two, when he is in Cupertino, CA (near my house! Woo!) with The Bee Man. They remove a huge (and I mean ginormous!) bee hive from a wall of a parsonage. Check it out!
The Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens, is a serious pest of crops in California. So much so, that the California Department of Food and Agriculture routienly monitors for the pest. Recently, several flies were found in traps, and this prompted a swift reaction from authorities. Pesticides were applied by hand, and the state has begun its sterile fly drop. This is where things get interesting.
A. ludens only mates once. If a fertile male mates with a sterile female, the infestation can be curbed effectively. Entomologists sterilize millions of females using radiation, then dye them special colors so trappers can tell the difference between fertile and sterile flies. They then chill the ladies to knock them out, gather them into huge balls, and drop them out of planes over infested areas. The drop warms the flies, who wake up and fly away before hitting the ground. Bugs are fun, y’all!
Scientists have discovered a new way ants control their farmed food source: aphids. It has long been known that certain ant species have domesticated aphids, and use the piercing-sucking insects for their honeydew (mmmm…honeydew….).
It was once thought that aphids stayed in the protection of the ants because the ants were able to fight of natural predators, and ants routeinly gnaw off aphid wings to keep them from flying away. Scientists found recently, though, that the same chemicals in the ants’ feet that they use to mark their territory, have an affect on aphid behaviour. Aphids walking over the chemical become sluggish and don’t move as quickly as aphids not exposed to the chemical. Interesting!
Scientists are getting flies drunk again. Not for any nefarious purpose, mind you, but to discover the genetics behind ability to hold your liquor. They’ve discovered the gene that allows someone to drink their friends under the table, and they are manipulating it in fruit flies. This may lead better treatment for alcoholics (everything is going gene therapy now-a-days!)
Bt toxins kill insects by punching holes in their guts. However, many insects have become resistant to the Bt toxin, causing scientists to scramble, trying to find new pesticides to kill such pests as the bollworm (shown above).
For the first time, scientists study the mechanism of action in a pesticide and use it to design new drugs that will kill the Bt resistant pests. Go scientists!
