One of the founding principles of Darwin's theory is that biological evolution has been shaped by the survival of the fittest. Things, however, are not always that simple as researchers from Royal Holloway, University of ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 3, 2010
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(Phys.org) -- In plants, algae and some types of bacteria and fungi, sunlight is converted to chemical energy in a process we all know as photosynthesis; in that process water and carbon dioxide are also converted to oxygen. ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sugar may be a treat for humans, but for aphids it can be life threatening. A $452,000 grant to Cornell and Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI) will fund research exploiting this vulnerability ...
Ecology
Apr 3, 2012
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Artificial night time light from sources such as street lamps affects the growth and flowering of plants and even the number of insects that depend on those plants for food, a study published today confirms.
Ecology
Mar 16, 2015
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Swiss researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have discovered that a single gene in a particular aphid wasp decides whether the insects reproduce sexually or asexually. This is not only of interest for pest ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 1, 2011
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Pea aphids—a serious agricultural pest—have the ability to see and avoid a common, aphid-killing bacteria on plant leaves, according to a new Cornell University study published in Current Biology.
Biotechnology
Sep 27, 2018
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131
An invasion of soybean aphids poses a problem for soybean farmers requiring application of pesticides, but a team of Penn State entomologists thinks a careful choice of nitrogen-fixing bacteria may provide protection against ...
Ecology
Apr 14, 2009
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A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Japan has found that soldier aphids willingly sacrifice their own lives when they attempt to protect their colony from predators. In their paper published in Proceedings ...
Once introduced for biological pest control, Asian lady beetle Harmonia axyridis populations have been increasing uncontrollably in the US and Europe since the turn of the millennium. The species has been proliferating rapidly ...
Ecology
May 16, 2013
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When a carnivore becomes extinct, other predatory species could soon follow, according to new research. Scientists have previously put forward this theory, but a University of Exeter team has now carried out the first experiment ...
Ecology
Aug 15, 2012
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Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, (not to be confused with "jumping plant lice" or true whiteflies) are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions. The damage they do to plants has made them enemies of farmers and gardeners the world over, but from a zoological standpoint they are a very successful group of organisms. Their success is in part due to the asexual reproduction capability of some species.
About 4,400 species of 10 families are known. Historically, many fewer families were recognised, as most species were included in the family Aphididae. Around 250 species are serious pests for agriculture and forestry as well as an annoyance for gardeners. They vary in length from 1 to 10 millimetres (0.04 to 0.39 in).
Natural enemies include predatory ladybirds, hoverfly larvae, parasitic wasps, aphid midge larvae, crab spiders, lacewings and entomopathogenic fungi like Lecanicillium lecanii and the Entomophthorales.
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