The yellow meadow ant, Lasius flavus, farms root aphids for sugar (honeydew) and nitrogen (protein). In turn these species of aphids have developed distinctive traits never found in free living species such as the 'trophobiotic ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 2, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- To humans they might be pretty and small, the inspiration for nursery rhymes and children's clothing, but the redder the lady bird, the worse it tastes to the bird which tries to eat it, an international research ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 6, 2012
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(Phys.org) -- Silk is a fascinating material, not just in fashion, but also in science and engineering, because the outstanding mechanical properties of these whisper-thin threads made by insects easily overshadow most man-made ...
Materials Science
Jun 5, 2012
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Having natural habitat in farming areas that supports ladybugs could help increase their abundance in crops where they control pests and help farmers reduce their costs, says a Michigan State University study.
Ecology
May 11, 2012
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Since it first appeared in Texas in 1986, the Russian wheat aphid has cost U.S. wheat growers an estimated $200 million each year. But U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have developed a new tool to keep track ...
Other
May 9, 2012
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In work that could cut back on insecticide use, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have found a way to distinguish aphids that spread plant viruses from those that do not.
Ecology
Apr 3, 2012
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(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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In the war between parasite and host, the parasitic wasp, Aphidius ervi, and the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, are locked in a battle for survival. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Biology ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 23, 2012
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New research by scientists at the University of California, Riverside shows that evolution – genetic changes in populations over time – can occur so rapidly in organisms that its impact on population numbers and ...
Ecology
Aug 15, 2011
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The increase in soybean aphid numbers means producers should step up scouting efforts, but they also should take caution to avoid unnecessary spraying.
Ecology
Aug 4, 2011
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