Insect-deterring sorghum compounds may be eco-friendly pesticide

Compounds produced by sorghum plants to defend against insect feeding could be isolated, synthesized and used as a targeted, nontoxic insect deterrent, according to researchers who studied plant-insect interactions that included ...

The betrayal of the aphids

Aphids are devastating insect pests and cause great losses to agriculture worldwide. These sap-feeding plant pests harbor in their body cavity bacteria, which are essential for the aphids' fecundity and survival. Buchnera, ...

Researchers find that rare lady beetles prefer traditional diet

(PhysOrg.com) -- Experts from South Dakota State University and the nearby North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory watched helplessly as a colony of rare, captive lady beetles was lost in 2008, then teetered on the ...

Ladybirds thrive on organic aphids

Ladybird larvae that eat prey raised on organically-grown crops are more likely to survive than those eating aphids raised on crops grown with conventional fertiliser, a new experiment shows.

Dwindling wind may tip predator-prey balance

Bent and tossed by the wind, a field of soybean plants presents a challenge for an Asian lady beetle on the hunt for aphids. But what if the air—and the soybeans—were still?

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