New thread in fabric of insect silks

(PhysOrg.com) -- The aptly named silk worms long appeared to have the monopoly on insect silk production, but now scientists are revealing that the world of insect silks is highly complex.

Scientists rely on high-tech eyes to spy on microscopic world

It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and at the Agricultural Research Service's Electron and Confocal Microscopy Unit (ECMU) in Beltsville, Maryland, this adage couldn't be more true. Led by unit director ...

Scientists grow plants with friendly fungi

Dr. Chris Thornton and colleagues at the University of Exeter are examining whether adding a safe and harmless fungus to compost boosts the growth and proliferation of crops' roots, helping them grow with less water. Not ...

Chinese wasps are taking on the emerald ash borer

The emerald ash borer (EAB), a relatively new invasive insect pest, has killed tens of millions of ash trees throughout the eastern United States since it was first detected in 2002 in Michigan and Canada. This insect has ...

New fungi could curb grasshopper populations

(PhysOrg.com) -- Beneficial fungi that could help manage grasshopper populations are being tested by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and university colleagues.

Wasps wage war on behalf of wiliwili trees

A black, two-millimeter-long wasp from East Africa is helping wage war on one of its own kind—the Erythrina gall wasp, an invasive species that's decimated Hawaii's endemic wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) and introduced ...

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