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Category Archives: Culture
Deathwatch Beetles – Spooky Sounds
Tick, tick. Tap, tap, tap. These sounds are produced by a deathwatch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum). Old buildings can sometimes give us spooky vibes. However, for the deathwatch beetle, they are quite welcoming. This is because these beetles are woodboring and … Continue reading
Posted in Behavior, Culture
Tagged Deathwatch beetle, Grim Reaper, Xestobium rufovillosum
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Coming Out of the Woodwork: Worm Shoes, Mayflower II Restoration, and Maintaining Wood for the Long Term
Written by Nancy Miorelli Edited by Dylan Perry My Dad has interesting hobbies and interests. One such interest is history – specifically during the age of tall ships. Tall ships are those ships that are cruising around in Pirates of … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Pest Management
Tagged damaged wood, mayflower, mayflower II, ship building, tall ship, wood, wood boring beetles, wood maintenance, wood protection, worm shoe
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Why Do Bugs Circle Lights and Fibonacci, and Other Mathematical Patterns Found in Insects
Written by Nancy Miorelli I recently received this question when talking to one of the tourists at the Maquipucuna Ecolodge, where I work. I thought it was so interesting because we always hear about mathematical patterns – especially Fibonacci sequences … Continue reading
Posted in Culture
Tagged Bug, Compound Eye, eye, fibonacci, hexagon, honey bee, Insect, Math, mathematical patterns, moth lamp meme, why are bugs attracted to lights
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DDT: The Situation Today
Written by Joe Ballenger I wanted to dedicate another post to some of my other concerns about the pro-DDT movement. When I read posts which advocate DDT reintroduction in the US, a small amount of attention is paid to issues … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Economics, Evolution, History, Law, Pest Management, Physiology, Uncategorized
Tagged DDT, Evolution, History, India, Pesticide Resistance, Pesticides, Politics
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Do we need to bring back DDT?
Written by Joe Ballenger I’ve had a number of friends ask me to tackle the topic of possibly bringing back DDT. These requests go back months, and I’ve been hesitant to tackle the topic because of the politics surrounding this … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Ecology, History, Pest Management, Uncategorized
Tagged Environment, History, Malaria, Mosquito control, Science Politics
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Entolegality: Do entomologists have special bug privileges?
Written by Joe Ballenger Is it true that you can order insects when it is illegal for me to order them? Example I would wanna buy a beetle from Japan and it’s illegal for me to own one can you … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, History, Law, Pest Management, Uncategorized
Tagged Agriculture, Environment, Government, History, Invasive Species, Law, Protocol, Science
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I’m Afraid of Bed Bugs and Infestation … Help?
Written by Nancy Miorelli It’s no wonder people are afraid of bugs with how they’re portrayed in the media. It’s true that insects are our major competitors for both our food and our health and invade our homes. In my … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Pest Management
Tagged afraid, airplane, bed bugs, bedbug, help, hotel, infestation, movie theater, paranoia
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What is it like to be a scientist?
Written by Joe Ballenger Your Name: Chelsea Your Bug Question: Hi, I’m a middle school student and I was hoping you could answer a few of my questions about being an entomologist for a research paper I’m writing. Your Name: … Continue reading
Cockroach milk is not the next superfood. It could be a lot more important than that.
Written by Joe Ballenger A number of articles circulating everywhere online are claiming that a new ‘superfood’ has been found in cockroaches, and although I’m happy popular culture is focusing on the fact cockroaches are good moms…they’re missing a far … Continue reading
Posted in Chemistry, Culture, Developmental Biology, News, Physiology
Tagged Biochemistry, Cockroach, Cockroach milk, Cockroaches, X-ray crystallography
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