Category Archives: Ecology

The truth about GMO mosquitoes.

Posted on February 4, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger People have asked Nancy and me a lot of questions about the sterile GMO mosquitoes the British company Oxitec is planning to release in Florida. We get these questions on a Facebook page we administrate as … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Education, Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

What do mosquitoes (and other biting insects) add to the ecosystem?

Posted on February 2, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger @Robot_Insect@OraBx gnats. What do they actually contribute to a balanced environment? — Suzanne Geiger (@slvrfnx) December 15, 2014 One of our first submissions asked what gnats do for the ecosystem. We originally answered this question on … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Wait, Insects Breathe!? But How? Part I

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Polistes fuscatus

Post by Nancy Miorelli and Joe Ballenger One day, while puttering around on Twitter we noticed that there was a #BugQuestions already…and there are some really neat questions here. The question of how insects breathe is one which is commonly … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Physiology | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Budding Relationship of a Midge and the Chocolate Flower

Posted on January 7, 2015 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli Short answer – Yes,  but it’s impressive the system works at all. Where Does Chocolate Grow? Chocolate, or the Cacao plant (Theobroma cacao) grows all over the world but mainly in the tropical regions. Chocolate is grown … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Pollination | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Is the Smallest Multicelled Organism an Insect?

Posted on December 17, 2014 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli https://twitter.com/CharlesSimmins/status/544696298822443009 Well, in short. No. It’s actually a microscopic, parasitic zooplankton that attaches itself to the outside of other zooplankton. Meet the crustacean Stygotantulus stocki, which measures in at just under 0.1mm (94µm). What does that mean for … Continue reading →

Posted in Developmental Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Physiology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment