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Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: The Forest’s Silent Killer
The hemlock woolly adelgid has a particular palate, feeding exclusively on hemlock trees. First discovered in Virginia, this invasive species has spread throughout the forests of the Appalachian Mountains, where it poses a serious threat to forest ecosystems. Invasive species experts have attempted to prevent the spread of these aphid-like insects, but management tactics, including…
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How the Asian Citrus Psyllid Brought the Citrus Industry to Its Knees
Florida is synonymous with oranges. It’s the proud home of Orange County, boasts 569,000 acres of orange groves and offers tourists a special treat with its Florida Citrus Center gas stations filled to the brim with mounds of oranges beckoning you to take a five-pound bag home. Floridians have every reason to be proud of…
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Deadly Diseases Mosquitoes Carry — and How to Stay Safe
There’s nothing more annoying than the moment you wake up in bed and hear the unmistakable buzz of a mosquito near your ear — except maybe when you’re in the middle of a titillating conversation and notice a mosquito that has oh-so-stealthily landed on your leg. And no matter how many times you slap at…
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How Invasive Insects Travel by Hitchhiking
Whether you’re on embarking on a cross-country road trip or crossing state lines for a professional development workshop, you probably haven’t considered checking your vehicle for unwanted guests of the pint-sized, winged variety before crossing state borders. Invasive insects are nothing if not persistent — and sometimes they take creative liberties to get from one…
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From Here to There: Different Forms of Spider Travel
With eight legs at their disposal, it may come as no surprise that spiders can easily move from place to place. Some species can even travel up to 70 times their body length in a single second. While they can effortlessly glide from here to there by alternating the gait of all eight legs as…
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Insects, Climate Change and the Future of Pest Management
When you sit at the dinner table enjoying a colorful salad full of fresh produce, are you considering the impact that insects play in the loss of global crop production? If you’re not in pest management, probably not. But if you are, the numbers are staggering. Approximately 20% to 40% of crops produced around the…
