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Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-19T04:00:00.0000000Z
   0
How a Common Beetle May Offer Deep Insights Into Evolution

New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/science/beetle-evolution-parasite.html

By James Gorman When Joseph Parker was growing up in Swansea, in South Wales, he had an obsession with insects. His room was filled with tropical insects, but … Read more...
Ants
Symbiosis
Evolution
Wales
Social_parasitism
Rove_beetle
0
4865
Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-19T04:00:00.0000000Z
   4
Honeybees hog the limelight, yet wild insects are the most important and vulnerable pollinators
Butterfly pollinating during monsoon season. Hitesh Chhetri / www.shutterstock.com Terms (Updated) Privacy (Updated) Guidelines Feedback Help Blog A Forum For Plant Protection Worldwide is a Restricted Group with 1600 members. A Forum For Plant Protection Worldwide Restricted Group, 1600 members Primary Navigation Conversations Photos Files About More Secondary Navigation Help Back Next Previous 13891Wild insect pollinators important Expand Messages grahame jackson Apr 19 The Conversation https://theconversation.com/honeybees-hog-the-limelight-yet-wild-insects-are-the-most-important-and-vulnerable-pollinators-93247 Honeybees hog the limelight, yet wild insects are the most important and vulnerable pollinators April 11, 2018 10.49pm AEST Pollinating insects like bees, butterflies and flies have had a rough time of late. A broad library of evidence suggests there has been a widespread decline in their abundance and diversity since the 1950s. This matters because such insects are critical both for the reproduction of wild plants and for agricultural food production. The decline of these pollinators is linked with destruction of natural habitats like forests and meadows, the spread of pests such as Varroa mite and diseases like foulbrood, and the increasing use of agrochemicals by farmers. Although there have been well documented declines in managed honeybees, non-Apis (non-honeybee) pollinators such as bumblebees and solitary bees have also become endangered. There are more than 800 wild (non-honey) bee species in Europe alone. Seven are classified by the IUCN Redlist as critically endangered, 46 are endangered, 24 are vulnerable and 101 are near threatened. Collectively, losing such species would have a significant impact on global pollination. Though much of the media focus is on honeybees, they are responsible for only a third of the crop pollination in Britain and a very small proportion of wild plant pollination. A range of other insects including butterflies, bumblebees and small flies make up for this pollination deficit. Butterfly pollinating during monsoon season. Hitesh Chhetri / www.shutterstock.com Not all pollinators are created equal Pollinators also vary in their effectiveness due to their behaviour around flowers and their capacity to hold pollen. Bigger and hairier insects can carry more pollen, while those that groom themselves less tend to be able to transfer pollen more effectively. Bumblebees, for example, make excellent pollinators (far superior to honeybees) as they are big, hairy and do not groom themselves as often. Where they are in decline, honeybees suffer primarily from pests and diseases, a consequence of poor nutrition and artificially high population density. This differs from other pollinators, where the decline is mainly down to habitat destruction. It seems pesticides affect all pollinators. An ashy mining-bee (Andrena cineraria) settles in for a snack. Philip Donkersley, Author provided The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common species of honey bee. Philip Donkersley, Author provided A mosaic of different flowers: these sorts of landscapes are paradise for bees. Philip Donkersley, Author provided

The Conversation https://theconversation.com/honeybees-hog-the-limelight-yet-wild-insects-are-the-most-important-and-vulnerable-pollinators-93247

Pollinating insects like bees, butterflies and flies have had a rough time of late. A broad library …

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Honey_bees
Wild_pollinators_impprtance
Bumblebees
Varroa_mite
Habitat_destruction
0
3520
Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-19T04:00:00.0000000Z
   0
Ambrosia beetles nurture their gardens of fungus with alcohol

Science https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/ambrosia-beetles-nurture-their-gardens-fungus-alcohol?utm_campaign=news_daily_2018-04-09&et_rid=389253831&et_cid=1962722 By Katie Langin

No one likes a moldy peach, so some farmers stop …

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USA
Alcohol
Ambrosia_beetle
Ambrosiella_grosmanniae
Black_stem_borers
0
3656
Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-18T18:00:00.0000000Z
   2
Beyond the Honey Bee: How Pesticides Affect Solitary, Cavity-Nesting Bees
Solitary cavity nesting bees like Osmia or Megachile have a very different lifestyle than the social honey bee. Solitary bees such as alfalfa leafcutting bee (Megachile rotundata) face different—and less well-understood—challenges from pesticide exposure than their colony-dwelling honey bee cousins. Here, an alfalfa leafcutting bee visits an alfalfa flower. Pollen grains are visible behind the bee, as the bee has “tripped” the flower, causing pollen to be released outward. This facilitates pollination for alfalfa.. (Photo credit: Theresa Pitts-Singer, Ph.D.)

Entomology today https://entomologytoday.org/2018/04/12/beyond-honey-bee-pesticides-solitary-bees/ By Meredith Swett Walker

Humans and honey bees go way back. We’ve been raiding their hives for honey for at least 10,000 years, and we domesticated …

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USA
Pesticides
Affects_on_solitary_bees
0
4868
Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-17T22:00:00.0000000Z
   0
A vaccine for edible plants? A new plant protection method on the horizon

ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180405100141.htm

Source:
University of Helsinki
Summary:
Novel technologies are being sought to replace the traditional pesticides used to protect plants, particularly edible plants such as …
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RNA_based_vaccines
Cereals
Double_stranded_RNA
rNA_interference
Finland
0
3732
Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-17T18:00:00.0000000Z
   3
New 'exploding ant' species also blocks invaders with its massive head
This little ant's body is chock full of goo-filled glands, just ready to burst open if it's threatened. (Supplied: Alexey Kopchinskiy) Three members of the exploding ant species attacking an enemy ant. On the right, you can see the sticky goo they've exuded. (Supplied: Alexey Kopchinskiy) This giant head is the right size and shape to block a nest entrance. (Supplied: Heinz Wiesbauer)

ABC http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-04-20/colobopsis-explodens-explodinplug head-ant-borneo-entomology/9675306

By Belinder Smith Science Reporter Anyone who's accidentally stood on an ant nest will know just how good they are at defending …

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Ants
Exploding
Massive_head
Block_invaders
Camponotus_anderseni
Plug_head_ants
Colobopsis_explodens
0
4399
Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-17T12:00:00.0000000Z
   0
Researchers Prove Royalty Among Termites

PCT Magazine http://www.pctonline.com/article/researchers-identify-chemicals-termite-communicate/ N.C. State researchers have identified the termite royal recognition pheromone emitted by queens.

Edited by Brad HarbisonResearchers at North …

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Pheromone
Termites
Heneicosane
Chemical_communication_queen_and_king_termites
Royal_recognition
0
5285
Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-16T04:00:00.0000000Z
   1
Hybrid Swarm: A Threat to Food Security in South America
Helicoverpa zea larvae in corn (© Whitney Cranshaw, Bugwood.org).

CABI Invasive Blog https://blog.invasive-species.org/2018/04/17/hybrid-swarm-a-threat-to-food-security-in-south-america/

By  Will Holland 

Australian scientists have published findings confirming the hybridisation of two of the world’s …

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CABI
Hybridisation
Helicoverpa_zea
Helicoverpa_armigera
South_America
0
4315
Grahame Jackson
Réduit, Moka, Mauritius
For your information
2018-04-15T12:00:00.0000000Z
   0
ORANGE RUST, SUGAR CANE - MAURITIUS

A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
Source: Mauritius Sugarcane Industry Research Institute [edited]
<http://www.msiri.mu/ UserFiles/File/Info%20Sheets/ Orange_Rust_Info_sheet.pdf>

Orange rust, caused by the fungus _Puccinia …

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orange_rust
sugarcane
Puccinia_kuehnii
ProMED
0
63747
Grahame Jackson
Sydney NSW, Australia
For your information
2018-04-08T04:00:00.0000000Z
   0
Expansion of Tropical Race 4 Into the Greater Mekong Subregion

Bad news: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00457/full
-- Luigi Guarino My Klout profile: https://klout.com/#/AgroBioDiverse My blog: http://agro.biodiver.se/ Posted on user's behalf

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banana
Fusarium_TR4
Greater_Mekong
Panama_disease
0
4005