More Bugs N’ Drugs

As a follow-up on the Bees on Cocaine post, I give you: Hoppers on Prozac.

Serotonin Mediates Behavioral Gregarization Underlying Swarm Formation in Desert Locusts. Michael L. Anstey, Stephen M. Rogers, Swidbert R. Ott, Malcolm Burrows, and Stephen J. Simpson (30 January 2009) Science 323 (5914), 627. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1165939]

The desert locust is a mid-mannered grasshopper that will suddenly undergo a Jeckyl and Hyde transformation into a (literally) biblical plague of locusts.  This new paper has teased out just how that happens!

I was going to write an explanation of the scientific version, but the WhyFiles has already done an excellent job of breaking it down (with photos.)  Why not go visit the WhyFiles?

Insect Genitalia: an Entomological Obsession

I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy some of the randomness that shows up in my Inbox because I’m an entomologist. Today’s example:

“Subject: Genetalia vials
I have been using small genitalia vials (10mm x 4mm) that I purchased from BioQuip. They say they are no longer made and they only have them in 15mm x 5mm …Can anyone steer me toward a good supplier for glass vials?”

If you aren’t an entomologist, or living with one, you may not understand the entomological obsession with genitalia.*  There are lots of very similar looking insects. (There’s whole groups of moths commonly known as “LBJs”.  They aren’t named after the president–LBJ stands for “little brown jobs.”)

Sometimes the only way to tell similar looking insects apart is to look at the naughty bits.  Because species are defined by reproductive isolation, similar looking outsides may hide radically different-looking innards.

So, for about the last 100 years, entomologists have been hunched over insect nether parts, trying to figure out what species they were looking at.  Since there is …..shrinkage….after death, the squidgy bits are commonly removed from specimens and stored in in tiny vials full of preservative.  Hence: the email.

The study of insect genitalia is so important, all sorts of devices have been invented and devised for just that purpose.  I could swear that I had covered the phalloblaster at the Bug Blog before, but apparently not. Because of the…shrinkage…it can be difficult to get the male genitalia to expand enough to see important details. Some clever Aussies invented a device to…err. Apply pressure in the proper spot?

“The Phalloblaster inflates the genitalia with a stream of pressurised alcohol to create the same shape as when the insect was alive.”

The alcohol dehydrates and hardens the structure, so that once the process is over the genetalia remain inflated rather like miniature balloons. It makes them easier to study.”

Of course, this device is properly called the vesica everter.  But who the hell would call it that when you can say PHALLOBLASTER?  (You can visit this page and see a post-mortem insect “erection” in action.)

If you would like to look at more photos of bug dongs studied using the Phalloblaster, you can check out this article on bumpy beetle penises.  BTW, the proper name for an insect intromittent organ is an aedeagus.  I thought you would want to know.

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*I keep telling you, it’s perfectly normal that I’m obsessed with sex. It’s all part of science!

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Time to buy seeds!

Yep, time to indulge a little and make my seed orders for spring. Since there’s about a foot and a half of snow on the ground right now, it’s kinda hard to imagine when I’ll actually even see the ground again, much less dig a hole in it.

But hope springs eternal, and since it looks like the house is not going to be sold for a while, I’m going to barge ahead and plant my garden as if I’ll be here to eat it all. *  I do have a tendency to dream big and overplant, but hey, it’s all good.

I am totally in love with Big Mama tomatoes, but I just don’t have a long enough summer for them. I get a huge crop right at the beginning of September, when I’m gnawing my fingernails about a early frost.  I’m still dithering about what tomatoes to grow this year–most of my past experiments with heirlooms have been…odd.  I’ll definitely grow Fresh Salsa variety tomatoes, but what else I’m just not sure.  Probably good old Roma.

I’m very frustrated at the number of pollen-free sunflower varieties offered this year.  Will no one think of the insects?! Seriously. Pollenless flowers??  That’s like the crust-less bread you can buy for picky kids.
Sheesh.

Here’s what’s being planted this year–some old, and some new:

Snap Pea: Cascadia
Pumpkin:  Spirit Hybrid
Spinach: Correnta
Winter Squash: Cornell’s Bush Delicata
Pole Bean: Blue Lake FM1 Organic
Corn: Early Sunglow
Hot pepper: Ancho
Green/sweet Pepper: Red Delicious

What are you going to plant this year?

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*Because, you know, I will be here. Forever, apparently.

Bee Course!

The Bee Course is a workshop offered for conservation biologists,
pollination ecologists and other biologists who want to gain greater
knowledge of the systematics and biology of bees. From the course description:

“The field of pollination ecology explores the reproductive biology of plants in general, including the biotic and abiotic agents associated with pollination and seed-set. …the 20,000 species of bees worldwide play a dominant role in the sexual reproduction of most plant communities.
This course will empower students with 1) the confident use of The Bee Genera of North and Central America, 2) an appreciation for the biological diversity of bees, and 3) sufficient background to learn more about bees and investigate pollination and conservation problems with greater insight.”

The 2009 course will be held at the Southwestern Research Station, Portal, Arizona, from August 31 to September 9, 2009.

Man, I wanna go!!

[thanks to da100foto for the lovely photo]

Armyworms attack Liberia

That isn’t a joke–The Liberian president has declared a state of emergency:

“MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Liberia’s president declared a state of emergency over an invasion of crop-eating caterpillars that has affected 350,000 people in the West African country.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told lawmakers Monday night that the pests “have invaded our country with the potential to set back our progress in the production of food and export crops.”

“This is indeed a crisis and I hereby declare a state of national emergency with particular emphasis on the existing and potentially affected counties,” she said.

The inch-long (2-3 centimeter) pests, which have been identified as army worms — the caterpillar stage of a moth — are clogging wells and waterways with excrement and devouring vital crops including banana, plantain, coffee and cocoa.”

News reports identify the invaders as Spodoptera exempta, the African Armyworm.  The caterpillar of this moth can suddenly become very abundant when conditions are right, and devastate all the crops in an area.

Additionally, because of the high numbers of caterpillars, they often have to move to find new food–and they and they all go together. Hence the name ‘armyworm’.

This photo from the Armyworm Biological Control Consortium gives you a sense of the kinds of damage these ‘pillars can do. They are eating and pooping as they go, which is why wells and waterways are being clogged.

The ABCC has a nice overview of the devastating nature of armyworms, and also the attempts to control it biologically. Sadly, the only way that this outbreak can be controlled is probably insecticides.  Biological control won’t act fast enough to save Liberians’ food and water.

I have no information on how anyone can help; Liberia has asked for help from FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organisation).

EDITED 2/6/09 TO ADD: The Liberian Journal is now reporting that the species is Achaeae catacaloides, also a noctuid moth but in a different subfamily from Spodoptera. Thanks for the tip, Ted!

The Small Science Collective

I am always amazed at how the internets make it easy to find clever people all over the world doing things I really should have thought of myself. Today’s Example: The Small Science Collective.

“The intention of Small Science Collective is to …get everyone thinking about & communicating science through cheap and handy one page zines. Contributions come from researchers, students, the science-curious, and hopefully you as well! These zines and pamphlets are distributed in subways, benches, coffee shops, and any place someone might least expect them.”

Each of the zines is available as a PDF download.  The amusing one shown here  was Insect Sex Ed: It’s all perfectly normal.  I was also very taken with “Those Odd Dermapterans”, which is very beautifully drawn, and the Locusts/Wrath of God zine made me LOL.

And–Ha! One of the zines points out that carmine and cochineal, commonly used in lipstick, is made from scale insects.  Although, alas, I think it could have been a bit more informative.

Many insect pamphlets, as well as molecular biology and more!  They invite submissions–perhaps some talented readers want to offer some science propaganda?

Cheese, Maggots, and Misinformation

Sigh. Why is it that whenever insects and food go together, people immediately go for the shock value?

Boing Boing recently ran a post titled “Maggot Cheese that tries to Eat Your Eyes.”

“Casu marzu is an illegal Sardinian cheese that is served riddled with writhing maggots that try to jump into your eyeballs as you eat it.”

That is, of course, not the case at all.  It is cheese, and it is riddled with maggots (which is why it is also illegal). But the maggots are not crazed eye-seeking missiles; they are insects known as cheese skippers.  They get the name “skipper” because the larvae can jump up to 15 cm.

So, they could, potentially, jump into your eyes. But that isn’t where they are aiming–in fact, they don’t aim much at all. The larvae “flip” to escape from a predator or parasite that disturbs them.  You can see a lovely video on how the cheese is made here. The actions of the maggots make the cheese nice and runny.

Interestingly, like the Scientific American Fiasco, you can trace coverage of this very maggoty cheese (even I might not eat it, which should tell you something) through the filter of the internet:

• Nov. 27, Neatorama:  factually correct about jumping (although it does add “flies are filthy”, which isn’t the case.)
• Jan 9th, Mental Floss: mostly factual, but tending toward sensationalism; They describe the maggots as leaping with “malevolent precision”
• Jan 15th: William Gibson picks it up from Wikipedia
• Jan 16th: Boing Boing makes it viral and sensationalist  (“OMG My eyes! My eyes!”)

Sigh.

So, what are these cheese skippers, anyway?

There is a very entertaining profile of the fly and its relatives here, from a professor that studies them. (He is the author of this paper, BTW.)

These flies are attracted to decomposing protein, and away from humans, they are important in the decomposition of dead animals.  These flies are also used in forensic entomology to date corpses and determine what habitat they may have been left in. (You’ll find them mentioned in Lee Goff’s book A Fly for the Prosecution.)

When humans conveniently supply protein-rich food products (another name for cheese skippers is “bacon fly”),  flies will move in and happily lay eggs.

There is not a lot of current, non-technical information about the cheese skipper online, although there are lots of charming publications from the 1900′s available.  This is probably why the Wikipedia article was relied on so heavily as a source in the posts I linked to above.  The best recent coverage of the cheese skipper for a general audience is in May Berenbaum’s book “99 More Maggots, Mites, and Munchers.“

Could they hurt you?

It’s a probability thing. As I stated above, the maggots could hit your eyes, but that’s incredibly unlikely. And they certainly aren’t aiming for them, nor would they burrow into your eyes if they hit them.  There also is a potential for the maggots to survive the trip through your stomach, and then pierce your intestines with their mouth hooks, although most of the reports of that happening seem to stem from 1912 or  1922.

Random and Intriguing side tidbit: apparently cheese skippers were an important part of a 16th century heretic’s view of creation:

“Menocchio said: “I have said that, in my opinion, all was chaos, that is, earth, air, water, and fire were mixed together; and out of that bulk a mass formed- just as cheese is made out of milk- and worms appeared in it, and these were the angels. The most holy majesty decreed that these should be God and the angels, and among that number of angels there was also God, he too having been created out of that mass at the same time, and he was named lord with four captains….”

The book covering this hallucinating miller is interesting enough, it needs its own post!

More amazing Insecta-craft

Every now and then I find something amazing in the little Flickr bar on the side of the blog.

Here’s the latest–a longhorn beetle that someone has crocheted!!

It’s even labeled with a name that indicates what beetle it is: Anoplophora malasiaca.

As I’ve said before when I’ve found knitted insects, I am in awe of this talent.

Thanks, 203gow! Check out her photostream for many more knitted invertebrate treasures.

Ant Protesters!

I spent yesterday afternoon chasing mute swans around in 2 foot deep snow, on a frozen pond, in waders, with a giant net on a pole.

It was not an easy task.
Big props to our intern, who made some amazing diving catches that were better than anything you’ll see at the Super Bowl.

Now, I’m exhausted.

So, how about an amusing photo, instead of a thoughtful post?

This photo was apparently  a sticker on the floor in front of a display for insecticides.

Very clever!

[thanks to Hil for the photo.]

Dear Coffee Barista

Dear Ms. Barista, 

I must compliment you on your very lovely ass. The pants you were wearing today showed me most of it.

However, as nice as that was, I do not want to see your crack when you are preparing my food.

Thanks.

Sincerely,

Bug Girl

PS. Thanks also to greencolander for this photo. I had no idea so much…interestingness could be found on Flickr.

PPS. You damn kids get off my lawn!