Scientists track wheat aphids and their natural enemies for better pest management in Pakistan

Scientists have studied the distribution and population dynamics of wheat aphids and their natural enemies in Pakistan through seasons and periods of time. This research could be useful to develop better pest management methods and safer, healthier crops in wheat production.

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Secrets to climate change adaptation uncovered in the European corn borer moth

Biologists have found two genes that may permit some insect species to survive climate change by adjusting their biological annual clocks while others succumb. The researchers looked at the European corn borer moth and pinpointed variation in two circadian clock genes — per and Pdfr — that enable different populations of the moth to adapt their transitions to longer or shorter winters.

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New large-sized insect species discovered in tropical forest

Scientists have studied the diversity of tropical parasitoid wasps for years. Parasitoid wasps are among the most species rich animal taxa on Earth, but their tropical diversity is still poorly known. Recently, the research group sampled Afrotropical rhyssine wasps, which are among the largest wasps.

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When laying their eggs, tobacco hawkmoths avoid plants that smell of caterpillar feces

Scientists have demonstrated that not only plant odors determine the best oviposition site for egglaying hawkmoths, but also the frass of other larvae. They specified the repelling substance in the feces which signals the presence of competing conspecifics. Moreover, the researchers identified an odorant receptor which is involved in the detection of the typical smell of larval frass and thereby governs competition avoidance during oviposition.

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Was early stick insect evolution triggered by birds and mammals?

Stick and leaf insects are a strikingly bizarre group of insects with a worldwide distribution. They are famous for their impressively large body size and their remarkable ability to camouflage themselves as twigs, leaves or bark in order to hide from potential predators. A team of international researchers has now generated the first phylogenomic tree of these insects.

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