insects

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City-Loving Mosquitoes Invade the US

Asian invaders like metro areas and bite during the day

(Newser) - Apparently mosquitos have big-city dreams, too. American cities are under siege by so-called "urban mosquitos" that are attracted to metropolitan areas, are ferocious, and bite during daytime. One big offender is the Asian tiger mosquito, which first arrived in the US in 1985 via eggs hidden in a shipment...

Scientists Find Inflatable Shark, 300 New Species

Treasure trove of strange new creatures discovered by scientists

(Newser) - No, it's not a pool toy. Researchers have discovered a new species of inflatable shark, along with more than 300 other previously unknown varieties of creatures dwelling in the Philippines. Among the finds: the shrimp-eating shark that fills itself with water to inflate and scare off predators; dozens of...

Coming Soon: 13-Year Cicadas

It's gonna get loud in the South

(Newser) - We saw their parents in 1998; now the 13-year cicadas are emerging again from underground. Get ready for raucous mating calls and shells everywhere, advises the Herald-Review of Decatur, Illinois. (The 13-year cicadas stay mostly in the South but hit parts of Illinois and Indiana.) “They are out...

Breakthrough Promises Vastly Better Bug Repellents

New compound 'thousands time more effective than DEET'

(Newser) - Life may soon get a lot tougher for mosquitos and other bugs that like to dine on human blood. Researchers have discovered a compound that completely jams an insect's sense of smell, making it much harder for mosquitos to find their prey, Discover reports. Early tests suggest that the...

Termites Devour $225K at Indian Bank
 Termites Devour $225K at Bank 
Apr 27, 2011 4:02 AM CDT

Termites Devour $225K at Bank

Staff at Indian bank accused of 'laxity'

(Newser) - Staffers at an Indian bank were perplexed by a 10 million rupee shortfall until the culprit was discovered: termites. The insects had found their way into a storeroom in the old wooden building and munched their way through bank notes worth some $225,000, reports the BBC . Bank officials say...

Save the World: Eat a Spider
 Save the World: Eat a Spider 
Apr 19, 2011 5:14 AM CDT

Save the World: Eat a Spider

Spiders, ants, locusts so much easier on the environment than cattle

(Newser) - It sounds creepy, but one of the best ways to save the world could be turning to creepy crawlies. Western gourmands generally find dining on bugs unpalatable, but for some 2.5 billion people in the world, especially in tropical regions, spiders and insects have long been part of the...

Virus Wiping Out Crickets Raised for Snakes

Cricket farms being forced out of business

(Newser) - These are hard times for America's cricket farmers, and unless a virus is brought under control, they could become hungry times for pet snakes. The virus has swept through farms, killing millions of the crickets raised for pet reptiles and zoo animals, and driving several farmers out of business, the...

Bedbug Mess Brings Work to NYC Actors

... helping people clean apartments before extermination

(Newser) - At least one group of New Yorkers has benefited from the city's bedbug problem: out-of-work actors, many of whom have taken jobs as extermination preparers, the Wall Street Journal reports. They "have great personalities and follow directions well," says the owner of one company who hires them to...

Jiminy Cricket! Insect Has World's Biggest Cojones

It's got biggest testicles, in terms of body weight

(Newser) - Even the most well-endowed men have nothing on the tuberous bushcricket, or katydid, which UK biologists say holds the world record for the creature with the largest testicles—at least in relation to the weight of its body. At 14% of body weight, this would be equivalent, in human terms,...

Scientists Discover New Insect on Easter Island

It's rare good news on the damaged island

(Newser) - A new insect species has been discovered in a cave on Easter Island, a significant find given that most of the island's indigenous life has gone extinct, reports LiveScience . The insect is so new it has yet to be named, but it's a type of book louse about the size...

5 Creepy Facts About Bedbugs
 5 Creepy Facts About Bedbugs 
Jul 31, 2010 9:29 AM CDT

5 Creepy Facts About Bedbugs

They have a smell...that comes from their feces

(Newser) - Bedbugs are back in a big way, with infestations closing at least two stores in New York City recently. AOL News lists five things you should know about these creepy crawlers:
  1. They smell: If you can smell their sweet, musky scent, chances are you’ve already got an infestation
...

Try Some Locusts on Your Pizza
 Try Some Locusts on Your Pizza 
Apr 19, 2010 4:00 PM CDT

Try Some Locusts on Your Pizza

Australians beset by plague of insects try to make the best of it

(Newser) - When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you swarms of locusts, make pizza. One enterprising politician in the Australian state of Victoria, which is under siege by the aggressive insects, collected a garbage bag full to be used in place of pepperoni and meatballs. "You can't...

Bedbug Dogs Sniff Out Bloodsuckers

Trained hounds in high demand as infestations rise

(Newser) - The resurgence of an old pest has created new jobs for dogs. Bedbug infestations have soared in American cities over the last four years, creating boom times for exterminators, especially those using canny canines trained to detect the tiny suckers. Handlers say the dogs can expertly sniff out infestations and...

Crazy Ants Swarm Gulf Coast
Crazy Ants Swarm
Gulf Coast 
Sep 5, 2009 5:15 AM CDT

Crazy Ants Swarm Gulf Coast

Tiny, frenetic munchers invade homes, snack on electrical wiring

(Newser) - Billions of "crazy ants" are munching their way through Gulf Coast counties in Florida and Texas, the Wall Street Journal reports. The tiny insects, believed to have originated in the Caribbean, happily make their homes in human dwellings and are tough to dislodge once they move in. The...

Disease Threatens Florida Oranges

Scientists search for solutions to citrus greening disease

(Newser) - Florida’s orange growers face a powerful adversary in a disease know by its shorthand of HLB that causes citrus trees to “green”—produce only sour, misshapen fruit, Scientific American reports. With every county in the state affected, the citrus industry has dedicated $10 million this year alone...

Cyborg Bugs Could Warn of Fires, Chemical Attacks

(Newser) - Cyborg bugs may sound like creatures in a Michael Bay movie, but they could save your life, New Scientist reports. The Pentagon is trying to implant electrodes in crickets and cicadas—which communicate via wingbeats—and program them to “speak” differently around certain chemicals. “The insect itself might...

Giant Ant Colony Spreads Across World

Insects from different continents treat each other as family

(Newser) - In what may be a first for the animal kingdom, one giant family of ants has established itself in different parts of the world, the BBC reports. Researchers studying the species known as Argentine ants in Europe, the US, and Japan found that they had a strikingly similar chemical profile,...

Fly Strike Shows Another Side to Prez

No 'negotiation' in direct smack

(Newser) - President Obama’s precision fly-swatting has caught the nation’s attention—perhaps because it showed a surprisingly forceful approach, writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times. “Some Americans fear that President Obama is too prone to negotiation, comity and splitting the difference,” Dowd notes. “This moment...

PETA to Obama: Flies Have Feelings, Too

Group unhappy with prez's brutal fly attack

(Newser) - At least one group isn’t impressed with the president’s killer reflexes: PETA. The animal-rights group sent Obama a no-kill trap after he nailed a fly, midair, during a CNBC interview Tuesday. The bug-battling tool captures insects alive. “We support compassion for even the smallest animals,” says...

Super Fly No Match for Obama Death Slap

Lightning-fast prez pulverizes persistent fly during White House interview

(Newser) - A fly that invaded a CNBC White House interview yesterday was no match for the leader of the free world, the Christian Science Monitor reports. After repeatedly warning the fly to get out of there and let him discuss financial regulation in peace, President Obama delivered a surgical strike, dispatching...

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