Posted on June 28, 2009 by Cheshire
The other day, I went on a rant about PETA acting overly sanctimonious by sending President Obama a flytrap because he had the audacity to swat a fly on national TV.
Well…one of my readers forwarded me this article about humane cockroach control. When PETA doesn’t have to distort any facts, they actually write halfway decent [...]
Filed under: General Bullshit, General Entomology, Soapbox | Tagged: Pest Control, Hymenoptera, PETA, Orthoptera, Animal rights groups, Cockroaches | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 27, 2009 by Cheshire
PETA is one of those groups that bases it’s public statements on what it can best display it’s righteous indignation at.
Remember Obama killing a fly at his interview?
Here’s the video:
Well, guess how PETA responded?
But now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, calling it an “execution,” wants the commander-in-chief to show [...]
Filed under: General Bullshit, General Entomology, Insect Ecology, Soapbox, Uncategorized | Tagged: Pest Control, Diptera, PETA, Animal rights groups, Musca domestica | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 24, 2009 by Cheshire
Bug girl has a post about all the different crops that are brought to you by insects.
I figured I’d give you an inside scoop as to how crop pollination works, since I’ve dealt with bees before.
One of the most common misconceptions about beekeeping is that they mostly produce honey. A lot of beekeepers certianly do [...]
Filed under: Bug Businesses, General Entomology, Insect Pathology, Parasitology | Tagged: Acari, Agriculture, Apiculture, Apis mellifera, Beekeeping, Bees, Hymenoptera, Mites, Parasitology, Varroa destructor | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 13, 2009 by Cheshire
Going for coffee in Ohare International?
Looks like Starbuck’s in Ohare international airport got closed down for a fly infestation.
The article says that they didn’t maintain their distance far enough from the door…probably true. Dumpsters are notorious for breeding houseflies and I know more than a few restaurants who keep their dumpsters close to the back [...]
Filed under: General Entomology, Insect Ecology, Medical | Tagged: Culture, Diptera, Drosophila, Ecology, entomology, Flies, Food, Fruitflies, Health, Houseflies, Musca, Urban Entomology | 3 Comments »
Posted on June 11, 2009 by Cheshire
Being an entomology student can be exciting a way that’s both intellectual and in a way that’s more like ‘WTF’. People are a lot more curious about insects than they let on, and I get a lot of questions about bugs in my everyday life as a student when I tell people what I’m studying.
However, [...]
Filed under: Blag, General Entomology, Medical, Parasitology, Personal | Tagged: Bed bugs, Blag, College Life, entomology, parasitiology, Personal, Pubic Lice | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 5, 2009 by Cheshire
Okay…this is seriously cool.
I love periodical cicadas. They’re these almost evil looking bugs that emerge in masse about every other decade. They’re from the genus Magicicada and there are about 7 species here in North America.
Depending on the species, they spend either 13 or 17 years underground, after which they come up and emerge in huge [...]
Filed under: General Entomology, Insect Ecology | Tagged: Cicadas, Ecology, entomology, Hemiptera, Magicicada | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 20, 2009 by Cheshire
Bananas…great for you, but not if you’re a beekeeper.
Bananas and bees have something in common…and it’s really odd.
Filed under: Biochemistry, General Entomology | Tagged: Apiculture, Bees, Biochemistry, Hymenoptera, Pheromones, Social insects | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 15, 2009 by Cheshire
Courtesy of Beetles in the Bush, I bring you a video of parasitic was development from inside a caterpillar. I also bring you a great opportunity to discuss wasp biology.
A lot of people think parasites are just these idle, simple degenerate creatures. Hell…there’s an entire talkorigins page chastising creationists for touting [...]
Filed under: General Entomology, Parasitology, The Interweb | Tagged: Hymenoptera, Parasitoid wasps, Parasitoids, Parasitology, Youtube gems | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 12, 2009 by Cheshire
Conservation is very important, even something as seemingly insignificant as insects. Most people don’t realize exactly how important bees are to our everyday activities, and most people certainly don’t think twice about those strange black and white bugs they find in their pool. However, a study that came out in the most recent issue of [...]
Filed under: General Entomology, Insect Ecology | Tagged: Aquatic insects, Diptera, Ecology, entomology, Malaria, Mosquitoes | Leave a Comment »
Posted on March 2, 2009 by Cheshire
PZ Myers over at Pharyngula has a great picture of a spiny beetle phallus. It’s a wicked, mace-like thing that is used to hold onto the female during mating. It’s also a great example of how we as humans tend to be biased by our own experiences.
You see, sex for us is incredibly fun and [...]
Filed under: General Entomology | Tagged: Cimex, entomology, Hemiptera, Medical, Parasitology, Rough Sex | Leave a Comment »
