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 7, 2009 by Cheshire
Man…I haven’t posted a youtube gem forever.
Check this video out…it’s a really old video about malaria made by Disney in 1943. It shows how the parasite is transmitted, how the mosquito breeds and how to control them. It’s really an amazing video that shows what malaria does to the people infected [...]
Filed under: Medical | Tagged: Diptera, Malaria, Medical, Youtube gems | Leave a Comment »
Posted on May 30, 2009 by Cheshire
I haven’t been blogging that much lately, and to be honest with you it’s a 50/50 combination between blogger’s block and a heavy workload…I’ve been working 60 hours a week while studying for the GRE, looking for graduate school positions and having something resembling a social life.
Still, though…I’ve been keeping up on my reading. I’ve [...]
Filed under: Medical | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 27, 2009 by Cheshire
I’ve written a few times about the reputation of the brown recluse (Loxoceles reclusa) and how much of it’s reputation is undeserved. It’s bite, as is known from popular culture, causes a wound that is indeed pretty horrific. However, the gruesome nature of the bite makes it a scapegoat for many cases of necrosis.
I’ve [...]
Filed under: Arachnology, Biochemistry, Medical, Venom | Tagged: Arachnology, Araneae, Cheiracanthium, Culture, Loxoceles reclusa, Medical, Sac Spiders, Spiders, Venom | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 19, 2009 by Cheshire
Last week, I made a post about a species of spider whose ecological niche is basically your garage. This species is what is known as a synanthropic species…a kind of animal who is very closely allied with people in terms of where it lives. The particular spider I discussed had venom similar to a species [...]
Filed under: Arachnology, Culture, Medical | Tagged: Arachnology, Araneae, Brown Recluse, Culture, Loxoceles reclusa, Medical, Spiders | 3 Comments »
Posted on January 12, 2009 by Cheshire
Many species of spider make their living around human habitations. Some of these guys can be very common where they are found. Occasionally, people do get bitten and do experience adverse effects. However, the incidence of these bites is far lower than most people realize. The vast majority of spider bites go unreported simply because [...]
Filed under: Arachnology, Biochemistry, Medical, Soapbox, Urban legends, Venom | Tagged: Arachnology, Aranae, Araneomorphs, Biochemistry, Black Widows, Latrodectus, Medical, Spiders, Steatoda, Venom | 7 Comments »
Posted on January 10, 2009 by Cheshire
Atrax robustus is amongst the most toxic spiders in the world. They’re famous for this, and there are all sorts of myths and legends about them. Hell, their wikipedia page makes them sound like the Jason Voorhees of the spider world.
The females live in burrows in the ground and tackle everything which stumbles across their [...]
Filed under: Arachnology, Medical, Urban legends | Tagged: Arachnology, Aranae, Atrax robustus, Medical, Mygalamorphae, Spiders | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 7, 2009 by Cheshire
more animals
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/4123782/Terrorists-could-use-insect-based-biological-weapon.html
It seems there are some entomologists who think insects could be used as bioweapons.
On the surface, it seems funny and almost alarmist…but the claim is actually not that far removed from reality. Still, I’m skeptical.
Filed under: General Entomology, Medical | Tagged: Agriculture, Bioterrorism, Ecology, entomology, History, Insect Pathology, Medical | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 2, 2009 by Cheshire
Take a look at Casey Luskin’s diagram in his most recent post over at Evolution News and Views.
Believe it or not, this diagram hits close to home to me.
You see, the very fact that I’m alive is proof positive that this diagram fails the most basic test of irreducible complexity. I have a part missing [...]
Filed under: Evolutionary Biology, Medical, Personal, Religion, Science, Science Journalism, Soapbox, entomology | Tagged: Anti-Creationism, Anti-Intelligent Design, Clotting Cascade, Creationism, evolution, Evolutionary Biology, Factor V, Intelligen Design, Science | 9 Comments »
