Lmst

A tiny wasp species just flipped the script on reproduction — and it might revolutionize pest control. #Biocontrol #InsectScience #SustainableFarming

https://geekoo.news/asexual-wasps-that-mate-could-transform-pest-control/

【EDITOR'S CHOICE】
Multitrophic biodiversity enhances ecosystem functions, services and ecological intensification in agriculture

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtad019

EI management at different spatial scales, from the field scale to the multiple-field scale to the landscape scale.

#LethbridgeAB #BioControl

The goats are back in Lethbridge parks & river banks munching through their jobs to eat leafy spurge, thistle, and wormwood.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/weed-eating-goats-return-to-lethbridge-for-another-summer-of-yum/

#Biocontrol is the future of the #EUagriculture and food- if we let it happen [Promoted content] https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/opinion/biocontrol-is-the-future-of-the-eu-agriculture-and-food-if-we-let-it-happen/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=dlvr.it

When I give presentations on mosquito control I always urge attendees to push Mosquito Dunks on friends and family who might not know about Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis). E.g., as housewarming gifts, party favors, stocking stuffers, raffle prizes. But I never have the perfect image to show. So this morning I spent 30 minutes making a mock-up of the image that I wish existed in real life. I know, it's terrible. Maybe some photogenic family can recreate for me in real life? #MosquitoDunks #mosquitoes #bti #insects #gifts #bacteria #neighbors #biocontrol

Smiling woman hugging another woman and holding a vase of sunflowers she just received as a gift. A man is awkwardly waiting nearby to present his gift, an orange bucket labeled, "Bti honeypot trap," that has a package of donut-shaped mosquito dunks sticking out.

Here's another insect I found on my run this afternoon through the southwestern suburbs of Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. I just worked out that it's the woolly apple aphid. I found a mass of them feeding on a firethorn (Pyracantha) that was planted along the front of a garden.

This is a new species for me on #iNaturalist and the 38th iNat observation from NZ. Woolly apple aphid used to be a major pest for apple growers in NZ, leading to the introduction of the woolly aphid parasitoid wasp in 1921. That was effective at controlling the aphid and still drastically reduces insecticide use on apple orchards.

Looking closer at my woolly apple aphids, I see lots of the characteristic exit holes of parasitoid wasps. I've made that another iNat observation for the parasitoid, which if my ID is correct will be the 2nd iNat observation of this wasp from NZ.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/281716021
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/281717727

#entomology #biocontrol #insects #NZ

A photo of a leafy shrub with red fruit. This is a firethorn, Pyracantha, and it's planted in a front garden in Christchurch, NZ.

A mass of woolly insects all over the green firethorn shrub. This is a colony of woolly apple aphids, which are known to feed on apples, firethorns, and cotoneasters.

A closer view of the woolly apple aphid colony, with lots of white woolly fluff everywhere.

A closer view again, showing the remains of lots of aphid mummies with holes in them where parasitoid wasps have emerged. These will most likely have been made by the woolly aphid parasitoid, a biocontrol agent purposefully introduced into NZ to control this pest aphid.

Meet Rhinocyllus conicus (the Nodding Thistle Receptacle Weevil). Native to Eurasia and North Africa, it was introduced to the United States in 1969 as a biocontrol for invasive thistle. However, it began attacking native thistles also. The larvae feed on the flower receptacle, reducing seed production.

#WeevilWednesday #biocontrol #insects #beetles #biodiversity #NaturalHistory

broad-nosed black weevil mottled with patchy yellow scales, perched on a thistle leaf, large eyes gazing forward innocently. Don't buy the act. It knows what it did

#Presentación 🔬✨

¡Hola! 👋 Soy Natalia Martínez Reyes, biotecnóloga y doctoranda en microbiología aplicada. Me especializo en el estudio de hongos y bacterias con aplicaciones biotecnológicas. 🌱🦠

🔹 Investigación en micotoxinas
🔹 Modificación genética en hongos filamentosos
🔹 Bioensayos y biocontrol de fitopatógenos
🔹 Ciencia, divulgación y publicaciones 📚

Amante de la montaña 🏔️ y la música 🎸. ¡Hablemos de ciencia y más!

#Ciencia #Biotecnología #Microbiología #DivulgaciónCientífica #Biocontrol

Scientists are developing a "toxic male technique" to control disease-carrying insects and agricultural pests. Genetically engineered male insects would produce venomous semen, killing females after they mate. Bill Sullivan, Indiana University #malaria #biocontrol 🦟 https://theconversation.com/making-sex-deadly-for-insects-could-control-pests-that-carry-disease-and-harm-crops-248723

#DNA barcodes and #citizen_science images map spread of #biocontrol agent for control of major #invasive #shrub

#Lantana #Barcode_of_Life_Data_System #Orphanostigma

https://phys.org/news/2025-02-dna-barcodes-citizen-science-images.html

💡 Our latest paper is featured on the European Institute of Planted Forest website! https://www.plantedforests.org/polyphasic-approach-to-the-selection-of-esteya-isolates-for-the-control-of-the-pinewood-nematode-bursaphelenchus-xylophilus/
🔗 Link to the paper published in Fungal Biology: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2024.10.001
#PlantPathology #Nematology #Biopesticides #Biocontrol

Approve sustainable pesticides faster, says centre-right https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/approve-sustainable-pesticides-faster-says-centre-right/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=dlvr.it #agriculture #biocontrol #ENVIcommittee #Pesticides

Female mosquito targeted with venom to curb disease
#Health #MosquitoControl #ToxicMaleTechnique #Dengue #Zika #FemaleMosquito #DiseasePrevention #Malaria #Mosquito #Biocontrol #EcoFriendly #PestControl #GlobalHealth
https://the-14.com/female-mosquito-targeted-with-venom-to-curb-disease/

I found *another* cinnabar moth caterpillar in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ, this time feeding on European groundsel (*Senecio vulgaris*) at the front of a garden in Somerfield.

That's now the second time I've seen this ragwort biocontrol species in Christchurch city, after 20 years of looking at every Senecio I pass by (senecios are one of my things).

It's odd.

If you're local, I'd be interested if you find any.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/258412827
#insects #entomology #biocontrol #nz

A close-up macro photo of a small black and yellow striped caterpillar feeding on a small herbaceous plant.

See iNaturalist NZ for the full-res photo: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/258412827

A photo of a small black and yellow striped caterpillar feeding on a leaf of a small herbaceous plant.

See iNaturalist NZ for the full-res photo: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/258412827

New on Entomology Today: To identify natural enemies of Ommatissus lybicus, a key pest of date palms also known as the Dubas bug, researchers collected nearly 7,000 arthropod specimens from date palm plantations in Oman and analyzed their gut contents for traces of the bug's DNA. They found at least 56 species that feed on the Dubas bug, a treasure trove of knowledge for future biological control efforts. #entomology #insects #biocontrol #IPM https://entomologytoday.org/2025/01/10/what-eats-dubas-bugs-molecular-gut-content-analysis-predators-date-palm-pest-biological-control/

My team member Stephanie Chen and I tried to find the threatened Australian #daisy Erigeron conyzoides to support #biocontrol research, after it had eluded colleagues for years. When we found it, we thought, wait a second...

https://www.publish.csiro.au/bt/BT24047

Here's my surprise of the day (and the year so far).

Cinnabar moths were introduced into New Zealand to control ragwort.

I have never seen cinnabar moth larvae in Christchurch city before, and I have never seen them feeding on the native ragwort relative *Senecio quadridentatus* before.

And, yet, here they are in Christchurch city today doing exactly that.

If you see any, please let me know.

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/257561024

#insects #Biocontrol #NZ #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #PlantInsectInteractions