Tag Archives: beetle

Feature: Protecting the pollinators part 1 – bees and ecology

Posted on April 21, 2014 by argylesock

argylesock says… We need bees and other pollinators. We really, really need them. Here’s the first of three articles about pollinators, from the Wellcome Trust blog, which I’ll pass on today.

Posted in agriculture, ecology, food, miniculture | Tagged apiculture, arachnid, arthropod, beetle, biodiversity, bumblebee, coleopteran, conservation, crop, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, dipteran, disease, ecosystem, habitat loss, honeybee, hoverfly, hymenopteran, insect, mite, pesticide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, pollination, research, seed, Varroa destructor, virus, wasp, wild bee, wild pollinator | 2 Comments

Stowaways in potted plants

Posted on April 18, 2014 by argylesock

Potted plants can seem so benign. Beautiful, fascinating, good to grow and give, but they may carry invasive species which are not benign. Tom Bawden at The Independent tells us about invasive species reaching Europe, including the New Guinea flatworm … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture, money and trade | Tagged alien species, America, Argentine ant, arthropod, Asia, Asian hornet, beetle, biosecurity, coleopteran, Europe, flatworm, garden, harlequin ladybird, herbivore, hymenopteran, insect, invasive species, invertebrate, ladybird, landscape, lepidopteran, light brown apple moth, lily beetle, mollusc, moth, native species, New Guinea flatworm, New Zealand flatworm, oak processionary moth, pest, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, predator, rosemary leaf beetle, slug, snail, Spanish slug | 5 Comments

Good bug bites

Posted on December 12, 2013 by argylesock

Joost van Itterbeeck at The Conversation tells us which edible insects he thinks are best. As you know I purchased some bug bites. My favourites so far are the barbecue-spiced mealworms (Tenebrio molitor). Harvey Nicks calls them ‘worm crisps’ but … Continue reading →

Posted in food, miniculture | Tagged arthropod, beetle, coleopteran, cricket, entomoculture, entomophagy, grocery, insect, larva, nutrition, nymph, orthopteran, sustainable | Leave a comment

Another GM maize may soon be grown in Europe

Posted on November 6, 2013 by argylesock

European farmers can grow two GM (genetically modified, genetically engineered, GE) crops. Soon, they may get the choice of growing another. One of the GM crops approved for European cultivation is an insect-resistant maize (corn, Zea mays) called MON810. Its … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, money and trade | Tagged arthropod, BASF, beetle, biotechnology, Bt crop, Bt toxin, butterfly, coleopteran, corn, Dow, DuPont, farmer, genetic modification, glufosinate, grain, herbicide, herbicide resistance, insect, law, lepidopteran, maize, maize 1507, maize MON810, Monsanto, moth, pest, pesticide, plant_monocot, politics, pollination, potato, potato Amflora, trade, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, vegetable | 4 Comments

Nature conservation succeeds in parts of Europe

Posted on October 8, 2013 by argylesock

The State of Nature Report was sobering news for us in Britain in May 2013. I told you about it at the time. But a few weeks later, evidence came in Ecology Letters that conservation efforts may be paying off … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged arthropod, beetle, biodiversity, butterfly, coleopteran, conservation, data, dipteran, ecosystem, finance, habitat loss, history, hymenopteran, insect, intensive, knowledge, land use, lepidopteran, moth, pollination, pollution, research, wild pollinator, wildlife | 3 Comments

GMO Corn Fails To Protect Fields From Pest Damage

Posted on September 24, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Ann Novek( Luure)–With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors:
Researchers in the key corn-growing state of Illinois are finding significant damage from rootworms in farm fields planted in a rotation with a genetically…

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer | Tagged arthropod, beetle, biotechnology, Bt crop, Bt toxin, corn, corn rootworm, crop, crop rotation, data, evolution, genetic modification, grain, insect, insecticide, insecticide resistance, maize, Monsanto, pest, pesticide, pesticide resistance, plant_monocot, research | Leave a comment

Climate change ‘driving spread of crop pests’

Posted on September 3, 2013 by argylesock

Rebecca Morelle at the BBC tells us about evidence that climate change is affecting crop pests. Crop pests are moving North in the Northern Hemisphere, South in the Southern Hemisphere. Many crop pests are insects and other arthropods. They’re quite … Continue reading →

Posted in food, money and trade, weather and climate | Tagged alien species, arthropod, bacterium, beetle, climate, coleopteran, Colorado beetle, crop, evolution, farm, food, fungus, garden, insect, law, nematode, notifiable pest, oomycete, pest, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, trade, transport, viroid | Leave a comment

Bugged about the Bug

Posted on June 4, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Agrigirl's Blog:
I confess that I’m not all that bugged about bugs. Now granted, I rarely visit Starbucks and when I do, it’s never been for a creamy, pink, Strawberry, calorie laden concoction but the outcry…

Posted in food, miniculture | Tagged arthropod, beetle, cochineal, coleopteran, entomoculture, entomophagy, food, food processing, hemipteran, history, insect, scale insect, trade | Leave a comment

Expect more soil insecticide used with Bt hybrids

Posted on April 8, 2013 by argylesock

Some of the most popular genetically modified (GM) crops carry the gene for an insecticide which occurs naturally in the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. GM crops of this kind, called Bt crops, make the insecticide (Bt toxin) in their own … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer | Tagged arthropod, beetle, biotechnology, Bt crop, Bt toxin, corn, corn rootworm, crop, evolution, genetic modification, grain, insect, insecticide, insecticide resistance, maize, Monsanto, pest, pesticide, pesticide resistance, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, research | 5 Comments

Pollinators

Posted on March 17, 2013 by argylesock

The political wrangling about insect-killing neonicotinoids isn’t over yet. If I hear of opportunities to put pressure on those in power, I’ll let you know. The story of pollinators is about honeybees but it’s about a lot of other kinds … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, horticulture, miniculture | Tagged art, arthropod, beetle, bird, breeding, butterfly, coleopteran, flower, garden, honeybee, insect, insecticide, invertebrate, lepidopteran, mammal, moth, pesticide, politics, pollination, vertebrate, wild bee, wild pollinator, wildlife | Leave a comment