Tag Archives: moth

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

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

New strategy required for delaying insect resistance to Bt crops

Posted on September 29, 2013 by argylesock

arglesock says… We knew that pests would evolve resistance to Bt toxin. I wrote recently about the African maize stalk borer (Busseola fusca) evolving resistance that’s inherited as a dominant trait, making it harder for farmers to control. If I … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture | Tagged arthropod, biotechnology, Bt crop, Bt toxin, corn, crop, DNA, evolution, genetic modification, insect, insecticide, insecticide resistance, integrated pest management, lepidopteran, maize, Monsanto, moth, pest, pesticide, pesticide resistance, plant_monocot, stalk borer | Leave a comment

Pest evolves better resistance to insecticidal GM crops

Posted on September 21, 2013 by argylesock

A few days ago I reblogged a post about genetically modified (GM, also called genetically engineered, GE) crops. I said that in my opinion, my fellow blogger Nasir Butt at Agriculture Information Bank sounds a little bit naïve in that … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer | Tagged arthropod, biotechnology, Bt crop, Bt toxin, corn, DNA, evolution, gene, genetic modification, grain, insect, insecticide, insecticide resistance, knowledge, lepidopteran, maize, millet, Monsanto, moth, pearl millet, pest, pesticide, pesticide resistance, plant_monocot, research, sorghum, stalk borer, staple food | 3 Comments

Big Butterfly Count

Posted on July 18, 2013 by argylesock

If you’re in Britain, Butterfly Conservation invites you to take part in this year’s Big Butterfly Count. This will be fun. Also it will be useful because butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) tell us what’s happening on the land. That is, … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, knowledge transfer | Tagged arthropod, butterfly, climate, conservation, data, ecosystem, indicator species, insect, lepidopteran, moth, research, weather | 10 Comments

Living with Butterfly Pollinators

Posted on March 24, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Living With Insects Blog:
The mutual benefits of insect pollinators to flowering plants has led to a wide diversity of insect pollinators and flowering plants for over 100 million years. Flowers are rewarded with more efficient use…

Posted in ecology | Tagged arthropod, hawk moth, hummingbird hawk moth, insect, lepidopteran, migration, moth, pollination | Leave a comment

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

Tree of the month: Rowan

Posted on February 15, 2013 by argylesock

A few nights ago the moon was new. So according to this version of the Ogham ‘tree calendar’ extended into 2013, we’re now in the Month of the Rowan. You might choose to follow my ‘ogham’ tag for other posts … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology | Tagged arthropod, ash, bird, disease, emerging disease, fieldfare, foraging, fruit, hunting, insect, lepidopteran, lichen, mammal, marsupial, mistle thrush, moth, mountain ash, native species, ogham, passerine, plant_dicot, pollination, redwing, rowan, seed, seed dispersal, song thrush, thrush, tree, vertebrate, wild food, wildlife | 9 Comments

Ecology of stinging nettles

Posted on January 31, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on changinglifestyleblog:
ECOLOGY OF STINGING NETTLES Urtica dioica the stinging nettles with its stems and leaves densely covered with stinging hairs, which release potential pain-inducing toxins when brushing contact is made with them, is rarely eaten…

Posted in ecology | Tagged aphid, arthropod, butterfly, hemipteran, insect, lepidopteran, moth, nettle, stinging nettle, weed | Leave a comment