Insect Ecology @ Au Sable - spring 2024

Oviposition scars from a female spotted wing drosophila,  Drosophila suzukii  (Matsumura), on a cherry fruit. Photograph by Martin Hauser, California Department of Food and Agriculture Farmers won't sell these cherries in the market. The fruit flies that caused this laid their eggs inside the ripening cherries and their larvae caused this visible damage by feed on the fruit inside. The larger larvae cut breathing holes through the skin of the cherry. Pretty soon these cherries collapse around the larvae's feeding site and the cherry rots from mold that got inside through these holes. We never had this type of damage before. Why is it happening now?  In August 2008 this damage was first seen in the U.S. and it was found out to be caused by a new (non-native invasive) fruit fly from Japan, Drosophila Suzuki (Matsamura). It infests un-ripened cherries, and it spread from California to Michigan in 2010.  Adult female spotted wing drosophila,  Dr...

            My favorite trip this class has gone on so far was to Dead Man’s Bog.   We went on a Friday afternoon. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too chilly. There were hardly any mosquitos bothering us, which was lucky. Apparently last year was unbearable. The bog was not a long drive from campus but it was kind of hidden and definitely not well known to the public. We took back roads to get there.               Upon arrival, we noticed a fairly large grassy meadow area where we dispersed to begin our search for insects. We didn’t spend much time in the meadow, but we did find some neat insects, as well as a small green snake that either Dr. Hoekman or Geoff pointed out. While it wasn’t an insect, it was so neat to watch how quickly the snake slithered away through the grass, especially since I don’t really see snakes, living in the city....

We all have those scents that have the power to send us back in time to specific place, person, or memory. Our sense of smell is very powerful, and has been scientifically linked to our ability to remember; yet even though our connection with our noses is an incredible feat, it pales in comparison to the ability of insects to communicate through smells. Insects rely heavily on chemicals for communication due to their small size. Trying to send a signal a long distance or across certain geographical barriers via other methods would be extremely difficult. The study of animals’ chemical communication is called chemical ecology, and encompasses a vast array of topics; in this blog I will focus on the difference between two of the types of chemicals insects utilize: pheromones and allelochemicals. Honey Bee Hive http://www.pnas.org/content/104/7/2460/F1.large.jpg Pheromones are chemical substances that are excreted by an individual in order to communicate with its own speci...

Photo of Dragonfly by Northeast Regional Conservation Needs             Dragonflies and damselflies are carnivorous insects under the order Odonata. They play a significant role in ecosystems such as the wetlands. As both nymphs and adults they are predators to many different species. They can feed on mayflies, midges, moths, and mosquitos. They are also an important food source to birds, bats, lizards, and spiders. Dragonflies and damselflies are not only significant to the freshwater ecosystems, but are indicators of “ecological health, ecological integrity, and environmental change, including climate change, as well as indicators of habitat recovery” ( Simaika, 2011 ). These insects can be used to assess the effects of pollution or alterations in different types of habitats, and help keep the environment healthy.             In comparison to other macroinvert...

My  room.   My   book.   My  house. Do any of these sound familiar to you?  We all have things that we claim as our own, and when something or someone violates our sacred space, we get the feeling we have been violated or disrespected. We have been   invaded . This term - invasion - is a term that can also be applied to the natural world. Invasive species (of plants or animals) are prevalent throughout the world. According to the National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC) an invasive species is:  non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration, and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. A wide variety of examples of invasive species can be found of in North America:  killer algae ( Caulerpa taxifolia) black nightshade ( Solanum dulcamara ) Oriental fruit fly ( Bactrocera dorsallis ) European paper wasp ( Poli...

Resistance in an insect population develops by the selection process. At first, only a very small portion of the population survives exposure to an insecticide. That new smaller population grows. It has a considerably higher portion of resistant individuals. When this population is exposed a second time to this pesticide in a second application, the same selection process occurs with a yet higher proportion of resistant individuals. This process can be summarized this way. The degree to which resistance develops in an insect population depends upon both the proportion of the population that is already resistant and the strength of the resistance in each resistant insect. So, an insect population that has only a few individuals with a strong resistance to an insecticide  will selectively become a more highly resistant population by repeated applications of that pesticide. The rate that insect resistance develops in a population is affected by how rapidly they reproduce, how high...

            Beginning in the winter of 2006 to 2007, beekeepers began to notice a significant decline in losses of their hives, as high as 30 to 90 percent for no apparent reason ( Kaplan, 2012 ). The population of honeybees continues to decline today. The disappearance of these honey bees is now known as the colony collapse disorder (or CCD). This is concerning because honeybees play an important role in the pollination of plants, especially for agriculture but the loss of honeybees doesn’t stop there. The honey that honeybees make has significant medicinal properties. Honey provides antioxidants, relief to colds, and when applied to scrapes or wounds, it aids the healing process with its natural antibacterial and antimicrobial properties ( Shock, 2015 ). It promotes digestion. The loss of honeybees is not only a threat to biodiversity but the health of plants and people. Colony losses of managed ...

          "You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep" (check out this link for the rest of this amazing song).  Wouldn’t it be remarkable if we could individually produce our own light instead of relying on electrical power? It would be, indeed. What if I told you that there is something out there in our world that can do just that? http://www.fireflyexperience.org/photos/elkmont-synchronous-fireflies/Schreiber-synchronous-fireflies-elkmont-105834.jpg            It’s no secret that there are bugs in our backyards that can create light. Some might know them as fireflies, some might know them as lightning bugs, but no matter what you call them – they are there. It is a childhood fan favorite to collect these little bugs in jars and watch them send off their fascinating flashes of color – and for good reason! Not only do fireflies create mesmerizing twinkles of light and p...