Insect Ecology @ Au Sable - spring 2024

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...

There are now insects resistant to every synthetic pesticide that is used. In a given insect population there may be a few individuals that carry genes for resistance to the insecticide under consideration, having evolved before that insecticide has been applied, having arisen from a random mutation in the past. In the natural environment these insects having this mutation will be compromised, being weaker and producing fewer progeny. Use of the considered insecticide results in the preferential survival and breeding of the mutants and the  fatality or failure to thrive relative to the mutant individuals. Subsequent application results in a population shift to a higher mutant to native ratio. Repeated applications of insecticide result in selection for the resistant individuals who pass on resistance to their offspring. Ultimately, the insecticide that had been effective at reducing the insect population size, no longer controls the now resistant population. Resistance probab...