Entomology news in mass media

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12.08.2013 20:15, Victor Titov

Well, you didn't explain what the nonsense was. This one is obvious, as well as other" blunders " in the text, I did not touch them. I will repeat my question to coleopterologists: will the beetle not devour the caterpillars of pavonias, endromis and other species of butterflies beloved by lepidopterologists, including the Red Book ones, or is it a "strict specialist" on the nun?

But what kind of eulophytes I had to sweat to find at least something suitable )))
Suitable here :
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulophidae
that is, eulophids.

And the fact that these are not beetles at all, but hymenoptera in general, riders (as Hierophis proved, selflessly sparing no personal time to quench our thirst for knowledge) - is this also a blunder, and not nonsense? When one blunder sits on another, and even drives the third blunder-in my opinion, this is nonsense. In my opinion, if a journalist undertakes to write on a certain topic, he should at least be familiar with it on a popular level. Otherwise, he should use the services of professionally qualified consultants and in no case edit their text.

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20.08.2013 16:32, Atlantis

Scientists: Tahiti beetles are very cruel to their mates
August 20, 2013, 16: 49 2
Biologists tried to understand the unusual sexual behavior of insects from the Pacific island
Two similar beetle species-Coridromius tahitiensis and Coridromius taravao-lead almost the same lifestyle and even eat the same plants. But the most surprising thing is their method of mating, which is called "traumatic insemination". Nature has rewarded males of these species with a sharp sexual organ, resembling a needle from a syringe. Without even securing the consent of the female, they attack suddenly and pierce the belly of their chosen one, injecting sperm.
In addition, these insects are not particularly selective in choosing a partner: they can mate with both females and males, and even with representatives of another species.
"In terms of efficiency, mating with other species or members of the same sex is a complete waste of time, energy and sperm," says Nikolai Tatarnic, a biologist and insect specialist at the Western Australian Museum.
Tatarnitz, along with a colleague from the University of New South Wales, conducted a study of the mating behavior of beetles from Tahiti. Biologists have come to the conclusion that the mating of these insects is more like violence and has nothing to do with reciprocity. The article was published in the journal The American Naturalist.
Observing the insects, scientists noticed that on the right side of their abdomen, females of the species C. tahitiensis evolved a kind of hole similar to the genitals, which was supposed to prevent wounds caused by traumatic insemination, and facilitate the male's penetration process. However, males of C. tahitiensis do not spend time and effort searching for this hole and simply pierce the abdomen.
C. taravao females evolved to use a different defensive trick: realizing that the male would attack from the right, they grew the same hole on the left side of the abdomen, and on the right side, the researchers noticed a strengthening structure that should prevent unwanted penetration.
Moreover, all representatives of the species C. taravao (both sexes) received a specific color on the right side of the body. This color disguises them as C. tahitiensis males — an evolutionary ploy designed to prevent sexual violence and create a natural aversion in C. tahitiensis to members of their own sex.
Researchers have only to confirm that same-sex mating of C. tahitiensis males, as well as encroachment on representatives of another species, is completely useless and even dangerous. If the assumption is justified, then it will be necessary to understand why these insects use such a cruel method of fertilization and start promiscuous sexual relations.
Based on the materials of Vesti.Ru.
Source: Radio Voice of Russia

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05.09.2013 23:50, Atlantis

MOSCOW, September 5-RIA Novosti. Philippine entomologists have found a new species of water beetle right in the middle of the metropolis — in the capital Manila, where their university is located, according to an article published in the journal Zookeys
Biology students from the Ateneo de Manila University discovered a new species of water beetle during a field practice on the university's territory, which is an island of greenery with an area of 83 one of the most populous cities in the world. The insect was named after the university by the Atenean water beetle (Hydraena ateneoa).
"Water beetles are one of the most poorly studied and diverse genera of water beetles. Only 14 species of waterfowl — all endemic (found only in this area) - are known in this country, and many more are yet to be found and described. All of them have enlarged palps on their jaws. These are appendages of the oral apparatus, not antennae. The species found on the university grounds must have returned to this area after the forest was re-grown here over the past 50 years and the streams resumed their flow, " explained the student teacher, author of the article Hendrik Freitag.
The discovery of vodobrodka shows that even an island of greenery in the middle of a megalopolis can shelter a huge number of species of living creatures. But this does not solve the problem of a significant reduction in biodiversity in the Philippines, since the life of a significant number of endemic species depends on virgin forests, scientists emphasize.
In 2011, members of an expedition to study the biodiversity of the Philippines for 42 days of work found 200 new species of animals on the islands, including a shark, rapidly bloating from water collected in the stomach to scare off enemies, and a laughing cicada.

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13.09.2013 16:28, Dergg

Biologists found gears in the body of a grasshopper.

British zoologists found gears in the joint of grasshoppers. Jagged protrusions allow you to synchronize the movement of the limbs, and this, in turn, provides the ability to make long jumps and lift off the ground at a speed of up to four meters per second. Details are given in an article for the journal Science. Observations with the help of a microscope and shooting with a high-speed camera that takes 5000 frames per second revealed that the gears turn together in preparation for the insect to jump at the moment when its limbs synchronously push off from the surface.

Each joint has two semi-circular segments about 400 micrometers long with 10 or 12 teeth. The radius of the segment is about 200 micrometers, so the joint is not a gear in the full sense of the word. However, two-thirds of the circumference serves as a complete gear train. The backlash of this mechanism is so small that the desynchronization of movements does not exceed 30 microseconds (0.03 milliseconds): according to the researchers, it is physically impossible to achieve such accuracy due to nerve impulses lasting about a millisecond.

http://lenta.ru/news/2013/09/13/gearsofbugs/

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02.10.2013 14:28, Atlantis

Canadian students win $1 million for Grasshopper Flour project
on October 2, 2013

The team notes that 2.5 billion people in the world eat insects per season. They suggest streamlining the existing insect food market and introducing innovative processing methods.
MOSCOW, October 2-RIA Novosti. Canadian students who proposed using insect flour to make bread for the poor received a million pupaars in a startup competition to implement their project, according to a statement on the McGill University website.
This year, a startup competition organized by the Hult International Business School and the Clinton Foundation had to submit a commercial project that would solve the problem of feeding the poor. Students from McGill University in Montreal (Canada), whose team is called the Aspire Food Group, suggested using insects for this purpose.
The team notes that 2.5 billion people in the world eat insects per season. They propose to streamline the existing insect food market and introduce innovative processing methods that will allow the production of nutritious products using insects all year round.
The students plan to start their venture in Mexico, where local farmers will collect grasshoppers in alfalfa fields. Next, the insects are planned to be washed, dried and ground into a kind of flour. Students plan to supply this "flour" to local bakeries to add to bread and other baked goods.
According to their calculations, by March 2014, the volume of deliveries of grasshoppers to Mexico should reach 10 tons. Then the students plan to expand their business to other countries — Thailand and Kenya.
Source: RIA Novosti

02.10.2013 19:32, Atlantis

Butterflies from the Amazon forests drink the tears and urine of carnivores
September 17, 2013

A butterfly perched on the head of a yellow-spotted turtle is not an uncommon sight in the western Amazon rainforest. But the insect does not climb on the timid reptile out of whim: it drinks its tears.
"It is likely that the butterflies are attracted to turtle tears because the drops of this liquid contain salts, in particular sodium – an important element that is very poorly represented in the western Amazon Valley," says Phil Torres, a scientist at the Tambopata Research Center at Rice University. - Unlike butterflies, turtles are able to get enough sodium due to their carnivorous lifestyle. Meat contains a significant amount of salt. But herbivores also need additional biologically relevant elements."
The scientist also believes that sodium may not be the only useful substance "extracted" by insects from the eyes of reptiles. It is possible that butterflies also get some amino acids in this way.
The western Amazon rainforest is a region that has less sodium than most places on Earth. Most likely, this is due to the distance of more than 1,600 kilometers from the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the main source of salt. This area is cut off by the Andes from the winds that can carry everything you need from the west. Mineral dust enters the Amazon Valley from the east, sometimes even from North Africa. However, much of the material is washed out of the air by rain before it reaches the western Amazon.
According to Torres, the peculiar feeding of butterflies does not harm turtles-except that it interferes with their vision, which makes reptiles vulnerable to large predators (for example, to big cats).
Torres also witnessed bees being fed turtle tears. As the biologist noted, this annoyed the turtles much more.
However, turtle tears are not the only source of such salts for butterflies and other insects. It is also easy for them to get salt from the urine of animals, muddy riverbanks, puddles, and sweaty clothes of people.
It seems that this method of feeding is not common in butterflies outside this region. However, scientists know of cases when people in Siberia were bitten by vampire butterflies. Apparently, they also needed the appropriate salts.
Source: "Vesti.Ру»

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25.10.2013 19:38, Hierophis

comments show the level of development of society and its attitude to science. not enough torches and pitchforks

I read both the article and the comments - and once again I was horrified by the completely wild cultural stratification of our society.

And personally, I read these messages and slide

Of course, I am slipping away from my insignificance, because I see great wisdom - it is difficult for me to comprehend how 4 comments written by three people can show the level of development of society, its attitude to science, and its wild cultural stratification

In general, I have an article(a specific article in a specific form). the newspaper) was not impressed.
If you take the content part, for example, it is not clear to me at all, unlike the authors of the article in the newspaper,

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25.10.2013 23:42, Atlantis

One of the Novosibirsk companies purchased a batch of sweets, but in addition to the bars, caterpillars were found in the boxes.
NOVOSIBIRSK, October 23-RIA Novosti, Grigory Kronikh. Specialists found caterpillars in a batch of peanut bars for diabetics that arrived in Novosibirsk, the press service of the Novosibirsk Interregional Veterinary Laboratory reported on Wednesday.
"A specialized Novosibirsk company has purchased a large batch of peanut bars for diabetics for subsequent packaging and sale. Opening the boxes, representatives of the company found caterpillars in the candy. To determine the species belonging of insects, the affected products were transferred to the Novosibirsk Interregional Veterinary Laboratory, “the report says.
The institution clarifies that specialists of the department of phytosanitary examination and plant quarantine determined that these are caterpillars of the southern barn firefly. In the course of the study, it was found that insects managed to give more than one generation.
"Based on the expert opinion, the Novosibirsk company plans to write a complaint to the supplier and make a return of low-quality products," the report says.
The representative of the department could not specify to the RIA Novosti correspondent the volume of the infected batch of sweets. The damaged products were not put on sale.
The southern barn firefly is widespread in Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Ukraine, and the North Caucasus. The length of the caterpillar is 12-16 millimeters. The body is greenish, white, pinkish. The butterfly's wingspan is 13-20 millimeters. Damages wheat, corn, sunflower, dried fruits, nuts, and rice.
Source: RIA Novosti Novosibirsk

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29.10.2013 17:31, Atlantis

The Morelos State government plans to create a nature reserve in the Sierra de Huautla Mountains
of Mexico City, October 29. /ITAR-TASS/. The butterfly Baronia brevicornis survived the dinosaurs, the Aztec civilization and the conquistadors, but is now on the verge of extinction due to the rapid growth of agriculture and environmental pollution in Mexico. This is the conclusion reached by a group of scientists from the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos and the University of Toulouse. Mexican and French entomologists for 5 years observed a butterfly that is 1.5 thousand times older than humans.
Baronia brevicornis is endemic to Mexico. Its habitat is limited to small areas in the mountains of the southern part of the state of Morelos. This yellow-brown butterfly belongs to the Sailfish family and is the only member of the genus Baronia. Its wingspan is 5-6 cm. The oldest fossils of this species found date back to the Cretaceous period. According to scientists, this species has existed on our planet for 70 million years and is the oldest of the existing butterflies.
The Morelos State government has already put the rescue of Baronia brevicornis on its agenda. Together with the neighboring states of Puebla and Guerrero, it is planned to create a nature reserve in the Sierra de Huautla Mountains.

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