DailyDirt: Insects, Insects Everywhere

from the urls-we-dug-up dept

Bugs! Most people hate them, we'll all probably be eating them eventually, and few people envy those who spend their lives studying them up close — but in truth there are few creatures on earth more varied and fascinating (not to mention critical to our ecosystems). Here are some of the latest dispatches from the world of creepy-crawlies:

• Scientists may have discovered a new weapon in the war against bed bugs: color. Turns out the much-hated infesters have notable color preferences, and can possibly be kept at bay by the right choice of palette for furniture and fabrics — or more likely ensnared by the right choice for traps and poisons. [url]
• Maggots, like leeches, are a symbol of archaic medicine to many — but they never actually fell completely out of use, and now might be making a major comeback. Certain wound infections can only be treated by cutting away the infected flesh, and maggots can be much more thorough at the job than a surgeon's scalpel. [url]
• Argentine ants are a terrifying success story from the world of invasive species, but their unstoppable expansion may be coming to an end. Their unprecedented cooperation and aggression allowed them to become arguably the largest animal colony in the world, but a recently-discovered adversary ant species might teach us how to stem the tide. [url]

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Filed Under: ants, bed bugs, insects, invasive species, maggots, medicine, pests

DailyDirt: A Place For Everything, And Everything In Its Place?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

It's not easy to be an environmentalist. If you look into anything deeply enough, you'll find complications that make it tough to paint in black and white without shades of gray. What disruptions of an ecosystem are good or bad? If you think that any disruption is bad, well, too late -- people (and nature itself) have been mucking around with local ecosystems since life began. Biology is just a messy field. Invasive species are generally painted as harmful, but it's not always the case.

• Goats on the Galapagos Islands were introduced in the 16th century, and the goat population grew to over 250,000 -- eating just about anything they wanted, including endangered tortoises. The goats were killed off completely using Judas goats to help hunters find the last few goats in hiding. Radiolab has a fascinating podcast on the story of shooting every single goat (except for the Judas goats). [url]
• Not all invasive species are destructive, and people have been moving around plants and animals for centuries. Arguably, preventing invasive species is a futile task because ecosystems are meant to change and adapt -- and species are going to go extinct. Globalization isn't a recent phenomenon for biology. [url]
• If you've ever had a pet goldfish, maybe you've thought about setting it free in a local pond or lake -- but you really shouldn't do that. Canada is warning its citizens about enormous (former pet) goldfish that are crowding out native fish species and threatening the ecosystem, but hardy goldfish are also invading US fresh water, too. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Filed Under: biology, ecology, evolution, extinction, galapagos islands, goldfish, invasive species, judas goats, native species, project isabela