Tag Entomology
UW Arboretum workshop tracks endangered bees with photos
Following the listing of the rusty patched bumble bee as an endangered species in March, more than two dozen people came to the Arboretum to learn how to use photography to identify pollinators.
UW center plays key role in finding Zika-transmitting mosquito in state
Under a federal grant, Midwestern universities led by UW–Madison have more resources to conduct the kind of surveillance that turned up the Asian tiger mosquito in Dane County.
Plants under attack can turn hungry caterpillars into cannibals
A researcher found a tomato plant can make itself taste so horrible that a caterpillar, which would typically munch on its leaves, might eat another caterpillar instead.
Enormous swarms of midges teach about interconnected landscapes
Research into the insects' behavior aims to better understand lake-dominated environments, including those of Wisconsin.
Tropical moth alights in UW’s Botany Garden, a Wisconsin first
Botany Professor Edgar Spalding spotted a white-tipped black moth in the UW–Madison Botanical Garden, the first recorded observation in Wisconsin of the tropical species.
Variable tree growth after fire protects forests from future bark beetle outbreaks
Researchers say forest managers may want to consider promoting this natural variability to help protect forests from the insects.
Scientists describe new model to enhance Zika virus research
The model will allow researchers to better understand how the virus causes disease and aid in the development of vaccines.
Recent evolutionary change allows a fruit fly to dine on a toxic fruit
A fruit called the noni, now hyped for a vast array of unproven health benefits, is at the heart of a new research study.
Boundless Together, Part 4
The last of four new commercials about UW–Madison will premiere this weekend during the Badger football game. Learn more about the research highlighted in the spot.
CALS researchers deploy insect ‘birth control’ to protect cranberries
It's no fun being a male moth in one of Shawn Steffan's cranberry research plots. When the time comes to mate, it's tough to find a partner.
Young Coleoptera Collection brings the UW bunches of beetles
You know who really bugs the UW? Daniel Young bugs the UW. And he’s been bugging the UW for years, largely with his own bugs.
What’s with sloths’ dangerous bathroom breaks? Maybe hunger
For the three-toed sloth, a trip to the restroom is no rest at all. It's a long, slow descent into mortal danger from the safety of home among the upper branches of the forest.
UW’s bug-eating advocate had global impact
When Gene DeFoliart had his brainstorm in 1974, not even he thought his brainchild would be an easy sell. As a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, DeFoliart was focusing on how insects spread viral disease. Now he was captivated by an opposite proposition: using insects to foster human health — using them, to be specific, as food.
Exotic lone star tick making a home in Wisconsin
It's shaping up as a summer like no other for ticks across Wisconsin - including the strongest contingent yet of a bloodsucker new to the state.
Curiosities: How high can bugs fly?
“We can pick up insects at 5,000 or 6,000 feet,” says Phil Pellitteri of the UW–Madison insect diagnostic lab. “But wind is a big…
Rhythmic vibrations guide caste development in social wasps
Future queen or tireless toiler? A paper wasp's destiny may lie in the antennal drumbeats of its caretaker.
Curiosities: Why are yellow jackets most noticeable in late summer?
Often mistaken for bees, German yellow jackets are social wasps that cooperate to build their nests and support their queen, and they…