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Tag Entomology

Curiosities: How high can bugs fly?

February 15, 2011

“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

January 24, 2011

Future queen or tireless toiler? A paper wasp's destiny may lie in the antennal drumbeats of its caretaker.

Wielding microbe against microbe, beetle defends its food source

October 2, 2008

As the southern pine beetle moves through the forest boring tunnels inside the bark of trees, it brings with it both a helper and a competitor. The helper is a fungus that the insect plants inside the tunnels as food for its young. But also riding along is a tiny, hitchhiking mite, which likewise carries a fungus for feeding its own larvae.

Curiosities: Why does it seem like mosquitoes are attracted to some people more than others?

June 30, 2008

“It’s true. There’s always one in every group,” says UW–Madison entomology professor and mosquito expert Susan Paskewitz. Photo: Jeff Miller That’s…

Hungry insects leave clues to impacts of climate change

August 27, 2007

Harshaw, Wis. — A boardwalk beckons into the stand of trees, pleasantly cool on a hot summer morning — where it becomes immediately clear…