Over hundreds of million years of evolution, ants have come up with some pretty smart solutions to problems of agriculture, navigation and architecture. People could learn a thing or two.
Farmer preparing bean bags at a market in northern Nigeria.
Photo by Jorge Fernández/LightRocket via Getty Images
The impact of climate change on the spread of crop pests is established. Biological control methods show some promise but the pace of climate change means scientists are in a race against time.
Insects have a weak capacity to adjust their critical thermal limits.
Sam England
Climate change is exposing animals to temperatures outside of their normal limits – a new study has found that insects have a particularly weak ability to adjust.
Planting corn near Dwight, Ill., April 23, 2020. Virtually all corn seeds planted in the U.S. are coated with neonicotinoid insecticides.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Studies suggest that seeds coated with neonicotinoid insecticides may harm nontarget insects, mammals and birds. In response, states are starting to restrict use of these products.
You can plant a seed from a delicious Honeycrisp apple from the grocery store — but the fruit that comes from that tree will not be Honeycrisp.
(Shutterstock)
Apple breeders have created crisp, juicy and tasty fruits, but the limited varieties leave crops vulnerable to diseases, pests and climate change. Introducing new traits could improve crop resilience.
A caterpillar of the cabbage looper moth (Trichoplusia ni), a pest that feeds on vegetables.
(Shutterstock)
Gluttonous caterpillars are excellent crop pests — their kidneys perform several tasks that allow them to grow rapidly, while eating plants.
A community volunteer uses a motorised spray to apply pesticide on February 25, 2020 at a locust hatch site in eastern Kenya.
Photo by TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images
Farmers should use biopesticides - naturally occurring substances that kill pests such as the fall armyworm - instead of using pesticides, which are often highly toxic.
Not interested in your new favorite band.
TJ Gehling
An AC/DC-loving biologist tests the band’s 1980 assertion that “rock ‘n’ roll ain’t noise pollution.” Turns out it can be – and the negative effects of noise can ripple through an ecosystem.
Soybean seeds treated with neonicotinoids (blue) and treated corn seeds (red) versus untreated seeds.
Ian Grettenberger/PennState University
US farmers are planting more and more acres with seeds coated with neonicotinoid pesticides. An ecologist explains why this approach is overkill and may be doing more harm than good.
Agricultural pests are one of the key factors affecting small holder farmer production. Focus is normally put on invertebrate pests, but rodents can do severe damage to crops as well.
The Fall Armyworm has a devastating impact because it eats the reproductive parts of the plant as well as its leaves.
Shutterstock