Filed under: Events
Step into a Spider’s world!
Welcome the return of The Spider Pavilion, the only public spider-viewing center of its kind in the country. With the help of Museum gallery interpreters you can get up close to Orb Weaver spiders as they busily create intricate webs, interact with one another and feed on their prey, just as they do in the wild.
One of the residents on view is the Golden Silk, which builds webs up to three feet across and looks a little like spun gold! Also featured is the Banded Garden spider, producing large crisscross webs that resemble those of the most famous garden spider of all – Charlotte of E. B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web.”
In a separate viewing area are some of the more dangerous members of the arachnid family. Observe large scorpions, tarantulas and other rare spiders safely through terrarium glass.
Filed under: Bugs in the News
“The state is seeking approval to release a tiny African insect on all islands that is believed to be the best hope in controlling its invasive cousin — the destructive Erythrina gall wasp. Since it was first detected in Manoa two years ago, the wasp has killed thousands of trees from urban Honolulu to remote regions of the Neighbor Islands.”
See the full story at: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Sep/16/ln/hawaii709160348.html
Filed under: Bugs in the News
The grainy structure stuck to the bee, which is trapped in amber that’s 15 to 20 million years old, holds orchid pollen. This is a direct fossil observation of a plant-pollinator interaction.
Read more here:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070829-orchid-fossil.html
Check out some bee facts here:
http://www.totallybuggin.com/site/1586384/page/836011
Filed under: Bugs in the News
From the CDC: BBQs, gardening, swimming pools and hikes…and mosquitoes.
Enjoy the outdoors, but remember to protect yourself from mosquitoes and use insect repellent. West Nile virus transmission is underway in many parts of the US.
This virus can cause serious, life-altering and even fatal disease, so it’s worth it to take a couple minutes to prevent mosquito bites.
CDC West Nile Virus Home Page: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm
Check out some mosquito facts here: http://www.totallybuggin.com/site/1586384/page/838258
Filed under: Bugs in the News
(CNN) — A virus found in healthy Australian honey bees may be playing a role in the collapse of honey bee colonies across the United States, researchers reported Thursday. Honey bees walk on a moveable comb hive at the Bee Research Laboratory, in Beltsville, Maryland.
Colony collapse disorder has killed millions of bees — up to 90 percent of colonies in some U.S. beekeeping operations — imperiling the crops largely dependent upon bees for pollination, such as oranges, blueberries, apples and almonds. Get the full story here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/09/06/bee.disorder/index.html?eref=rss_tech
Check out Honey Bee facts here:
http://www.totallybuggin.com/site/1586384/page/836011
Filed under: Bugs in the News
Entomologists are debating the origin and rarity of a sprawling spider web that blankets several trees, shrubs and the ground along a 200-yard stretch of trail in a North Texas park.
Officials at Lake Tawakoni State Park say the massive mosquito trap is a big attraction for some visitors, while others won’t go anywhere near it.
“At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland,” said Donna Garde, superintendent of the park about 45 miles east of Dallas. “Now it’s filled with so many mosquitoes that it’s turned a little brown. There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs.” Watch the video:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/30/spider.web.ap/#cnnSTCVideo
Check out some spider facts here: http://www.totallybuggin.com/site/1586384/page/843135
Filed under: Fun Facts
Over 2725 butterfly species live in or pass through North America (although around 2000 of these are from Mexico.
But how about just in San Diego county? The size of the list may surprise you! How many of these species have you seen?
http://www.sdnhm.org/research/entomology/sdbutterflies.html
From http://www.naba.org/qanda.html :
How many kinds of butterflies are there?
There are approximately 20,000 species of butterflies in the world. About 725 species have occurred in North American north of Mexico, with about 575 of these occurring regularly in the lower 48 states of the United States, and with about 275 species occurring regularly in Canada. Roughly 2000 species are found in Mexico.
Filed under: Fun Facts
False. While there’s some dispute over the origin of the name “earwig,” there’s no dispute whatsoever among entomologists as to the insect’s fabled fondness for the human ear — it’s balderdash. (Earwigs aren’t particularly keen on devouring your brain, either.)
According to the Colorado State Cooperative Extension, “other than an occasional pinch, earwigs can’t harm people.”
For the full story, including the possible origins of this myth, go to
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/owt/blowt-earwig.htm
Filed under: Bugs in the News
“Butterfly collecting has come a long way since the Victorian caricature of ruddy-faced Englishmen in khaki shorts bounding across the countryside with enormous nets.
These days the worldwide illegal trade in endangered species is worth an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion a year, according to law enforcement reports.
It can be as perilous as it is lucrative.”
Read the full story of an undercover agent fighting butterfly poachers at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070818-0915-thebutterflysmuggler.html
Filed under: Fun Facts
For years, the rumor that people annually swallow a number of spiders while sleeping has circulated around the internet. Happily, two sources refute the myth, and one even goes so far as to explain the origins of the tall tale.
http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspidereat.html
