beetles

Hawaii introduced predatory beetles 13 times to control crop pests; the only species that established was one scientists never meant to introduce

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Hawaii introduced predatory beetles 13 times to control crop pests; the only species that established was one scientists never meant to introduce

Representative Image of diverse Calosoma beetle species with a focus on their failed introductions to Hawaii (AI Generated Image) For six decades, scientists repeatedly introduced predatory beetles to Hawaii in an effort to control crop-damaging caterpillars, but none of the intentionally released species established a lasting population. A study published in Biological Control titled Calosoma … Read more

Meet Patrick Urban: The German dung beetle specialist who found a species never known to science among collected beetles

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Meet Patrick Urban: The German dung beetle specialist who found a species never known to science among collected beetles

PC: University of Nebraska–Lincoln From university laboratories in Germany to beetle specimens collected from dung in China, Patrick Urban’s career has focused on insects that are easy to overlook. The German biologist specialises in dung beetle taxonomy and ecology, with particular attention to the Onthophagini group found across the Palearctic and Indomalayan regions. His work … Read more

A fungus turns beetles into zombies and makes them die on flowers; scientists say the timing helps infect the next generation

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A fungus turns beetles into zombies and makes them die on flowers; scientists say the timing helps infect the next generation

A fungus infecting goldenrod soldier beetles can alter their behaviour before death and cause changes to their bodies afterwards. Researchers investigating Eryniopsis lampyridarum found infected Chauliognathus pensylvanicus beetles clamped their mandibles tightly onto flower heads shortly before dying. Between 15 and 22 hours after death, the fungus caused the beetles to raise their hardened forewings … Read more