AMNH scientists grace Science & Nature covers Apr 11, 2008
Other findings that warrant further research: tardigrades (tiny, segmented water bears with claws that can suspend life for years in lichen and moss), initially thought to be like insects now seem to be closer to nematodes (annelids, or worms); and true, segmented worms, formerly thought to be related to arthropods may share closer ancestry with mollusks. The analysis of plant and animal distribution in Madagascar that Raxworthy participated in was conducted by researchers from the Department... (EurekAlert!)
X-Rays Reveal Ancient Bugs Hidden in Amber Apr 10, 2008
Computerized reconstructions of two arthropods found in opaque amber: e), the isopod crustacean Ligia and f), the insect hymenopteran Falciformicidae. Computerized reconstructions of two arthropods found in opaque amber: e), the isopod crustacean Ligia and f), the insect hymenopteran Falciformicidae. (Fox News)
More of this story Mar 29, 2008
The pesticides used for mosquito control are designed to kill bugs, and lobsters are bugs, or more specifically, arthropods, according to the Maine Environmental Policy Institute. They share many life characteristics and a common evolutionary history with insects. (Newport Daily News, RI)
First 'Rule' Of Evolution Suggests That Life Is Destined To Become More Complex Mar 18, 2008
Like all arthropods, crustaceans bodies are built up of repeating segments. In the simplest crustaceans, the segments are quite similar - one after the other. (Science Daily)
Escaping the web of lies (black widow) Mar 16, 2008
Prey caught in the web includes a variety of insects (cockroaches and beetles) and other arthropods. After ensnaring its prey in the web, the black widow makes small punctures in the victim s body and sucks out the liquid contents. (Petersburg Progress Index, VA)
Sefton to pursue studies in zoology at Cambridge as Gates Cambridge scholar Mar 6, 2008
in Zoology through studies of segmentation of arthropods a group that possesses 80 percent of living animals on the planet, including all insects and crustaceans. I m looking forward to working with Michael Akam, a pioneer in the field of evolution and development, Sefton said. (Univeristy of Chicago Chronicle, IL)
Tree Of Animal Life Has Branches Rearranged Mar 6, 2008
unambiguously confirmed certain animal relationships, including the existence of a group that includes invertebrates that shed their skin, such as arthropods and nematodes. convincingly resolved conflicting evidence surrounding other relationships, such as the close relationship of millipedes and centipedes to spiders rather than insects. (Science Daily)
Prep Hoops: Friday fast break Feb 22, 2008
His classes are currently studying arthropods, classification of animals and intertidal communities. INTERESTING: "Marine biology is the one most people like," he said. (The Augusta Chronicle)
Urban Ecology: Taking Measure Of The Coming Megacity's Impact Feb 14, 2008
" Studies over the last 10 years by Wu and his students using geospatial analysis and computer modeling have shown that the Phoenix urban landscape has become geometrically more complex, but ecologically more fragmented. Also, urbanization-induced increases in temperature, CO2, and nitrogen deposition will significantly affect the productivity, carbon and nitrogen cycling, and a suite of biogeochemical processes of the native ecosystems, resulting in altered ecosystem functioning and services.... (Science Daily)
Secret Of Carnivorous Pitcher Plant's Slurp Feb 2, 2008
24, 2007) Carnivorous plants supplement the meager diet available from the nutrient-poor soils in which they grow by trapping and digesting insects and other small arthropods. Pitcher plants of the genus. (Science Daily)
Crustaceans, myriapods, and chelicerates, oh my Jan 23, 2008
The title "Arthropods: Creatures That Rule" sounds awesome at first, as in "Creatures that rule, dude!" But after reading a little more on the Harvard Museum of Natural History website, you'll realize they mean ruling the earth - forever. Yikes. (Boston Globe)
Living Things in Soil Jan 23, 2008
Arthropods: Insects, arachnids, and insect-like creatures called springtails live in the soil in massive numbers ... Arthropods also add their wastes and dead bodies to the soil. (Suite101.com)
An isopod is cute in the eyes of an isopod Dec 18, 2007
as far as I can tell this is artistic licence, giant arthropods arent listed as endangered by the IUCN.. Image: underside of a giant isopod captured by Bob Carney of Louisiana State University (, ) / NOAA. (Nature News Service)
Building Organic Matter Worthy of Growers’ Time and Attention Nov 30, 2007
The chemical energy stored in the new compounds can now be used by organisms such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, worms, arthropods (mites, springtails, beetles, ants, centipedes, maggots, termites, grubs, spiders and millipedes), even vertebrates like mice. Historically, in farming, emphasis has often been on the soil organisms that harm our crops, and the purpose was to eradicate them, notes Duiker. (Agri-View, WI)
Wind and Heat in Desert Gardens Nov 28, 2007
It also helps increase the organic content of the soil, attracting desirable bacteria and larger animals like earthworms, arthropods and other invertebrates. Mulch also encourages root growth, helping plants increase their water-intake capabilities, and discourages weed growth. (Suite101.com)
Carnivorous Plants Use 'Slimy Saliva' Nov 24, 2007
24, 2007) Carnivorous plants supplement the meager diet available from the nutrient-poor soils in which they grow by trapping and digesting insects and other small arthropods. Pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes were thought to capture their prey with a simple passive trap but in a paper in PLoS One, Laurence Gaume and Yoel Forterre, a biologist and a physicist from the CNRS, working respectively in the University of Montpellier and the University of Marseille, France show that they employ... (Science Daily)
A 2.5-metre long scorpion fossil Nov 24, 2007
One theory is that there was little competition from vertebrates, so ancient arthropods like the sea scorpion were able to flourish. Another is that there was more oxygen in the atmosphere. (Hindu)
Giant Fossil Sea Scorpion Bigger Than Man Nov 22, 2007
5 metres (8 feet) long -- almost half a metre longer than previous estimates for these arthropods and the largest one ever to have evolved ... Some geologists believe that giant arthropods evolved due to higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere in the past ... It is more likely that some ancient arthropods were big because there was little competition from the vertebrates, as we see today. (Science Daily)
Fossil reveals existence of giant killer prawn Nov 22, 2007
"We knew that arthropods from this period were large, but not that they were this large.". Some palaeoscientists believe higher oxygen levels could have enabled the existence of super-sized invertebrates at that time, including monster millipedes, huge cockroaches, and dragonflies with 75cm wingspans. (Ninemsn)
Scientists find fossil of biggest bug ever Nov 22, 2007
"The claw itself is a foot-and-a-half long (0.46 meter), indicating that these ancient arthropods were much larger than previous estimates, and certainly the largest seen to date," said Tetlie ... This creature, which lived between 460 and 255 million years ago, belonged to a group that has been known to be among the largest extinct arthropods, based on both body fossils and trace fossils ... The researchers said this enormous claw showed that ancient arthropods such as spiders, insects, crabs... (Xinhuanet, China)
390-million-year-old scorpion fossil -- biggest bug known Nov 22, 2007
The gigantic fossil claw of an 390 million-year-old sea scorpion, recently found in Germany, shows that ancient arthropods spiders, insects, crabs and the like were surprisingly larger than their modern-day counterparts ... The claw itself is a foot-and-a-half long indicating that these ancient arthropods were much larger than previous estimates and certainly the largest seen to date ... This creature, which lived between 460 and 255 million years ago is of a group that have been known... (EurekAlert!)
Sea scorpion that was bigger than a human Nov 22, 2007
The claw of the sea scorpion Jaekelopterus rhenaniae measured 46 centimetres long, indicating the creature was half a metre longer than previous estimates of the ancient arthropods. Just why prehistoric arthropods - creatures with external skeletons and segmented bodies - grew so large is unclear. (India Times, India -- Health/Science)
Skin Disorders In Construction Workers Following Hurricanes Katrina And Rita Nov 21, 2007
"People working and living in post-hurricane environments where flooding has occurred may be at an increased risk of exposure to arthropods. To reduce dermatologic morbidity, we suggest avoiding flooded areas, fumigating with an acaricide [pesticide], wearing protective clothing and using arthropod repellent.". Journal article: Arch Dermatol. (Science Daily)
Giant sea scorpion discovered Nov 21, 2007
"It forces us to modify our ideas about how large arthropods can be." ... Giant arthropods, including huge millipedes and dragonflies, are known to have existed on land during the Carboniferous, some 359 million to 299 million years ago. (Nature News Service)
Is Your Garden in an Arid Region? Nov 17, 2007
Soil tends to be fairly sterile and lacking in both life and , like earthworms and arthropods. In the United States, arid regions are defined as the western parts of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Central and West Texas, most of New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, northeastern California, and eastern Oregon and Washington. (Suite101.com)
Earlier bites by uninfected mosquitoes boost West Nile deaths in lab mice Nov 16, 2007
The UTMB researchers were surprised to find that mosquito bites seemed to have a detrimental effect with West Nile virus, because multiple earlier bites from other uninfected arthropods can actually protect against the parasites and bacteria carried by them. Previous work has clearly indicated that pre-exposure to the bites of uninfected sand flies has a protective effect for mice against cutaneous leishmaniasis, said Dr. Lynn Soong, the papers other senior author and an immunologist who works... (EurekAlert!)
Horsehair Snakes Nov 2, 2007
Gordian or Horsehair Worm Larvae Parasitise Arthropods ... There are two groups of Horsehair Worms (Phylum Nematomorha) - the Gordiids (over 200 species which parasitise land arthropods as larvae and live freely in freshwater as adults) and the Nectonematids (5 species described which parasitise marine arthropods as larvae and reproduce in the sea) ... Land arthropods do not normally leap into water, but an infection by Gordian Worms has a strange effect on behaviour (at least in grasshoppers... (Suite101.com)
Ancient mammals had modern teeth Nov 1, 2007
Here it's portrayed as foraging among ginkgo leaves and the scattered shells of arthropods on the shore of a shallow freshwater lake. . (MSNBC -- Environment)
Controlling Fire Ants Area-Wide Oct 17, 2007
According to Oi, studies have so far shown that V. invictae doesn't infect non-fire ants or other arthropods collected in Argentina, so it may be suitable for release in the United States. To abate the progression of fire ants across the southern United States, an areawide project is in place. (Science Daily)
Harry Kaya Named Fellow of Entomological Society of America Davis, Oct. 05 Oct 6, 2007
His research has emphasized the ecology and behavior of carnivorous arthropods, biological control, and integrated pest management (IPM). Michael E. Irwin, named ESA's only 2007 honorary member, received his bachelor of science degree at UC Davis in 1963 and went on to receive a doctorate in entomology from UC Riverside. (University of California Newswire, CA)
Insect scientists meet Oct 2, 2007
"Indeed, sustainable investment in scientific training and research is the only option that would enable us to develop appropriate technologies to solve our numerous challenges in agriculture, forestry and human health caused by insects and other arthropods," Mr Odoom said. He called on the insect scientists to formulate policies, which would enable humankind to co-exist with insects in order to enhance biodiversity and minimise environmental degradation. (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Antarctic Plants And Animal Life Survived Ice Ages Oct 1, 2007
Cryptopygus is one of the most successful terrestrial arthropods to have colonised the Antarctic continent. Although only 1-2 mm long and weighing only a few micro-grams, it is one of the largest animals to complete its lifecycle on the Antarctic continent. (Science Daily)
Boring diet constrains venom evolution Sep 28, 2007
Land snakes target various prey species including insects (arthropods), lizards (reptiles), frogs and toads (amphibians), birds (aves), and rodents (mammals), whereas sea snakes target a single vertebrate class (fishes) and often specialize on specific types of fish. It is therefore interesting to examine the evolution of toxins in sea snake venoms compared to that of land snakes. (BioMed Central)
October Geology and GSA Today media highlights Sep 26, 2007
von Bitter et al. describe such exceptions preserved in the 425-million-year-old Silurian Eramosa Lagersttte of Ontario, Canada, including abundant articulated conodont skeletons with eye traces and heterostracan jawless fish with the first recorded traces of preserved soft tissue (vertebrates), annelids and arthropods with soft body parts (invertebrates), and diverse marine plants. The exceptionally preserved biota of the Eramosa Lagersttte lived in marginally marine to fully marine... (EurekAlert!)
Tarantulas, centipedes and monarchs, oh my! Sep 23, 2007
Your Connection to the. Tomorrow, they won't be afraid to touch a worm and then a frog. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Enormous Spider Web Found In Texas Sep 14, 2007
Spiders, like mites and scorpions, are arachnids, a group of arthropods with four pairs of legs, saclike lungs and a body divided into two segments. So popular was the monster Lake Tawakoni spider web phenomenon that it ran as the lead story in the Nation section of the Aug. 31 New York Times, and was the newspaper s most e-mailed article that day. (Science Daily)
'Maggot Art' Offers Children Colorful Lesson In Entomology Sep 13, 2007
Schofield opened her lesson with a discussion about arthropods, a group of animals that includes insects, arachnids and crustaceans. She introduced the class to Trixie, her pet tarantula, and described the difference between harmful centipedes and pet-worthy millipedes. (Science Daily)
Fall Arts Preview Sep 9, 2007
Ongoing: "Arthropods: Creatures That Rule," "Climate Change: Our Global Experiment," glass flowers, animal specimens, 42-foot-long Kronosaurus skeleton, world's largest turtle shell. "Nests & Eggs." Harvard University Art Museums Harvard University, Cambridge. (Boston Globe -- Living)
Wildlife: Invasion of the creepy-crawlies Sep 9, 2007
They are arthropods, invertebrates that have "jointed legs," and are related to insects, spiders and crustaceans. The centipede body consists of a head with chewing mouth parts and a single pair of long antenna, and a long, flat, slender lower body consisting of a variable number of segments, each bearing one pair of legs. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Bacterial genes jump to host Aug 31, 2007
K. Fenn et al., "Phylogenetic Relationships of the Wolbachia of Nematodes and Arthropods," PLoS Pathogens, October 13, 2006. F.D. Bushman, "Evolutionary teamwork," The Scientist, May 10, 2004. (The Scientist)
This Weekend Aug 31, 2007
For more information, call Wildlife West at 281-7655 or visit Learn About Bugs At Sandia Center The final installment of the First Saturday Series at the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The theme will be "Insects, Arthropods and Arachnids." Visitors will search for and identify the creepy, crawly bugs at the center. The environmental education center will also feature self-guided hikes, two hands-on exhibit rooms and a bird-viewing deck. (Cedar Crest East Mountain Telegraph, NM)
IDPH Officials working to confirm source of strange bug-bite rash Aug 21, 2007
There are more than 45,000 different species of mites and definitive identification must be performed by expert entomologists who specialize in this group of arthropods. IDPH has responded to numerous reports of bites and sent information to local health departments, hospitals, emergency departments and physicians concerning these rashes. (Monmouth Daily Review Atlas, IL)
Mutation in gene made West Nile a crow killer Aug 14, 2007
It has become the leading cause of encephalitis from a virus transmitted by arthropods, a group of invertebrates that includes insects, spiders and ticks. West Nile in birds. (Davis Enterprise, CA)
Leave the critters Aug 13, 2007
There are two main types of beneficial arthropods, predators and parasitoids ... Parasitoids are wasps or flies that lay their eggs on or inside other arthropods; they are also called parasites. (The Palm Beach Post)
Polysaccharides Aug 12, 2007
Large amounts of chitin is found in the cuticles of arthropods, with smaller amounts being found in sponges, molluscs and annelids. Chitin can also be found in the cell walls of most fungi and in some green algae. (Suite101.com)
Full Story » Aug 2, 2007
Ants also can have significant impacts on other arthropods (invertebrate having jointed limbs and a segmented body with an exoskeleton ed.), Mooney said. he study indicates that pine canopies are very complex systems with an unexpected level of biodiversity, said Mooney. (Boulder Colorado Daily, CO)
Uganda: Ebola-Like Virus Hits Western Town Aug 1, 2007
The cave was investigated by placing sentinels animals inside to see if they would become infected, and by taking samples from numerous animals and arthropods trapped during the investigation. The investigation yielded no virus and the sentinel animals remained healthy. (allAfrica.com)
Chickadee, nutchatch presence in conifers increases tree growth, says CU-Boulder study Aug 1, 2007
Mooney collected about 150,000 insect specimens from the mountain study area, identifying more than 300 separate spider and insect species collectively known as arthropods. The trees used in the study were set up to exclude birds, ants, or both, since ants also can have significant impacts on other arthropods, he said. (EurekAlert!)
But Madame Butterfly, Where Are All the Males? Jul 17, 2007
ADVERTISEMENT (article continues below) Wolbachia is one of many bacteria that infect arthropods such as butterflies and selectively kill only one sex; its effect on the other sex is benign. By destroying nearly all of an infected female's male embryos, this selective behavior guarantees that all females almost the entire population are infected, thereby maximizing the bacteria's spread. (Scientific American)
Chitin From Lobster Shell Shows Great Healing And Bio-stimulant Properties Jul 17, 2007
Only cellulose is more abundant than chitin, which makes this compound a highly important renewable resource that can easily be found in arthropods, insects, arachnids, molluscs, fungus and algae. The fishing industry in Cuba generates great amounts of lobster waste, a pollutant rich in proteins and chitin , states Professor Carlos Andr;s Peniche Covas, head of the Biopolymers Research Group, from the Biomaterials Centre of the University of Havana. (Science Daily)
Natural Selection At Work In Dramatic Comeback Of Male Butterflies Jul 15, 2007
The researchers noted that bacteria that selectively kill male offspring are found among a range of arthropods, so what was seen in this study may not be unusual, despite the fact that it has never before been described in the scientific literature. Previous research has revealed some of the extraordinary ways in which insects adapt to the pressures inherent when nearly all its members are of one gender. (Science Daily)
It's a bot's life Jul 13, 2007
RHex and RiSE are small, six-legged robots inspired by cockroaches and other arthropods. They are capable of running, leaping over obstacles, climbing stairs and, with modifications, walking up walls and trees. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sampling Daphnia's expressed genes: preservation, expansion and invention of crustacean genes with reference to insect genomes Jul 6, 2007
Finally, a substantial fraction of the sampled gene transcripts shares no sequence similarity with those from other arthropods. Genes functioning during development and reproduction are comparatively well conserved between crustaceans and insects. (BioMed Central)
Toad’s call can cause long nights Jul 5, 2007
Rather, during periods of humid weather following a rain, they will emerge from their burrows at dusk and feed on beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, ants, spiders, moths, caterpillars and other small arthropods during the night. Occasionally, sticky matter secreted from their skin is seen at the entrance. (Helena Independent Record)
• Glad You Asked Jun 28, 2007
Research has shown that more than 80 percent of suspected "spider bites" are caused by other arthropods, such as insects and ticks. Spiders are usually very timid and will only bite in self-defense if mishandled, cornered or injured. (Racine Journal Times, WI)
CR1 clade of non-LTR retrotransposons from Maculinea butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): evidence for recent horizontal transmission Jun 25, 2007
However, diversity of non-LTR retroelements in arthropods seems to be much richer. The present study extends the analysis of non-LTR retroelements to CR1 clade from four butterfly species of genus Maculinea (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). (BioMed Central)
Times are a-changing in the Arctic Jun 20, 2007
Dr Hoye said the movements in the season of six species of plants, 12 species of arthropods and three bird species must be tied to the earlier times of the year when the snow melts in the Zackenberg region of Northeast Greenland, where the study was carried out. "It's an indication that for the plants, arthropods and birds there's a change in their shared physical environment that results in a change in their behaviour. That must be when the snow melts," he said. (New Zealand Herald)
Blooms and buzz of spring are weeks early in the Arctic Jun 19, 2007
Spring is arriving in the Arctic more than two weeks earlier than it did just a decade ago, according to sightings of birds, insects and plants. Flowering, egg laying and the emergence of insects are taking place 14; days earlier in the year on average than they did a decade ago. (Times Online)
Flipping over horseshoe crabs: Volunteers join the count Jun 16, 2007
Gathering at Calf Pasture Beach near the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 72 station, they walked at dawn's low tide through eel grass and along a sand spit searching for the seafaring arthropods that had come to nest. Once Schnierlein and his team found the horseshoe crabs, they tagged and recorded each one, 64 in all, before returning them to the sand. (Stamford Advocate)
When Lava Flows And Glaciers Recede, Predicting How Species Take Over May 25, 2007
Whenever an event such as a fire, clear cut, or lava flow creates an empty habitat, species arrive, interact, and assemble to form a new ecological community--a process known as "succession." How quickly does succession proceed" Most ecologists might expect change to be rapid at first and then decline as the community ages, but there was no systematic analysis of this idea until recently. In a study published in the June issue of the American Naturalist, ecologist Kristina Anderson of the... (Science Daily)
Cicadas as Food: Summer's Low-Fat Snack? May 23, 2007
Crayfish, lobsters, crabs, and shrimp are part of the same biological phylum arthropods as insects, Jadin notes in the brochure. "So popping a big juicy beetle, cricket, or cicada into your mouth is only a step away," Jadin writes. (National Geographic)
UCR to Fete Renowned Entomologist's 50 Years of Service UCR, May. 18 May 19, 2007
During his 50-year affiliation with the Department of Entomology, Mulla used his expertise and knowledge of insects and related arthropods to find solutions for vector-associated problems in California, in the United States, and around the world ... The center's researchers collaborate across disciplines to find new approaches to control the spread of plant and animal diseases vectored by arthropods. (University of California Newswire, CA)
Pests in a Desert Vegetable Garden May 6, 2007
Beneficial arthropods. Lady beetles (lady bugs, lady birds) consume great numbers of aphids. (Suite101.com)
Bugged by your closet? Well, check this May 1, 2007
The UCF Collection of Arthropods is one of the school's most curious assets, respected by scientists and researchers worldwide but little-known on campus. Ask a UCF student what the Bug Closet is and you'll likely get a blank stare or a shrug. (Orlando Sentinel)
Giant moss that towered above the trees Apr 24, 2007
Huge mosses soaring more than 130ft into the air dwarfed everything else in a rainforest that was swallowed by the sea 300 million years ago. Palaeontologists have found the fossilised remains of gigantic club mosses alongside thousands of other plants in an extraordinary frozen forest. (Times Online)
