Awakened from hibernation underground, in rotting wood and the cracks of your house, bugs are on the rise. Ants, termites, mosquitoes, ladybugs and ticks are up early and looking for breakfast. Orkin, the pest control company, recently said its agents nationwide are reporting a 30 percent increase in calls to treat ant infestations compared...
Continue readingTag: caterpillars
Meet Treebot, the tree-climbing forest sentinel
HONG KONG – INSPIRED by tiny caterpillars, Treebot may be China’s new answer to forest preservation. The slinky robot grips trees with spidery legs to climb and is equipped with a camera to spot any dangers to forests high amidst the leaves. Its segmented body allows it to negotiate complex branches and make turns....
Continue readingAmphibious caterpillars discovered in Hawaii – LA Times
Scientists aren’t sure how the 12 species spend weeks underwater without breaking the surface. They don’t have gills and they don’t hold their breath. Moths of the Hawaiian genus Hyposmocoma are an oddball crowd: One of the species’ caterpillars attacks and eats tree snails. Now researchers have described at least a dozen different species...
Continue readingHawaii growers urged to clean up exports-The Honolulu Advertiser
By Robbie Dingeman Advertiser Staff Writer Hawai’i’s $125 million agricultural export industry could be threatened by hitchhiking insects and other pests found on fresh flower, foliage and fruit shipments arriving in California. Budget cuts have left California with fewer inspectors and made that state more prone to slap sanctions on importers when pests are...
Continue readingLayoffs could leave island vulnerable to alien species – Mauinews.com
Should the layoffs go forward in November as planned by Gov. Linda Lingle, not all Maui-based inspectors will disappear, according to Carol Okada, manager of the Plant Quarantine Bureau in the state Department of Agriculture. There are inspectors in 10 positions covered by special funds who will not be affected, including six funded...
Continue readingAlien caterpillars found on Oahu
HONOLULU, June 8 (UPI) — An invasive caterpillar with a nasty sting has turned up on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The stinging nettle caterpillar first entered Hawaii through Hilo via an illegal shipment of seedlings from Taiwan in 2001, KITV-TV, Honolulu, reported. The problem was brought under control around Hilo, but now the...
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