Local Bug News

Today's edition of the Union-Tribune features an article on Michael Wall, a former entomology curator at the San Diego Natural History Museum who was recently appointed director of the museum's Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias. What makes this interesting bug news is not just Mr. Wall's extensive education and experience in the field of entomology, but the enthusiasm he will bring to the area of biodiversity in San Diego. In the article, he is quoted as saying that bugs "have a special place in my heart." We won't take him too literally, but welcome the focus he brings to the insect populations in the county and the increased awareness the museum hopes to achieve.

Last May, Mr. Wall generated public interest with a BioBlitz in Balboa Park. Experienced scientists and volunteers conducted a 24-hour inventory of species found in the park, with nature hikes, science talks and museum exhibits as part of the day's activities. Another BioBlitz is planned for May 1 & 2, 2009. To visit the BioBlitz website, click here. Also available online is a site specific to the Entomology collection at the Museum of Natural History, which holds over 900,000 labeled specimens. The collection is especially strong in beetles and butterflies, and represents well the bugs of San Diego, Southern California, and northwestern Mexico. To see lists of specific insects in San Diego County, click here for butterflies, or here for spiders. There is also a checklist here that shows spiders of Baja California. If you are interested in California beetles, click here. 

From the FAQ section of this terrific website, we have the last word on San Diego's three resident tarantulas. They are not only shy and docile, their venom is considered non-toxic to humans. Local tarantulas are beneficial predators who feed on sowbugs, pillbugs, insects and even other spiders - making these big, scary-looking arachnids actually good bugs! We are grateful to the museum and its staff for supporting such a helpful and informative website.

Tuesday's Quiz: Weird Insect News

Today's quiz features odd and interesting news items related to insects from all over the world. So have fun today and look for answers to these questions in tomorrow's blog.

1. A French arts collective recently unveiled their latest creation: a 50-foot mechanical arachnid placed strategically on the side of one of Liverpool's biggest buildings. The three-story spider is called:

a. Big Mamma

b. Spot

c. Ringo

d. La Princess

2. On September 3, a Japanese temple burned to the ground when one of the monks accidentally dropped a torch he had fashioned for the purpose of ridding the temple of:

a. cockroaches

b. hornets

c. spiders

d. rats

3. PETA gave an award to a teacher in Eagle Rock, California last spring for what classroom innovation?

a. appointing an insect monitor to prevent the squashing of bugs

b. a science experiment that led to a humane mouse trap

c. relocating a bee hive that had formed outside the classroom

d. studying the habits of ants in an effort to help them multiply

4. A New Jersey man recently blew up his apartment, destroying 80% of the home.  What was he doing?

a. spraying for roaches

b. using fire crackers to scare rodents

c. mixing homemade insecticide in his kitchen sink

d. chasing a rat

5. Customs agents in Philadelphia, alerted by noises inside an overseas package, inspected the parcel and found what inside?

a. Pet roaches from Madagascar

b. Baby mice from New Brunswick

c. Giant beetles from Taiwan

d. Honey bees from Ghana

6. A recent article gives evidence of a variety of ants native to Brazil that have been observed doing something heroic. What are they doing?

a. the ants join together to carry drowning beetles to safety

b. individual ants perform a kind of ant-CPR on the queen if she is in danger

c. several older ants sacrifice themselves by covering the entrance to their nest

d. worker ants form a chain that enables weaker ants to return to the nest

7. A fossilized dragonfly from 250 million years ago was found to have a wingspan of

a. 12 cm

b. 28 inches

c. 15 mm

d. 3 feet

Undercover Bees

A recent article in Science News describes the latest "Sting Operation" - bees and wasps trained to sniff out illegal and dangerous substances. According to the article by Susan Gaidos, researchers have found that bees are adept at discerning the smell of TNT, methamphetamine and other scents. With similar training, wasps have been used to find bodies in search-and-rescue missions. Bees and wasps may be put to work in sniffing out drugs and bombs at airports and border crossings, military installations and schools. Apparently, it only takes a few minutes of training to replace the bees' natural ability to find pollen with the target scent. The photo above shows a honeybee receiving an odor by sticking out its proboscis - filing away orders for the day. 

Chemist Robert Wingo of Los Alamos' Stealthy Insect Sensor Project is quoted in the article as saying, "The general premise is, if it smells, we believe we can train our bees to detect it." Bees are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and seem to be able to pick up scents that dogs cannot. In some cases, the bees perform better than lab instruments. How do they do it? Bees and other insects have antennae covered with thousands of microscopic sensors. Even moths can learn and remember a wide range of target odors. Research in insect tracking began in earnest in the 1990's, but the obvious question was how to harness the effect without letting bees loose in an airport or school. Today, portable bomb detectors are contained in units about the size of a shoe box. Inside, bees are kept in tubes and exposed to puffs of air as a video camera monitors the bees' reactions. They have been taught to stick out their tongues when the air puff smells of TNT or plastic explosives. Using the same approach forager bees can detect a wide variety of compounds, including illegal drugs, even when buried with other scents. Other teams of scientists are working with wasps, giving them similar tasks and training. But for now, the real world applications have been few. With further refinement, you may be facing undercover bees at airports and in the workplace soon. Just a matter of getting the bugs worked out!

The Great Race

Cockroaches were in the news again today, as a race between two giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches took place in New Brunswick, New Jersey yesterday. What made it newsworthy was how the roaches were named and how they finished. The New Jersey Pet Management Association included the race as part of their annual clinic and trade show. And the roaches were names John McCain and Barack Obama. According to one news release, McCain "sped to the finish while Barack Obama was reluctant to leave the starting point." There's no guarantee the race is a prediction of things to come in November, but you have to like their style. Madagascar hissing cockroaches get their name their place of origin, the island of Madagascar off the eastern coast of Africa, and from the loud hissing sound they make to scare away predators. They are large in the roach world, up to three inches long, and are sometimes kept as pets. Although they are not a pest control problem here in San Diego, we knew you'd want to know they are doing their part for national politics.

Science Tidbits

Two items in yesterday's San Diego Union-Tribune are worth passing on. In the science section, a request was forwarded from the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, asking for photos of local wetlands plants and animals for its website. Specifically, as it applies to bugs, the conservancy is looking for pictures of sand wasps and spittle bugs. Although neither of these are home invaders, spittle bugs can do damage to yard and lawn. Their identifying characteristic is the foamy masses of "spittle" they produce as a way of creating their own moist environment and protecting themselves from predators. 

Female sand wasps burrow in the ground. Again, these are not pests you might encounter at home - but they are out and around San Diego County, and their image is being requested. If you encounter either of these bugs and have a camera handy, send your photo to photos@sanelijo.org or email questions to ralph@sanelijo.org

The other item in the Quest section of the paper that relates to entomology is an anecdotal story about the late great scientist, Charles Darwin. Although we are not in the habit of passing on information we cannot substantiate, this was too good to pass up. The story goes that Mr. Darwin saw a beetle as he was taking a walk, paused and picked it up. He spotted another beetle he wanted for his collection and put that specimen in his other hand. As luck would have it, he saw a third beetle. Not wanting to leave it behind, he put one of the insects in his mouth so he could collect his new find. The beetle in his mouth promptly "emitted a noxious spray," causing Darwin to spit it out and drop the other two beetles. According to the article, "Darwin went home beetleless." Sounds like a good idea.

Next week: The Year of the Flea.