Monthly Archives: October 2010
The scariest job in America?
Just in time for the “scare season”, the job search site CareerCast.com has come out with its list of the Top 10 Scariest Jobs in North America. Coming in at #1 is forensic entomologist. This career, and the others selected … Continue reading
New invader discovered in NC
Annother exotic, crop-damaging insect was discovered in North Carolina last month. The insect Drosophila suzukii was detected in insect traps at both ends of the state by extension specialist Dr. Hannah Burrack. The fly, a close relative of the “fruit … Continue reading
When nature pretends
Nature is full of impostors. Pretending to be something you are not is a strategy that works well for many species. Classic examples of this in the insect world are the numerous files and moths that impersonate stinging bees. This … Continue reading
Leigh Van Valen (1935-2010)
If you spend time in a museum, aquarium, zoo or similar type of place you’ll notice that the visitors get really excited (I mean really excited) about one thing in particular: feeding time. I’ve volunteered and worked in several places … Continue reading
The vertical gardeners
Autumn is here and that means it’s time to harvest the last of the veggies in the garden and start putting the soil to bed for the winter. I find that gardening is a wonderful activity to stimulate thinking and … Continue reading
Insects fight back (against bats)
Two weeks ago we were treated to a presentation by Dr. William Conner from Wake Forest University in which he discussed his research on the evolutionary arms race between tiger moths and one of their primary predators, bats. As most … Continue reading
Back from the dead
Today I read an account of a fly, which was thought to be extinct, being found in Spain last year. The fly, Thyreophora cynophila, was snapped by a nature photographer who posted an image of the fly on-line in the … Continue reading
Entomos blog 