Research from the NC Agricultural Research Service

Laura Jane Martin blogs in @SciAm about Nick Haddad's Fort Bragg research on the very rare, endangered sedge butterfly, St. Francis' Satyr. Read more about Dr. Haddad's interesting forays into military territory in search of the elusive beauty: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/03/26/butterflies-and-bombs/?WT_mc_id=SA_CAT_ENGYSUS_20130328

Dr. Rick Brandenburg, William Neal Reynolds Professor of Distinction in the Department of Entomology, will be recognized March 1 as one of eight Distinguished Agriculture Alumni Award winners at Purdue University. Brandenburg earned a bachelor’s degree in entomology from Purdue in 1977. The award honors mid-career alumni who have a record of outstanding accomplishments, have made significant contributions to their profession or society and have exhibited high potential for professional growth.

CALS researchers find that one of the most aggressive invasive ant species in the US, the Argentine ant, appears to have met its match in the Asian needle ant. Former NC State PhD student Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice & Dr. Jules Silverman, Entomology, published their findings in PLoS One:

http://scienceblog.com/59643/asian-needle-ants-displacing-other-aggressive-invaders/ ;

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0056281

"When Hurricane Sandy whipped through the Mid-Atlantic in October, the superstorm not only damaged hundreds of thousands of homes, displaced thousands of residents and shut down Wall Street, it swept right through the middle of an NC State research project collecting data on insects in New York City. Researchers will return to the storm-ravaged region next month to continue their work.

"The project got off to a smooth start last summer when ecologists Amy Savage and Elsa Youngsteadt, researchers in the Departments of Entomology and Biology, deposited sticky card traps, data loggers and other measuring devices in trees throughout New York City parks. This was part of Youngsteadt’s research on how urban warming impacts arthropods (such as scale insects, leaf hoppers and caterpillars.) Savage was studying the ecology of Manhattan’s ants."

Note: Both researchers are members of the team of Your Wild Life, a fascinating, rich group of studies, including Citizen Science, from the lab of Rob R. Dunn in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, NCSU.

You can see their profiles here:

http://www.yourwildlife.org/about-us/

NC Honeybee Research Consortium

http://www.ncsu.edu/project/honey_bee_res/

Dr. Tarpy's web site

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/tarpy

CALS Entomologist, Dr. Clyde Sorenson, tells WUNC radio about the life cycle and emergence of Brood II of red-eyed 17-year magicicadas, who will shortly emerge from the soil for a mating frenzy. They sound, he says, eerie, like a weird cross between a fire engine and a space ship. There's a sound clip in the story, too! | Read more | http://tinyurl.com/clp2ve6

Some insects like it hot! CALS entomologist, Emily Meineke finds that scale insect pests thrive in the warmth of urban heat islands. Read more: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/03/urban-heat-islands-are-making-cities-lousy-insects/5118/

Dr. Coby Schal, entomologist in the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences coauthored the study with authors were Dale Batchelor of NCSU’s Analytical Instrumentation Facility & Marianna Zhukovskaya, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Read the paper in PNAS, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, here:

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/01/29/1212466110.abstract

Watch the stunning video of a LandTrendr visualization of the Pacific Northwest and see the colors change as the mountain pine beetle infestation encroaches on the healthy forest.

Like a self-absorbed teenager, insects spend a lot of time grooming.

In a study that delves into the mechanisms behind this common function, North Carolina State University researchers show that insect grooming – specifically, antennal cleaning – removes both environmental pollutants and chemicals produced by the insects themselves.

The findings, published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that grooming helps insects maintain acute olfactory senses that are responsible for a host of functions, including finding food, sensing danger and even locating a suitable mate.

The findings could also explain why certain types of insecticides work more effectively than others, leading to new pesticides.

Read the paper in PNAS here:

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/01/29/1212466110.abstract

Biologist, Dr. Rob Dunn, blogs in Scientific American on the role of natural recyclers, such as blowflies and scarabs, in ecology and recycling in nature.

"The Southern Region Small Fruits Consortium – a six-member group of land-grant universities including N.C. State – has received the 2012 Partnership Award for Multi-State Efforts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture. The award recognizes exemplary work impacting agriculture, environment, communities or people from a team at a land-grant university, cooperating institution or organization supported by the NIFA."

Visit the authoritative website for growers, Extension personnel and professionals at:

http://www.smallfruits.org

"N.C. State faculty members have been involved in the following SRSFC projects:

Dr. Frank Louws and Dr. Mahfuzur Rahman (N.C. State, entomology) have received grants for research and extension efforts related to foliar / fruit rot on strawberries.Dr. Hannah Burrack (N.C. State, entomology), Dr. Doug Pfeiffer (Virginia Tech) and Dr. Powell Smith (Clemson) received grants to develop a volunteer monitoring network for spotted wing drosophila, a recent invasive pest of soft-skinned small fruits. The monitoring network allows growers to apply pesticides in a timely manner to minimize losses to this pest.Dr. Gina Fernandez, (N.C. State, horticultural science) and colleagues have received grants since 2002 to develop raspberry and blackberry breeding programs. The program developed the red raspberry, “Nantahala,” which has resulted in commercial fruit sales of $16,000-$27,000 per acre."