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☆ Tick season: How to remove ticks and what to know about these bloodsuckers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

There are more than 800 species of ticks found around the world, and 84 that have been documented in the United States. The most common ones are blacklegged ticks (also known as deer ticks, but they feed on lots of animals besides deer), lone star ticks, American dog ticks and brown dog ticks. However, only female ticks drink to the point that they become engorged. Preventing tick bitesThe diseases carried by ticks can be debilitating or even life-threatening, and the risk of infection increases the longer a tick has been on you. Yes, they can be a public health concern, but we don’t want you to let ticks keep you indoors,” she said.

Persons: ”, Kait Chapman, Thomas Mather, ” Chapman, Lyme, they’ll, “, Mather, Chapman, permethrin, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, University of Nebraska, University of Rhode, Vector, Environmental Protection Agency Locations: United States, Lincoln, University of Rhode Island, Lyme, Cedars, Chicago

☆ Scientists identify ‘degrees of Kevin Bacon’ gene
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Even humble fruit flies organize themselves into regularly spaced clusters, researchers have found. Within those social networks, certain individuals will often stand out as “gatekeepers,” playing an important role for cohesion and communication within that group. New research published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications has identified a gene responsible for regulating the structure of social networks in fruit flies. The study opened up new opportunities for exploring the molecular evolution of social networks and collective behavior in other animals. FLPA/ShutterstockThe gene behind fruit fly social networksThe researchers investigated a number of gene candidates in fruit flies, a common lab organism used in the study of genetics.

Persons: ”, Kevin Bacon, Bacon, Joel Levine, Rebecca Rooke, ” Levine, Levine, “, ” Allen J, Moore, wasn’t, ” Moore Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, University of Toronto, University of Georgia’s Locations: Philadelphia, University of Toronto Mississauga

☆ Cicadas 2024: What to expect from the 2024 periodical cicada emergence and how to prepare
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The insects will infiltrate a much bigger geographical area than similar occurrences in most years because they’re part of the dual emergence of two particular periodical cicada broods. Although the full-scale emergence isn’t underway yet, experts have some guidance on how to prepare for cicada season. A periodical cicada that has just shed its outer skeleton crawls among holes dug by emerging cicada nymphs on May 20, 2021, in Takoma Park, Maryland. A young tree in Takoma Park, Maryland, is draped in netting in May 2021 to protect its small branches from being damaged by periodical cicadas laying their eggs in them. It’s not clear why periodical cicadas evolved to emerge every 13 or 17 years.

Persons: Louis —, Chip Somodevilla, “, ”, Paula Shrewsbury, ” Shrewsbury, John Lill, sapling, Lill, Jason Whitman, Shrewsbury, They’re Organizations: CNN, Naturalists, Southern, University of Maryland, North, George Washington University, US Food and Drug Administration Locations: Chicago, Nashville, St, Northern Illinois, Takoma Park , Maryland, North America, United States

☆ Invasive Jorō spiders can live well with humans, according to new study
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Typical spiders — and most creatures — tend to find the noise and wind disturbance from nearby busy roads to be too stressful, but the Jorō spider doesn’t seem to mind much, according to a new study published in Arthropoda on February 13. University of Georgia ecology students and study coauthors Kade Stewart, Caitlin Phelan and Alexa Schultz handle a Jorō spider. What to do when you come across a Jorō spiderAs the nonnative Jorō spider continues to spread in the region, the spiders pose a threat to native species that are beneficial to the environment. While conducting the study, the researchers found evidence of the Jorō spiders coexisting with native spiders, Davis said. And the Jorō spiders eat species that are good and bad for the environment, including the infamous lantern fly, he added.

Persons: ”, Andy Davis, Kade Stewart, Caitlin Phelan, Alexa Schultz, Davis, Floyd Shockley, Shockley, ” Shockley, “, They’re, they’re Organizations: CNN, University of Georgia’s Odum, of Ecology, University of Georgia, Entomology, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: United States, Arthropoda, Washington ,

They found that 10 countries, including Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, and Pakistan, experienced the majority of locust outbreaks among 48 affected nations. The researchers also found a strong link between the magnitude of desert locust outbreaks and weather and land conditions like air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and wind. El Nino, a recurring and natural climate phenomenon that affects weather worldwide, was also strongly tied to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks. “As such variability increases, it is logical to predict that locust outbreaks will increase as well,” said Tallamy. The desert experienced locust outbreaks in 2019 after uncontrolled breeding following cyclones, which filled the desert with freshwater lakes.

Persons: Elfatih Abdel, Rahman, Douglas Tallamy, ”, Paula Shrewsbury, al Khali, Xiaogang Organizations: Agriculture Organization, National University of Singapore, Food, International, of, Physiology, Nino, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, World Bank, Associated Press Locations: Africa, South Asia, Agriculture, Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen, Pakistan, East Africa, Shrewsbury, India, Asia, Arabian, West Africa, AP.org

☆ ‘Moths to a flame’: Insect behavior around light isn’t about attraction, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Gaining a better understanding of the impact of artificial light on these winged creatures is crucial as light pollution plays an increasing role in the decline of global insect populations, the researchers wrote. Artificial light confuses nocturnal insectsWhen artificial light does not interfere, nocturnal insects keep their backs pointed toward whatever direction is brightest, which is typically the sky versus the ground. By using insect-scale motion-capture cameras, the researchers determined that the flying insects exhibited three consistent behaviors: orbiting, stalling and inverting. Moths and other insects can become trapped in a disorienting orbit around artificial light sources such as street lamps and porch lights. The new findings could help with conservation by fueling research on how to minimize the effects of light pollution on the insects, Dombroskie said.

Persons: it’s, critters, Samuel Fabian, Sam Fabian “, … It’s, ” Fabian, that’s, ”, Yash Sondhi, Sondhi, Sam Fabian, Fabian, Floyd Shockley, Shockley, ancestrally, “, Jason Dombroskie, Dombroskie Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Imperial College London’s, Florida Museum, Florida International University, Smithsonian National Museum of, Cornell, Insect, National Wildlife Foundation Locations: bioengineering, Miami, Washington , DC

☆ Scientists think they've finally solved the millennia-old mystery of why bugs flock to your porch light
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The question of what brings insects toward lights of all kinds — from flames to porch lamps — is an ancient one. AdvertisementIt was as if they were using the light source as a way to orient themselves to the sky. Sam FabianBut Fabian said they tested this theory and found that some insects started traveling in a different direction when a new light source switched on. A less-bright future for insectsThere's a reason scientists have long sought to answer the question of why insects are attracted to artificial light. Oboyski also worries that light pollution is impacting the way insects navigate through their environments.

Persons: —, Mary Esther Murtfeldt, Sam Fabian, Chris Robbins, Getty Images Fabian, Yash Sondhi, Fabian, Peter Oboyski, wasn't, Oboyski, Sam Fabian Fish, It's, Sondhi, they're Organizations: Service, Imperial College London, Business, Getty Images, Essig, of Entomology, Nature Communications Locations: Costa Rica

☆ The World Hasn’t Seen Cicadas Like This Since 1803
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Aimee Ortiz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The cicadas are coming — and if you’re in the Midwest or the Southeast, they will be more plentiful than ever. This spring, for the first time since 1803, two cicada groups known as Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood, and Brood XIII, or the Northern Illinois Brood, are set to appear at the same time, in what is known as a dual emergence. The last time the Northern Illinois Brood’s 17-year cycle aligned with the Great Southern Brood’s 13-year period, Thomas Jefferson was president. After this spring, it’ll be another 221 years before the broods, which are geographically adjacent, appear together again. “Nobody alive today will see it happen again,” said Floyd W. Shockley, the chair of the Entomology Collections Committee at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Persons: Thomas Jefferson, it’ll, “, ”, Floyd W, Shockley, “ That’s Organizations: Southern, Northern Illinois, Northern Illinois Brood’s, Entomology, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: Midwest, Louisiana, Northern

☆ The Asian longhorned tick spreading across the US can clone itself thousands of times and even kill cattle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The ticks turned out to be an invasive species, the Asian longhorned tick, newly established in Ohio. The curious case of the dead cattleAsian longhorned ticks are tiny and can be difficult to distinguish between other species. Risa Pesapane/Ohio State UniversityPesapane and her colleagues suggest the Ohio cattle died from blood loss. Asian longhorned ticks are hard to spot, contain, and killTiny and brown, the ALT is hard to distinguish from other types of ticks, making it difficult to spot. AdvertisementCattle are the preferred meal of Asian longhorned ticks.

Persons: —, Risa Pesapane, Pesapane, It's, Oleksandr Melnyk, Kevin Lahmers, Lahmers, Joellen Lampman, Lampman, Ohio State University Pesapane, it's, There's, Ikeda Organizations: Service, Ohio State, Medical Entomology, Pesapane, US Department of Agriculture, Getty Images, Virginia - Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ohio State University, Plant Health, Yale School of Public Health Locations: Ohio, West Virginia, But Ohio, East Asia, Virginia, United States, New Zealand, North Carolina, Lyme, Rocky

☆ A tropical parasite, passed through the bite of a sand fly, is causing skin infections in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sand flies are tiny tan flies — about the quarter of the size of a mosquito — that live in warm, wet, rural and forested areas. These patients all had leishmaniasis skin infections, which start with a small bump that erupts into ulcerous sores days to weeks after a sand fly bite. Like other types of insects that are finding new habitats as the climate warms, sand flies have been expanding their range in recent years. It’s not clear whether sand flies in all these states have transmitted infections to humans, however. When sand flies bite the infected rats, they can pick up the parasite and then pass it to humans.

Persons: you’ve, ”, Mary Kamb, Kamb, ” Kamb, leishmaniasis, Muhammed Abdullah, Luiz Oliveira, “ It’s, ” Oliveira, It’s, Pedro Cecilio, Gideon Wasserberg, Wasserberg, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, there’s, permethrin Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, American Society of Tropical Medicine, Hygiene, Anadolu Agency, Getty, CDC, National Institutes of Health, World Health Organization, NIH, University of North, CNN Health, US Food and Drug Administration Locations: Atlanta, United States, Syria, Texas, Oklahoma, U.S, Delaware , New Jersey , Ohio, Maryland, Chicago, Puerto Rico, Virgin, mexicana, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

☆ What you need to know about Europe’s bedbug panic
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Blane Bachelor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“Since I am a dermatologist and I post a lot on my clinic account, I thought it would be nice to post a reel on bed bugs,” she told CNN Travel. “I was like, ‘I find that very hard to believe’,” Starkey told CNN Travel. Yet in Belgium, doctors in Antwerp are “sounding the alarm” about the spread of bedbugs from Paris, according to The Brussels Times. Colleen Oakley, a bestselling novelist in Atlanta, told CNN Travel she would “absolutely not travel” to Paris right now based on her “awful” experience with the creepy crawlies in 2006. It sounds silly to have panic attacks over bugs, but they are really invasive critters.

Persons: Zeina Nehme, bedbugs, Nehme, “, ” Cynthia Starkey, Starkey, texted Starkey, she’d, ” Starkey, Mikayla, I’m, ’ ” Starkey, ” Zach DeVries, ” DeVries, Stella McCartney, Marc Piasecki, Emmanuel Macron’s, Paris Emmanuel Grégoire, Aurélien Rousseau, bedbugs ”, hasn’t, Sadiq Khan, ”, Joe Rominiecki, I’ve, Richard Pollack, Pollack, Paris –, Apple bedbugs, “ Bedbugs, –, Naomi Campbell, “ bedbugs, Colleen Oakley, Oakley Organizations: CNN, City, CNN Travel, Paris, University of Kentucky’s, bedbugs, Fashion, French, Monde, Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance Party, French Health, France Inter, Eurostar, French Agency for Food, Occupational Health, Safety, Entomological Society of America, Harvard Campus Services, Apple, NL Times, Brussels Times, Air, World Health Organization, telltale, American Academy of Dermatology Association, Travelers, Orkin Locations: Paris, London, City of, Beirut, Lebanon, Phoenix, Europe, France, New York, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Antwerp, bedbugs, Air France, Orkin Canada, Atlanta, New, West Village

NEW YORK (AP) — The hero of Chris Colfer's next book series is no ordinary boy. “Roswell Johnson Saves the World" is scheduled for publication on June 4, 2024. “I’ve never had so much fun writing a book," Colfer said in a statement. "These characters had me laughing out loud and I spent hours researching everything from astronomy to entomology. After reading about Roswell’s adventures through space, I hope my young readers are as fascinated by science and our galaxy as I am.

Persons: Chris Colfer's, Roswell Johnson, “ Roswell Johnson, “ I’ve, Colfer, ’ ” Colfer, Kurt Hummel, ” Organizations: Brown, Young, Guardians, Globe Locations: New Mexico, “

☆ Unleashing a New Weapon on the Mosquito: A Mosquito
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Stephanie Nolen | Eleanor Lutz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Anggy Aldana working at the World Mosquito Program lab in Medellín, Colombia. Researchers found, after painstaking trial and error, that they could insert the bacteria into mosquito eggs using minute needles. How mosquito eggs are injected with Wolbachia A looping video showing a thin needle injecting fluid into a row of black mosquito eggs. How Wolbachia spreads among wild mosquitoes A series of three illustrations showing the outcomes of breeding between wild mosquitoes and mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia. Mosquito eggs and a tray of chilled mosquitoes at the World Mosquito Program lab.

Persons: Eleanor Lutz, Wolbachia, Scott O’Neill, —, O’Neill’s, Steven Sinkins, Marlon Victoria, ”, Victoria, “, O’Neill, It’s, Laura Harrington, They’re, won’t, ” Mr Organizations: Mosquito Program, Mosquito, Brazil —, FRANCE Croatia United, ARGENTINA CHILE Americas, CHILE Americas, University of Glasgow, —, Medellín Health, Colombian, Cornell University Locations: Medellín, Colombia, Cali, Honduras, Australia, Australian, Vietnam, Indonesia, France, Florida and Texas, Brazil, Americas, African, Asia, Europe, FRANCE Croatia United States PORTUGAL JAPAN CHINA Texas PAKISTAN Florida EGYPT INDIA MALI MEXICO PHILIPPINES SUDAN ETHIOPIA Colombia SOMALIA INDONESIA BRAZIL ANGOLA PERU NAMIBIA AUSTRALIA, AFRICA Africa, Oceania, ARGENTINA CHILE, FRANCE Croatia United States PORTUGAL JAPAN CHINA Texas Florida EGYPT, MEXICO MALI PHILIPPINES SUDAN Colombia SOMALIA INDONESIA BRAZIL ANGOLA PERU NAMIBIA AUSTRALIA ARGENTINA Africa, CHILE, Africa, United States, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wolbachia, Siloé, West Africa, Medellin

☆ Electric blue tarantula species discovered in Thailand
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Hafsa Khalil | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A “mesmerizing” electric blue tarantula species has been discovered in Thailand, according to new research. “(We found) a new species of tarantula that exhibits a mesmerizing blue-violet hue, reminiscent of electric blue sparks,” Narin Chomphuphuang, a researcher at Khon Kaen University’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, told CNN Monday. “Blue is one of the rarest colors to appear in nature, which makes blue coloration in animals particularly fascinating,” Chomphuphuang said. Electric Blue Tarantula,” but without any information on its characteristics or natural habitats. However, with the decline of mangrove forests – largely caused by deforestation – Chomphuphuang says the electric blue tarantula is also one of the world’s rarest tarantulas.

Persons: Narin, Sippawat, ” Chomphuphuang, Chomphuphuang, ”, Chilobrachys natanicharum Organizations: CNN, Kaen University’s, of Entomology, Plant Pathology Locations: Thailand, Phang, Nga, Kaen, Thai

☆ Mosquitoes are annoying and some are deadly. Here’s why we can’t – and shouldn’t – simply kill them all
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Ritu Prasad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Some mosquitoes are actually helpfulThe first problem to tackle here is the word “all.” There are more than 3,000 recognized mosquito species worldwide. Healy, who is also president of the American Mosquito Control Association, offered Louisiana, which is home to many swamps where mosquitoes thrive, as an example. “Disease-transmitting mosquito species, such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are invasive species in many parts of the world. As for the Anopheles mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, things are a little different. … We are constantly educating mosquito control workers to follow these practices.

Persons: birdsong, We’ve, ”, Kristen Healy, Healy, we’d, Laura Harrington, Culex, Aedes, ” John Marshall, ” Marshall, ” Healy, Soumyabrata Roy, NurPhoto, it’s, Harrington, Wolbachia, ” Harrington, Stefan Sauer, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, Entomology, Louisiana State University, American Mosquito Control Association, Cornell University, University of California, Getty Locations: –, West Nile, Louisiana, West, Berkeley

☆ Bangladesh grapples with record deadly outbreak of dengue fever
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Bangladesh is grappling with a record deadly outbreak of dengue fever, with hospitals struggling to make space for patients as the disease spreads rapidly in the densely-populated country. Hospitals, especially in capital Dhaka, are struggling to find space for the large number of patients suffering high fever, joint pain and vomiting, health officials said. There is no vaccine or drug that specifically treats dengue, which is common in South Asia during the June-to-September monsoon season, when the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads the deadly virus thrives in stagnant water. This year's deaths already top the previous record of 281 from last year, with the number of people infected just behind the 62,423 cases of 2022. "This is the reason why we saw such a high number of dengue cases in July.

Persons: Zahid Maleque, Kabirul Bashar, Yasir Arafat, Ruma Paul, Tom Hogue Organizations: Reuters, Jahangirnagar University, Thomson Locations: DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dhaka, South Asia, Asia

☆ Fact Check-No proof of ‘deadly mosquitoes’ at AFRAM in Baltimore
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

AFRAM, an annual cultural festival celebrating Black excellence, was held over Juneteenth weekend at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland (here), (aframbaltimore.com/about-afram). Weeks later, Instagram posts shared a clip from the festival that shows attendees swatting and fanning themselves and includes the text: “Helicopter released deadly mosquitoes in Baltimore, MD AFRAM 2023” (here). In other posts from the event, however, users say the flying bugs were gnats, not mosquitoes (here), (here). MALE MOSQUITOES SWARM, DON’T BITEMale mosquitoes swarm to mate but don’t bite, and the swarming flies in social media posts do not look like mosquitoes, said George Dimopoulos, a deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (here). Social media clips of a Baltimore festival do not show “deadly mosquitoes,” entomology and health experts said.

Persons: Weeks, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Michael Raupp, gnats, Raup, Brian Federici, midge, ”, George Dimopoulos, Johns, Laura Harrington, “, Arinze Ifekauche, Dimopoulos, Read Organizations: Baltimore, Helicopter, Baltimore Mayor, University of Maryland, University of California, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Cornell University, Health Department, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Reuters Locations: Maryland, Baltimore City, Druid, Baltimore , Maryland, Baltimore, Riverside

☆ What you need to know about ticks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

There are more than 800 species of ticks found around the world, and 84 that have been documented in the United States. The most common ones are blacklegged ticks (also known as deer ticks, but they feed on lots of animals besides deer), lone star ticks, American dog ticks and brown dog ticks. Both male and female ticks feed on blood by inserting their barbed, straw-like mouthparts into the skin of their host (unlike mosquitoes, which only bite if they’re females preparing to lay eggs). However, only female ticks drink to the point that they become engorged. Yes, they can be a public health concern, but we don’t want you to let ticks keep you indoors,” she said.

☆ This ‘Alien’ Is Missing Something Found in Every Other Male Beetle
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Sofia Quaglia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Wings consume a lot of energy, so throughout evolutionary history, many insect species have independently lost the ability to fly. But there are more than a half-million known beetle species, and until now, all have had at least some form of hard forewing elytra. Dr. Ferreira also connected the species to a poorly understood evolutionary trend he and others have studied called paedomorphosis. In this phenomenon, adult females of some beetle species retain a few of their juvenile features, look more like larvae and sometimes even lose their wings. The winglessness of the male Xenomorphon baranowskii resembles what has been found in females of those beetle species.

Persons: ”, Michael Ivie, Ferreira Organizations: Montana State University, Wings

☆ Bedbugs: What travelers need to know this summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Potter suggests that before you even unpack, at least do a cursory bed check. If there are two beds in a room, Potter does not put his suitcase on the other bed. These are the signs of bedbug infestationsThis is what a serious bed bug infestation looks like on a mattress. Bed bug eggs are the size of a pinhead and pearl-white. Bedbugs are more than a bed and motel problemIn a hotel room, place your luggage on a rack, as you see above.

Persons: Michelle Quinn, bedbugs, “, Jeff March, Quinn, ”, Michael F, Potter, I’d, Andrew Francis Wallace, Dmitry Bezrukov, Daniel K, it’s, you’ve, Joel Carillet, ” Potter, she’s, ” Quinn Organizations: CNN, Google, Alamy, Entomology, University of Kentucky, Toronto Star, American, & Lodging Association, Environmental Protection Agency, Inouye International Airport, Hawaii Department of Transportation, CNN Travel, Medical, Centers for Disease Control, bedbugs, Cleveland Clinic, Washington , D.C Locations: Indiana, sofas, Honolulu , Hawaii, Washington ,

☆ How to repel mosquitoes, according to science
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here’s the lowdown on how mosquitoes hunt us, what attracts them, and what scientists recommend for keeping them at bay. The science of mosquito bitesMost of the time, mosquitoes drink plant nectars and juices, and even help pollinate flowers. “How attractive you think you are to mosquitoes might not necessarily correlate with how attractive you actually are to the mosquitoes,” McMeniman said. The itchiness and discomfort from mosquito bites come later when the perpetrator is no longer at risk of getting swatted. No silver bullet exists to protect yourself from mosquito bites, but get a good bug spray and reapply it as needed.

Persons: “ We’re, ”, Conor McMeniman, ” McMeniman, Olivier Morin, “, We’re, there’s, Rick Bowmer, Kristen Healy, Healy, ” Healy, they’ve, McMeniman, tantalizing, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Getty, Louisiana State University, American Mosquito Control Association, Environmental Protection Agency Locations: Baltimore, It’s, AFP, coexisting, Chicago

☆ You Shouldn’t Squish These Bugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Victoria Gomelsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — “Bonkers About Beetles.” “Innumerable Insects.” “Bugs: A Pop-Up Book.” The volumes that line the shelves of the jewelry designer Daniela Villegas’s home in this part of greater Los Angeles underscore what is obvious to anyone who ventures inside: She is passionate about pests. Thousands of specimens — of the six, eight- and 100-plus-leg varieties — hang in frames on the walls, are displayed in bell jars on the shelves and lie beneath the glass atop her oversized coffee table. Much of the collection was acquired at bug fairs and is shared with her husband, the furniture designer Sami Hayek (Salma’s younger brother). It is likely to make visitors think they have wandered into the entomology section of a natural history museum, or rather, its deluxe gift shop. The eccentric décor includes a stuffed armadillo adorned with its own gemstone bracelet; a wicker table in the shape of a grasshopper, topped with a crab sculpture; and a collection of Ms. Villegas’s signature Khepri rings, honoring the scarab-face god of ancient Egypt.

☆ Butterfly group named after 'Lord of the Rings' villain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The “distinctive fused orange rings” that encircle black-and-white eyespots on the hindwings of this group led the researchers to name the genus Saurona, according to a recent study published in the journal Systematic Entomology. The Eye of Sauron glows in the 2001 film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." … It’s a very fine scientific paper.”Distinguishing a special groupThe researchers documented two new species in the Saurona genus, named Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera. Female saurona butterflies have slightly more rounded wings than males, but are otherwise similar in pattern, the authors found. Giving newly described genera or species names drawn from pop culture can draw attention to underappreciated species, Huertas said.

☆ A researcher said she named a new butterfly species after the 'Lord of the Rings' villain partly because spending 10 years on the study felt like the eye of Sauron looking at her
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two newly-discovered butterfly species were named after Sauron, the "The Lord of the Rings" villain. Tolkien's magical "The Lord of the Rings" universe includes hobbits, elves, wizards, and now, a new genus of butterflies called Saurona after the dark lord Sauron. But in an article from The Washington Post, Huertas drew other connections to "The Lord of the Rings" that suggest there may be additional reasons behind the butterfly's name. "Ten years dealing with this study is a lot of strain looking at me like Sauron," she told the Post. The world needs an "army" of people to "get involved in getting worried about nature," she told the Post.

☆ Butterfly Group With Fiery Eyes on Wings Is Named After ‘Lord of the Rings’ Villain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The genus Saurona includes two species, though there may be more to discover. Photo: B. Huertas/Trustees Natural History MuseumScientists discovered a new genus of butterflies with dark spots on their orange wings that look like eyes. Tolkien ’s “Lord of the Rings,” who is symbolized by a fiery eye. The genus Saurona includes two species—Saurona triangula and Saurona aurigera—though there are likely more to discover, according to the Natural History Museum in London. The new genus is among several identified by an international group of scientists in a study published recently in the journal Systematic Entomology.

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