In 1843, lantana, a noxious weed from Central America, made its way to Australia as an ornamental shrub. Lantana rapidly infested approximately 4 million hectares. Recently new bio control ideas have come to light, such as using Eriophyoidea, which is a mite. Many mite species are virulent parasites. Seven species of Eriophyoidea are known to associate with the lantana, such as Calacarus lantanae Boczek and Chandrapatya, Diptilomiopus camarae Mohanasundaram, Eriophyes lantanae, Paraphytoptus magdalenae Craemer, Phyllocoptes lantanae Abou-Awad and El-Banhawy, Rhynacus kraussi Keifer, and Shevtchenkella stefneseri Craemer. There are many other types of mites that have been known to attack different linages of lantana. If mites were released into
This article talks about Eurosta solidaginis which is the goldenrod gall fly and its interactions with its natural enemies. The natural enemies that are discussed in this article are Eurytoma gigantea and the E. obtusiventris which are both different types of parasitoid wasps, Mordellistena unicolor which is a beetle and two predatory birds the Dendrocopus pubescens which is the downy woodpecker and Parus atricapillus the black-capped chickadee (Abrahamson, 1989). These natural enemies eat the larvae of the goldenrod gall fly while in the gall. The galls are found on tall goldenrod plants. The goldenrod fly induce ball-shaped galls on the stems of
Foreign plants which turn into weeds are continuously being introduced to Australia both accidentally and intentionally. They can cause extreme damage to Australia’s environment, as they threaten the survival of many native plants. They are successful in growing as they - usually grow faster than native plants competing for nutrients, water, space etc, they survive better as they do not have the pests and diseases that would normally control them in their natural habitats, they take over the native plants that the native animals use for shelter, food and nesting. The Cobblers peg (Bidens pilosa) also known as farmers friend, Spanish needle and beggars tick was introduced from South America and has become a weed in Australia. Individual flowers are yellow with white petals and do not last for very long, eventually turning into seeds.
The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a highly disruptive species that can, and has played a distinctive role in the lives of many organisms. Included in these organisms are various deciduous trees and shrubs, wildlife species that share the same environment, and even humans. The gypsy moth destroys the beauty of woodlands via defoliation, alters ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and disrupts our own lives. It should therefore come as no surprise that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and many other agencies have taken huge steps to help diminish populations of this small, yet persistent species. In an effort to control these overwhelming populations, five chemical control agents have been used to suppress and/or eradicate the gypsy moth. Following, is a discussion of each chemical and their potentially hazardous effects on humans.
Dr. May Berenbaum, an entomologist at University of Illinois, has conducted over 40 years of research on parsnips and the parsnip web worm. During her lecture on March 22nd, she explained how parsnips are invasive weeds that are full of toxic furanocoumarins. Interestingly, the parsnip webworm only eats the parsnips and is able to process the toxin very well. The interactions between the web worm and parsnips cause the parsnips to select for plants with a higher amount of furanocoumarins in order to defend themselves from the worms. When the worms are not there, i.e. in New Zealand, the parsnip plants grow taller and develop more ways to attract pollinators, and they do not put energy into having as many furanocoumarins
By implementing a policy that bans the registration of neonicotinoids, policy makers aspire to return pollinator populations to normal levels through recovery through direct public action, specifically through a command-and-control policy. Due to varying opinions and sometimes misinterpreted literature, pest management has proven to be difficult and complex. Having to take into account a large number of input and output factors has limited the research conducted, though a clear link between neonicotinoid use and pollinator survival has been uncovered, debate still thrives on how to manage the use of such chemicals on crops and other applications.
I predict the Hornworms to transfer to the pupal stage very soon. They have been in the 5th instar for a very long time, longer than average and the space in the vile is very crowded. Once the Hornworm is in the pupal stage I predict it to stay in the cocoon for around 2 weeks before it emerges as an adult moth. The cocoon will appear to be a brown shell with a loop like structure. As an adult moth, I predict it to be a strong flier that will mate. It will be dark grey with orange spots along the abdomen.
The lignin in plants also works as a barrier against attack by insects and fungi
To identify truly dangerous plants in Emmet county Northern Michigan, the list of poisonous plants in the ACHS Herb 101 textbook were compared to plants in Emmet county using the Field Manual of Michigan Flora. From the emerging list, eliminations were made based on established medicinal or traditional use, and toxic, allergenic or photo-sensitizing abilities. Finally, by taking into consideration the highest probability of mis-identification or improper preparation; the list of poisonous flora growing in Northern Michigan was narrowed to a legitimate five. From those five, three extremely dangerous plants were chosen: Anticlea elegans (Death Camas), Conium maculatum (Poison Hemlock), and Daphne mezereum (Mezereon).
Poison Ivy is the name given to a family of malicious remote administration Trojans first developed in 2005 and still being utilized for cyber attacks today. As a type of remote administration software, once a computer becomes infected the attacker has complete control of the computer. The most recently documented large-scale utilization of the software was during the “Nitro” attacks from July 2011 through September 2011 that targeted both chemical and defense companies for the purpose of industrial espionage (Fisher). The information security firm McAfee stated that five multinational natural gas and oil companies were successfully targeted by the Poison Ivy malware, as well as 29 other companies identified by Symantec (Finkle). These organizations lost proprietary information to the attackers, including confidential bidding plans (for the energy companies) and details on manufacturing processes and formulas (for several chemical companies).
The use of pesticides has increased agricultural production. However, the intensity and frequent use has resulted in the development of resistance by pests. Pesticide resistance is increasingly becoming a worldwide problem with an estimated number of 583 species reported to be resistant. This evolutionary process negatively affects farmers, chemical companies, consumers and the environment. Management strategies such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) successfully delay the development of resistance. The production of new pesticides,
Plant defences are those mechanisms employed by plants in response to herbivory and parasitism. According to Hanley et al. (2007), “the tissues of virtually all terrestrial, freshwater, and marine plants have qualities that to some degree reduce herbivory, including low nitrogen concentration, low moisture content, toxins or digestibility-reducing compounds”. The type of chemical defence may be species specific (Scott 2008). The defences that plants possess may be in the form of chemical production or in the form of physical defences such as thorns or spikes and even through reinforced, rigid leaves. “The compounds that are produced in response to herbivory can either have a direct effect on the attacker itself (e.g. toxins or digestibility reducers), or serve as indirect defenses by attracting the natural enemies of the herbivores” (Bezemer & van Dam 2005). This essay will focus on chemical plant defences and in particular the effects of terpenes, phenolics, nitrogen-based defences as well as allelopathy in plants.
Environmental concerns that have arisen include the problem of insecticides harming insects in order to keep them off of ...
Ants, Little but Mighty. What is an ant? Ants are insects, they have six legs and each leg has three joints. Ants legs are very strong.
Lichen Bright and neutral colors of crumbly material sit upon a boulder that beckons to be noticed. A small child places its hand upon the rock and notices upon withdrawal that small bits of an unknown substance come back, stuck upon the palm. Many people are unaware that this strange substance, called lichen, is actually a plant that thrives and lives upon that boulder. Lichen is a special kind of plant that has its own unique biology, has many different types and classifications, and heavily monitors our environment. To many people, plants are mainly just green chlorophyll-containing organisms that do the process of photosynthesis and release oxygen back into our air.
Robertson, John. Taxus baccata, yew - THE POISON GARDEN website. n.d. 12 Mar 2011 .