Revenge of Insects and Bugs

Are you brushing off ants, swapping flies or waving away mosquitoes? The University of Washington conducted research funded by grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation and the National Cancer Institute. They found that insect species that acclimatize to warmer temperatures will increase to their paramount rates of population growth. University of Washington researchers say the increase will probably have widespread affects on agriculture, public health and conservation. Numerous studies have shown that insects eagerly adjust to the temperature of their environment. Insects living in deserts without difficulty accept high temperatures but are a great deal less tolerant of cold temperatures than insects living in mountainous cold.

What does that mean for the humans? The UW biology researchers found in effect that "warmer is better" for insects. Superior population expansion rates for butterflies might be an excellent thing, but an improved growth rate for mosquito populations is not such a good thing. The information was published in the October 2006 edition of the Journal the American Naturalist.

In December 2009 the University of Western Ontario showed that insects exposed to recurring episodes of cold will exchange reproduction for immediate survival. The results were published online by the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B . Domino effect showed flies exposed to numerous bouts of cold survived healthier, but produced fewer offspring. Historical research had confirmed insects survive cold better if sporadically exposed to warm conditions, which led researchers to suppose repeated cold exposures were better for insects than a prolonged cold exposure.

A 2006 collaborative study by the University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University London revealed that bees will choose flowers of a certain color if they learned that it indicates warmth as well. Research observed that flowers with warming constructions catch the attention of basking insects. Preceding work shows that insects can obtain a metabolic reward from warmer flowers. Researchers revealed that, in an attempt to preserve energy, bees will select warmer flowers identified by their color to stay comfy. As flower temperature fluctuates greatly, it is assumed that the heat may influence which plant the pollinator chooses to visit, be contingent on the insect's temperature inclination.

In 2008 according to Dutch ecologist Roxina Soler and her contemporaries discovered that subterranean and aboveground herbivorous insects can converse with each other by using plants as telephones. Subterranean insects produce chemical forewarning indicators via the leaves of the plant. In this way, aboveground insects are on the alert that the plant already has occupants. This system eliminates unnecessary competition among insects. The communiqué between subterranean and aboveground insects has only been reviewed in a few systems. It remains unclear how widespread this occurrence is.

This brings us to the ‘bed bugs’ which seems to have moved from the bed to theater/movie house in New York City. The bed bugs are resurfacing as an annoyance in other parts of the country, and world including London. Researchers are reporting the initial account of the bug's saliva proteins is the secret to its ability to suck blood from its human victims and escape to bite again without jeopardizing a fatal slap. The conclusion, which could have medical relevance in diagnosing bed bug bites and thwarting the itch, appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research .

The first Europeans arrived with bed bugs as a gift to the new world. As a pest, bed bugs have been around for a long time. They are night feeders waiting until the human host is cozy in bed and relaxed. It’s a good reason why they moved to dark warm movies where people are relaxed for long periods. The bed bugs have two tubes – one to introduce an anticoagulant and mild anesthetic – the other to suck blood. They feed once every 5-10 days.

For this particular research study, the scientists collected difficult to manage bed bugs from New York City (no jokes please), and lay back bed bugs from an untouched colony in Florida. Not surprisingly the New York group was found to be extremely resistant (264 to 1) to deltamethrin in contrast to the Florida group by contact exposure. The New York group’s resistance seemed to be related to an insensitive nervous system, and not due to an increase in enzymatic metabolism. The bed bugs in New York City have gain mutations in their nerve cells, which dull the neurotoxic effect of the pyrethroid poisons used against them. Researcher John Clark and his group revealed in the 2009 issue of the Journal of Medical Entomology that the bed bugs have progressed to outsmart the latest generation of chemicals used to control them since DDT was banned. Before these nervous system insecticides could effectively paralyze and exterminate the bugs, but this is no longer the case.

American Chemical Society (2010, July 12). First preliminary profile of proteins in bed bugs' saliva. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/06/100623124300.htm

Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (2008, April 27). Insects Use Plants Like A Telephone. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/04/080423101813.htm

University of Cambridge (2006, August 3). Some (Bumblebees) Like It Hot. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2006/08/060803082644.htm

University of Massachusetts Amherst (2009, January 12). How Bed Bugs Outsmart Poisons Designed To Control Them. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/01/090110090254.htm

University of Washington (2006, October 31). Insect Population Growth Likely Accelerated By Warmer Climate. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2006/10/061030143411.htm

University of Western Ontario (2009, December 3). Variable temperatures leave insects with a frosty reception. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/11/091130103729.htm