Amazing Photos From Japan

This is a really short blog, just to share a link to these awesome photos of fireflies in Japan. They are taken with a really long exposure, so you can see the trails of each firefly blinking as it flies.

Here's the link.

New Insect Repellent Discovered in Spider Webs

Photo adapted from Figure 1 of Zhang et al 2011, showing ants crossing spider silk that has had the chemical removed (top) and not crossing the intact spider silk (bottom).

This is just a quick post to share a link to a story that I found interesting. Researchers from the University of Melbourne and the National University of Singapore have discovered a chemical in the silk of golden orb web spiders (Nephila antipodiana) that acts as an ant repellent. It makes sense that spider webs would contain a chemical with such properties, since you rarely, if ever, see ants in spider webs. The compound, pyrrolidine alkaloid, is known to be a deterrent of ants and moths. This is counter-intuitive, given that moths are a common prey item that get caught in spiders' webs. But the spiders are clever enough to know that the compound isn't very volatile, so it isn't actually detected by the moths until they are aleady caught up in the trap. I'm curious to see where this research goes and what other insects are repelled by this compound. This could lead to a new active ingredient in products such as Off (mosquito repellent) or even a barrier type of pesticide for homes and other structures to keep ants (and possibly other pests) out.

Here's the link.

Rain was nice, but need more

Although we have recieved over two inches of rainfall in the past week (based on the weather station in Georgetown), we still need a lot more to break this drought. The average rainfall between January and November for Georgetown is just below 35 inches, and with the two inches in that last week, we are only up to just over 9 inches. Hopefully this is an indication that we will have a wet winter, but it would have to be an extremely wet one to get us back up to where we need to be. The good news is that this recent rainfall will help the winter wheat get up and going, so if nothing else, we should have some small grains for grazing, and if we get a few more timely rainfall events and avoid frost damage, winter wheat could be the first decent crop that we have produced all year.

Humans Weren't The Only Ones Displaced By The Bastrop Wildfire

Here is a link to a story about a new pest issue arising in the wake of the Bastrop wildfires.

Link to the story

No One Wants Bees in Their Home...Until Now

Photo from Philips


I ran across this interesting concept from Philips and thought it was worth sharing. It is a 'sexy' combination of art, bee conservation, and a source of honey. It consists of an outdoor flower pot connected to an indoor enclosure that prominently displays the bee hive inside. I know that not everyone is as fascinated with insects as I am, but if you loved having an ant farm as a kid, this might just be for you That's because you can easily see through the clear, honey colored dome and observe the bees' activities. I understand that this is only a concept at this point, and I'm not sure how well it would catch on if it did make it to market, but still, it's a pretty sweet idea (pun intended).

Link to website

City of Austin Looks into Honey Bee Conservation

Photo by Pat Porter

I just ran across a story in the Austin American Statesman that interested me, as an entomologist. In the near future, there may be some new laws that promote relocation, as opposed to destruction, of unwanted bee colonies. The proposed laws would be a step in the right direction to help stablize the honey bee populations, which are declining at an alarming rate in the US. To read the full story, click the link below.

Link to the full story

Crops and Livestock Clinic a Big Hit

I know that it has been a while since my last post, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to follow up on my last post (promoting the Crops and Livestock Clinic) and brag a little bit about the program. The Clinic by far surpassed our expectations. In planning for the event, our goal was to get an attendance of 75. Well, our RSVP list reached 75 about 2 weeks before the program, and then it kept growing. We ended up with 161 clients attending the event, plus another 20+ sponsors and speakers. The plate count from the caterer was 181, and we learned that farmers sure do like Vencil Mares' barbecue, because they brought enough food to feed 200, and at the end, there was only enough left over to make one more plate. Somehow, the announcement for the Clinic went out far and wide, because of the 161 that signed in, they were from 34 different cities and towns (from Houston to Clifton) and from 11 different counties. We had 147 clients that recieved CEU's, which adds up to 441 total CEU's given. With the new Partial Cost Recovery procedure, we made $1,470 for Texas AgriLife Extension. While this doesn't seem like that much, if every county in Texas had one program a year with this kind of attendance, that would add up to over $373,000 that goes to support our Extension programs and personnel, ensuring the continuation of our quality, timely, and relevant programs.