AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Types of bugs4/28/2023 ![]() “That’s something we don’t know, but it’s an ecological concept that biodiversity usually prevents infestations,” she said. If cockroaches or termites take over a place, maybe it’s because there wasn’t enough of another bug to stop them, Leong said. Perhaps infestations occur because homes are lacking in arthropod diversity. This type of survey could help scientists begin to understand how urbanization and human-altered landscapes shape ecology and biodiversity.įor example, if the scientists were to look at houses with insect infestations, what would they find? ![]() Through 2017, the next stops are in Australia, Madagascar, China and, hopefully, research field stations in Antarctica. Leong and colleagues have already sampled houses in the Peruvian Amazon, Sweden and San Francisco, including homes belonging to Cal Academy of Sciences employees. Now the work must expand to a wider range of neighborhoods and housing types, the authors wrote. In Raleigh, the homes surveyed were all free-standing structures in middle- and higher-income neighborhoods. The researchers have plans to expand their census of indoor bug life beyond the fairly limited North Carolina sample. “It matters, in short, not only how much vegetation you have in your yard, but how much is present in the yards and other habitats nearby,” the study authors wrote. Property lines, of course, don’t matter to bugs. This so-called “luxury effect”- the idea that socioeconomic factors influence local biodiversity - also extends to bugs.Įven properties without many plants still had a high number of bug species inside if they were in a rich neighborhood, where they were more likely to be near lush parks and neighbors with big gardens. In general, people with more money plant more extensive gardens, which studies have shown can attract a greater variety of birds, lizards and bats. It all starts with the plants in the backyard. The new study suggests a neighborhood’s affluence may be a better predictor of indoor bug diversity than, say, a home’s cleanliness. ![]() The results are often tragic - for the bug.Īnd while humans often try to keep their homes free of insects and spiders, our dwellings are not as insulated from the outdoors as some might hope. While some species rely on built environments, most simply wind up indoors by accident after following an attractive light or looking for something to eat. Houses are like giant traps for tiny crawling and flying critters. “Unfortunately, many insects and arthropods we collected are considered pests based solely on their presence in the home.” “It appears that the vast majority of arthropods that live among us cause no direct harm,” the authors of the study, led by NCSU entomologist Matt Bertone, wrote in PeerJ. The results of their initial survey were published in PeerJ in January. ![]() In total, the bug census included 10,000 specimens, which took scientists two years to categorize. They collected all varieties of living and dead arthropods - the group that includes flies, spiders, beetles, ants and crustaceans - hidden inside. Donning headlamps and kneepads and armed with forceps, nets and vacuum-like bug collecting devices called aspirators, the researchers scoured nearly every room of each house.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |