Latest Insects News

Vermont House passes a bill to restrict a pesticide that is toxic to bees

Mar. 22, 2024 15:07 PM EDT

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont's House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill to severely restrict a type of pesticide that's toxic to bees and other pollinators. The bill will now go to the Senate. Representatives said Vermont was home to more than 300 native bee species and...

With organic fields next door, conventional farms dial up the pesticide use, study finds

Mar. 22, 2024 12:04 PM EDT

Champions of organic farming have long portrayed it as friendlier to humans and the earth. But a new study in a California county found a surprising effect as their acreage grew: Nearby conventional farms applied more pesticides, likely to stay on top of an increased insect threat to their crops,...

Students lobby to dethrone Connecticut's state insect, the voraciously predatory praying mantis

Mar. 08, 2024 17:10 PM EST

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — When it comes to state insects, most states honor beloved and benign bugs, like butterflies, honey bees and ladybugs. Connecticut has designated a voracious predator as its bug-to-be-most-proud-of for decades, but its reign could soon come to an end. The...

Republican Caroleene Dobson advances to primary runoff election in Alabama's 2nd Congressional District

Mar. 06, 2024 00:31 AM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Caroleene Dobson advances to primary runoff election in Alabama's 2nd Congressional District.

A New York collector pleads guilty to smuggling rare birdwing butterflies

Feb. 28, 2024 10:52 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — A Long Island man has pleaded guilty to illegally trafficking birdwing butterflies and other rare insects, according to a plea deal filed in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday. Charles Limmer, 75, of Commack, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to smuggle wildlife...

Brazil's health agents scour junkyards and roofs for mosquitos to fight dengue epidemic

Feb. 16, 2024 03:42 AM EST

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The small team of state public health workers slalomed between auto parts strewn across a Rio de Janeiro junkyard, looking for standing water where mosquitoes might have laid their eggs. They were part of nationwide efforts to curtail a surge in Brazil of the...

Are insects drawn to light? New research shows it's confusion, not fatal attraction

Jan. 30, 2024 18:35 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Like a moth to flame, many scientists and poets have long assumed that flying insects were simply, inexorably drawn to bright lights. But that's not exactly what's going on, a new study suggests. Rather than being attracted to light, researchers...

For 2024, some simple lifestyle changes can improve your little piece of the planet

Jan. 10, 2024 08:32 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — The fight against climate change requires the mass cooperation of industries, companies, governments and communities, but individuals have a role to play, too. Little things make a difference, and feel good too. At the dawn of 2024, also known as New...

How to spend the winter planning and preparing for your spring garden

Jan. 02, 2024 09:07 AM EST

Gardening isn’t usually the first thing that springs to mind when the calendar page turns to January. But with the holidays behind us, there’s no better time to start planning and preparing our 2024 gardens. Of course, that will mean different things in different places. It's...