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Would You Ever Eat Insects? (Survey) [Updated]

5:10 pm in Food & Health, food supply, insects, Travel & Nature by TreeHugger

eating-insects-photo Photo: Wikipedia, CC "When they're fresh, their exoskeletons don't get stuck in your teeth." Reading this article about eating bugs as a greener substitute to animal meat in the Atlantic almost made me swear off food for good. Intellectually, I know that there's probably nothing wrong with insect-sourced protein and I'm ready to believe people who've eaten them that they can be tasty is cooked right, but my poor evolved brain has innate reflexes that make me feel queasy at the idea of putting these things in my mouth. Maybe if...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Scientists Breed Spermless Mosquitoes In Effort to End Malaria

10:42 am in ecology, health care, insects, Science & Technology by TreeHugger

male mosquito photo Photo by Leszek.Leszczynski via Flickr CC In an effort to slow the spread of malaria, scientists are trying to go to the source -- not just by stopping mosquitoes, but stopping how mosquitoes reproduce. Scientists have bred a spermless male mosquito that could be released into the wild to reduce mosquito populations....Read the full story on TreeHugger

How to Build a DIY Black Soldier Fly Grub Composter (Video)

8:57 am in botanical, composting, do it yourself, food, insects, permaculture, united states, zero waste by TreeHugger

black-soldier-fly-composting-diy.png Image credit: BlackSoldierFly It made it into this infographic on which composting method is best for you, but it's fair to say that grub composting—or the practice of disposing of organic waste by feeding it to black soldier fly larvae—is still relatively obscure. Yet, as I noted in my post on a commercially available grub composter, this method gets rid of veggie ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

TED Talk: Jonathan Drori on Tricks Flowers Play on Pollinators

10:57 am in biology, insects, Travel & Nature by TreeHugger

garish flowers photo Photo by Jaymi Heimbuch There are over 250,000 species of flowering plants. While some can rely on self-pollination, many rely on a wide range of other animals and insects to pollinate them so that they can reproduce. What's amazing is the level of evolutionary prowess that flowering plants have put into attracting exactly the type of pollinators they need. Jonathan Drori gave a fascinating and beautiful TED talk about the crazy, cool, and curious strategies flowers employ. Watch after the jump. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Angelina Jolie and Kids Love to Eat Crickets

4:12 pm in angelina jolie, cambodia, food, insects by TreeHugger

Angelina-Jolie-eats-cricket.jpg Image: Still from Angelina Jolie's Journey to Cambodia Angelina Jolie has inadvertently (or perhaps by design) added "Ambassador for Insect Proteins" to her credentials as a do-gooder. In an interview about her Louis Vuitton ad (you remember, the one that redefines the term "no makeup"), Jolie recounts how her kids eat crickets "like Doritos". The full video can be seen below....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Smugglers Nabbed Targeting Turkish Plants, Insects

12:32 pm in insects, News, Travel & Nature, turkey by TreeHugger

tulips flowers istanbul turkey photo Tulips have been one of the targets of smugglers. Photo: Jennifer Hattam. Illegal attempts to spirit endemic species out of the country appear to be on the rise in Turkey, where officials have recently busted a number of would-be smugglers with large cargos of butterflies and other insects, as well as rare tulips and other plants....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Truck Crash Spills 14 Million Bees Across Highway

10:34 am in bees, botanical, Cars & Transportation, colony collapse disorder, food, idaho, insects, united states by TreeHugger

via internet food health In the search for solutions to the ongoing plight of honeybees, both mainstream bee experts and advocates of alternative approaches to beekeeping have suggested that the practice of trucking honeybees thousands of miles across country for pollination may be causing undue stress and contributing to colony losses. Whether or not this is the cas...Read the full story on TreeHugger

California Releases Wasps to Control Apple Moth Infestations

10:45 am in agriculture, ecology, farming, insects, Science & Technology, Travel & Nature by TreeHugger

apple moth photo Light brown apple moth; photo by Donald Hobern via Flickr CC California is taking a more natural approach to pest control -- instead of spraying for light brown apple moths which are considered a pest by the USDA, the state is testing out releasing a type of wasp that lay their eggs inside apple moth eggs. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Trillions of Insects Killed by Cars Every Year, Says Study

11:59 pm in Cars & Transportation, insects by TreeHugger

dead bug photo Photo: peter pearson / cc Last May, Dutch biologist Arnold van Vliet embarked on a bold and buggy mission to count how many insects are killed by cars -- and six weeks later, the results are in. To perform the census of bug vs. car fatalities, the researcher enlisted the help of around 250 drivers to count the number of squashed insects on their front licence plates per distance travelled. After some simple math, van Vliet has arrived at a f...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Insect Hotels Abound at Chelsea Flower Show

5:10 am in bats, bees, gardens, insects, sustainable, Travel & Nature by TreeHugger

royal bank photo Photo: B. Alter Insect hotels are architectural, recycled and perfectly formed. But you can't stay there: they are for the bugs. Several gardens at this year's Chelsea Flower Show were featuring them. The most stylish, attached to the wall of a recycled shipping container, were at the Royal Bank of Canada's New Wild Garden. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger