I am taking Parasitology this summer and so far the class has been icky and interesting. I am sure I will have many photos to share. Here is the first: a Stentor, a free-living protists in the phylum Ciliophora.
Getting good photos from a microscope is tough but when they come out it’s so cool. This one looks like it’s some alien planet.
As many of you know I am close to getting my B.S. in Biology. My advisor strongly suggested I start asking professors that are working on something that interests me if I may volunteer for them. I need research experience to help me get into grad school. The research is actually a “class” offered at CSUN. I have read what a lot of the scientists are doing and there are two on-staff Entomologists. One is the curator of collections (so cool!) and the other is studying sexual selection in crickets (which, coincidentally is one of the only insects that gives me the hibbee jibbees!). I don’t really know how any of this works and I already have a heavy science class load. I am very excited for the possibilities, though. I am wondering if anyone has any guidance to offer either for the actual class (I have no research experience!) or for the meeting with the potential professor before-hand.
Also, I am hoping my humble little blog will showcase my passion for insects and hope it makes me a shoe-in!
Any advice will be greatly appreciated,
Andrea
“BugGirl”
Beneficial Bug of the Day: Jewel Wasp, Nasonia vitripennis
It’s not new news that many insects are useful in genetics. This one in particular is doubly useful. It serves as a wonderful research tool plus it parasitizes pesky flies!
This site had this to attribute to its benefits to science as well as some interesting info on the wasp’s life cycle:
“Nasonia are excellent organisms for research and teaching. These parasitoid wasps have been the subject of genetic, ecological, evolutionary and developmental research for over 40 years. Two general features that make these insects such excellent study organisms are (a) ease of handling and rearing, and (b) interesting and diverse biology. Nasonia are readily reared on commercially available fly pupae (the hosts). Virgin females and males are easily collected in the pupal stage (there is a 3 day time window for virgin collection). Adults are user friendly and can be handled without the need for anaesthetization. Nasonia has a short generation time (two weeks), but can be stored under refrigeration for periods of time, allowing for flexibility in experimental timing. A key feature of Nasonia is haplodiploid sex determination; males are haploid and develop from unfertilized eggs and females are diploid and develop from fertilized eggs. Nasonia are small parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) that sting and lay eggs in the pupae of various fly species, primarily blowflies and fleshflies. There are three closely related species in the genus, N. vitripennis, N. longicornis, and N. giraulti. N. vitripennis is found throughout the world; N. giraulti is found in eastern North America and N. longicornis is found in western North America.”
Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria nigriventer) venom instead of Viagra???
These spiders have a bad reputation. And rightfully so… they are aggressive and their venom can be deadly. But don’t discount their importance to humans too fast… they may be able to help in a way you wouldn’t ever think possible. Their venom is currently being studied to cure impotence! The lethal venom contains a compound that causes erections and may be the latest key to treating sexual dysfunctions in both men and women! Read more about this fascinating spider here.
“fuck centipedes
i don’t care if they could babysit atom and heat my house for free
these bitches are getting smushed “-atomicmom
““Leave them run about your house and do their job…”
fuck yall niggaz
death to all bugs
let them eat other bugs, see that the problem already. you got OTHER bugs roaming the house like they pay rent.
hell nah”“- extraordinary mother
Death to all bugs? You’d better hope not. Human beings would be extinct in a matter of months if bugs were to suddenly disappear. Good luck with that one. Of course you have other bugs roaming your house: there are an estimated 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) insects in the world. (centipedes are not bugs, just to be clear) Educate yourself and learn to live with them because they own this planet. Us measly primates do not.
Disney was lying to you…
So many of the popular kid’s bug movies (Ants, Bug’s Life, Bee Movie) while being adorable and heartwarming- have one HUGE flaw. All of the main characters in any of the social insect groups are played by men. If these movies wanted to be scientifically accurate, they would have an all female cast, just as bees, ants and wasps do in nature. Jerry Seinfeld may have been out of a job but at least it would be true! Even the huge soldier ants should have been cast as girls! Certainly they must have hired an entomologist that informed them of their one blaringly obvious flub?? Maybe they decided it was best to just pretend working ants and bees are of both genders? Ah, oh well… I guess I should just be happy they make bugs heroes at all…even though it should have been all heroines..
In a simple experiment, researchers at the University of Chicago sought to find out whether a rat would release a fellow rat from an unpleasantly restrictive cage if it could. The answer was yes.
The free rat, occasionally hearing distress calls from its compatriot, learned to open the cage and did so with greater efficiency over time. It would release the other animal even if there wasn’t the payoff of a reunion with it. Astonishingly, if given access to a small hoard of chocolate chips, the free rat would usually save at least one treat for the captive — which is a lot to expect of a rat.
The researchers came to the unavoidable conclusion that what they were seeing was empathy — and apparently selfless behavior driven by that mental state.
“A New Model of Empathy: The Rat” by David Brown, Washington Post
i’m slowly loving psychology more and more
I heard about this on NPR last night. I’ve always loved rats for their intelligence and misunderstood lives.. now this gives me another reason to love them.
