The Insects Inside

We all know that insects surround us, but what about the ones that get closer to home – inside our homes? In this short video, ARS entomologist Tracy Leskey answers the most pressing viewer questions about household insects, including:

• How to make your home less attractive to ants, silverfish, and other insects
• What to do about stinkbugs – and why invasive insects are such a big problem
• Why spiders aren’t actually insects at all
• How to protect beneficial insects
• Saving your clothes from moths
• Electronic bug zappers
• What to do if your pet eats an insect and
• How to keep insects from getting into a home in the first place

Learn about all these issues, and more, in our video interview with Dr. Leskey.

Precision Agriculture

Applying the right resources in the right place at the right time can be a win-win for farmers and the environment. This approach, known as precision agriculture, lets farmers use cutting-edge tools to get specific, detailed information on individual bits of land or even plants in their fields. This knowledge enables them to apply only as much fertilizer, water, or other inputs as necessary – producing better results for them and their crops. Overall, researchers have found that using these methods costs no more than traditional approaches, but produces more consistent crop yields, and improves soil and water quality by reducing excess nutrient run-off from fertilizer. ARS conducts research on precision agriculture as part of its long-term agroecological research project, which has locations throughout the country.

The secret to precision agriculture is understanding that plants, and land, are not all the same; some parts of a field may require more or less fertilizer, for instance. By figuring out what is, or isn’t, needed, and responding appropriately, farmers use scarce resources like water most effectively.  Watch our video to learn more about this innovative new approach that’s helping farmers grow their crops more efficiently – and sustainably.

Taking the Ouch Out of Oxalate

If one of your parents or grandparents ever suffered from a painful kidney stone, you might want to tell them there's a bit of good news.

Oxalic acid, or "oxalate," is a naturally occurring plant chemical which, in the human diet, can react with calcium, iron, and other minerals to inhibit mineral absorption. Foods such as tea, beets, rhubarb, strawberries, spinach, and chocolate are known to increase oxalate in the urine and may contribute to kidney stone formation.

Spinach in particular contains higher concentrations of oxalate than most crops, but it is also considered healthful because it is rich in a number of key nutrients.

Scientists with the ARS's Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit in Salinas, CA, and the University of Arkansas conducted a study analyzing the genetic code of 310 spinach varieties and identified 8 spinach varieties that have low oxalate levels, which is sometimes linked to better health.

If you'd like to learn more read, "Making Spinach with Low Oxalate Levels".

Tick Tactics: Scientists Are Finding New Ways to Fight an Old Foe

Ticks are one of the most troublesome insect pests, attaching themselves to humans, livestock, pets, and other animals. They can transmit many diseases, including Lyme disease, which can have devastating health effects. Currently, ticks infect over 300,000 Americans a year with Lyme disease, and infections are on the rise. One of the major ways that ticks travel is via unsuspecting deer, which can carry them long distances as they move around and search for food.

At ARS, researchers are working on new approaches to limit ticks’ ability to spread. One strategy is to target them while they’re traveling via deer. Watch this video to learn more about how researchers are using classic techniques applied in creative new ways to neutralize ticks.

ARS Pollinator Health in Southern Crop Ecosystems
Research Unit Outreach Event

The ARS Pollinator Health in Southern Crop Ecosystems Research Unit established a new apiary in Stoneville, MS with honey bee colonies decorated by students in the local community! The unit used this opportunity to engage with their community by connecting them through art by partnering with local art alliances (Delta Arts Alliance and Greenville Arts Council), bringing a splash of color to the apiary.

Dr. Pierre Lau and Sarah Dietrich gave presentations on bee biology, pollination, and agriculture at public, alternative, and private schools in the Mississippi Delta. Students, ranging from grades K-12, were instructed and tasked to paint honey bee boxes with something they learned or were inspired by in the presentations. The classes were also invited to tour the facilities. This was an activity used to involve the community and bring awareness of the ongoing research and opportunities in STEM.

Improving the Taste of Catfish

People aren’t eating as much American-grown catfish as they did at the turn of the century. Studies show this is due, in part, to naturally occurring chemicals that create an off-flavor in the meat. Researchers at the ARS Food Processing and Sensory Quality (FPSQ) research unit in New Orleans, LA, are conducting research to ensure better quality of U.S. catfish.

Chemicals from blue-green algae blooms are the primary culprit in producing the off-flavor, but it can also come from other microbes. Fish largely collect these chemicals through their gills, but researchers have found an oral route as well.

The researchers are trying various management practices to reduce the amount of the off-flavor compounds, including “depuration” (placing fish in holding tanks of clean water to allow them to purge whatever off-flavors they may have absorbed), applying food-safe acids that are known to break down some off-flavors, and using ultraviolet-C (UVC) light during packaging. UVC kills some bacteria and reduces spoilage.

Landing a solution to the off-flavor problem is a work in progress, but scientists have plenty of reason to keep trying; studies show that retail sales of U.S. catfish have increased 22% in the past 5 years.

Insect Eaters: Turning Pests into Chicken Feed

It's that time of year when mosquitoes are everywhere. Their feasting on your blood can be an itchy nuisance and, in some cases, a serious danger. But  a team of enterprising ARS scientists are looking  to turn the tables on mosquitoes and other insect pests like house flies by making them into lunch for other animals.

The idea of farming insects as an animal food source was already the subject of an ARS initiative but this project added a new dimension, by specifically proposing the use of nuisance insects like mosquitoes, which are abundant in agricultural settings, as the insect food source – not so much killing two birds with one stone as feeding many birds with one pest. In fact, chickens seem to vastly prefer mosquitoes to their current feed. What to know more?

Check out Harvesting Agriculture's "Natural" Insect Farms.