Loathed by homeowner and restaurateur, the lowly cockroach is gaining some respect in the agricultural community.
Researchers in South Texas are beginning to sing the praises of a flying cockroach from Asia which has shown a voracious appetite for pests that plague farmers. They concede, however, that most people would still feel revulsion at the sight of the helpful predator.
"It just brings out this visceral reaction in people," said Bob Pfannenstiel, an entomologist with the US Department of Agriculture. "There's too much cultural antipathy just because of the other cockroaches."
The other cockroaches include the German variety, a common breed that doesn't fly and is often seen scattering from countertops when kitchen lights are flicked on.
The Asian cockroach is almost identical in appearance to the German variety and is also active at night. But instead of leftover pizza, it feasts on insects harmful to crops.
They first appeared in Florida in 1986, and the species has expanded its range ever since. They've migrated to southern Georgia, Alabama and up the US' east coast.
They ventured west into Texas in 2006, and became the most common predator of bollworm eggs in the state's Rio Grande Valley region. The bollworm threatens cotton, soybean, corn and tomato crops.
Pfannenstiel has counted as many as 100 roaches per square meter in soybean fields.
In one instance, he found 14 cockroaches on a single leaf. None damaged the plants.
About 86 percent of the pests' eggs -- which Pfannenstiel and colleagues placed out in fields to conduct research -- were gone within 24 hours.
"I saw them feeding more than any other predator," Pfannenstiel said. "It was truly a spectacle. It was unbelievable, and I'm sure they were feeding on more than eggs."
The cockroach also eats the eggs of the beet armyworm -- a pest to cotton, cabbage and a variety of other crops.
South Texas cotton producer Jimmy Dodson said that he's thankful the Asian cockroach is helping to reduce pests in the region's cotton fields.
"The enemy of my enemy is a friend," said Dodson, whose family farms 3,640 hectares of cotton. "When you have an ally in [reducing pests] you're not going to run them off. We need all the help we can get."
Scientists have studied predator insects in agriculture for years, but not much research has been done at night. Pfannenstiel, who researches beneficial insects, plans a long-term study to determine whether the cockroach remains a predator all its life.
"Without studying what goes on at night, we would never have observed some of our most important predators in cotton and soybeans," he said. "It's interesting that the cockroach could be a benefit to farmers."
Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died. She was 96. The Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Schloss was honorary president, said she died on Saturday in London, where she lived. Britain’s King Charles III said he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, who cofounded the charitable trust to help young people challenge prejudice. “The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’ US President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by the Danish prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in
Tens of thousands of Filipino Catholics yesterday twirled white cloths and chanted “Viva, viva,” as a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ was paraded through the streets of Manila in the nation’s biggest annual religious event. The day-long procession began before dawn, with barefoot volunteers pulling the heavy carriage through narrow streets where the devout waited in hopes of touching the icon, believed to hold miraculous powers. Thousands of police were deployed to manage crowds that officials believe could number in the millions by the time the statue reaches its home in central Manila’s Quiapo church around midnight. More than 800 people had sought
PERILOUS JOURNEY: Over just a matter of days last month, about 1,600 Afghans who were at risk of perishing due to the cold weather were rescued in the mountains Habibullah set off from his home in western Afghanistan determined to find work in Iran, only for the 15-year-old to freeze to death while walking across the mountainous frontier. “He was forced to go, to bring food for the family,” his mother, Mah Jan, said at her mud home in Ghunjan village. “We have no food to eat, we have no clothes to wear. The house in which I live has no electricity, no water. I have no proper window, nothing to burn for heating,” she added, clutching a photograph of her son. Habibullah was one of at least 18 migrants who died
RSS