How One Entomologist Has Created Community for LGBTQ+ Scientists | Entomology Today

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Meet Lauren Esposito, Ph.D., arachnologist and curator at the California Academy of Sciences and co-creator of 500 Queer Scientists, a grassroots visibility campaign for LGBTQ+ people and allies in STEM and beyond.

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Graphical Abstracts: Where to Find Illustration and Design Help for Your Next Paper | Entomology Today

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Like any good figure or infographic, a graphical abstract can convey key concepts from a research article in a simple, attention-grabbing visual format. For students and professionals in entomology, learn about a variety of options for bringing your next graphical abstract to life.

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How One Entomologist is Exploring Insect Pests in Midwestern Agroecosystems | Entomology Today

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Meet Adrian Pekarcik, Ph.D., incoming research entomologist with USDA-ARS, Asiatic garden beetle biologist, and subject of the next installment of our "Standout Early Career Professionals" series.

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Organic Coating Gives Cherries a Chance to Fend Off Fruit Flies | Entomology Today

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With an organic, food-grade coating sprayed on cherries in the orchard, western cherry fruit flies have difficulty gripping the fruit surface to lay eggs. Ongoing research is fine-tuning the coating formulation in hopes of creating a new tool for integrated pest management in cherries.

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Eriogonum spergulinum, the Spurry Buckwheat

Wandering around sandy highlands of the southwest United States, you may encounter a sparse, wiry weed growing between five and forty centimetres in height. This is the spurry buckwheat Eriogonum spergulinum.

Spurry buckwheat Eriogonum spergulinum, copyright Dcrjsr.

Members of the buckwheat family Polygonaceae are found worldwide but tend to be easily overlooked as low, scrubby weeds. In North America, one of the most diverse genera is Eriogonum, known from about 250 species though many are difficult to readily distinguish (Hickman 1993). Eriogonum spergulinum is one of the more recognisable species in the genus. As mentioned above, it grows in sandy soils, particularly those dominated by worn-down granite, and is found at altitudes between 1200 and 3500 metres. It is an annual herb with basal leaves of a linear shape, less than two millimetres wide but up to thirty millimetres long. The greater part of the plant's height is made up by the slender, cyme-like inflorescence bearing unribbed, four-toothed involucres on slender stalks. The flowers are up to three millimetres in diameter with a white perianth marked by darker stripes. Overall, E. spergulinum in flower resembles a drifting cloud of small white stars.

Close-up on Eriogonum spergulinum flowers, copyright Tom Hilton.

Three varieties of Eriogonum spergulinum have been recognised though they are not always distinct and tend to intergrade with each other. In most parts of the species' range, plants belong to the variety E. spergulinum var. reddingianum. This variety is characterised by erect inflorescences with glandular axes and flowers about two millimetres in diameter. The other two varieties are both restricted to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Eriogonum spergulinum var spergulinum resembles var. reddingianum but produces larger flowers, about three millimetres in diameter. Eriogonum spergulinum var. pratense is more distinctive. Inflorescences are prostrate to ascending, only about two to five millimetres in height, and lack glands on the axes. Flowers are only 1.5 millimetres across. Pratense is also a higher-altitude variety, found at heights above 2500 metres. The Sierra Nevada varieties are both uncommon; if any variety is likely to be found, it is the widespread reddingianum.

REFERENCE

Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

source http://coo.fieldofscience.com/2022/06/eriogonum-spergulinum-spurry-buckwheat.html

New Guide Highlights IPM for Boxwood Pests | Entomology Today

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Boxwood is one of the most widely planted landscape plants in North America. However, it is not without management challenges, specifically from arthropod and disease pests. A new article in the open-access Journal of Integrated Pest Management discusses identification, biology, and management of common boxwood pests.

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New CDC Study Details County-Level Distribution of Seven Diseases Spread by Blacklegged Ticks | Entomology Today

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As surveillance for ticks and the disease-causing germs they spread improves, so does Americans' access to knowledge about where the risk of tickborne disease is greatest. New data from the CDC offers up-to-date county-level maps of where blacklegged ticks are prevalent and where they've been found infected with any of seven different pathogens.

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Pests Stay In, Parasitoids Fly Out: The Augmentorium for Biological Control in IPM | Entomology Today

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A simple tent equipped with a carefully selected mesh can be a helpful tool in augmentative biological control efforts. With infested fruit placed inside, the mesh keeps pest insects in but allows parasitoids to escape and continue their work as natural enemies of target pests.

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Another Pest of Pollinators: Small Hive Beetle Management in Honey Bee Colonies | Entomology Today

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Small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) can cause substantial damage in commercial honey bee colonies in North America. Both larval and adult beetles consume hive products and honey bee eggs and larvae, creating a slimy waste in the process. A new guide discusses the biology and management of these pests and highlights current gaps in our knowledge.

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