Another look at the common house fly

A few weeks ago I cautiously wrote a rather optimistic piece about the common housefly.

As it turns out, the use of pesticides designed to kill Musca Domestica (and other insects) is actually causing more damage to the ecosystem than the flies themselves. 

Without them, we'd be instantly neck-deep in piles of detritus and dead matter. 

You don't want to know about that, right? 

To offer a respectful nod to the benefits of flies, I thought about elevating Mr. House Fly to the realm of found object art...and this lovely, scary piece manifested itself. I made it from cabinet knobs, wooden handles, wire, cloth, leather and vintage buttons. 

What better way to remind ourselves that insects--including the lowly house fly--are worthy of our utmost and deepest appreciation?

Don't worry...if you hang him from his chain, he won't end up crawling on your food.

Dimensions: 13"L x 5"W x 9"H

Of honey bees and humans

Did you know… 

...that one in three bites of food we eat is dependent on honey bees for pollination? 

…that in North America, honey bees pollinate nearly 95 kinds of fruits such as almonds, avocados, cranberries and apples?

…that of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees?


Bees and other insects transfer pollen and seeds from one flower to another, fertilizing plants to enable them to grow and produce food. Cross-pollination helps at least 30% of the world’s crops and 90% of its wild plants to thrive. Without bees to spread seeds, many plants—including food crops—would die off.

But the world is fast losing its bee populations. Pathogens, habitat loss and pesticides are causing a condition known as Colony Collapse Disorder. In the last five years alone nearly one-third of all bee colonies in the U.S. have perished.

How can we help save the bees?

One way is to increase the number of bees and other pollinators in your neighborhood by adding plants that provide essential habitat to your garden. I’ve illustrated three of those plants, but you can click here to find a list of 15 plants to consider if you’d like to help save the bees. 

You can also download the BeeSmart app, a guide that helps you select plants for pollinators specific to your area. 

Then visit a native plant nursery to get started!








More information and sources:
Economic Value of Beekeeping in California
NRDC Bee Facts 
Pesticides and bees

Entomology Etymology: Bed Bugs

Cimex lectularius, commonly known as the bed bug, is a flea-like true bug that dines on the blood of its hosts (that would be you and me). In prehistoric times, bed bugs absolutely loved our warm caves, and now they love our warm houses and especially our beds and bedding.

I was relieved to know they are only about the size of an apple seed or grain of rice…
if they were much larger, they’d be as terrifying as Godzilla.

As a logophiliac, I find the etymology of the bed bug fascinating. In Medieval Europe, the word bug or bugge originally referred exclusively to bed bug. (In present day, we call many things bugs: it’s the informal moniker not just for other insects, but for microscopic germs, or diseases caused by the germs.) Depending on where you come from, a bed bug could have other names: wall louse, mahogany flat, crimson rambler, chilly billies, heavy dragoon, chinche bug, or redcoat.

No matter what it’s called, this true bug is also a true parasite. That means they are pretty much good for nothing.

Some entomologists say that if an insect is a parasite found exclusively in human dwellings (and not in nature), killing it off will not upset the balance of the ecosystem.

Hmmmm.

Sources

Wikipedia

Bed bug facts 

Are bedbugs and cockroaches necessary?

Entomology 101

The “good vibrations” bug

Treehoppers deserve our utmost respect: they are amazing, beautiful and harmless bugs. They contribute to biodiversity, are gregarious little creatures who play well with other beneficial species, and won’t attempt to invade your house, chew on your plant leaves, or sting you.

They might, however, sing you a little song, if you listen closely.

Umbelligerus perviensis is one of over 3,200 species of treehoppers.

This bug is related to the cicada, but sports rather large,

ornamental head gear that resembles thorns or other shapes. 

The treehopper is friendly with ants, who feed on honeydew the bug produces while sucking tree sap, its main food source. The ants not only clean the treehoppers, but provide protection from predators, too. 

Treehoppers may also make friends with wasps and even geckos, with whom they communicate via small vibrations. The insect uses its muscles in the thorax and abdomen to shake its abdomen—the result is like the sound of a tiny tuning fork.

Click here to hear the sound of a vibrating treehopper


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Sources

Good Vibrations Key to Insect Communication, Christopher Joyce and Bill McQuay

“Tuning the drum: the mechanical basis for frequency discrimination in a Mediterranean cicada,” Jérôme Sueur et al.