College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

NEWSNATION - During the late 1800s and well into the 1900s, the New World screwworm invaded the U.S., devastating livestock and requiring a decades-long eradication campaign. During that time, the fly could be found from California to Florida. Eventually, scientists discovered that by releasing sterile male flies into the air, they could all but eliminate...

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - Roughly 60 years ago, the United States eradicated the New World screwworm, an insect that feeds on living tissue. But now, the flesh-eating creature appears to be creeping closer to a comeback. New World screwworm is the name given to the larval, or maggot, stage of the Cochliomyia hominivorax blowfly. Loosely translated...

BBC WILDLIFE MAGAZINE - Researchers in California are preparing for the possible return of a parasitic flesh-eating fly which once decimated livestock. The New World screwworm is the larval (or maggot) stage of a blowfly known as Cochliomyia hominivorax. While most blowflies are harmless and feed on decaying carcasses, the screwworm feeds on living tissue...

KNOWABLE MAGAZINE - n warm, shallow waters, a spiny, slug-like creature grazes on bacterial sludge on the seafloor, while sponges nearby filter clouds of suspended particles. A shell-encased Odaraia swims past, picking smaller life forms out of the water, while a giant Anomalocaris, with its formidable grasping appendages, prowls for soft-bodied critters. It’s a scene...

SFGATE - Described by researchers as one of the most serious wood-destroying pests in the world, subterranean termites cause an estimated $32 billion in damage globally per year, and California is a battleground where both native and non-native species flourish. Now, unfortunately for squeamish homeowners, researchers at UC Riverside said there may be even more...

ENTOMOLOGY TODAY - In southern California, subterranean termites in the genus Reticulitermes are a common scourge, responsible for significant economic damage in that part of the state. Early studies of these termites indicated that only two pest species existed—Reticulitermes hesperus and Reticulitermes tibialis. However, a 2023 study by Chow-Yang Lee, Ph.D. , endowed presidential chair...

SCIENCE NEWS - A beautiful menace is on the move in the United States. Polka-dotted, red-and-gray-winged insects are gliding along sidewalks, climbing on plants and crawling up buildings. Spotted youngsters are leaping away to avoid a sticky end at the bottom of a shoe. Welcome to spotted lanternfly season. An invasive plant hopper native to...

LOS ANGELES TIMES - If you suffer from arachnophobia, this is the time of year when you’re most likely to run into one of your worst nightmares: a tarantula. It’s mating season for most of the 29 species of tarantulas in the United States, 10 of which can be found in California, according to Los...