The red palm is a global menace threatening the sustainability of date farming and the existence of ornamental palm trees, like the iconic Canary Island date palm that characterizes many famous localities (e.g., Cannes in France and Carthage in Tunisia). National Public Radio's (NPR) Maanvi Singh discusses the red palm weevil invasion with Mark Hoddle.
The South American palm weevil is well established in San Diego county where is it responsible for killing hundreds of ornamental Canary Island date palms ( these are palms that have the sub-apical region pruned to look like pineapple). Mark Hoddle worked with Elliott Kennerson and Josh Cassidy with the science show "Deep Look" produced...
Dr. Naoki Yamanaka has become the first person at UC Riverside to be named a Pew Scholar in the biomedical sciences. The Pew Charitable Trust has awarded him four years of flexible funding to pursue foundational research.
Palm weevils are a global menace to date and ornamental palm producers around the world. In this clip, Simon Morton, host of "This Way Up" on Radio New Zealand, interviews Mark Hoddle about this problem and his recent trip to Tunisia at the invitation of the US State Department and US Embassy to assist with...
Dr. Omar Akbari's lab has found a way to create red-eyed mutant wasps by using CRISPR gene-slicing technology. Through this discovery, the Akbari lab would like to get a better understanding of wasp genetics and other insects in order to find a way to control insects who destroy crops or spread diseases.
UC Riverside Entomology Department No. 2 in the World - Center for World University Rankings places department second in the world based on research articles in top journals.
Rick Vetter, University of California, Riverside spider expert, co-authored paper outlining expressions of skin conditions often misdiagnosed as brown recluse bites
Pierce's disease continues to trouble California grape growers. Several sharpshooter vectors are known to spread the disease. Vine removal is key part of overall management strategy. Given what researchers know about Pierce’s disease (PD) they continue to chase clearer answers into cause and effect of the bacterial disease. Matt Daugherty, Cooperative Extension specialist in the...
The South American palm weevil has made its way up to Southern California and that's a big problem. According to Mark Hoddle, an entomologist at UC Riverside and the director of the Center for Invasive Species Research, they spread efficiently, are difficult to catch and they destroy palm trees from the inside out. All of...
Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Sign up .) South American palm weevils, the button-size beetles, have breached the Southern California border, and they’re hungry. That spells trouble for their favorite meal, the Canary Island date palms that have been one of the region’s most enduring symbols. The weevil larvae feast on...
We kick off the second season of NHPR's newest show, Outside/In, with a discussion of biological control: using non-native species to combat destructive invasive pests and plants that are decimating a local species. It's the focus of the Outside/In episode titled "Never Bring a Sledgehammer to a Scalpel Fight." This approach to managing invasive species...
Ring Cardé, a distinguished professor of entomology and the Alfred M. Boyce chair in Entomology, was one of three scientists who received a Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Achievements at the XXV Congress of Entomology the last week of September in Orlando. At the event, he delivered a lecture called “Finding source of wind-borne odor...
DALTON HIGHWAY, Alaska — “To bees , time is honey. ” — Bernd Heinrich, “ Bumblebee Economics ” One hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, by the side of a dusty road, two women in anti-mosquito head nets peer at a queen bumblebee buzzing furiously in a plastic tube. “I think it’s the biggest...
A team of scientists has found that a species of ant that clusters together to form rafts to survive floods exhibits memory and repeatedly occupies the same position during raft formation, according to a just published paper. The research shows that, like humans, ants work together to enhance their response to emergency situations with different...
Entomologists review pros, cons and regulatory issues surrounding new technology that could help halt the spread of diseases such as Zika virus, dengue fever and malaria RIVERSIDE, Calif. ( www.ucr.edu ) — Engineered gene drives, which have the potential to spread desirable genes throughout wild populations or to suppress harmful species, have received a lot...
Timothy Paine received the award for his innovative teaching methods and service to students RIVERSIDE, Calif. ( www.ucr.edu ) — A University of California, Riverside professor of entomology has received an award for innovative teaching methods and service to students from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), U.S. Department of Agriculture and the...
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – For various reasons, wild pollinators are in decline across many parts of the world. To combat this, managed honey bees and bumblebees are frequently shipped in to provide valuable pollination services to crops. But does this practice pose any risk to the wild bees? An entomologist at the University of California, Riverside...
