Insect-Killing Worms May Help New York

March 27, 2008 By WILLIAM KATES, Associated Press Writer Insect-Killing Worms May Help New York (AP)

Alfalfa beetles cross a highway in this 1992 photo provided by the Cornell Cooperative Extension. After 20 years of research, Cornell University scientists have discovered a pair of microscopic, insect-killing worms that prey on the beetle, an invasive species that has infested 500,000 acres in nine northern New York counties -- nearly 14 percent of the state's cropland -- since it was first identified in 1933. (AP Photo/Cornell Cooperative Extension)

(AP) -- Each spring, tens of millions of alfalfa snout beetles rise from the soil to continue their slow, methodical march across upstate New York, laying waste to fields of alfalfa in a single growing season.



Content from The Associated Press expires 15 days after original publication date. For more information about The Associated Press, please visit www.ap.org .

Similar stories from PHYSorg:


Researchers test biological ways to control alfalfa pest

created May 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Undesirable weather slows down hay production

created Jun 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Brown root rot -- a potentially serious forage crop disease -- is found throughout the Northeast

created Nov 12, 2007 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Organic apple orchard floor maintenance techniques

created Sep 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Reducing Agriculture's Climate Change Footprint

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 2.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 4.5 /5 (2 votes)


March 27, 2008 all stories

Comments: 0

4.5 /5 (2 votes)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this


Other News

Scientists visualize how bacteria talk to one another

Scientists visualize how bacteria talk to one another

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created 7 hours ago | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Using imaging mass spectrometry, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed tools that will enable scientists to visualize how different cell populations of cells communicate. Their ...


W. Africa's last giraffes make surprising comeback (AP)

W. Africa's last giraffes make surprising comeback

Biology / Ecology

created 15 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- A crisp African dawn is breaking overhead, and Zibo Mounkaila is on the back of a pickup truck bounding across a sparse landscape of rocky orange soil.


W. Africa's last giraffes make surprising comeback (AP)

China sends panda expert to Taiwan to aid breeding

Biology / Plants & Animals

created 15 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Nothing like a little time apart to rekindle the affections that could lead to a baby panda.


Laser etching safe alternative for labeling grapefruit

Laser etching safe alternative for labeling grapefruit

Biology / Other

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (14) | comments 8

Laser labeling of fruit and vegetables is a new, patented technology in which a low-energy carbon dioxide laser beam is used to label, or "etch" information on produce, thereby eliminating the need for common ...


Wolves, moose and biodiversity: An unexpected connection

Wolves, moose and biodiversity: An unexpected connection

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 4

Moose eat plants; wolves kill moose. What difference does this classic predator-prey interaction make to biodiversity?