Satellite Tracks Cuckoos' 5,000km Journey

The migration routes of 5 British Cuckoos have been tracked by Scientists using tiny satellite-tracking tags. The bird's 5,000km journey began from East Anglia and all 5 have now reached Africa & 4 of the birds crossed the Sahara desert, one of the major sources of mortality for many migrants. The birds were distributed across 3,000km of the continent, from Morocco to Chad. It is thought that the birds would continue to fly a further 1-2,000km. Cuckoos are one of several migrant species declining in Britain so the team are keen to discover what environments the birds rely on and where they stop off to feed on their long migration.

Read More at BBC Nature

Posted by Astrojenny

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Species Are Fleeing Climate Change Faster Than Previously Thought

In the largest study of its kind, researchers looking at the effects of temperature on over 2,000 species, have found that animals and plants are moving from their natural home ranges towards the cooler poles three times faster than was previously thought.  Species experiencing the greatest warming are moving the furthest. The British comma butterfly, for example, has moved 220km northward from central England to southern Scotland in just the last two decades. The study has found that on average organisms are moving at a rate of 17km per decade away from the equator and uphill by about 1m a year.

Read More at Science Daily

Posted by Astrojenny

For all your pest control problems, please visit www.capy.co.uk and book a professional pest control technician or purchase DIY pest control products and kits.

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Dandelions

A weed to most, the bane of all good gardeners and the main crop in my lawn this year! What child hasn't enjoyed blowing the delicate seeds into the still summer air? During Victorian times dandelions were actually cultivated and eaten by the wealthy in salads and sandwiches and have been used to make remedies and wines. The BBC provides facts and videos on this much maligned plant.

Read More and Watch video at BBC Nature

Posted by Astrojenny

For all your pest control problems, please visit www.capy.co.uk and book a professional pest control technician or purchase DIY pest control products and kits.

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Gallery: Household Pests

Alex Wild is a biologist at the University of Illinois where he studies the evolutionary history of various groups of insects. He is also a wonderful wildlife macro photographer. Here he turns his lens on some of our most irritating insect pests. Cockroaches, termites, earwigs, beetles, flies, moths, silverfish, ants, bedbugs, pillbugs and spiders.

View Gallery at Alex Wild Photography

Posted by Astrojenny

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Five Ways Animal Societies Are Organizing

Chimpanzees wage war. They mount strategic military campaigns against neighbouring tribes to gain territory or stamp out rivals. Monkeys have complex, structured societies that involve prostitution, an economy and even labour strikes. Cleaner fish run an efficient business ridding larger fish of parasites, they advertise and will even punish fellow workers who do a poor job. Leaf cutter ants run farms, cultivating crops of fungus and protecting the crop with pesticides. Killer whales will use bait to 'fish' for seagulls, luring them down to the water by spitting chewed up fish on the surface and pass this trick onto their neighbours. Crows are excellent tool users, they even adapt tools to suit their purpose and pass the new technology on to each other.

Read More at Cracked.com WARNING: Strong Language!

Posted by Astrojenny

For all your pest control problems, please visit www.capy.co.uk and book a professional pest control technician or purchase DIY pest control products and kits.

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Drug Resistant Staph Could Become An Epidemic

Drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus could represent the world’s next epidemic. This superbug dubbed MRSA ST398, was first identified in humans in the Netherlands in 1994 and traced to livestock. Infection rates are now up in Denmark and the Netherlands and may be the beginning of an epidemic. The transmission mechanism for the disease in currently unknown. Infections can cause skin and tissue infections, respiratory tract infections like pneumonia, bacteremia (bacteria in the blood) and endocarditis (inflammation of the heart) Cooking kills most Staph aureus but food handling and cross-contamination can still cause infection. It is responsible for more deaths in the USA than HIV.

Read More at Scientific American

Posted by Astrojenny

For all your pest control problems, please visit www.capy.co.uk and book a professional pest control technician or purchase DIY pest control products and kits.

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Antlion Colony Thrives In Norfolk

Adult antlions look like small dragonflies, their larvae are less attractive and lie in steep sided burrows waiting for prey to fall in whereupon the antlion grabs it and sucks it dry. This rare insect is now thriving in a nature reserve in Norfolk. In 2008 700 larval pits were found on the site. This year the colony has trebled in size to number 1,905 larval pits. The larvae live for two years before becoming adults and then only survive for a few weeks. The only other known colony in the UK is in Suffolk.

Read More at BBC News

Posted by Astrojenny

For all your insect pest problems visit our web store, www.capy.co.uk

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