IND vs ENG 2025 4th Test: Shubman Gill's team aim to create history at Old Trafford, end 89 year old curse...
A real-world trial at Virginia Tech has shown that ordinary dogs and their owners can help combat a major invasive insect species from taking hold in their communities.
The spotted lanternfly, native to Asia, was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014. Since then, it's spread rapidly to 18 states, laying its eggs on trees, stone, lumber, and even cars and trailers, where it can hitch a ride to a new home.
Catching the bug early is key—but finding its egg masses is no easy task. That's where your dog comes in.
With a sense of smell that's tens of thousands of times more acute than a human's, dogs can be trained to sniff out spotted lanternfly egg masses without disturbing the environment.
'They often resemble mud smears or lichens and are tucked into bark crevices, cracks, or hidden undersides,' said Mizuho Nita, a plant pathologist at Virginia Tech who co-authored the results of the field study. 'Finding them is like searching for a needle in a haystack.'
Previous research has shown that professional conservation detection dogs can find them quite often. But professional dogs are expensive, and there aren't nearly enough of them to cover the growing threat.
That's where Sally Dickinson, the lead author on the study who recently obtained her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, thought that they might be able to enlist the help of citizen scientists. (Left) A spotted lanternfly egg mass hides in plain sight – credit, courtesy of Sally Dickinson (Right) A mature spotted lanternfly – credit, Theresa Dellinger for Virginia Tech
'With proper training, dog owners can turn their pets into powerful partners for conservation,' Dickinson said.
Many dog owners participate in sporting scent games—teaching their dogs to track different scents and having sort of scavenger hunts to enrich their companions' lives. Even if the breed isn't bred specifically for following scent trails, most dogs can do it.
182 human-dog teams from across the US were selected and given devitalized, that is, non-hatching lanternfly egg masses, as training aids. Participants trained their dogs at home or in small groups, with oversight from a designated local trainer.
After several months of training, the dogs were put to the test in two environments—one indoor and one outdoor. In the controlled indoor environment, dogs had to complete an odor recognition test, identifying the box with the spotted lanternfly egg mass from among multiple boxes with other items and scents.
GREAT STUDIES FROM VA TECH: Plastic Waste Can Now be Turned into Soap Thanks to Eureka Moment from Virginia Tech
Those that passed the odor recognition test advanced to a field test, where they had to find the scent in an outdoor environment with competing smells.
The participant dogs correctly identified the egg masses 82% of the time in the controlled test and 61% in the real-world test. This was still better than rates of success for human-only searches. Of the dogs that passed both tests, 92% were successful in finding live egg masses with minimal extra training.
MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: High School Student Invents an A.I. Powered Trap That Zaps Invasive Lanternflies
'These teams demonstrated that citizen scientists and their dogs can play a meaningful role in protecting agriculture and the environment from invasive species,' said Sally Dickinson, the study's lead author.
In vineyards, orchard—arable acreage of all sorts—the lanternfly is devastating crops and yields. Any resistance is better than no resistance, and if that means keeping your dog alert and ready to sniff out the invader on a walk through the park or forest, it could make the difference between your local farmer making a profit or making a loss this harvest season.
SHARE This Brilliant Citizen Science Initiative To Help Defend Our Farms…
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India.com
21-07-2025
- India.com
IND vs ENG 2025 4th Test: Shubman Gill's team aim to create history at Old Trafford, end 89 year old curse...
Fozzie and Scott Hurst of Salem, Virginia, search a park bench for evidence of the invasive spotted lanternfly – credit Clark DeHart for Virginia Tech. A real-world trial at Virginia Tech has shown that ordinary dogs and their owners can help combat a major invasive insect species from taking hold in their communities. The spotted lanternfly, native to Asia, was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014. Since then, it's spread rapidly to 18 states, laying its eggs on trees, stone, lumber, and even cars and trailers, where it can hitch a ride to a new home. Catching the bug early is key—but finding its egg masses is no easy task. That's where your dog comes in. With a sense of smell that's tens of thousands of times more acute than a human's, dogs can be trained to sniff out spotted lanternfly egg masses without disturbing the environment. 'They often resemble mud smears or lichens and are tucked into bark crevices, cracks, or hidden undersides,' said Mizuho Nita, a plant pathologist at Virginia Tech who co-authored the results of the field study. 'Finding them is like searching for a needle in a haystack.' Previous research has shown that professional conservation detection dogs can find them quite often. But professional dogs are expensive, and there aren't nearly enough of them to cover the growing threat. That's where Sally Dickinson, the lead author on the study who recently obtained her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, thought that they might be able to enlist the help of citizen scientists. (Left) A spotted lanternfly egg mass hides in plain sight – credit, courtesy of Sally Dickinson (Right) A mature spotted lanternfly – credit, Theresa Dellinger for Virginia Tech 'With proper training, dog owners can turn their pets into powerful partners for conservation,' Dickinson said. Many dog owners participate in sporting scent games—teaching their dogs to track different scents and having sort of scavenger hunts to enrich their companions' lives. Even if the breed isn't bred specifically for following scent trails, most dogs can do it. 182 human-dog teams from across the US were selected and given devitalized, that is, non-hatching lanternfly egg masses, as training aids. Participants trained their dogs at home or in small groups, with oversight from a designated local trainer. After several months of training, the dogs were put to the test in two environments—one indoor and one outdoor. In the controlled indoor environment, dogs had to complete an odor recognition test, identifying the box with the spotted lanternfly egg mass from among multiple boxes with other items and scents. GREAT STUDIES FROM VA TECH: Plastic Waste Can Now be Turned into Soap Thanks to Eureka Moment from Virginia Tech Those that passed the odor recognition test advanced to a field test, where they had to find the scent in an outdoor environment with competing smells. The participant dogs correctly identified the egg masses 82% of the time in the controlled test and 61% in the real-world test. This was still better than rates of success for human-only searches. Of the dogs that passed both tests, 92% were successful in finding live egg masses with minimal extra training. MORE NEWS LIKE THIS: High School Student Invents an A.I. Powered Trap That Zaps Invasive Lanternflies 'These teams demonstrated that citizen scientists and their dogs can play a meaningful role in protecting agriculture and the environment from invasive species,' said Sally Dickinson, the study's lead author. In vineyards, orchard—arable acreage of all sorts—the lanternfly is devastating crops and yields. Any resistance is better than no resistance, and if that means keeping your dog alert and ready to sniff out the invader on a walk through the park or forest, it could make the difference between your local farmer making a profit or making a loss this harvest season. SHARE This Brilliant Citizen Science Initiative To Help Defend Our Farms…
Indian Express
08-06-2025
- Indian Express
Know about the snakes that can ‘fly'
Most of us think of snakes as slithering creatures that stick to the ground—or maybe climb trees at most. But believe it or not, some snakes can actually glide through the air, moving from tree to tree like something out of a fantasy film. It sounds unbelievable, but it's genuine. These unusual reptiles are known as 'flying snakes'. Okay, we acquiesce, the term 'flying' might be a bit misleading. These snakes don't actually have wings to soar like birds in the sky. What they do is even more fascinating—they launch themselves from high branches, flatten their bodies, and use their incredible flexibility to glide through the air, sometimes for distances as long as 30 metres (around 100 feet). That's longer than a blue whale! The most commonly known species is the paradise tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi), part of the Chrysopelea genus. These snakes are native to southern Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and parts of the Philippines and India. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, flying snakes live in tropical forests and are very good at climbing trees. They often start their glide by hanging off a branch, making a J-shape with their bodies before launching into the air. But how do they glide without wings? It's all in the movement. As the snake jumps, it spreads its ribs and flattens its body, like a living ribbon. It also wiggles from side to side in mid-air, which helps keep it stable and allows it to steer. Scientists from Virginia Tech published a paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology in 2014, studying this motion and found that it's actually very efficient, using airflow and body control to stay aloft. A 2020 study published in Nature Physics explains that this movement is much more complex than it looks. The gliding isn't just random falling—it's a carefully controlled movement that helps the snake land safely on its next tree or branch. This clever ability helps flying snakes escape predators, find food, and move through the forest faster than if they had to climb down and back up again. You might be wondering—are they dangerous? Thankfully, these snakes are not harmful to humans. While they do have mild venom that helps them hunt small prey like lizards, frogs, and birds, they're not a threat to us. In fact, they're often helpful because they help keep insect and rodent populations in check. These snakes are a great example of how amazing and strange nature can be. They show us that even animals we think we understand—like snakes—can evolve in surprising ways. Without wings, without legs, they've found a way to move through the air, just using the shape of their bodies and clever physics. It's a reminder that there's still so much we don't know about the natural world.
Indian Express
01-06-2025
- Indian Express
Bed bugs were likely one of the first pests found in cities, new study finds
Common bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) grew in number when humans started living together in the first cities. These tiny bloodsuckers were likely the first insect pests to thrive in city environments, and maybe even the first urban pests, according to a new study by scientists at Virginia Tech, United States, that was published in Biology Letters on May 28. Bed bugs originally fed on bats. But around 245,000 years ago, one group of bedbugs started feeding on humans, likely beginning with Neanderthals. About a year ago, Lindsay Miles from Virginia Tech began studying bedbug genetic data to see how their populations changed over time. Bedbug numbers dropped around 19,000 years ago, when the Ice Age ended and habitats changed. Both types of bedbugs did decline, but the ones that fed on humans increased sharply some 13,000 years ago, stayed steady for a while, and then rose again 7,000 years ago. In comparison, the population of bedbugs that feed on bats are still decreasing. The big change from fewer to more bedbugs happened around the same time the first cities appeared in western Asia and started to grow, as per the study. Before that, people moved around a lot and didn't often meet other groups, so bedbugs didn't spread much either. But once people began living together in cities, it created a new environment for bedbugs. The study states that the bugs started mating with each other more, their numbers grew quickly, and they adapted to life in cities. The researchers also hypothesised that bed bugs were one of the first pests to adjust to city life and were likely the first insect pests to live in urban areas. Other animals became connected to city life much later. German cockroaches, for instance, started living closely with humans around 2,100 years ago, and black rats around 5,000 years ago. Mark Ravinet, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Oslo in Norway, who said that these findings showed that bedbugs can help scientists learn how species adapt to live with humans. He said the study was important for understanding how quickly animals can adjust to human environments and what changes they make in order to survive.
