A self-spreading bacterial infection in an agricultural pest that stops the pest from spreading plant viruses

Words: Ary Hoffmann Banner image: Natasha Wright, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. In Asia, one of the most damaging pests of rise is the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens. This pest damages plants directly but more importantly it acts as a vector for damaging plant viruses, including the “rice ragged stunt virus” (RRSV). This […]


Uninvited guests in your groceries

Words, illustraions and photos: Marianne CoquilleauMarianne Coquilleau With spring coming our way, gardens come to life and with it their many inhabitants. It’s no surprise then to find small caterpillars, aphids and other insects while washing your vegetables and fruits, especially if you source your vegetables locally or pesticide-free sources. You might then also notice […]


Finished, but not yet free

Words by Samantha Ward & Marianne Coquilleau Illustrations by Marianne Coquilleau Photographs by Samantha Ward UPDATE – Samantha & Marianne have been interviewed on radio stations 2SER and The Pulse about their journey LINK 2SER || LINK The Pulse Concluding the postgraduate journey Covid-19 has shaken up the world as we know it. Everyone has […]


The resistance advantage – a field genetic background is important for survival of our Wolbachia mosquitoes in Malaysia and reduction of dengue

Banner image: Nancy with scientists from the Wolbachia dengue program at the Institute for Medical Research, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Words and photos: Nancy M. Endersby-Harshman Our paper published two weeks ago in Insects is the result of a research collaboration between PEARG at the University of Melbourne, the Institute for Medical Research […]


The grasshopper that was lost, then found, is now endangered

This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article. By Professor Ary Hoffmann, Vanessa White and Professor Michael Kearney The Key’s Matchstick Grasshopper, or the Keyacris scurra, was once widespread and abundant in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and north-central Victoria, but over the past century its numbers have seriously declined. […]


Targeting the bacteria inside insects for improved pest management

This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article Francesca Noakes and Professor Ary Hoffmann Any home gardener knows of the long-running battle against insect pests. The little critters that sneak into your garden beds and strip leaves are irritating among prized kale, but for farmers these tiny pests can have devastating economic […]


Tracking the movement of mosquito stowaways

This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article Dr Tom Schmidt Everyone knows mosquitoes can fly. Not everyone knows they fly in pressurised cabins 10,000 metres above the ocean. In fact, many of the most dangerous mosquito species get flown all over the world in aeroplanes, or travel on boats or other […]


New Pursuit article – Have resistance, will travel

This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article here. Authors: Dr Nancy Endersby-Harshman, Dr Qiong Yang, Dr Tom Schmidt and Professor Ary Hoffmann Around the world, pest insects – like mosquitoes – often become resistant to the insecticides meant to control them, causing problems for agriculture and public health. Resistance in multiple populations […]


Moshe Jasper: Humans of BioSciences

Meet Moshe Jasper, Research Assistant in PEARG. Moshe shares what inspired him to become a scientist and what he wishes he had known when he was an undergraduate student. What is it like to work in PEARG ? The Pest & Environmental Adaptation Research Group undertakes research on adaptation of organisms (particularly invertebrates) to environmental […]

Number of posts found: 112