Major insect pest has formed African ‘super-population’ (Rothamsted Research)
A new study has raised fears that populations of an invasive insect responsible for billions of dollars of lost harvests across dozens of African countries... Read More
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News and updates
WHY DO WE SOMETIMES SEE “RANDOM” VIRAL OUTBREAKS? (Animal Ecology in Focus)
Armyworms are important caterpillar crop pests in Africa and, in the early 1990s, Ken was a young postdoc based in Kenya studying the migration of... Read More
A sunscreen for biopesticides
Insect pests consume around a third of all the crops we grow, sometimes threatening food security. The main way of controlling these pests is by... Read More
Armyworm biopesticide moves closer
Researchers win funding to push forward the production of a cheap, effective and locally-produced biopesticide to combat one of Africa’s major crop pests. UK and... Read More
Lancaster scientist helps to tackle new invasive crop pest in southern Africa
Professor Kenneth Wilson of Lancaster Environment Centre has flown to Zambia to assess the Fall armyworm outbreaks that are devastating crops in southern Africa. The... Read More
Ten animal outbreaks that look like biblical plagues
BBC Earth: From locust swarms 110 miles long to armies of caterpillars (African armyworms) these plagues are what happens when a species runs rampant. BBC... Read More
New Publication: African armyworm change their feeding behaviour in response to infection by SpexNPV baculovirus
“Journal of Animal Ecology” has published online a new paper that explores the remarkable response of African armyworms to becoming infected with the SpexNPV baculovirus.... Read More
New Publication: Wolbachia bacteria make armyworms more susceptible to SpexNPV baculovirus
The journal “Ecology Letters” has published an article reporting the effects of a symbiotic bacterium called Wolbachia on the susceptibility of African armyworms to the... Read More