From National Geographic's Youtube Channel:
A few years ago a Nature Brief Communication described the interesting relationship between the cabbage white butterfly (Pieris brassicae) and the parasitic wasp Trichogramma brassicae. The wasp parasitizes the eggs of the butterfly laid on plants of the cabbage family. The wasp, when given the choice between virgin or mated cabbage white butterfly females, was able to detect and showed a strong preference for the mated females. The authors determined that the wasps used a chemical cue to detect whether the butterfly was virgin or recently mated. The fact that the wasps also chose male butterflies over virgin females gave the team the clue to the source of the chemical cue — the male ejaculate.
The male cabbage white butterflies semen carries a compound, benzyl cyanide, which acts as an anti-aphrodisiac on the females, making them less attractive to other males. The benzyl cyanide turns out to be a component of the male body odor as well. The team tested the compound as the signaling cue for the wasp and found that virgin females treated with benzyl cyanide applied to their wings attracted wasps as strongly as mated females. The same compound the males use to increase the chance of their reproductive success has been co-opted by the wasp as an attractant to hitch a ride on gravid females to the site of egg laying, thus significantly increasing the chance of egg parasitization.
Mated female Pieris brassicae with Trichogramma brassicae wasp (about 0.5mm long) hitching a ride on it's leg.
The team of researchers found that the secretions of mated females caused parasitoid wasps (T. brassicae again) to linger on treated sections of leaf, but the attraction effect was time dependent, with no effect at 24 hours and a strong effect after 72 hours. They isolated the amount of benzyl cyanide in the secretions, then tested the effect of the benzyl cyanide in solution at a similar concentration (1ng), as well as much stronger (100ng and 20µg) concentrations. After 72 hours they found, once again, it was the benzyl cyanide from the males' semen that was the cause, with significant results at 100 and 1ng concentrations and no significant reaction to the 20µg concentration. The research found oviposition and benzyl cyanide induced changes in the plants were strongly correlated and they believe several of the transcriptional changes in the leaf surface, caused by the benzyl cyanide in the semen, are responsible for causing the wasp to linger on the leaf. 
Pieris brassicae egg clutch on cabbage plant (left) and Trichogramma brassicae wasp (about 0.5mm long) on P. brassicae egg.
In time for England's National Insect Week, the Linnean Society has digitized and put online the butterfly and moth collection of Carl Linnaeus, including many type specimens. The searchable collection has beautifully digitized images of the specimens including multiple views and accompanied by the original notes.
In addition to the multiple views, each image can be zoomed onscreen to an impressive detail. The digitizing crew at the Natural History Museum did a beautiful job on this. As an example above is the overview window of a Papilio sp. collected in Sierra Leone. Below is the 100% zoom image of the eyespot from the right hindwing.
This news is a couple weeks old, but I just found out about it. Robert Denno was one of the top Entomologists in this country. His sudden loss is a blow to the field. I met him and saw his talk on multi-trophic interactions across variable landscapes at Penn State in Spring 2006. He was a very good speaker and genuinely excited by his work and science in general. When I discussed my own work with him, he listened very closely and offered excellent comments.
Adam Bloom, from the University of Maryland's student paper, writes of his death,
"But what made him more than just a successful scientist was his energy, curiosity and thoughtful demeanor, friends said. He was often seen running through the halls of the Plant Sciences building, going from room to room, meeting strangers and greeting his fellow faculty members with a hearty handshake and a "Hey, dude!" said longtime colleague and professor emeritus Galen Dively."Denno was 62 when died of a heart attack while doing fieldwork at Georgia's Sapelo Island. He last day was spent collecting butterflies, the very thing he did as a child that got him interested in entomology in the first place.
Post-doctoral Research Associate in Molecular Evolutionary biology/Bioinformatics
We seek a post-doctoral researcher with training/experience in bioinformatics and large-scale sequencing to conduct research in two projects based on 454-sequencing and related to population dynamics and molecular evolution. The post doc will work in a large international research group.
One project is concerned with a highly variable gene (Pgi) with strong association with individual performance and fitness in the Glanville fritillary butterfly, which has been the focus of large-scale research since 1991. The research involves sequencing and analysis of large population samples. The second project is concerned with the identification and quantitative measurement of the abundances of fungal species in decomposing tree trunks. This project is related to an ERC-funded project on metacommunity dynamics of polyporous fungi. In both projects the sequencing will be carried out at the nearby high-throughput laboratory of the Institute of biotechnology, University of Helsinki using massive parallel sequencing methods.
PhD and prior experience with bioinformatics and molecular biology methods is required. Strong candidates would additionally have interest in molecular evolution and/or population genetics. The position is available for two years with possible extension for up to two more years.
We offer a highly international research environment with excellent possibilities to interact with researchers in ecology and evolutionary biology, molecular biology, mathematics and statistics. Salary and social benefits according to the University of Helsinki Salary Scale, around 3,100 €/month (negotiable based on experience).
Applications including a short CV (max 3 pages), list of publications, and the e-mail addresses of two researchers willing to write a letter of reference should be sent to ilkka.hanski[at]helsinki[dot]fi (cc tuuli.ojala[at]helsinki[dot]fi; write "mol ecol post doc position" on the subject line). For more details on the research group see http://www.helsinki.fi/science/metapop/. Consideration of applications will begin immediately and continues until the position is filled.
A friend sent me this webpage from Dark Roasted Blend on Glamorous Insects. Though they are not all insects, these unbelievable macro photos are better than National Geographic quality. I will steal one just to get you to go over there and see the rest! I really love the mantids.
The latest innovation from DARPA's Office of Creepy Technologies comes from Dr. Amit Lal, who wants to use controllable flying insects for surveillance missions. So far, his teams of engineers have managed to implant electrodes into moths during the pupa stage of early development, with minimal tissue damage. Video monitors show the insects as fully grown adults that can be induced to flap their wings in any direction. They're also working on a way to use the moth's living body—its movements and metabolism—as a power source for the implant's electronics.
DARPA's government-financed mad-science programs originate with managers like Dr. Lal.-Slate.com
