In part 1 of this series, I explained how we've been using genetic engineering of sorts for nearly half a century to control insects by using radiation to induce sterility or other dominant lethal mutations in insects. In part 2,…
Joe Ballenger
Joe Ballenger is an agricultural scientist studying weed control at the University of Wyoming. He has a Masters degree in Entomology. He co-founded the successful Ask an Entomologist project!. In his spare time, he likes to cook and climb.
Genetic modification of insects as pest control part 2
In part 1 of this series, I discussed the history of genetic modification in insects as pest control. We've been creating insect GMOs for the purposes of controlling pests for awhile. If you bombard insects with radiation, it can kill…
Genetic modification of insects as pest control – Part 1
Vector borne diseases (VBDs) are generally pretty bad. Yellow fever, the disease which stopped the Panama canal dead in it's tracks, makes your liver fail and turns you yellow... hence the name. Malaria is caused by a parasite which ruptures…
Pest Control Part 2: How Pesticides are Used in Integrated Pest Management
In Part 1 of Pest Control, I discussed what a pest was and how they were divided into categories as well as how those categories overlap. Identifying pests and how they cause damage is only one part of the puzzle.…
Pest Control Part 1: What is a Pest?
Since I'm the resident entomologist on Biofortified, and because the main pests in almost all agricultural systems are insects it only makes sense for me to write something about pests and how they're managed in agricultural situations. My role here…
Evolution of the Polydnavirus: How Wasps Began Using Viruses to Engineer Their Hosts
In Polydnaviruses, Nature's GMOs, I explained how polydnaviruses disabled host immune defenses through genetic modification. A post after that, I discussed how polydnaviruses use modified insect proteins to interfere with these systems. So if you're a biologically-minded person, there's one…
How do polydnaviruses work?
In Polydnaviruses: Nature’s GMOs, I wrote about how wasps use viruses to disable the immune defenses of their hosts. Braconid and ichneumonid wasps use a system that genetically modifies their hosts in order to shut their immune systems down. So…
Polydnaviruses: Nature’s GMOs
The wasps in the video below are most likely from the family Braconidae. These wasps make their living as parasitoids, growing within other animals and eventually eating them from the inside out. Their life starts as an egg which is…
Hello From The World of Entomology!
My name is Joe and I'm going to be an occasional guest blogger here at Biofortified. The area I write about is going to be a bit different than most of the other writers on this website. Instead of writing…