Bugmen will eat bugs

PRCD

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Feb 25, 2020
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“i would take it if they offered it. i know of a guy in my area who has lyme disease and will apparently have it forever. i only know of this because his brother is a world champion longboarder and has the clout to throw fundraisers for him periodically, which he will apparently also need forever. lyme disease is one of those bend-over-backwards-to-avoid diseases, imo.”

yup.

if you want to creep yourself about LD a little bit more, check out bitten, by kris newby. it’s not only deer ticks to worry about now...

it seems like manbearsquirrel is basically illiterate, but maybe he could get someone to read him the highlights in between his plum island surf sessions...

:shark:
Two years ago, I would've rolled my eyes at this.

Now? https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/10/19/boston-university-defends-covid-19-research-calling-criticism-inaccurate
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
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Will Bugmen eat fungus infected insects?

Link 1
Blurb:
Entomophthora muscae, also called the “zombie fly fungus,” is a parasitic fungus that survives by infecting houseflies, and it’s right here in Maine attacking flies in houses and gardens around the state.
As parasites go, the zombie fungus is particularly horrifying, with a life cycle that seems more at home in a Stephen King novella than a scientific research article. A recent study out of Denmark shows the fungus actually takes control of a female fly’s behavior while consuming it from the inside out. It then uses the corpse to attract and infect male houseflies.
According to the study, once the fungus infects a female fly with its spores, it spreads and feeds on her body from the inside. After about six days of feasting on the living fly, the fungus takes over its behavior and forces it to climb to the highest available location where the female finally dies, leaving only a hollowed-out corpse.

Link 2
Blurb:

In areas of the country with severe tawny crazy ant infestations, “there’s no insect noise and there’s no bird noise,” says Edward LeBrun, an ecologist at the University of Texas, tells Erik Strokstad for Science. LeBrun, an author of the new paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explains that the ants “have really profound ecological impacts.”
So when LeBrun and colleagues found a type of fungus that seems to only target tawny crazy ants, they were immediately intrigued. The fungus, Myrmecomorba nylanderiae, works by eating the ants from the inside out. Once a fungal spore is swallowed by an ant, the pathogen hijacks an insect’s fat cells and makes them shed more spores, which infect others.
Before doing their latest study, the research team observed and sampled over a dozen infected and uninfected crazy ant colonies. They found all infected colonies were declining, and more than half of them disappeared completely within four to seven years of being infected with the pathogen, according to Live Science’s Mindy Weisberger.


Link 3
Blurb:
Pity the poor unsuspecting carpenter ant who unwittingly becomes infected with spores scattered by a parasitic fungus in the Cordyceps genus. The spores attach to the ant and germinate, spreading through the host's body via long tendrils called mycelia. Cordyceps essentially turns its host into a zombie slave, compelling the ant to climb to the top of the nearest plant and clamp its tiny jaws in a death grip around a leaf or twig.
The fungus then slowly devours the ant, sprouting through its head in one final indignity. Then the bulbous growths on the ends of the mycelia burst, releasing even more spores into the air, to infect even more unsuspecting ants. It's not a great way to go: the entire process can take four to 14 days.
There are more than 400 different species of Cordyceps fungi, each targeting a particular species of insect, whether it be ants, dragonflies, cockroaches, aphids, or beetles. The zombification aspect has made the fungus a favorite of nature documentaries. It has also worked its way into popular culture, such as the zombie-apocalypse video game, The Last of Us (2013), in which a parasitic fungus mutates so that it also infects humans. But scientists are keen to study Cordyceps to learn more about the origins and intricate mechanisms behind these kinds of pathogen-based diseases.
 
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PRCD

Tom Curren status
Feb 25, 2020
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Will Bugmen eat fungus infected insects?

Link 1
Blurb:
Entomophthora muscae, also called the “zombie fly fungus,” is a parasitic fungus that survives by infecting houseflies, and it’s right here in Maine attacking flies in houses and gardens around the state.
As parasites go, the zombie fungus is particularly horrifying, with a life cycle that seems more at home in a Stephen King novella than a scientific research article. A recent study out of Denmark shows the fungus actually takes control of a female fly’s behavior while consuming it from the inside out. It then uses the corpse to attract and infect male houseflies.
According to the study, once the fungus infects a female fly with its spores, it spreads and feeds on her body from the inside. After about six days of feasting on the living fly, the fungus takes over its behavior and forces it to climb to the highest available location where the female finally dies, leaving only a hollowed-out corpse.

Link 2
Blurb:

In areas of the country with severe tawny crazy ant infestations, “there’s no insect noise and there’s no bird noise,” says Edward LeBrun, an ecologist at the University of Texas, tells Erik Strokstad for Science. LeBrun, an author of the new paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explains that the ants “have really profound ecological impacts.”
So when LeBrun and colleagues found a type of fungus that seems to only target tawny crazy ants, they were immediately intrigued. The fungus, Myrmecomorba nylanderiae, works by eating the ants from the inside out. Once a fungal spore is swallowed by an ant, the pathogen hijacks an insect’s fat cells and makes them shed more spores, which infect others.
Before doing their latest study, the research team observed and sampled over a dozen infected and uninfected crazy ant colonies. They found all infected colonies were declining, and more than half of them disappeared completely within four to seven years of being infected with the pathogen, according to Live Science’s Mindy Weisberger.


Link 3
Blurb:
Pity the poor unsuspecting carpenter ant who unwittingly becomes infected with spores scattered by a parasitic fungus in the Cordyceps genus. The spores attach to the ant and germinate, spreading through the host's body via long tendrils called mycelia. Cordyceps essentially turns its host into a zombie slave, compelling the ant to climb to the top of the nearest plant and clamp its tiny jaws in a death grip around a leaf or twig.
The fungus then slowly devours the ant, sprouting through its head in one final indignity. Then the bulbous growths on the ends of the mycelia burst, releasing even more spores into the air, to infect even more unsuspecting ants. It's not a great way to go: the entire process can take four to 14 days.
There are more than 400 different species of Cordyceps fungi, each targeting a particular species of insect, whether it be ants, dragonflies, cockroaches, aphids, or beetles. The zombification aspect has made the fungus a favorite of nature documentaries. It has also worked its way into popular culture, such as the zombie-apocalypse video game, The Last of Us (2013), in which a parasitic fungus mutates so that it also infects humans. But scientists are keen to study Cordyceps to learn more about the origins and intricate mechanisms behind these kinds of pathogen-based diseases.
WEF talking points frequently refer to 2 billion people currently eating bugs regularly, but nobody can find these people. I've been to some really poor places in the third world and they don't eat bugs. Meanwhile, bugs are loaded with pathogens which is why the FDA regulates the amount of bugs in food.

Fowl can eat the bugs, then we'll eat the fowl.
 
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One-Off

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but it doesn't work that way. for better or worse, kids get social engineering via schools, media, peer groups, neighbors, and yes, even the G. not necessarily a bad thing either, imho. there's a lot of whacked parents out there, now more than ever - i'm hope there is a counterbalance in the wider world for some the nonsense some kids are learning at home. ymmv.
I would say parents are the primary educators until about 7-8 years, then there is a balance between school and parents, by middle school kids are testing their limits with parents and teachers (ask me how I know), in high school I think the dynamic shifts to thier peers and now social media (which, as often aas not, is where they meet their peers).

I know people think the pandemic and online school ruined or held back some students, but some, like my daughter, (she was in HS) adapted pretty easily. Maybe too easily. Now her friends are always online and they hardly ever meet in person, which to me is not a good thing.
 

donuts

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Autoprax

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I would say parents are the primary educators until about 7-8 years, then there is a balance between school and parents, by middle school kids are testing their limits with parents and teachers (ask me how I know), in high school I think the dynamic shifts to thier peers and now social media (which, as often aas not, is where they meet their peers).

I know people think the pandemic and online school ruined or held back some students, but some, like my daughter, (she was in HS) adapted pretty easily. Maybe too easily. Now her friends are always online and they hardly ever meet in person, which to me is not a good thing.
Most kids will find their way.

The ones who need help need to be taught to read.

That is the biggest bang for your buck.

I would make phone use at school prohibited if I were king of America.

I blame the phones on the end of the world.
 

hammies

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Pico

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Most kids will find their way.

The ones who need help need to be taught to read.

That is the biggest bang for your buck.

I would make phone use at school prohibited if I were king of America.

I blame the phones on the end of the world.
I took a 5lb hammer to my sons xbox. It was the root of severe behavior problems. Now he is back to drawing and going outside.
 

Ifallalot

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but it doesn't work that way. for better or worse, kids get social engineering via schools, media, peer groups, neighbors, and yes, even the G. not necessarily a bad thing either, imho. there's a lot of whacked parents out there, now more than ever - i'm hope there is a counterbalance in the wider world for some the nonsense some kids are learning at home. ymmv.
That's fair
 

crustBrother

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Apr 23, 2001
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I took a 5lb hammer to my sons xbox. It was the root of severe behavior problems. Now he is back to drawing and going outside.
well done, papa! electronic devices are extremely dangerous to humans' mental health.
 

sussle

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I took a 5lb hammer to my sons xbox. It was the root of severe behavior problems. Now he is back to drawing and going outside.
i understand this completely but i hope you didn't do it right in front of him. since we have been engaged in a tablet/phone/pc video/gaming battle for 5 years with my 13 y/o, we never allowed PS or XBox at all. my thinking was always: why add one more piece of irresistible video eye candy to the mix?
 
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sussle

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and another piece of the puzzle falls into place:roflmao:

The right-wing channel Newsmax has banned Lara Logan from its air after she went on a QAnon-style rant during an appearance on the network this week.

In a bizarre interview, Logan told host Eric Bolling that “the open border is Satan’s way of taking control of the world,” and later added that the world’s elites “want us eating insects [and] cockroaches” while they “dine on the blood of children.”
 
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Pico

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i understand this completely but i hope you didn't do it right in front of him. since we have been engaged in a tablet/phone/pc video/gaming battle for 5 years with my 13 y/o, we never allowed PS or XBox at all. my thinking was always: why add one more piece of irresistible video eye candy to the mix?
Yeah I fucked up buying it in the first place. I got it just for Flight Simulator and then he found out all the other games and just became locked in and tantrum if you tried to pull him off it. He began negotiating his behavior for games he wanted. Really though the transformation in his behavior was fucked up. He is doing much better now.
 

crustBrother

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we never allowed PS or XBox at all. my thinking was always: why add one more piece of irresistible video eye candy to the mix?
same here. i made both my kids work, save money, buy components, and build their own PC gaming rigs. still ended up in the never-ending battle over screen time, but delayed it a bit, got some yardwork out of 'em, and motivated them to do some learning/building along the way
 
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