Beetles that terrorize their neighbors

Competition between organisms in the fabled "survival of the fittest" has been prevalent throughout our Earth's history. Different creatures want to reproduce and pass on their genes to their offspring, and they are unable to do so without knocking out the competitors. Often times, an organism will use any means necessary to be the top dog of the food chain, and or to reproduce successfully. An example of a species of honey bee known as Africanized killer bees are infamous in how they thrive in their niche. These bees impose a strict regiment of defending their colony from invaders and by pollinating plants for feeding the inhabitants within the nest. African killer bees have made their mark across the southern United States, and by bringing along their ancestrial traits with them, these bees have been a public fear of many people as they have the potential to kill human beings. Not only can these bees harm people, but the most negative impact they can do is that they eliminate the native honey bee populations by any means necessary. That is why they get the name "killer bee," because they are a much more ruthless kind of bee than their passive honeybee cousin.

This example sets the scene of "survival of the fittest" in parts of Europe where local lady bug populations are being decimated by a ravenous kind of Asian lady beetle. The intitial intent of the asian lady beetle was for a common good; to get rid of the agricultural pests known as aphids that constantly devour the yields of farmer's crops. But something went horribly wrong, and as these lady beetles overpopulated the greenhouses and farms in which they were supposed to protect, they ended up ruining the lives of other beetles by consuming their food. The invasive Asian beetle terrorizes European native beetles by using microsporidia, a type of protest-like fungus that infects the hosts but the Asian lady beetle is completely resistant to it. According to Andreas Vilcinskas and Heiko Vogel, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, were a few of the scientists who studied the way these lady beetles were so powerful. These beetles were immune to pathogens by using harmonine, which has a strongly antibacterial effect. The scientists who studied this beetle have the potential to extract and isolate a good amount of this substance so that it could be later used in research. All in all, Asian lady beetles are just one of many kind of organisms that use toxic force in wiping out those who dare stand in their way, and they will use any means possible in doing so.

NOS Themes:

Science is collaborative: It took a team of professional scientists to study how these Asian lady beetles were able to reproduce so quickly and by replacing their native opponents in the environment

Role of motivation and curiosity: The motivation to study the behaviors of invasive species led the group of scientists to discover hoe the Asian lady beetle used an anti-bacterial substance in protecting itself while inflicting damage at the same time to anyone who opposed it.

Science is based on evidence: The research that backs up the claims of the scientists is key because without the information on how the beetles act and how they survive in the environment, there would be no real science accomplished and the outlook on these beetles would contain less information.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130516142541.htm