Baby giant water bugs, like true bugs, have piercing-sucking mouthparts. Water bugs catch small fish, stab them with their beak-like mouthparts and squirt special juices into the fish. These juices change the fish's insides into a soft goo - perfect for 'babies' to slurp up.
Biocontrol: Fighting a Harmful Soil Fungus with a Good Soil Fungus
Forest health
Armilleria root disease, a fungal infestation, infects a wide variety of conifer and broadleaf trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. In British Columbia this root disease is spreading and is of growing concern. Researchers from the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, the University of British Columbia and Doroshuk English Enterprises, Golden, British Columbia, are investigating a new approach to combating this root disease. A naturally occurring beneficial soil fungus ("Hyphaloma fasciculare"), is being grown and then placed on infected sites to exterminate Armilleria so that it won't infect fresh dead wood and/or roots. The results of this research have very important implications since the invasive behavior of Armilleria appears to be frequently more aggressive after timber harvesting.
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GF Research
