pisstoria [he/him]

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Joined 4 years ago
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Cake day: May 30th, 2021

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  • pisstoria [he/him]toScience Memes@mander.xyzEnglish Ivy
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    3 months ago

    Some, like the ivy aphid are already in North America, but I'm not sure how much of a dent it actually makes. There's great precedent for successful introduction of biocontrol agents for other invasive species. There's also great precedent for catastrophic failures(especially in instances where there's a native close relative of a target species), so it's definitely something that needs to be very carefully explored and not to be done haphazardly.











  • While I agree with killing bugs that harm people, there's a caveat for smashing in particular. Smashing a biting kissing bug will just rub all of its guts and likely Chagas infested feces into the bite. It probably applies to a number of other biting bugs to varying extents depending on how they might spread disease, but kissing bugs and Chagas are the examples I know. Really, I just really think everyone should be aware of Chagas disease and am using this thread as an excuse to mention it.


  • Especially don't smash kissing bugs on sight if you're bitten by one. You'll probably be fine unless it shits out Chagas disease into the wound. Smashing it basically guarantees you'll get its fecal matter in the bite, so you'll have a much higher chance of contracting Chagas disease. Probably applies to some other biting insects.