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Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Assassin Bugs: Scientists Reveal How a Deadly Insect Manipulates Its Prey
An insect that harvests and modifies plant resin to snare its prey adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests we may be underestimating the cunning of invertebrate animals. The assassin bug (Pahabengkakia piliceps), found across Thailand and China, smears its legs with plant resin, but not just for the reason you might think. The smell of the sap lures their prey to the optimal attack position, greatly improving the odds of the bug's success in hunting. "We empirically demonstrate how an invertebrate predator adapts to the colony defense of social insects via tool use behavior," writes a team of researchers, led by entomologists Zhaoyang Chen and Li Tian of China Agricultural University, in a new paper. "Our findings offer a new model for studying the adaptive functions and underlying mechanisms of tool use behaviors in animals." In recent years, we've been discovering that tool use in non-human animals is probably more common than we once thought – and it's not limited to vertebrates. Insects such as bees and ants use tools to make their lives easier; and a 2023 study on Australian assassin bugs found that these intrepid invertebrates use resin to make themselves sticky, facilitating greater success at prey capture. P. piliceps is a different species in a different region of the world, and its lifestyle is a lot more specialized than the assassin bugs of Western Australia. It relies on very particular prey: six species of stingless bee. It builds its own nest not far from the hives of stingless bees, and hangs around the entrance to the bees' hives to prey upon them. The bees only possess degenerate stingers, which means they need to get creative with their defensive measures. They coat the entrances to their hives with droplets of resin; when interlopers trying to infiltrate the hive get caught in the resin, guard bees come rushing out to attack and neutralize the threat. So here's what P. piliceps does. It dips its legs in the resin deposited by the worker bees, applying an even coating to its front and middle legs. Then, it sits by the hive entrance, and captures the guard bee that comes scurrying over to see what the fuss is all about. The assassin bug then retreats with its secured prey to a nearby safe location. It gets even more interesting, though. Even though resin is all around the entrance to the hive, the guard bee makes a beeline (heh) for the waiting assassin bug. Something else seemed to be at play. To investigate, the researchers conducted field experiments in which they examined the stickiness of the resin and the role it played. They smeared the hindlegs and butts of some of the assassin bugs with bee resin and watched what happened. Even assassin bugs with resin smeared on their butts and hindlegs – not the legs they use for grabbing – showed more hunting success than assassin bugs with no resin. This suggested that the stickiness played only a partial role in successful predation, unlike their Australian relatives. So the researchers conducted experiments to find out why. They hypothesized that, when resin dries, it emits volatile compounds at a lower rate, and that by smearing it on their legs, the assassin bugs increase the volatile release rate. Chen and colleagues placed some resin in a ventilated environment, and measured the emission rate before and after smearing. Sure enough, the volatile emission rate was higher after smearing. This suggests that, by manipulating the resin, the bugs are signaling to the bees that they need to come and deal with a problem. Then, they just become a bigger problem. This, the researchers say, constitutes tool use. "To be classified as tool use, a behavior must satisfy three criteria:" they write in their paper, "1) exerting control over a manipulable external object closely linked to a specific goal; 2) altering the user's or another organism's physical properties through a dynamic mechanical interaction; or 3) mediating the flow of information between the user and the environment or other organisms in the environment." The application of resin – an external object – alters the physical properties of the assassin bug's body to achieve a specific goal. That fits the specified criteria. It's interesting, though, that the way the tool is used differs from the way assassin bugs in Australia use a very similar tool. P. piliceps' bee specialization may play a role in this; but it will need further investigation. "While the role of food specialization in the evolution of resin use warrants future multi-species comparative studies within a phylogenetic framework," the researchers write, "this stingless bee-specialized assassin bug system offers a valuable model for investigating adaptive evolution and tool-use behaviors, with fewer ethical constraints than vertebrate-based studies." The research has been published in PNAS. 'Perfect Storm': Expert Reveals Why Pollen Allergies Are Getting Worse Scientists Shaved Roadkill to Find Out How Mammals Glow in The Dark Ultra-Rare 'Asian Unicorn' Has Genome Sequenced, And It Could Mean Everything
Associated Press
11-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
CGTN: Blooming ‘flower economy' - Heze's peony industry boosts development, cultural exchanges
BEIJING, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 11 April 2025 - CGTN published an article on the Heze Peony International Communication Forum, which was held in Heze City in east China's Shandong Province. Through a thorough introduction of how the peony industry drives the local development and promotes cultural exchanges, the article highlights the Heze Peony Festival's important role in enhancing friendship, and strengthening cooperation and cultural exchanges. In 2000, Li Xiaoqi, a graduate of China Agricultural University, returned to his hometown in Heze, Shandong Province, and began working in the peony industry. Through years of dedication, he expanded his family's small 10-mu peony field into a 2,200-mu modern industrial park with facilities for seedling cultivation, flower processing, cold storage and research. Beyond growing his own business, Li trained and supported hundreds of local farmers in peony cultivation, playing a key role in poverty alleviation and boosting the region's peony industry. The thriving peony industry has enabled Heze – 'the peony capital of China' – to foster four major development sectors focusing on seedling breeding, flower cultivation, deep processing and cultural tourism. The 2025 World Peony Conference and the 34th Heze International Peony Cultural Tourism Festival, collectively referred to as the 2025 Heze Peony Festival, officially kicked off on Tuesday. Featuring four sub-forums and 29 activities, the festival will last one month. Blooming 'flower economy' As the world's largest peony planting and scientific research and processing base, in recent years, Heze has continued to tap the advantages of peonies in areas such as variety cultivation, industrial expansion, and cultural and tourism integration. The city has currently cultivated nine color systems, 10 flower shapes and 1,308 varieties, with its planting area and number of varieties ranking first globally. Besides the peony, Heze has developed the cultivation of other flowers such as the herbaceous peony, rose and gerbera jamesonii. Last year, the city's sales of fresh-cut herbaceous peony flowers reached 120 million pieces, which were exported to more than 20 countries and regions in the world. In terms of industrial development, Heze has built a complete industrial chain from planting and processing to tourism and cultural creativity. Having more than 120 peony production and processing enterprises and 20 scientific research institutions, the city has developed over 260 peony-derived products, ranging from seed oil, cosmetics and cultural products. Last year, the total output value of the peony industry reached 13 billion yuan (about $1.8 billion). As Heze's most beautiful business card, peony has become a powerful engine for the high-quality development of cultural tourism, said Yu Jiannan, head of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. Promoting cultural exchanges On Wednesday and Thursday, the Heze Peony International Communication Forum was held. A series of activities, such as the digital interpretation of paintings which converts static paintings into dynamic images, and digital images of peonies generated by ChatGPT, have injected new impetus into the international dissemination of peony culture through technological empowerment. In recent years, Heze has deeply explored the values of peonies, and actively created a friendly cultural symbol for global communication. In addition to the holding of the forum, the city has established overseas sub-venues of the Peony Festival in countries such as the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. It has also set up peony culture communication stations in Brazil, Malaysia, Romania and other countries, and held award events related to the peony to introduce the beauty of peonies to more than 50 Belt and Road partner countries, offering an intriguing window into the popular perception of peony culture. The festival has built an important platform for enhancing friendship, strengthening cooperation and cultural exchanges, said Yu. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CGTN: Blooming 'Flower Economy' - Heze's Peony Industry Boosts Development, Cultural Exchanges
Beijing, China--(Newsfile Corp. - April 11, 2025) - CGTN published an article on the Heze Peony International Communication Forum, which was held in Heze City in east China's Shandong Province. Through a thorough introduction of how the peony industry drives the local development and promotes cultural exchanges, the article highlights the Heze Peony Festival's important role in enhancing friendship, and strengthening cooperation and cultural exchanges. CGTN: Blooming 'flower economy' - Heze's peony industry boosts development, cultural exchanges To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: In 2000, Li Xiaoqi, a graduate of China Agricultural University, returned to his hometown in Heze, Shandong Province, and began working in the peony industry. Through years of dedication, he expanded his family's small 10-mu peony field into a 2,200-mu modern industrial park with facilities for seedling cultivation, flower processing, cold storage and research. Beyond growing his own business, Li trained and supported hundreds of local farmers in peony cultivation, playing a key role in poverty alleviation and boosting the region's peony industry. The thriving peony industry has enabled Heze - "the peony capital of China" - to foster four major development sectors focusing on seedling breeding, flower cultivation, deep processing and cultural tourism. The 2025 World Peony Conference and the 34th Heze International Peony Cultural Tourism Festival, collectively referred to as the 2025 Heze Peony Festival, officially kicked off on Tuesday. Featuring four sub-forums and 29 activities, the festival will last one month. Blooming 'flower economy' As the world's largest peony planting and scientific research and processing base, in recent years, Heze has continued to tap the advantages of peonies in areas such as variety cultivation, industrial expansion, and cultural and tourism integration. The city has currently cultivated nine color systems, 10 flower shapes and 1,308 varieties, with its planting area and number of varieties ranking first globally. Besides the peony, Heze has developed the cultivation of other flowers such as the herbaceous peony, rose and gerbera jamesonii. Last year, the city's sales of fresh-cut herbaceous peony flowers reached 120 million pieces, which were exported to more than 20 countries and regions in the world. In terms of industrial development, Heze has built a complete industrial chain from planting and processing to tourism and cultural creativity. Having more than 120 peony production and processing enterprises and 20 scientific research institutions, the city has developed over 260 peony-derived products, ranging from seed oil, cosmetics and cultural products. Last year, the total output value of the peony industry reached 13 billion yuan (about $1.8 billion). As Heze's most beautiful business card, peony has become a powerful engine for the high-quality development of cultural tourism, said Yu Jiannan, head of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. Promoting cultural exchanges On Wednesday and Thursday, the Heze Peony International Communication Forum was held. A series of activities, such as the digital interpretation of paintings which converts static paintings into dynamic images, and digital images of peonies generated by ChatGPT, have injected new impetus into the international dissemination of peony culture through technological empowerment. In recent years, Heze has deeply explored the values of peonies, and actively created a friendly cultural symbol for global communication. In addition to the holding of the forum, the city has established overseas sub-venues of the Peony Festival in countries such as the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. It has also set up peony culture communication stations in Brazil, Malaysia, Romania and other countries, and held award events related to the peony to introduce the beauty of peonies to more than 50 Belt and Road partner countries, offering an intriguing window into the popular perception of peony culture. The festival has built an important platform for enhancing friendship, strengthening cooperation and cultural exchanges, said Yu. For more information, please click: PR Contact Name: CGTN DigitalEmail: cgtn@ Hashtag: #CGTN The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. To view the source version of this press release, please visit Sign in to access your portfolio
