Latest news with #Dugas
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Invasive ant species known for ‘wicked' sting spreading in U.S. Here's why CT should be concerned.
The Asian needle ant, an invasive insect known for its painful and potentially deadly bite, is spreading across the United States, according to officials. The invasive ants were first discovered in Georgia in 1932 and over the following decades have since spread throughout much of the southern United States. Over the last few years, they have been moving north as far as Massachusetts, according to 'There is one record of an Asian needle ant in Connecticut in 1980, but when I looked at the report, it said Lewisboro, which is actually on the border in New York,' said Katherine Dugas, entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. 'There are no reports of the ants in Connecticut at this time.' The insects – Brachyponera chinensis — roughly translated as 'short, wicked ant from China' are native to China, Japan and Korea. The ants are carnivorous, seeking out prey such as flies, beetles, grasshoppers and termites, according to officials. Asian needle ants are about 0.2 inches in length and dark brown or black with the end of the antennae and the legs being a lighter orange-brown. The invasive ants are known to prey on other insects and are capable of displacing native ant species that are critical for seed dispersal, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Because of this, the ants are considered an ecological threat, Dugas said. The dark brown ants live in colonies in leaf litter, rotted logs, firewood and mulch. They often appear in residential settings, including parks and urban areas, homes and under railroad ties, logs, bricks and pavers, according to officials. 'One of the other big issues with the needle ant, aside from the ecological concerns it poses, is that it is a home infesting ant known to cause structural issues,' Dugas said. 'What we would be concerned about is that the ants are brought here on an ornamental plant from the South or in soil used for planting. The ants can be moved hundreds of miles if there is an expansion in domestic trade or movement. Plants and soil imported from the South could risk the insects being transported up here inadvertently.' The ants are famously known for their painful sting, which may result in a life-threatening anaphylaxis shock. Stings are often reported to result in intense pain, much like a needle prick, at the site of the sting that comes and goes over the course of several hours. Some people experience pain away from the sting site. Redness of the skin and mild to severe hives have been reported as symptoms. 'They're really a triple threat,' Dugas said. 'The health issue, structural issue and environmental issue.' Dugas said that the needle ant is not considered an aggressive species like the more well-known invasive fire ant, but the ant will sting if accidentally stepped on or provoked, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The ant uses its mandible to grab on to the skin before curling its abdomen to reveal its stinger and inject venom into the body. Dugas said that it has the potential to spread into the Northeast. Connecticut's climate has been warming over the past decade, allowing invasive insects that previously couldn't survive the state's harsh winters to now have a greater chance of survival, she said. Several invasive species native to tropical Asia including the Asian tiger mosquito and Asian Longhorned tick have recently been recorded in Connecticut. 'Our climate is changing and we're warming up, so I think as a general rule of thumb, we can never say never,' Dugas said. 'We're noticing this with ticks that have had traditionally more southern ranges are now starting to expand. So the two native North American ticks such as the Lone Star and Gulf Coast tick have both been expanding their ranges in Connecticut. So we are seeing more tropical species expanding their range here.' Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Cicadas are expected to reappear in the Northeast this spring, but will they be in CT?
They look like space aliens, they make a loud buzzing sound and the last time you might have seen one Barack Obama was President of the United States. Cicadas, one of the more unusual insect species in North America, are expected to emerge this spring after nearly 17 years underground, according to researchers. Brood XIV, the latest group of buzzing perennial cicadas, is the latest to appear in New England in over a decade. The last time this brood appeared was in 2008. The sizable insects have stocky bodies and short antennae. Cicadas have large red eyes and transparent wings that feature noticeable veins, according to University of Connecticut. The species is notable for having both annual cicadas, which emerge and mate every year, and periodical cicadas which emerge after 13 or 17 years. The insects come out of the ground when soil temperatures reach 64 degrees, which typically happens during the second half of May. While annual cicadas emerge worldwide each year, periodical cicadas can only be found in the eastern part of the United States, according to the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station. 'There's multiple broods of cicadas we track, but Connecticut is not expected to see cicadas emerge this year,' said Katherine Dugas, entomologist at the insect information office at AES. Cicadas are likely to make an appearance in Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, and in nine southern counties in Indiana, according to Cicada Safari, a website that gathers data on the insects. But while states in the Northeast will see cicadas, Connecticut is not mentioned on the list. 'It's funny that Massachusetts and Rhode Island will see them, but not here in Connecticut,' Dugas said. 'That could just be that populations are not present here historically or more likely they have gone extinct because they were extirpated. Because cicadas go underground for over a decade, that requires their host tree to be around for that long too. So any kind of development of older forests that may have these populations, if those trees are removed, that also removes the cicada population.' Connecticut's periodical cicada brood is Brood II, which won't emerge until 2030, according to Dugas. Brood II emerges every 17 years and last emerged in 2013. She said that the best place to see cicadas in 2030 will be in the middle of the state. Some tracts of land around power lines in Hamden are known to be where the brood is underground, she said. The insects emerge from the ground to mate and the females lay eggs in tree branches, she said. Around 6 to 10 weeks later, the eggs hatch and the babies drop to the ground. The juveniles then go beneath the ground and feed on grass roots and start the process all over again. The adults only live a couple weeks once they emerge, according to Dugas. The cicadas are able to correctly time their emergence based on linking with the roots of a mature tree and monitoring its growth cycles. This kind of relationship with their host tree leads to remarkable accuracy for emerging every 13 or 17 years, Dugas said. While the insects often emerge in swarms and can look menacing, they are harmless as they can't bite or sting, according to Dugas. Instead, their mouth parts are made for primarily sucking on plant sap. Cicadas are known to produce a loud, buzzing sound that they makes from a unique structure on their abdomen called a tymbal. Each brood typically contains multiple species, and different periodical cicada species have different calling songs they use in the mating process. Because individual cicadas can synchronize their sounds, they are known to produce choruses of 90 or more decibels, when hundreds are synchronized all together. 'Often times people don't see cicadas, they actually hear them first,' Dugas said. 'You'll commonly hear people say they can hear them in their yards when they emerge. They can be very loud and sometimes people will report them as a nuisance because of the noise. But they are ultimately harmless and will not really permanently damage a tree either, usually just some minor twig damage occurs. ' Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Yahoo
Woman arrested in connection with March 31 Crowley shooting
CROWLEY, La. () — A woman was arrested Thursday in connection with a shooting in Crowley on March 31, authorities said. Ashley Dugas is charged with three counts of principal to attempted second degree murder. Officials said Crowley Police officers responded March 31 to the 500 block of North Avenue A in Crowley, following reports of gunshots fired. Upon arrival, officers discovered a female victim with multiple gunshot wounds. Dugas was arrested Thursday and taken to the Acadia Parish Sheriffs Office, where she was booked on a $100,000 bond. Dugas has since posted bond and been released, authorities said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Crowley Police Chief Troy Hebert said additional arrests are forthcoming. The Crowley Police Department asks anyone with information related to this case to contact the department at 337-783-1234. The Masters 2025: How much do caddies make? Louisiana bill would end local sales taxes on groceries, soft drinks and other essentials Sheriff: Georgia Walmart employee kills co-worker, wounds another Woman arrested in connection with March 31 Crowley shooting FEMA cuts disaster mitigation program; Louisiana to lose $720M Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Foundation aids Acadiana families with chronically ill children
JENNINGS, La. (KLFY)– One family is helping Acadiana families with children that have life-altering health complications. The BUCKSTRONG Foundation is inspired by Buck Dugas, who is just six months old. His mom Haylee Dugas said Buck has been suffering from undiagnosed illnesses since he was three months old. 'I noticed he wasn't growing. He was sleeping a lot….' Haylee said. 'He began throwing up blood, and then he would not stop throwing up anything that entered his stomach. He was throwing it all up, and his hemoglobin was dropping.' After meeting with medical experts, the Dugas family were provided treatments that continue to impact their son's health and not for the better. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'So, he required transfusions, the blood transfusions. And now, we're just at the point where if anything enters his stomach, he throws it up,' Haylee continued. The Dugas family had eight kids to take care of, and their youngest was hospitalized. 'One of us had to be at the hospital because we have older children. It took a toll on us,' Haylee said. 'So, we set up the GoFundMe, and we were very, very blessed.' So blessed that they received more than they needed at the time, putting them 'pack on their feet.' With the extra money, they started the BUCKSTRONG Foundation. 'We can't help diagnose your baby, and we can't help fix your baby, and we can't help heal your baby,' Haylee said. 'But we can alleviate some of this monetary stress that you have.' They financially help a handful of local families that have children with chronic illnesses or that are medically sensitive with extended hospital stays. BUCKSTRONG helps these families with groceries, bills and rent, sharing their stories on their social media. 'It's the monetary donations and the support. It feels amazing to be able to support someone else,' Haylee said. 'Because in the beginning, when I really couldn't understand why, it was nice to have someone to come in and be like, 'I know you don't understand, and I don't understand. But there is a reason why our babies are struggling. They have a greater purpose.'' Haylee said it feels good to now be on the giving end. 'You don't really know what it feels like until you've lived it. It's always nice to give to other people, and you feel really good,' Haylee said. 'But until you have been the person that you don't know if you're going to pay your electricity bill, you don't know how you're going to buy your groceries…..For me to be able to do that for other people's families, it's really amazing because we've been there.' You can also support these families through donations or by purchasing tickets to the Pillars of Hope gala, happening in April. A Warm Friday, Severe Storms Possible Saturday… Congress poised to force $1B cut to local DC budget, surprising many lawmakers Schumer says he will vote to advance GOP spending bill, lowering threat of shutdown Fire spreads from dryer to kitchen, causes major damage to home Foundation aids Acadiana families with chronically ill children Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Technical.ly
05-03-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
This Philly-area startup aims to be ‘Uber for truck drivers'
They say how you finish matters more than how you start. In freight management technology, there's no success on one end without the other. Conshohocken-based DrayNow uses tech to move shipping containers on the first and last mile of their shipping journeys with a namesake app that Michael Dugas, director of business enablement for DrayNow describes as 'Uber for truck drivers.' Independent container truck drivers with their own vehicles use the DrayNow app to find jobs transporting freight. After eight years in business, the company is still logging firsts, including recently expanding into the international shipping market. 'We've been able to steadily grow over the last two years by focusing on service and alignment with our customers,' said Dugas. Drayage for the 21st Century DrayNow gets its name from the logistics term drayage, a word that is a throwback to the days when goods were transported to and from the railroad by draft horses. Today, of course, that kind of transport is done by container trucks, though they still often pick up and deliver freight to and from freight trains, as well as from ports. The shipping containers are intermodal, meaning they can move seamlessly from ship to rail to truck. Intermodal freight takes the best of both worlds of trains, which are cost effective and comparatively environmentally sustainable and trucks, which have the advantage of being able to go directly to the destination's door. The jobs independent truckers find on the DrayNow app aren't long-haul jobs, but rather picking up shipping containers from manufacturers on the first leg of their journey or dropping off freight to a warehouse or other end destination. Dugas joined the team in 2021 to grow the company's app usership, just a few years after it transported its first load in 2017 after its founding by current CEO Mike Albert and two partners. Albert, says Dugas, saw an opportunity to help drive efficiencies in the space with technology: 'He set forth with that vision, and we're really seeing it through now.' What app users gain when they sign up with DrayNow is access to its intermodal routes that are normally only available to full-scale logistics companies. That, Dugas says, is how it's shaking up the industry, by providing opportunities for people to start and grow their own trucking companies. 'A bit of a unicorn in our staying power' As the company closes in on a decade in business with over 20 markets across the country, Dugas credits its slow-and-steady approach during uncertain times. 'If you look at tech startups in the logistics space, we're a bit of a unicorn in our staying power,' Dugas said. 'A lot of the companies in the space burnt out really fast. They got a bunch of funding and spent it all too fast. We were a little more slow, a little more deliberate.' DrayNow's careful strategy helped it to ride out the ebb and flow of the COVID pandemic, which included a rate surge with a huge surplus, then a collapse. 'Most people are still feeling that collapse,' he said. 'We've been able to steadily grow over the last two years by focusing on service and alignment with our customers.' Expanding technology across the industry One of the company's more recent projects is an application called ModalView, part of a joint venture with freight railway company Norfolk Southern. Similar to DrayNow's app, ModalView will expand access to the technology to other drayage companies so they can work through one technology system for tracking and document management. 'We're basically taking the technology that DrayNow has been able to differentiate its service with and are now creating a product that's a neutral drayage execution platform where people can bring in their own fleets or drainage companies.' While the company is dipping its toes into international drayage shipping, it continues to focus on its primary wheelhouse, domestic shipping. It's no accident that it took years before making a move beyond domestic. 'We wanted to master it,' Dugas said. 'To feel like our team was able to scale at any rate we needed to. What we've realized is we can better serve our customers by being a one-stop shop provider. That, I think, is the end goal.'
