MSU ecologist Bruce Robertson was featured on The Environment Report recently for his research on insects, though the story failed to mention that he’s a Spartan.  Not surprising, since the show’s studios are in Ann Arbor.  We won’t let it - ahem - bug us too much, since UPI, the Philadelphia Inquirer and others also ran stories on the research.

Robertson and fellow researchers from Lorand Eotvos University in Budapest found that polarized light reflected from man-made structures often confuses insects.  Dragonflies, beetles and other bugs lay their eggs on asphalt, vehicles, buildings or other surfaces, mistaking them for water.  Such insects are key players in their native ecosystems, and whole food chains are affected by dips in their populations.

The findings were published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Robertson said people can control the problem by, for instance, putting white curtains on dark windows or making white markings on asphalt.  So don’t worry, there’s no need to outfit all those bugs with tiny polarized sunglasses.

-Andy McGlashen