http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-06/hybrid-mega-pest-risk-to-global-food-crops/9623306

“Two very hungry caterpillars have created a hybrid mega-pest that threatens global food crops

Two of the world’s hungriest caterpillars have created a militant mega-pest capable of stripping billions of dollars a year from the food and fibre industries, Australian scientists have confirmed. (see more in the link above)”

This story made me think about the hybridization of the caterpillars and bugs generally. Obviously there is evolution in progress and humans have been hybridizing flora and fauna for some time now.

How often does direct hybridization occur in caterpillar species or insects generally. Are there any other example of this direct type of evolutionary changes. I kind of thought bugs were usually specialized within in their own species and cross breeding seemed like an odd event.

Is it common and I just didn’t know about this?

For example, some butterflies are so specialized and reliant upon specific plants to complete their life cycle of laying eggs that their extinction could occur directly through deforestation and removal of their habit and the plants they require.

• Two very hungry caterpillars have created a hybrid mega-pest that threatens global food crops

I’m not knowledgeable in entomology but surely the mega caterpillar was created by two moths and not two caterpillars…

furious said:

• Two very hungry caterpillars have created a hybrid mega-pest that threatens global food crops

I’m not knowledgeable in entomology but surely the mega caterpillar was created by two moths and not two caterpillars…

probably but the question is the same ….is this common? there are a lot more moths in the world as was explained to me and moth caterpillars are more likely to be toxic . do bugs crossbreed/hybridize often?

• do bugs crossbreed/hybridize often?

These two seem to be closely related so maybe they are just coming back together in their original form rather than hybridding…

Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm)

Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Euarthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Helicoverpa
Species: H. zea

Helicoverpa armigera (cotton bollworm)

Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Euarthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Helicoverpa
Species: H. armigera

furious said:

• do bugs crossbreed/hybridize often?

These two seem to be closely related so maybe they are just coming back together in their original form rather than hybridding…

Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm)

Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Euarthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Helicoverpa
Species: H. zea

Helicoverpa armigera (cotton bollworm)

Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Euarthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Helicoverpa
Species: H. armigera

a family reunion

• a family reunion

Helicoverpa

If you put all of the in the same room together you’ll probably end up with Mothra…

furious said:

• a family reunion

Helicoverpa

If you put all of the in the same room together you’ll probably end up with Mothra…

Given they think that the caterpillars are potentially pesticide resistant is probably part of the changes. perhaps the genes in the past variations became dominant because those genes are resilient against pesticides and those genes continued onto the successive generations.

• Given they think that the caterpillars are potentially pesticide resistant is probably part of the changes.

I think that is the clue, this potentially happens often with closely related species and sometimes the joining together has successful traits and it continues on and sometimes it doesn’t amount to much. The Africanised Honey Bee might be another successful example…

Perhaps global warming will alter breeding patterns/conditions amongst insects of the same species and they can cross breed

Cymek said:

Perhaps global warming will alter breeding patterns/conditions amongst insects of the same species and they can cross breed

Insects usually have specialised genitalia that will only fit with the correct mate of the same species. So any hybrids would need to be closely related otherwise they can’t do it.

PermeateFree said:

Cymek said:

Perhaps global warming will alter breeding patterns/conditions amongst insects of the same species and they can cross breed

Insects usually have specialised genitalia that will only fit with the correct mate of the same species. So any hybrids would need to be closely related otherwise they can’t do it.

I just watched a video link on this story and the researcher explained that there is basically an old world species and the new world species of this caterpillar.

Interestingly the old world species has the pesticide resistance and they think through shipping crates or containers the old world species traveled to the Americas where the new world species inhabits and that is how the contact has occurred. The DNA sequencing is showing the strong evidence of the hybridization of the old and new.

They are known to eat at least 200 varieties of food crops between. I think that was the amount the researcher said. Which is why they are now concerned about the capacity of the hybridized critter and the capacity to destroy mass crops.

monkey skipper said:

PermeateFree said:

Cymek said:

Perhaps global warming will alter breeding patterns/conditions amongst insects of the same species and they can cross breed

Insects usually have specialised genitalia that will only fit with the correct mate of the same species. So any hybrids would need to be closely related otherwise they can’t do it.

I just watched a video link on this story and the researcher explained that there is basically an old world species and the new world species of this caterpillar.

Interestingly the old world species has the pesticide resistance and they think through shipping crates or containers the old world species traveled to the Americas where the new world species inhabits and that is how the contact has occurred. The DNA sequencing is showing the strong evidence of the hybridization of the old and new.

They are known to eat at least 200 varieties of food crops between. I think that was the amount the researcher said. Which is why they are now concerned about the capacity of the hybridized critter and the capacity to destroy mass crops.

https://a.msn.com/r/2/AAvxrM3?m=en-au

monkey skipper said:

monkey skipper said:

PermeateFree said:

Insects usually have specialised genitalia that will only fit with the correct mate of the same species. So any hybrids would need to be closely related otherwise they can’t do it.

I just watched a video link on this story and the researcher explained that there is basically an old world species and the new world species of this caterpillar.

Interestingly the old world species has the pesticide resistance and they think through shipping crates or containers the old world species traveled to the Americas where the new world species inhabits and that is how the contact has occurred. The DNA sequencing is showing the strong evidence of the hybridization of the old and new.

They are known to eat at least 200 varieties of food crops between. I think that was the amount the researcher said. Which is why they are now concerned about the capacity of the hybridized critter and the capacity to destroy mass crops.

https://a.msn.com/r/2/AAvxrM3?m=en-au

If you click on the Boolworm or Earworm (in blue), you can see what the adult moths look like.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollworm

Oldworld/Bollworm/COTTON Pest
Newworld/Earworm/CORN Pest

no mystery there
Cotton arose along with Egypt
Corn (Maise) with the Mayans

AFAIK
They’re both subject to BT

interesting thread/subject

probably a certainty that divergence then hybridization is a more common aspect of evolution and adaptation than is commonly thought.

to some extent (minor sense, ignoring the scale of it) it’s probably what has occurred of humans, of our own kind, and of the food sources humans influence.

funny humans should be so surprised by the power of accidents, the happened-upon, from possibility space.

the combinatorial potentials of DNA.

transition said:

interesting thread/subject

probably a certainty that divergence then hybridization is a more common aspect of evolution and adaptation than is commonly thought.

to some extent (minor sense, ignoring the scale of it) it’s probably what has occurred of humans, of our own kind, and of the food sources humans influence.

funny humans should be so surprised by the power of accidents, the happened-upon, from possibility space.

the combinatorial potentials of DNA.

“Africanised” bees are a hybrid insect. That’s the most obvious example.

The Africanized bee, also known as the Africanised honey bee, and known colloquially as “killer bee”, is a hybrid of the Western honey bee species (Apis mellifera). It was produced by cross-breeding of the African honey bee (A. m. scutellata), with various European honey bees such as the Italian bee A. m. ligustica and the Iberian bee A. m. iberiensis.

mollwollfumble said:

transition said:

interesting thread/subject

probably a certainty that divergence then hybridization is a more common aspect of evolution and adaptation than is commonly thought.

to some extent (minor sense, ignoring the scale of it) it’s probably what has occurred of humans, of our own kind, and of the food sources humans influence.

funny humans should be so surprised by the power of accidents, the happened-upon, from possibility space.

the combinatorial potentials of DNA.

“Africanised” bees are a hybrid insect. That’s the most obvious example.

The Africanized bee, also known as the Africanised honey bee, and known colloquially as “killer bee”, is a hybrid of the Western honey bee species (Apis mellifera). It was produced by cross-breeding of the African honey bee (A. m. scutellata), with various European honey bees such as the Italian bee A. m. ligustica and the Iberian bee A. m. iberiensis.

Nature has many methods which do include natural hybridisation.

mollwollfumble said:

transition said:

interesting thread/subject

probably a certainty that divergence then hybridization is a more common aspect of evolution and adaptation than is commonly thought.

to some extent (minor sense, ignoring the scale of it) it’s probably what has occurred of humans, of our own kind, and of the food sources humans influence.

funny humans should be so surprised by the power of accidents, the happened-upon, from possibility space.

the combinatorial potentials of DNA.

“Africanised” bees are a hybrid insect. That’s the most obvious example.

The Africanized bee, also known as the Africanised honey bee, and known colloquially as “killer bee”, is a hybrid of the Western honey bee species (Apis mellifera). It was produced by cross-breeding of the African honey bee (A. m. scutellata), with various European honey bees such as the Italian bee A. m. ligustica and the Iberian bee A. m. iberiensis.

Yep, watched a vid about them.. swarming on and killing dem innocent folks in SW USA.. nasty.
I wonder how the situation is currently.

Ian said:

mollwollfumble said:

transition said:

interesting thread/subject

probably a certainty that divergence then hybridization is a more common aspect of evolution and adaptation than is commonly thought.

to some extent (minor sense, ignoring the scale of it) it’s probably what has occurred of humans, of our own kind, and of the food sources humans influence.

funny humans should be so surprised by the power of accidents, the happened-upon, from possibility space.

the combinatorial potentials of DNA.

“Africanised” bees are a hybrid insect. That’s the most obvious example.

The Africanized bee, also known as the Africanised honey bee, and known colloquially as “killer bee”, is a hybrid of the Western honey bee species (Apis mellifera). It was produced by cross-breeding of the African honey bee (A. m. scutellata), with various European honey bees such as the Italian bee A. m. ligustica and the Iberian bee A. m. iberiensis.

Yep, watched a vid about them.. swarming on and killing dem innocent folks in SW USA.. nasty.
I wonder how the situation is currently.

Much the same.