Instars: A Journal of Undergraduate Research (Texas Digital Library - TDL E-Journals)
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Efficacy of Commercial Fly Traps vs. Homemade Fly Traps on Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae)
No full textAbstract: Musca domestica (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Muscidae), widely known as the house fly, is a vector for diseases and commonly invades spaces of agricultural production and human residence. There are many different variations of fly traps that have been created to catch these insects and minimize the spread of infectious diseases. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of commercial fly traps versus homemade fly traps on M. domestica. One commercial trap and three different homemade traps were constructed and analyzed every day over the course of a week. The traps were each examined for the number of M. domestica caught each day, their durability, and odor. This study maintained that the commercial trap was the most successful at catching the most house flies in comparison to the homemade traps
Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimonies After Viewing a Staged Assault
No full textEyewitness testimonies attempt to show an objective, third party perspective of crimes and crime scenes during court hearings. Judges and juries wait with bated breath to hear the retelling of the events through eyes who do not care who is innocent nor who is guilty. The thin line between the real and the staged leads to incorrect retelling of stories, better yet, the innocent being incarcerated for years to come. Eyewitness statements are not always reliable, there are far too many inconsistencies when put next to the actual situations at hand. Both the verbiage and timing of questioning is crucial to how bystanders and victims recall their information, especially when questioned by tens, if not hundreds of highly respected individuals. Not to mention, lawyers and attorneys pressuring their clients to recall information that does not quite exactly exist. In this study, we ask participants to sit through a staged assault, taking a mental note of every important detail. Then, we ask them to recall the people’s sex, race, demeanor, and even their outfits to get a general idea of the perpetrator. Some participants recalled the entirety of the situation, a few only recalled a small amount, and some did not remember a single detail. Some questioned were formulated in a way to bait participants into straying away from what occurred in their video. Lastly, the study shows that participants were quick to remember the perpetrators race and implemented some of their personal biases into the mix when asked for questions and statements from those proctoring the questions
A Biodiversity Survey of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in College Station, Texas
No full textBiodiversity of any given area is important to assess which species are present, what invasive species are disrupting the ecosystem, and how they interact with and affect the native species. By knowing what species exist, conservation efforts can be taken underway to conserve the native species or rid the invasive species. This research is a biodiversity survey of three different parks within College Station, TX. Each park had a variety of meals (protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and sugar meal) that was available to ants for 45 minutes to attract as many species as possible. Ants were identified on the scene as to not disrupt their recruitment process. The ants identified were Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Buren), Monomorium pharaonis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, L.), Monomorium minimum (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Buckley), and Nylanderia fulva (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Lennon). Of the four species found two were native (M. pharaonis and M. minimum) and two were invasive (S. invicta andN. fulva). Red imported fire ants outcompeted all other ants and showed significantly higher numbers than the other species observed.  
Effects of Music Exposure on the Feeding Patterns of Grasshoppers
No full textThe destructive nature of grasshopper feeding and the undesirable consequences of heavy insecticide use make the search for alternative methods of deterring grasshoppers and similar insect pests one of the utmost importance. This study sought to determine the overall effects of music exposure on the feeding patterns of grasshoppers, with the intent of exploring if music exposure could potentially serve as an effective non-chemical deterrent. Male American grasshoppers, Schistocerca americana, were exposed to a variety of aural conditions, including music of various genres and volume levels, to determine if the average amount of plant material consumed per individual grasshopper was significantly affected. While a comparison of experimental trials indicated a possible correlation between reduced feeding and rhythmic, energetic genres of music played at a high decibel level, an anomalous control trial gave an inconclusive result for the overall effects of music exposure of any kind on the typical feeding patterns of grasshoppers
Levels of Digestion-Protease Activity in the Alimentary Canal of Schistocera serialis (Orthoptera: Acrididae) (F.)
No full textLocusts and grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) are insect herbivores that are eliciting catastrophic affects to the agricultural industry and economy. The control of these pests with integrated pest management strategies and pesticides is costly worldwide at an average of $70.0 billion per year. As people adapt new ways to combat insects, plants are also coevolving. A natural defense mechanism that has been employed in plants is the production of protease inhibitors (PIs). These proteolytic enzymes are found in various parts of the plants and are produced as a response from insect attack. Proteases are also found in regulated concentrations in an insect’s alimentary canal during digestion. In a plant, PIs act as anti-metabolic proteins. When insects digest plants the PI’s defensive capabilities inhibit the regulation of proteases in an insect’s alimentary canal. As a result, negatively impacting the overall growth, development, and digestion of an insect because of the reduction of amino acids. This experiment was performed to lay the foundation of the extent of protease activity in each region of the alimentary canal (foregut, midgut, and hindgut) in Schistocera serialis. The methods to achieve this objective were six treatments of boiled and non-boiled regions to ascertain protease activity in each region of the alimentary canal. It was found that the non-boiled midgut has the highest levels of protease activity, while boiling the gut regions significantly decreases protease activity. This study addresses the need for a foundation of extent of protease activity in S. serialis; however, a number of questions regarding the diversity of proteases and utilization of knowledge towards decreasing crop loss using transgenic crops with higher levels of protease inhibitors remain to be addressed
The Effects of White Distilled Vinegar and Bleach on the Individual Characteristics of Shoe Soles
No full textWhite distilled vinegar and bleach are two common cleaning products employed in the deep cleaning of household surfaces and objects. Many use these substances to wipe down commonly shared surfaces of germs and grime due to their cleaning strength. A similarity in these two substances is their proficiency in removing blood and blood stains from objects and clothing, being commonly utilized for this task. Therefore, if a crime scene had large amounts of blood, it could be concluded that white distilled vinegar and bleach could be likely useful in high quantities to clean the scene properly. Individual characteristics within shoe prints can be caused by wear and tear on the shoe sole, often made of rubber and other materials. It is generally advised to dilute white distilled vinegar and bleach for use in cleaning rubber household items due to the deterioration and weakening the two substances often cause within rubbers. White distilled vinegar due to its acidic nature, acetic acid, and bleach, sodium hypochlorite, as a caustic cleaner. It is often that shoe prints are employed as proof of a person’s presence at the crime scene. However, this could be pushed further if shoe prints could be used as evidence to link a person to activities that occurred within the crime scene as well, specifically cleaning. With this information, it can be concluded that extended contact of shoe soles with white distilled vinegar and bleach will cause distinct individual characteristics on the soles that can be viewed when shoe printing. 
Ecotone Effects on Arthropod Biodiversity in Texas Sorghum Field Edges and Within
No full textAbstract: High levels of arthropod biodiversity are indicative of a healthy environment and bring valuable benefits to agroecosystems, providing diverse functions like pollination, decomposition, and predation of crop pests by natural enemies. The intensification of agricultural practices often changes the neighboring habitats, creating new man-made environments that alter arthropod biodiversity within and around agroecosystems. These man-made ecotones, ecosystems made of two or more bordering habitats, are of great importance to integrated pest management systems and conservation efforts as spatial control of pests has been underutilized and understudied in the agricultural space for years. To assess these differences in biodiversity within and around Texas sorghum fields, an arthropod biodiversity survey over a 5-week period was conducted. Overall, this study covered a total of thirty-three collections, sampling arthropods across Texas sorghum fields that shared a border with sorghum, cotton, or semi-natural land ecotones, extending from the edge of the field\u27s border to 150 meters within the field. Collected specimens were identified to the family-level taxon, and statistical analysis was conducted to measure biodiversity. Field surveys revealed that sorghum fields bordering semi-natural, cotton, or sorghum ecotones exhibited no significant differences in biodiversity near the borders as a result of ecotonal differences. Yet, distance from ecotone edges may play a significant factor. Increasing our understanding of impacts related to spatial or ecotonal changes on biodiversity in Texas field crops, like sorghum, and the surrounding ecosystems may provide valuable information regarding environmental performance and pest monitoring for integrated pest management
Determining Hymenoptera Preference Pairing to Color and Odor in College Station, TX
No full textOne third of all food production is reliant on pollination, the transfer of pollen to allow for fertilization. For this process to occur, plants use visual and olfactory cues to attract a wide variety of pollinators. The persistent decline of pollinating insects has captured the attention of the public and has catalyzed the need for research focused on the affects that the overuse of pesticides, insecticides, and climate change has on pollinators. The interconnectedness of pollinators and food production has risen in prevalence, along with the increasing risks that threaten the agricultural and ecological sectors. The attraction to the combination of colors (blue and white) and essential oils (lavender and eucalyptus) were tested to determine which combined variables resulted in a higher capture of Hymenopterans, as the order is the third most diverse pollinator and is familiar to the public. The experiment occurred at an urban site to reflect the decreasing numbers of pollinators in cityscapes. In the isolation of color and essential oil, and the summation of all captured data, there was no significant difference in the attraction of Hymenopterans. With further research, this information has the potential to open the door for examining how Hymenopterans react to artificial scents and common colors, in both isolated and paired treatments
The Presence or Absence of Insects on Decomposing Material with Scented Products
No full textInsects are a key component of the decomposition of organic material. Investigators will use the time of colonization of the insects to determine how long the human body has been exposed to the elements and the time between death and discovery of the corpse,or the postmortem interval. The postmortem interval can be a crucial part of solving a case. However, scented products can change how and what insects are attracted to. This is because the products could encourage the insects to delay colonization on a body. If colonization is delayed, it becomes harder for investigators to determine an accurate postmortem interval. In order to conduct this experiment, chicken thighs were used as a model organism with various body scented products and a control to figure out if insects would be attracted or deterred. It was noticed that not all of the decomposing material was inhabited by the end of the fifth day
Investigating the Impact of Common Drugs (Caffeine, Advil, and Benadryl) on Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Detection
No full textForensic science covers numerous distinct areas of specialization. One of these is drug detection, in which investigators test for drugs in human fluid samples such as urine, blood etc. Some commonly used medications and substances can affect the accuracy of drug detection. THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) is one of the main psychoactive compounds in cannabis. This study focused on the impact of caffeine, Advil, and Benadryl on THC detection. In this study, a lemonade drink with THC (THC lemonade), 0.14 mg of THC in 10 mL of lemonade, was used as a reference fluid sample instead of human bodily fluids. The observed results showed that there is no impact of caffeine until 400 mg is dissolved in 10 mL of THC lemonade. An extremely high concentration of caffeine (600 mg of caffeine in 10 mL of THC lemonade) is required to show negative THC detection results. Whereas lower concentrations of both Advil (10 mg), and Benadryl (25) mg in 10 mL of THC lemonade are enough to show negative THC results. Further experiments need to be done to determine the lowest amounts of Advil and Benadryl required for the negative test results. These results showed that Advil and Benadryl have a higher impact on the detection of THC compared to caffeine