Japanese scientists create wingless ladybug

Scientists at Nagoya University have created a ladybug without wings (pictured above on the left):

While ladybird beetles have been employed as eco-friendly pest killers both at home and abroad, how to keep them in field crops without flying away has been a major challenge.

The team led by Teruyuki Niimi, associate professor at Nagoya University’s Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, identified a master gene for wing development, and used the RNA interference technique to disrupt the gene’s function, according to the journal.

Niimi said the new technique is unlikely to affect the ecosystem as it differs from genetic modification and that the ladybirds’ offspring will be born with wings just like normal ones.

The scientists are now working on a method to mass produce the ladybugs.

Wingless ladybugs are:

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RMilner

I would have thought Ladybirds need to fly to where they will find food.

Ryry

…Unless you do what they’re planning, and dumping them in aphid-ridden fields.

This is a pretty cool idea. And they look badass.
http://www.hormel.com Vonskippy

And they need to fly away from things that want to make them food.

This has FAIL written all over it.

Ryry

Just use frog repellent, duh!

http://witzl.blogpsot.com/ MaryWitzl

Oh, no! Now they won’t be able to fly away home when their houses are on fire and their children are gone…

Still, this is a great idea and I’m all for this kind of genetic modification. Nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing a bunch of ladybugs in my garden, eating up all the pesky vegetarian bugs that are gorging themselves on my plants. Wish I had some wingless ladybugs right now…
http://bakka-deliviano.blogspot.com BaKKaNeKKo

Oh noes, if all the ladbugs are wingless, I’m scared to touch them, looks gross D:
niknak

I wonder if they would be especially fragile without the wings to cover their backs? Their insides are all exposed o_o Would they be more sensitive to heat/sun maybe? There has to be some negative side to them having no wings o_O
spotfrog

The the spotted surface is actually a protective shell, like on a normal beetle. The wings are hidden underneath… and I’m guessing this modification just keeps the wings from developing. The shell is probably removed in the first picture to show that there are no wings.

However, if I’m wrong and the shell doesn’t develop either, that is kind of gross. : \

RMilner

The shell, or wing case, is a modified upper wing. Insects usually have four wings. The front pair may be modified into something else. In beetles it becomes the wing case.

Presumably, switching off the wing development gene stops the wing case from growing. The beetle has a thorax and abdomen underneth.

Lindsey

Have you ever watched how slow a lady bug crawls? How is it going to reach its prey before its prey flys/runs away now? It seems to me that a big part of its bug eating potential depends on if it can reach its prey!
Montsan

Think they could engineer a ladybug that eats those damn Asian beetle doppelgangers? I’d be willing to make a small donation to the cause and I’m sure millions of other people would do the same.

Eddie

That’s got be one of the strangest posts ever.

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Montsan

It’s not strange a strange post at all – you just don’t know what I’m referring to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_beetle

They’re a goddamn nuisance that have been infesting parts of the United States for the past decade or so. They look remarkably similar to regular ladybugs but bite and stink quite a bit.

dwende

In fact they used exactly the same beetle in their experiments — Harmonia axyridis, the evil “asian beetle”.

Kerfuffle machine

Hmm… I think I found a problem with this. From the article:
“Niimi said the new technique is unlikely to affect the ecosystem as it differs from genetic modification and that the ladybirds’ offspring will be born with wings just like normal ones.”

From http://www.ladybuglady.com/LadybugsFAQ.htm
“[If] you observe one ladybug riding atop another ladybug, they are in the process of mating. A male ladybug will grab the female’s elytra (hard wings) and holds on tight.”

Will mating be possible with no wings upon which to hold tight?

Google search query: mating ladybug OR “lady bug” OR “ladybird beetle”
(2nd hit)
Geronimo

If the ladybugs’ offsprings will be born with wings even from wingless parents, wouldn’t they have to keep reintroducing wingless ladybugs into the crop fields??? Seems like too much work.

I also agree that they may not get to their prey fast enough, or escape predation fast enough. Wingless ladybugs would be better in a closed environment though, I suppose.

I think maybe they should try to make a ladybug pheromone of some sort to spray on the field and attract ladybugs. I don’t know.
marqual

Turning a living creature from the epitome of moe into something monstrous is unethical .The same scientists can produce roses with no petals that can smell 100 times more for your garden, or asexual children to help overpopulation problem.
On the other hand can I order a nekomimi for my future daughter? lol

Japanese scientists create wingless ladybug

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