THE GIST:

• Scientists have found a 600,000-year-old leaf beetle with its original bright colors preserved.
• The ancient beetle represents only one of two known fossils from early periods that retain substantial color molecules.
• Like pickles in vinegar, slightly acidic environments preserve specimens well over time.

Ancient history often appears black and white, since artifacts, fossils and other remains usually lose their color over time. But researchers have just found an iridescent blue-green bug that looks like it did 600,000 years ago when it was alive.

The leaf beetle, Plateumaris sp., is one of just two such advanced age insect fossils that retain substantial original color molecules. Another beetle, dating to 50 million years ago, also appears to have sported the same hues, but the color preservation is better in this middle Pleistocene specimen, project leader Gengo Tanaka told Discovery News.

The male bug, along with other “exceptionally well-preserved insect fossils,” was recently excavated from the Hirabaru Formation in Kyushu, Japan. The male’s flash was for females since its “structural color would be used in mating displays,” said Tanaka, a researcher at Japan’s Gunma Museum of Natural History.

He added that its “color changed from green to dark blue by changing the angle of incident light.”

Article from http://news.discovery.com/animals/beetle-color-blue-fossil.html

Carpenter Ants can eat wood and damage your house. There are nine types of carpenter ants throughout the U.S. As many as four or five species are regularly seen in some places. All species mainly attack wood that is or has been wet and damaged by mold.

Even though these ants first invade wet, decayed wood, they may soon begin building paths through dry, undamaged wood. They usually come into buildings through cracks around doors, windows, or through holes for wires. They will also crawl along overhead wires, shrubs, or tree limbs that touch the building far above the ground.

Preventing Carpenter Ant Problems:

Here are a few simple things you can do to prevent carpenter ant infestations:

• Eliminate standing water. Pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites, are attracted to moisture.
• Keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Sometimes pests use these branches to get into your home.
• Make sure that there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Sometimes pests use these to get into your home.
• Make sure that firewood and building materials are not stored next to your home. Pests like to build nests in stacks of wood.

Information courtesy of www.pestworldforkids.com