Study of northern Ontario insects aims to help increase food production
Northern Ontario is well known for its abundance of bugs.
Now, researchers from southern Ontario are curious to know more about our insects for several reasons, including being part of a larger project to increase food production.
A team from the University of Guelph has set a number of fly traps and is collecting samples.
Tents are being set up in northern Ontario's boreal forest. Known as a 'malaise' tent, it's used to trap insects.
Junior research technician Emily Kyle said they're trying to catch flying insects.
"So they fly into the sides of the trap and then they fly up into the bottle and fall back down into the alcohol bottle," Kyle said. "It traps them.”
Researchers are venturing north because they say there's nothing original left in the south's mixed-wood plains due to urbanization. They say the north is less impacted by humans, which will allow them to do a comparison.
Dirk Steinke, of the University of Guelph, said the goal is to understand the diversity of the bugs in this part of Ontario.
"That’s why we chose particular sites, or particular regions," Steinke said. "We’re tying to understand how much impact we humans already had on these species.”
Kyle said she comes to town every two weeks to collect samples.
"We’ll see what this one has in this sample today," she said. "There’s a lot of flies, moths, and butterflies today, but it’s different every time I come back."
There are 45 tents set up throughout northeastern Ontario. They're in urban locations, provincial parks and areas that have had trees harvested.
"We’re trying to identify everything that is in one of those bottles by using DNA-based methods," Steinke said.
"So there’s a small section of the genome that’s characteristic for each species and then we can tell what types of animals were trapped at the particular time there.”
Officials said some insects can tell us things about the health of the environment.
The project is also part of a bigger program called Food From Thought, a University of Guelph research project looking to develop solutions to improve agricultural production.
The sampling began in May and runs until October.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Auston Matthews returns for Game 7, but Leafs minus injured goaltender Joseph Woll
Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews returned to the lineup for Game 7 against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.