The public are encouraged to upload a tick to the ETick app to help identify the type of tick, the risks and to help with public health surveillance.

The tick will then be identified by researchers like Dr. Kateryn Rochon, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology.

But while cases of Lyme disease are rising in Manitoba, as Marney Blunt reports, that could partially be due to rising awareness as well.

To watch and listen to the entire story, please follow the link to Global News Winnipeg.

“Cockroaches can potentially vector several unpleasant gastrointestinal illnesses, like salmonella, E. coli, and staph infections. They come into contact with various unpleasant things like uncooked food and waste, and then they can transfer any associated pathogens and parasites on their travels,” Gibbs told Now Toronto on Monday. 

Pira vomited right after noticing the cockroach, according to CP24. 

To read the entire story, please follow the link to Now Toronto

“Honey bees get too much credit for pollination. They are actually pretty poor pollinators. The hundreds of species of wild bees contribute a lot more to pollination,” says Dr. Jason Gibbs, Associate Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Manitoba.

Gibbs says he has nothing against honey bees, as his father is a retired beekeeper in Ontario, but rather highlights the importance of wild bees in pollination. He says most bees don’t sting, are solitary, and about 70 per cent of them nest in underground burrows. Most aren’t black and yellow, and most don’t make honey.

To read the full story, please visit Top Crop Manager.

Thilina Hettiarachchi, a PhD student in the department of entomology at the University of Manitoba, and Reid Miller, a U of M field research assistant, are checking various sampling stations for bees and other pollinators.

A journalist is tramping along with them through the narrow, barely discernible trail on this luminous late August day.

To read the full story, please visit the Winnipeg Free Press.

Now Toronto contacted an entomologist named Dr. Jason Gibbs from the University of Manitoba to ask if it’s safe to indulge. 

“Fishflies are eaten by a number of different cultures across the world. You can eat them raw (hold them by the wings and eat the rest), or you can dry them and use them in food preparations. They are high in protein, low in fat. So, mayflies would be a relatively healthy addition to a balanced diet,” Gibbs said in an email on July 30.

To read the full story, please visit Now Toronto.

The SWD is an invasive fruit fly or vinegar fly that has found its way into Manitoba crops, specifically strawberries, Saskatoon berries, raspberries, sour cherries and cherry plums.

“Spotted wing drosophila has been with us in Manitoba for over 10 years now,” said Philip Ronald, who owns and operates Riverbend Orchards in Portage la Prairie, Man. “It’s something we’ve learned to live with.”

The pesky critter is an invasive species from East Asia. According to experts, this year’s warm winter and soggy spring and summer created ideal conditions for the SWD to populate. But unlike the average fruit fly, the SWD can do more damage by penetrating fruits before they ripen.

“These get in really early and so their larvae start developing inside the fruit before it’s time to harvest them,” said Jason Gibbs, an associate professor in the department of entomology at the University of Manitoba.

To read the full story, please visit CTV Winnipeg. 

Bobiwash is the 2023 recipient of the Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award in the Interdisciplinary category. His innovative research on pollinator health and sustainable agricultural practices, along with his dedication to bridging Indigenous and Western scientific methodologies, highlights his significant contributions to both academia and community engagement.

UM Today caught up with Bobiwash to learn more about him and the research he is undertaking.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your research.

I’m Kyle Bobiwash. I’m Anishinaabe from Mississauga First Nation on the north shore of Lake Huron. I have a dog and a research colleague, Professor Pickles. I’ve had fantastic mentors who enabled me to learn on the land and excel in the classroom.

From a young age, I always thought I could do science better than all these white folks out there, so I launched myself all in during grad school. At the University of Manitoba, I work with colleagues like Jason Gibbs and Rob Currie on pollination ecology and biology. We study pollination not just from a top-down perspective but by looking at landscapes, floral resources and the needs of flowers and organisms in these landscapes, from the perspective of research organisms.

We want to understand what drives community composition and well-being of pollinators and general biodiversity. My students do everything from basic biodiversity work all the way to really cool, new pathogen spillover studies to identify disease transmission pathways among pollinators.

Connecting to who I am as an Anishinaabe person, we also use models like Three Sisters farming to build science capacity and ask deeper questions, not only in Western science but in Indigenous knowledge systems.

Why is this research important?

I often think about this, and it really isn’t important for the vast majority of people. Of course, pollination and pollinator health are important to society. But what’s crucial is connecting our land management practices to clear, solid evidence.

It’s about improving habitats and outcomes for pollinators. We need to understand what that actually means. We know that more flowers probably mean happier bees, but the nuance is essential.

In Canada, and particularly in Manitoba, there’s a push and pull between economic interests and ecological interests. We need to think beyond traditional agricultural benefits and connect human actions and policies to biodiversity impacts. Ensuring our values align with environmental well-being is really important.

What does winning the Rh Award mean to you?

I was really interested by this opportunity and spent some time reading about the Falconer Award. It’s an honour, especially since it supports emerging research that engages the public.

This recognition connects me to others doing important science that benefits society. The award is encouraging and motivates me to keep working on innovative and impactful projects.

The financial support is also big, allowing for more flexibility in my research, like maybe hiring more graduate students or engaging community volunteers.

What do you hope to achieve in the future?

I split my time between the university and being a researcher in residence at the Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada. My goal is to ensure that my research benefits farmers and communities, driving self-determination and sustainable practices.

I want to connect detailed pollination biology to broader goals like science policy and sustainable agriculture. It’s about making sure that science benefits society and supports communities.

What about you might people find surprising?

People might find it surprising that I have racing pigeons in my backyard, enjoy bonsai work, love hunting and being out on the land and am dedicated to miniature wargaming.

Any advice for early career researchers and students?

For early career researchers, make sure that opportunities align with both professional and personal development. Don’t get bogged down by the perceived requirements for tenure and promotion or thesis requirements.

Focus on projects and partnerships that truly matter to you and help you grow. Collaborate with people from diverse fields and find a niche that values your contributions and has a good place for you.

“Left uncontrolled, these insects are capable of producing quite high numbers of offspring. Once established there is the potential for spread and increase,” said Jordan Bannerman, entomology instructor at the U of M.

They are mostly found in kitchens and bathrooms, according to Bannerman, who says having them in your home doesn’t always indicate a lack of cleanliness.

To read the full story about cockroaches, please visit CTV Saskatoon.

Ticks have always been a fact of life in southern Manitoba, but over the last fifty years, ticks have made their way hundreds of kilometres north of where they were usually found. Ticks can pose a threat to people and animals as they must feed on blood to develop, and they can transmit bacteria or viruses while doing so.

Ticks in Manitoba

The two most common ticks in Manitoba are American dog ticks (also known as wood ticks) and blacklegged ticks (also known as deer ticks). American dog ticks can transmit bovine anaplasmosis in cattle and bison by feeding on an infected animal and then moving to an uninfected animal and feeding on it. Because the bacteria that causes bovine anaplasmosis is in the blood, it can also be transmitted between animals by horse fly bites and by using blood-contaminated equipment without cleaning between animals. Blacklegged ticks are a more recent addition to the Manitoba fauna, and they can transmit pathogens that cause Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, and babesiosis, which can affect humans and horses.

Adult American dog ticks are out looking for blood starting in May, peaking in June, but will be active until the end of summer. They like more open spaces with grasses and shrubs and more space between the trees where the sun can shine through. Blacklegged ticks, on the other hand, dry out more quickly and are typically found in areas with dense vegetation and higher humidity, forested areas with more leaf litter and less sun. Adult ticks will be looking for hosts to feed on as soon as the snow melts in April through May and into June. However, that is not the end of them! In June, we also see young blacklegged ticks, called nymphs, looking for blood. These immature ticks, about the size of a poppy seed can transmit bacteria and parasites just like the adults do. Then, a new generation of adults come out to feed in the fall, starting in late September, through October until there is snow on the ground. The adult ticks that do not find a host in the fall overwinter in leaf litter under the snow and are the ones that come out to try again once the snow melts. Understanding the risk these ticks can pose to cattle, horses, and humans may lead to prioritization of tick management strategies.

Ticks and your pasture

To reduce the chances of tick bites, we need to know where the ticks are more likely to be and when they are more likely to be there. We know ticks tend to prefer certain habitats that make it easier for them to survive and find hosts to feed on, and pastures can offer some of these preferred habitats. That means there is a greater risk of exposure to ticks for animals grazing in those pastures, and to people working with those animals. University of Manitoba graduate students Casandra Madden and Danie Wood are looking at ticks on pastures more closely and are trying to identify what features could increase the risk of tick bites on a pasture. Their preliminary results seem to indicate that pastures that are less managed and have diverse vegetation provide ample grounds for small mammals that immature ticks can feed on. Areas

where vegetation grows a bit longer, including sections with more trees, fence lines, or the edges of well-travelled paths and sloughs, all provide higher humidity that the ticks need to survive. It is in these areas where ticks can climb on to get on larger hosts like cattle, horses, and people.

How to manage ticks on your farm

It is not practical to apply “backyard” tick management practices like mowing the lawn, removing ground cover plants, or aiming for the complete exclusion of wild hosts (deer, rodents, birds) from grazing pastures. However, by knowing when and where there is more tick activity, we can target those areas more effectively, try to reduce interactions with ticks, and check for them. To start, clean up dead plant material such as leaf litter and reduce long vegetation around troughs, watering holes, or other structures cattle and horses visit frequently. Keep the dead plant material in direct sunlight and allow the ground to dry out. This lack of humidity will reduce the number of ticks that survive and the area will be less attractive to small mammals. If possible, keep the vegetation low at the edges of paths well-traveled by livestock – and producers. When planning out grazing, consider keeping animals away from treed areas until peak tick activity has passed. Managing where the cattle and horses graze can reduce the contact between ticks and their potential hosts. And let’s not forget to check ourselves for ticks! While American dog ticks are mostly just annoying for us, blacklegged ticks can transmit infections to humans, and can severely affect the well-being of the farm. While working on and around pastures, moving animals or fixing fences, protection and awareness are key. Wearing light colour clothing helps spot ticks crawling up. Fully tucking shirts into pants and pants into socks will keep ticks on top of the clothes and away from the skin. In addition, wearing a repellent containing DEET, icaridin or picaridin will keep ticks away.

Learn more about the ticks you find

What if you find a tick and you are unsure what it is? Take a few pictures and submit them to eTick. eTick is a Canada-wide public platform for image-based tick identification. Users can submit a picture of a tick through the website (www.etick.ca) or the eTick phone app and get an identification within 24 hours, along with any relevant tick-borne disease information. You can download eTick from the QR code below. There may be snow on the ground, but the ticks are there, waiting for spring and their next meal. Keep them in mind and be ready.

What’s next?

The University of Manitoba Veterinary Entomology lab continues to work on bovine anaplasmosis in ticks and horse flies. We are looking for volunteers to participate in our new research project funded by the Beef Cattle Research Council. We are looking for producers who will let us take ticks, flies, and cattle blood samples, and participate in an online survey to document husbandry practices. Our goal is to use the blood samples to develop a simple test that can detect infected animals quickly and get a better grasp on the risk factors for bovine anaplasmosis, including where anaplasmosis occurs and what management practices increase or reduce the risk of transmission. To get more information on how you can help fight the spread of bovine anaplasmosis, contact Dr. Shaun Dergousoff (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada – Lethbridge shaun.dergousoff@agr.gc.ca) or Dr. Kateryn Rochon (University of Manitoba kateryn.rochon@umanitoba.ca).