This is why researchers at the University of Manitoba and Agriculture Canada are examining the role arthropods play in anaplasmosis, as well as designing better tests.

Please read the whole article here.

When it comes to ticks and flies spreading anaplasmosis, it is not really known how often it is transmitted from those sources, and how often from livestock management practices. That is part of Rochon’s work.

While ticks are known biological vectors, biting flies are not. However, they could still transmit the disease as a mechanical vector, which means the bacteria does not multiply inside them, but might be passed on from the blood around the fly’s mouth parts after feeding on an animal.

The question is whether they are transmitting the disease this way.

To read the full story, please visit the Manitoba Co-operator article.

However, while these insects may sting, they can also be helpful.

CBC spoke with University of Manitoba entomologist Nuria Morfin about some of the benefits of having them around, and what to do if you want them to buzz off.

To listen to the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba.

They talk about mosquitoes, wasps, beetles, and how wildfire smoke and climate change are affecting insect activity.

Plus, what pollinators are up to this time of year, and why some bugs are actually good news for the environment.

To listen to the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba.

Something you can to support pollinators is to keep and enhance the habitat you have, notes Gibbs, who is an associate professor in entomology.

Fruiting trees, flowering shrubs and plants, fruits and vegetables, herbs, flowers, grasses or ground covers such as clover, as well as surrounding natural or forested areas, provide important habitat areas for pollinators. Gibbs emphasizes that bee diversity beyond honeybees — which often receive sole credit for pollination — is what truly matters. Though most of Canada’s commercial honey is sourced from the Prairies, wild bees are bigger contributors to pollination than managed bees.

In fact, Manitoba is home to around 400 species of bees, including mason bees, mining bees and the tiny and ubiquitous sweat bees, each playing a unique role in pollination.

“So having 10 sweat bees is not as good as having a sweat bee, a mason bee, a miner bee, a honeybee, and a bumblebee,” Gibbs explains. Studies show that apple orchards with a wide variety of bee species produce bigger and better fruit.

Did you know? The J. B. Wallis / R. E. Roughley Museum of Entomology at UM is one of the largest insect collections in Western Canada. With over 2 million specimens, the museum is critical to entomology education, outreach and research in Manitoba.

 

Do not disturb: Other unsung heroes

But it’s not just about pollinators. Beneath the soil and among the leaves, a hidden army of beneficial insects is hard at work. Cecil Montemayor Aizpurúa, who is a PhD student in entomology at UM, highlights several unsung heroes of the garden.

Ground beetles, for example, are nocturnal predators that feast on slugs and caterpillars. Ants, often misunderstood, help aerate soil and recycle nutrients. On leaves and flowers, green lacewing larvae (nicknamed “aphid lions”) hunt pests, while minute pirate bugs and hoverfly larvae keep aphid populations in check.

“Many of these insects thrive when we minimize soil disturbance and support habitat diversity,” says Montemayor Aizpurúa. Simple practices like avoiding over-tilling and planting flowering borders can make a big difference. In the fall, leave dried flowers and stems standing, along with leaf litter; let messy and natural parts of your yard stay undisturbed.  

Next time you’re tempted to tidy up your garden, consider letting nature take the lead.

“Take a moment to observe your garden up close,” Montemayor Aizpurúa suggests. “You might be surprised by what you find. There’s a whole world of bugs right under our noses, quietly working to keep the garden in balance.”

Have questions about identifying an insect? Call the Bugline

These intrepid insects benefit your soil and keep your garden healthy. Photo by Jason Gibbs.

A fine balance of beneficial bugs

Here are a few beneficial insects that play an important role in garden ecosystems, especially when it comes to supporting soil health and keeping pest populations in check. (List from Cecil Montemayor Aizpurúa.)

Helpful bugs in the soil:

1. Ground Beetles (Carabidae family): These beetles are great nighttime predators that live in the soil and leaf litter. They feed on slugs, caterpillars, and many other garden pests. Their presence usually means your garden is healthy and undisturbed. 
2. Ants (Formicidae family): Even though ants are not always seen as “helpful,” many of them do a great job in gardens. Their tunnels help air and water reach plant roots, and some species also feed on insect eggs, caterpillars and even help clean up organic debris in the soil, contributing to nutrient cycling.  

A friendly Green Lacewing blends into the scenery while protecting your garden. Photo by Jason Gibbs.

Good bugs you’ll find on leaves and flowers:

1. Green Lacewings (Chrysopidae family): They look very friendly with their bright green color and long, clear wings, but their larvae are fierce predators! Called “aphid lions,” they feed on aphids, whiteflies, thrips, and even small caterpillars.
2. Minute Pirate Bugs (Anthicoridae family, especially the Orius genera): These are tiny generalist predators (2-3 mm). Their wings look like a pirate band black and white.  They are generalist predators and eat thrips, aphids, spider mites, and more. They’re very useful in flower and veggie gardens. 
3. Hoverflies (Syrphidae family): These flies look like small bees and are often seen hovering around flowers. The adults are important pollinators, and their larvae stage are voracious predators of aphids, thrips and other soft-bodied pests.

They cover everything from pollinators to pests, with tips on how to protect beneficial bugs in our yards and gardens. Jason also tackles questions about ticks, wasps, and mosquitoes—what to look out for and how to handle them.

To listen to the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba Radio Noon.

While ticks can be active in any season, they begin looking for a host to feed on once temperatures rise.

University of Manitoba entomologist Kateryn Rochon said there are several breeds of ticks in the province, but only one that primarily causes health concerns for those on the other end of their bite.

“Blacklegged ticks are the ones that can transmit pathogens like Lyme disease or anaplasmosis or other things that affect us,” she said in an interview with CTV Morning Live Winnipeg.

To read the entire article, please follow the link to CTV Winnipeg.

It could also have consequences worldwide, he said, impacting “the bees available for pollination of crops on a more global scale beyond Manitoba.”

Scarlett said the honey industry has been keeping an eye out for news as it pushes the federal government to exempt queen bees from any potential countermeasures.

To read the entire article, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba.

“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

Horse flies and deer flies, commonly known as bulldogs, belong to a family of biting flies named Tabanidae. There are thousands of species worldwide, with about 150 in Canada, and approximately 25 different species found in Manitoba. Many Manitobans have fallen victim to a bite from these persistent flies, especially after a swim during the summer months. Typically, horse flies emerge during early June, with the level of activity for different species changing over the summer. Numbers decline into mid to late August. Horse flies have large compound eyes, and paired with their strong flight muscles, they are able to spot and pursue potential host animals from great distances. Their fine-tuned skills as hunters, however, are to the chagrin of many a-farmer when their cattle become the targets. Their painful bites cause distress to the animals, resulting in negative effects including reduced weight gain and milk production in addition to blood loss. Horse fly bites can also transmit some blood-borne pathogens such as bovine anaplasmosis. In Manitoba, there have been outbreaks of bovine anaplasmosis since 2013, especially in the southeastern areas of the province.

Effects of anaplasmosis on cow health

Bovine anaplasmosis is a production-limiting disease caused by Anaplasma marginale, a bacteria that attacks red blood cells. Symptoms in infected cows vary from showing no signs of disease to anemia, fatigue, and reduced feed intake, leading to poor overall cow health and significant losses to farmers. Depending on the herd, up to 25% of infected animals can die. Currently, no cure is available for the infected animals and, perhaps more importantly, animals that do recover remain infected for life, serving as a source of bacteria that can be transmitted to healthy animals in the herd. Therefore, the presence of this pathogen in Manitoba is concerning.

Transmission of anaplasmosis between cattle

Bovine anaplasmosis is a blood-borne disease spread by contaminated tools, ticks, and biting flies. Ticks are ‘biological’ vectors, meaning that when they feed on an infected cow, the bacteria will multiply and remain within the tick for a long time. The tick can then transmit the bacteria to any animal it feeds on. Horse flies, on the other hand, are referred to as ‘mechanical’ vectors. The anaplasmosis bacteria does not grow and persist within their body, but instead lingers on their mouthparts after a blood meal, much like it would on a contaminated needle or sharp tool. When a horse fly feeds on an infected animal, contaminated blood remains on its mouthparts for a short time. Because the bite of horse flies is painful, cows react strongly to the bites and those defensive behaviours can dislodge the flies that have started to feed. But the flies are persistent, so they will go land on another animal to continue to feed. If the fly then bites an uninfected animal, the residual blood remaining on its mouth can transfer the disease.

Horse flies: the feeding mechanism.

There are common misconceptions about how horse flies feed. Despite popular belief, they do not ‘take a chunk’ of flesh, but rather cut into the skin like we cut into a steak. Unlike mosquitoes, which feed directly from blood vessels in the skin, horse flies slash the skin and blood vessels with serrated mouthparts, and then feed from the blood pooling to the surface using a large sponge-like structure similar to that of a house fly. Only the female horse flies feed on blood as it serves as a source of protein to make eggs. Horse flies get their energy from sugars from flower nectar, which is the only thing males feed on.

UM research explores horse flies and bovine anaplasmosis transmission

During the summer of 2024, Mabel Currie and a team led by Kateryn Rochon from the Department of Entomology at the University of Manitoba set up fly traps at two locations in southeastern Manitoba where they collected over 1300 flies! The traps were inverted vinyl cones with collection containers on top, and a black yoga ball suspended in the middle. The ball acted as a bait for female horse flies, as the colour and gleam tricks them into thinking they are animals. After the flies were collected, they were taken back to the lab to be frozen, until they were ready to be identified. Using a microscope to look at each individual’s features, the species were were identified, which allowed the researchers to determine their presence at different farms. After identification, each fly was dissected so their gut could be tested for the bacteria that causes bovine anaplasmosis. By examining the flies’ ovaries, the researchers also determined how many batches of eggs each female fly has laid. As each batch of eggs requires a blood meal, the researchers can see which species bite more and are more likely to spread diseases among cattle, and at what point in the season.

Understanding the role of ticks and horse flies play in the emergence of bovine anaplasmosis is part of a larger project funded by the Beef Cattle Research Council involving researchers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. One objective is to determine the prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis in cattle operations by testing the blood of cattle in Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. This is where the Manitoba team comes in, collecting ticks and flies on the farms and looking for relationships between tick and fly abundance, potentially infected vectors, as well as detecting anaplasmosis. The other exciting objective of this research is to develop a new rapid test for bovine anaplasmosis, and validate it with the blood collected from cows in the study.

We are looking for more farms to join the program, especially in Manitoba’s central and western regions. For more information about how you can get involved, please contact Dr. Kateryn Rochon (project researcher, kateryn.rochon@umanitoba.ca) or Dr. Shaun Dergousoff (project lead, shaun.dergousoff@agr.gc.ca).