How Long to Play Dead in Order to Stay Alive? The Answer Is “Highly Strategic”
Many animals remain motionless or play dead after being attacked by a predator in the hope that it will give up and move onto some…
Entomology
Group Genomics Drive Aggression in Africanized Honey Bees
Researchers often study the genomes of individual organisms to try to tease out the relationship between genes and behavior. A new study of Africanized honey…
Wolf Spider Baby Boom in a Warmer Arctic
Climate change leads to longer growing seasons in the Arctic. A new study shows that predators like wolf spiders respond to the changing conditions and…
True Color of 99-Million-Year-Old Insects Revealed by Amber Fossils
Nature is full of colors, from the radiant shine of a peacock’s feathers or the bright warning coloration of toxic frogs to the pearl-white camouflage…
5 Questions Answered: What Are “Murder Hornets” and Are They Really Dangerous?
Editor’s note: According to recent press reports, two Asian giant hornets – a species not known to occur in North America – were found in…
Chemistry Behind the Bombardier Beetle’s Extraordinary Firepower – “Fascinating Story That Nobody Has Been Able to Tell Before”
How the Beetle Got Its Bang If you want to see one of the wonders of the natural world, just startle a bombardier beetle. But…
Incredible High-Speed Video Shows How Armor on Butterfly Wings Protects Against Heavy Rain
An analysis of high-speed raindrops hitting biological surfaces such as feathers, plant leaves and insect wings reveals how these highly water-repelling veneers reduce the water’s…
Superworms Digest Plastic: Superpower Made Possible by Bacterial Sidekicks
Resembling giant mealworms, superworms (Zophobas atratus) are beetle larvae that are often sold in pet stores as feed for reptiles, fish and birds. In addition…
Problematic Spread of Disease-Transmitting Asian Tiger Mosquitoes in American Heartland
Researchers report that the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has become more abundant across Illinois in the past three decades. Its spread is problematic, as…
Peculiar Behavior of the Beetle Toramus Larvae – How and Why Do They Carry Their Exuviae?
The beetles of family Erotylidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) are morphologically and biologically diversified into six subfamilies, 10 tribes, and over 3,500 species. The tribe Toramini includes…
Ants Harness Their “Collective Brainpower” to Navigate Obstacles
New findings reveal how ants increase their collective sensing power to help them navigate complex terrains. Ants use their numbers to overcome navigational challenges that…
Crickets Eavesdrop on Bat Echolocation Calls and Drop From the Sky to Evade Capture
Researchers have uncovered the highly efficient strategy used by a group of crickets to distinguish the calls of predatory bats from the incessant noises of…
Bizarre New Parasitic Species Discovered… on Twitter
While many of us use social media to be tickled silly by cat videos or wowed by delectable cakes, others use them to discover new…
Scientists Buzzing Over Virgin Birth and Genetic Mystery That’s Been Solved
Researchers discover a gene in honey bees that causes virgin birth. In a study published on May 7, 2020, in Current Biology, researchers from University…
Deadly Virus Turns Honey Bees Into Trojan Horses, Rapidly Spreading the Infection to Healthy Hives
Honey bees that guard hive entrances are twice as likely to allow in trespassers from other hives if the intruders are infected with the Israeli…
Unique Physical, Chemical Properties of Cicada Wings Revealed by Material Scientists
Biological structures sometimes have unique features that engineers would like to copy. For example, many types of insect wings shed water, kill microbes, reflect light…
13,000-Year-Old Fossils Hint at Evolutionary Origins of Insects’ Structural Colors
Analysis of 13,000-year-old fossils suggest photonic nanostructures in insects, which create colorful iridescent colors, may have originated as a means of camouflage. Researchers from Yale-NUS…
Asian Hornets Are Invading Europe – Here’s What It’s Going to Cost
Since its accidental introduction in 2003 in France, the yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) is rapidly spreading through Europe. Both experts and citizen scientists…