How Hard Can Insects Bite? New System Allows Scientists To Obtain Previously Unknown Data
An insect bite force sensor system has been developed by researchers at the University of Bonn How hard can an insect bite? Strong chewing capabilities…
Insect News
“Astonishing” 500-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Brains Prompt a Rethink of the Evolution of Insects and Spiders
An ancient radiodont predator with three eyes reveals key information about the evolution of the arthropod body plan. New research based on a cache of…
Wildfire, Drought, and Insects: Climate Change Increases Risks of Tree Death
Planting a tree appears to be a generally positive thing to do for the environment. After all, trees take in carbon dioxide, offsetting some of…
Invasive Insects Will Kill 1.4 Million US Street Trees Over the Next 30 Years, Costing Over $900 Million
A new study by researchers from McGill University, the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, and North Carolina State University estimates that over the next…
Organic Insecticides More Damaging to Beneficial Insects Than Synthetic Alternatives
Very low concentrations of the popular organic insecticide spinosad have profound effects on beneficial insect species, including vision loss and neurodegeneration, new research led by…
Plant Ecologist: We Should Be Eating More Insects and Using Their Waste To Grow Crops
Marcel Dicke already knew that insects are an excellent source of protein for humans, but he didn’t expect to learn that they have such a…
Student’s Invention Enables Researchers To Easily Track Elusive Insects
With some home security software and a little ingenuity, researchers have developed an inexpensive device that will allow them to study the behavior and activity…
Neuroterus Valhalla: Biologists Discover Weird New Wasp Species
Lab waits to see how Houston’s historic 2021 freeze impacted tiny wasp species. Its name sounds legendary, but the newly discovered insect Neuroterus (noo-ROH’-teh-rus) valhalla…
Zoologist Solves the Bizarre 100-Year-Old Mystery of the Floating Phantom Midge
In spring 2018, Dr. Philip Matthews spent a typical afternoon capturing dragonflies in the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) experimental ponds. Little did the zoologist…
Giant Hornet Attacks Cause Honeybee Alarm Buzz in Hives – “I Literally Could Not Believe What I Was Hearing”
Study is the first to show that invertebrates use differing signals in response to different species of predators. Like setting off alarms in a beehive,…
Hungry Caterpillars Can Alter Carbon Emissions on a Huge Scale
A study led by the University of Cambridge has found that periodic mass outbreaks of leaf-munching caterpillars can improve the water quality of nearby lakes…
Birds Learn To Avoid Plants That Host Dangerous Insects
Young birds that eat insects with conspicuous warning coloration to advertise their toxicity to would-be predators quickly learn to avoid other prey that carry the…
Worldwide Decline in Quantity and Diversity of Insects in the Light of Land Use and Climate
Worldwide, the quantity and diversity of insects are declining: scientists have reported more and more evidence for this in recent years. In politics and society,…
“Insect Apocalypse” – Study Reveals Drastic Decline of Aquatic Insect Population in Paraná River Basin
Analysis of data collected over 20 years suggests the decline is due to the construction of over 180 dams on the Paraná basin and its…
Using the “Smell of Fear” To Protect Gardens and Crops From Destructive Insects
For home gardeners and farmers, herbivorous insects present a major threat to their hard work and crop yields. The predator insects that feed on these…
Without Evolutionary Genetic Variation, Asexual Invasive Species Find New Methods of Adapting to Their Environment
Research from Wellesley College shows that despite being a clonal insect species, weevils use gene regulation to adapt to new food sources and pass down…
Aphid-Like Insects Stole DNA From Plants – Gene Shields Them From Leaf Toxins
Millions of years ago, aphid-like insects called whiteflies incorporated a portion of DNA from plants into their genome. A Chinese research team, publishing today (March…
Animals Fake Death for Long Periods of Time to Escape Predators
Many animals feign death to try to escape their predators, with some individuals in prey species remaining motionless, if in danger, for extended lengths of…