Hornet’s Genetic Secrets Uncovered: The Key to Their Global Invasion Success
Researchers at UCL sequenced the genomes of two hornet species, uncovering rapid genome evolution that may explain their success as invasive species, which could help…
Insect News
Unleashing the Mind of a Fly: Synapse-by-Synapse Mapping of Drosophila Brain
Researchers have created the first-ever connectome, or synaptic wiring diagram, of an entire Drosophila larva brain. This insect whole-brain connectome is more complex and larger…
Bad News: Light Pollution Could Extend Mosquito Season
However, there’s also good news – the disease-carrying pests may not survive the winter. A recent study has revealed that urban light pollution may interfere…
Scientists Sound the Alarm on Emerging Tick-Borne Disease Babesiosis
UC Riverside and Yale University team sequences and mines genome of the pathogen Babesia duncani. Scientists have sequenced the genome of Babesia duncani, a pathogen…
Unseen Impact: Scientists Reveal How Urbanization Impacts Bugs
Researchers investigating the effects of urbanization on insects have discovered that certain bugs are more well-suited to thrive in urban settings than others. Amidst the…
Bees Learn by Watching Others: Puzzle Solving Behavior Spreads Through Bumblebee Colonies
Bees that learned from others were more adept and preferred the learned solution over alternatives. Bumblebees learn to solve a puzzle by watching more experienced…
Air Pollution Destroys Sexual Pheromones – Impairs Successful Mating of Flies
High levels of ozone destroy the chemical mating signal of the insects and may thus contribute to global insect decline. Insect sexual communication relies to…
Revolutionizing Neuroscience: First-Ever Complete Wiring Map of Insect Brain Neurons
Scientists have constructed the first-ever map showing every single neuron and how they’re wired together in the brain of the fruit fly larva. Researchers have…
First Complete Map of an Insect Brain – “Everything Has Been Working Up to This”
In the quest to understand how we think, “everything has been working up to this.” Researchers have completed the most advanced brain map to date,…
Bumblebees Learn To Solve Puzzles by Watching Other Bees
A new study has shown that bumblebees pick up new “trends” in their behavior by watching and learning from other bees, and that one form…
Physics of Superpropulsion: Super-Fast Sharpshooter Insect Urination Using a “Butt Flicker”
Tiny insects known as sharpshooters excrete by catapulting urine drops at incredible accelerations. Their excretion is the first example of superpropulsion discovered in a biological…
Giant Jurassic-Era Insect Discovered at Arkansas Walmart Sets Historic Record
Recent identification of the giant lacewing points to deeper ecological questions. A giant insect plucked from the façade of an Arkansas Walmart has set historic…
The Dark Cost of Being Toxic
The sequestration of plant toxins by monarch butterflies results in decreased visibility of warning signals. Aposematism in animals: the more toxic, the more striking the…
Scientists Have Discovered a Bizarre New Species of Scorpionflies
An entomologist has identified a new species of large insect from Nepal with odd genitalia. Zoologist Professor Rainer Willmann, previously the head of the Zoological…
“Almost Inconceivable” – Scientists Discover That This Insect Has Superhero-Like Abilities
The female locust’s digging ability allows her to bury her eggs in a safe location by extending her abdomen, including her nervous system, to two…
Scientists Warn of Insects Damaging Plants at Unprecedented Levels
Insects today are causing unprecedented levels of damage to plants, even as insect numbers decline, according to new research led by scientists from the University…
Insects Need Our Help – Now
70 scientists have issued a warning about the effects of climate change. “If no action is taken to better understand and reduce the impact of…
Scientists Have Developed a Wearable Ring That Repels Insects
A new printable and wearable insect repellent. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) scientists have invented a new type of insect-repellent delivery device. The active ingredient…