Insects

The Chilarchaea quellon trap-jaw spider can snap its long chelicerae shut in about a quarter of a millisecond.

Tiny Spiders Are the Fastest Known on Earth

Some trap-jaw spiders can snap their mouths shut with incredible force—in less than a millisecond

Researchers Make Cyborg Beetles a Reality

Outfitted with microprocessor-equipped backpacks, scientists can control the beetle's steps via remote control

Scan of Idmonarachne brasieri

305-Million-Year-Old Fossil Helps Unravel the Spider's Evolutionary Web

The spider look-alike shows what separates modern spiders from their ancient eight-legged cousins

An ant of the species Iridomyrmex purpureus (center) lifts a leg in an aggressive display when she encounters ants from a different nest.

Antennae Yield New Clues Into Ant Communication

Despite more than a century of study, scientists still have much more to learn about the complex world of ant communication

This Tube is full of mosquitoes.

The London Underground Has Its Own Mosquito Subspecies

Take a bite out of this strange evolutionary example

The highly regular spacing of fairy circles in Australia becomes visible in dense vegetation. The grasses in the foreground of the image are patchy as they rebounding from fire.

Mysterious Fairy Circles Have Been Found in Western Australia

Once thought to exist only in Namibia, circles spotted 6,200 miles away are helping sort out how these odd features form

The hell-ant's fearsome fangs are on full display in this 3D false-color rendering of a Haidomyrmex scimitarus queen, produced by combining several hundred two-dimensional x-ray snapshots.

These Tiny Saber-Toothed Terrors Are Among the World's Oldest Ants

Analysis of insects entombed in amber shows that the "hell ants" were among the first to diverge from the original ant-wasp ancestor

Almonds are just one of the crops commonly treated with flubendiamide, a pesticide that has come under fire from the EPA.

The FDA Will Ban a Common Pesticide

Flubendiamide is used in about 200 crops like almonds and soybeans

Mosquito Deterrents: The Good, the Bad and the Potentially Effective

With Zika and other mosquito-borne illnesses on the rise, researchers are looking for the next best way to keep the bugs from biting

Watch a Stunning Time-Lapse of Cave-Bound Glowworms

These New Zealand sparklers aren’t stars—they’re insects

Here's Why It's So Hard to Smash a Cockroach

Scientists chased and crushed cockroaches—and their results could one day save lives

Local workers disinfects the famous Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 26 January 2016.

Zika Virus May Spell Trouble for the Rio Olympic Games

U.S Olympic Committee officials suggest that athletes concerned about Zika stay on the sidelines this year

An image of the fossilized lacewing Oregramma illecebrosa, left, and the modern owl butterfly Calico Memnon, right.

Jurassic-Era Insect Looks Just Like a Modern Butterfly

Jurassic "butterflies" helped pollinate ancient plants millions of years before the butterfly even existed

An Indian Municipal Corporation sanitation worker fumigates as part of a drive to curb breeding sites for mosquitoes causing a dengue outbreak in New Delhi in October 2015.

The World's Megacities Are Making Dengue Deadlier

Outbreaks are more common now thanks to bigger cities and more places for mosquitoes to live

Argentina Battles a Plague of Locusts, Surging After Mild Winters

Farmers and officials are racing to get massive swarms under control

The age-defying Pheidole dentata hard at work.

These Unusual American Ants Never Get Old

<em>P. dentata</em> ants are among the very few species to show no signs of deterioration as they age

Guess what? You have more roommates than you think.

Dozens of Insects and Spiders May Live in Every Room of Your House

A survey of 50 North Carolina homes turned up just five rooms that were completely free of arthropods

Foot fluid may help bugs escape in a hurry.

Foot Fluids Work in Surprising Ways to Help Insects Stick to Walls

Long though to boost bug stickiness, the fluid may instead help insects mold to contours and make quick exits

A mosquito feeding on a small Northern Bog Orchid (Platanthera obtusata)

New Street Lamps Lure Mosquitoes With Fake Human Scents

Lighting the way in the fight against mosquitos

This yellow-bellied watersnake gave birth without male contact in the last eight years.

In Nature, Virgin Births Are Pretty Common

Fish do it, bugs do it, even some species of snakes do it

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