Wild Things: Life as We Know It
Caterpillars, Bonobos, European Songbirds and More…
![Wild-Things-blue-tit-songbird-631.jpg](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/LXecWWALw8jAbFapAHgb3izSWzg=/1000x750/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-blue-tit-songbird-631.jpg)
Parachuting Caterpillars
![Parachuting Caterpillars](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/-twAp7OBQJ8DcNmNWYhXnPzVGAs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-caterpillar-1.jpg)
Mothers Help Sons Mate
![bonobos](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/Ke-QtskIuyPyYiwddjVBEEfCv00=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-male-bonobos-2.jpg)
Why Fish Stop and Go
![zebra fish](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/UzHOX-wE4srE1ZJYlfZphFFFqRs=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-zebra-fish-larve-3.jpg)
Web Master
![bark spider](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/wdq_El5erxMV2khVSm78IeCadqg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-bark-spider-4.jpg)
Observed
![None](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/IeJx7eax4bb4J9QmB0NIDkVfb3Q=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/Wild-Things-blue-tit-songbird-5.jpg)
At First Light: Males sing at dawn.
By Night Light: In areas with streetlights, males sing earlier in the morning and attract more mates, and females lay eggs 1.5 days sooner.
Not So Bright: “Light pollution influences the timing of breeding behavior,” says co-author Bart Kempenaers of the Max Planck Institute, and could override natural cues about when to mate and with whom.