Bugs

This bed bug has favorite colors, too.

Bed Bugs Are Picky About Certain Colors

But don’t buy new sheets just yet

Black widows’ red hourglass tells birds to back off but is almost invisible to insects.

The Deadly Cunning of the Black Widow's Color Scheme

Why did the spider evolve to have that crimson hourglass on its back?

The Northeast Prepares for Swarms of Cicadas This Spring

Billions of red-eyed cicadas will emerge from the earth in much of the northeast this spring, part of a 17-year-cycle

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

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

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

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

A Victoria’s Secret Perfume Works Great as Mosquito Repellent

A scent named “Bombshell” is almost as good as DEET

Serpentine columbine may use dead bugs to lure in spiders to do its dirty work, researchers report.

This Plant Murders Bugs and Decorates Itself With Their Dead Bodies

Talk about a roundabout defense strategy

This Fungus Eats the Butts off Cicadas

It’s totally not a big deal, though

Some scientists think that humans have aided the spread of ticks that carry Lyme bacteria in a few different ways.

Lyme Disease is Spreading, and It's People's Fault

Thanks to climate change and human population growth, cases have been on the rise for decades

A small cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) hovers on a hedge mustard plant (Sisybrium officinale). While the butterfly might look harmless enough, its caterpillars engage in a chemical war with this mustard plant's cultivated relatives.

Mustard Is A Product Of Evolutionary Warfare Between Plants And Caterpillars

Plants produce mustard oils to fight off pests in a chemical conflict that’s been waged for millions of years

New research suggests hawkmoths, like the one pictured above, slow down their brain's ability to process light in order to see at night.

Hovering Hawkmoths Slow Down Their Brains to See in the Dark

The insects’ night vision appears to be finely tuned to the movement of their flower food sources

Two species of mites make their home in the hair follicles on your face.

Meet the Mites That Live on Your Face

These microscopic organisms live and die on your face

Male wolf spiders vibrate dead leaves to create purring noises and court females.

Listen to the Dulcet Purr of a Wolf Spider

Males seduce females by making leaves vibrate

The Habronattus sunglow (male pictured above) is a species of jumping spider that has trichromatic or "true" color vision.

How Jumping Spiders See in Color

The agile arachnids see in three color channels, and they can actually see more colors than humans can

A spider prepares to "balloon" by shooting a threat of silk out of its butt. By catching the wind with their silk, baby spiders can explore or colonize new habitats. When millions of spiders do this at the same time, it resembles rain or snow.

No, It's Not Really Raining Spiders in Australia

The arachnids are simply catching a ride on the wind

A blood-sucker creeping around on a potential victim's pristine white sheets.

How Our Modern Lives Became Infested With Bed Bugs

After being bitten by the tiny pests, author Brooke Borel set out to learn all she could about her blood-sucking foes

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