Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Insects

The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, spreads dengue fever, Zika, chikungunya and other viruses that infect humans.

Dengue Fever and Zika Virus Make Humans More Attractive to Mosquitoes

Scientists conducted human and mouse studies to find the skin bacteria responsible for the draw

Scientists assessed changes in the gut microbiome of superworms (Zophobas morio) in a new study.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

Polystyrene-Eating ‘Superworms’ May Provide Clues for Better Recycling

Scientists find enzymes in the gut microbiome of beetle larvae that can degrade one of the most widely used plastics

A cat chews up and rolls around in the leaves of the silver vine plant.

When Cats Chew Catnip, It Works as a Bug Spray

Plant leaves that repel mosquitoes release a more effective repellant after being crushed up by felines

Salma brachyscopalis Hampson

U.S. Customs Agents Find Rare Moth Last Spotted in 1912

Larvae and pupae found in seed pods at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport last fall hatched into Salma brachyscopalis Hampson moths

One reader wonders why men’s bicycles have crossbars but not women’s.  

Why Do Only Men’s Bicycles Have Crossbars? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts.

A new book, coedited by Smithsonian entomologist Ted Schultz, explores and the fascinating ways in which human and nonhuman farmers compare, and asks what we might learn from other agricultural species.

Could Ants, Termites and Fishes Make Humans Better Farmers?

Scientists are now revealing the agricultural expertise that other species have cultivated for tens of millions of years

Aseel Rawashdeh's innovation won sixth place in this year's Regeneron Science Talent Search, the country's most prestigious and oldest science and math competition for promising young scientists in their senior year.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

This Teenager Found a Way to Control Mosquitoes Using Essential Oils and Baker’s Yeast

Aseel Rawashdeh’s inexpensive larvicide kills disease-spreading species and spares beneficial ones

Biotech firm Oxitec is genetically modifying mosquitoes in the hopes of curbing the overall population. The company completed its first open-air release of the bugs in Florida.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

First U.S. Open-Air Test of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Deemed a Success

Biotech firm Oxitec engineered the bugs in an effort to curb their numbers and help stop the spread of disease

 The newly described jumping spider, Guriurius minuano, has a stripy pattern on its abdomen and large black eyes. (Pictured)

Scientists Identify 50,000th Spider Species on Earth—but Thousands More Are Waiting to Be Discovered

A new kind of jumping spider discovered in South America marks the major milestone

An artists's take on the insect

The Quest to Find the World’s Largest Bee

The rediscovery of Wallace’s giant bee uncovers disheartening truths about the tenuous fate of hidden insect species

Acid-spewing tawny crazy ants, formerly called raspberry crazy ants, have been spreading through the gulf coast in recent years.

A Killer Fungus Is Annihilating Invasive ‘Crazy Ants’ in the United States

Entomologists are hopeful the pathogen could slow the insects’ spread through the country

Aedes aegypti can carry several diseases, including yellow fever, dengue and Zika virus. 

Why a U.S. Company Plans to Release 2.4 Billion Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

The insects, created by biotech firm Oxitec, will be non-biting males engineered to only produce viable male offspring, per the company

Entomologists obtained and synthesized the pheromone by swabbing various virgin giant hornet queens captured in Yunnan, China.

Scientists Are Using Sex Pheromones to Lure in Murder Hornets

The method may be the best way to eliminate the insects from non-native habitats

The lady-bug-sized spiders live in colonies of thousands are rarely leave the safety of their web.

These Spiders Hunt in Packs to Catch Prey Hundreds of Times Their Size

New research reveals how some arachnids use a coordinated stop-and-start approach to find a meal

A flashy jewel bug butt. 

Science Twitter’s ‘InverteButt Week’ Puts Backsides on Display

The behinds of spineless organisms are diverse among species and serve a multitude of purposes beyond expelling waste

The Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula is the most sophisticated of the carnivorous plants. Its traps snap shut in a fraction of a second, imprisoning prey in a cage of teeth that line the edges of the trap.

How Carnivorous Plants Evolved

Botanists are beginning to trace the origins of their gruesome appetites

In daylight, the experimental silkworms appeared pink, but under ultraviolet light, they had a bright red glow.

Silkworms Fed Quantum Dots Shine Bright Under Ultraviolet Light, Produce Fluorescent Red Silk

Caterpillars that ate carbon dots derived from mulberry leaves glowed a scarlet color that lasted until the second generation of worms

An adult spongy moth

Invasive Insect Gets a New Name: Spongy Moth

After removing the common name “gypsy moth,” which contained a racial slur, the Entomological Society of America has assigned a new designation

Browntail moth caterpillars have small hairs that can cause a poison ivy-like rash and difficulty breathing in humans.

Rash-Causing Moths Are Spreading in Maine Because of Climate Change

The outbreak of browntail moths in the state will likely grow worse as temperatures increase, researchers say

Orange and lemon groves as well as the residence of the citrus pioneer William Wolfskill, c. 1882. 

The Bug That Saved California

The Golden State’s citrus industry faced a lethal threat. The solution would herald a new kind of pest control

Page 12 of 38