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Insects

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

A CT scan of the spiral intestine of a Pacific spiny dogfish shark (Squalus suckleyi). The organ begins on the left and ends on the right.

Innovation for Good

Ten Scientific Discoveries From 2021 That May Lead to New Inventions

From nanobots to cancer treatments, nature inspires a wide variety of innovations

A roughly 2000-year-old mummified man of the Ansilta culture, from the Andes of San Juan, Argentina, had lice eggs and cement in his hair which preserved his own DNA

DNA Preserved in Lice Glue Reveals South American Mummies’ Secrets

Remarkable samples from an ancient culture offer scientists a promising new way to study the past

Arthropleura skittered around the Earth during a time when England was located near the equator and experienced tropical weather.

This Ancient, Nine-Foot-Long, 100-Pound Millipede Could Be the Largest Invertebrate to Ever Live

This critter roamed Earth around 326 million years ago, and it’s genus survived for 45 million years

Insects become part of beautiful patterns reminiscent of domestic textiles and wallpaper in the work of installation artist Jennifer Angus.

Art Meets Science

The Creepy, Crawling History of Insect Art

Through history and across cultures, bugs have inspired artists and challenged viewers to shift their perspective

The pale millipede E. persephone is roughly three and a half inches long and a millimeter wide.

Finally, a Millipede That Actually Has 1,000 Legs

The title is often a misnomer, with many species falling hundreds of appendages short of a thousand. With 1,306 feet, this new insect lives up to its name

The purple skimmer (Libellula jesseana) is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN red list. It's geographic range is in Florida.  

As Wetland Habitats Disappear, Dragonflies and Damselflies Are Threatened With Extinction

The first global assessment of the insects revealed that more than 950 species are at risk for extinction

To view the wings without damaging the delicate cells, the research team used speckle-correlation reflection phase microscopy. This type of microscopy works by shinning tiny points of light onto a specific area on the wing.

See Microscopic Butterfly Wing Scales Materialize Inside of a Chrysalis

The study is the most detailed look at the structures to date and could be used to design new materials

To identify what bacteria lives in the stomachs of vulture bees and how it compares to other bee species, researchers set up 16 bait stations with roughly two ounces of raw chicken hung from branches 4.9 feet off the ground.

Why Vulture Bees Prefer Rotting Flesh Over Pollen

The insects’ gut microbiomes contained acid-loving bacteria that help digest meat

"As soon as this idea of aerial application for farming began to take shape, nearly everyone agreed this was the way to go,” says Dorothy Cochrane, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, where one of only two known to exist, is on view.

The Little ‘Puffer’ That Could, and Did, Change an Industry

The Huff-Daland Duster ushered in the era of agriculture aviation

Humans contract Lyme disease from the bite of a blacklegged tick, which carries the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. Humans contract Lyme disease from the bite of a blacklegged tick, which carries the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.

First-Ever mRNA Vaccine for Lyme Disease Shows Promise in Guinea Pigs

Instead of eliciting an immune response for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, the vaccine targets proteins found in tick saliva

Aside from making the eerie noise, the signal causes more bees to gather at the hive's entrance and begin other defense actions against the hornets. Like smearing dung around the hive and forming "bee balls " swarm and kill incoming hornets.  

Listen to Asian Honeybees ‘Shriek’ When Murder Hornets Are Nearby

The bees will sound the alarm against invaders by vibrating their wings to make a noise akin to high-pitched scream

When the queen dies, Jerdon's jumping ants duel to select their next leader.

A Single Protein Can Switch Some Ants From a Worker Into a Queen

Changing the expression of a one protein in the brains of Jerdon’s jumping ants is enough to launch the biological transition

Real guppies respond to Robofish—a 3D-printed plastic model with a vaguely realistic paint job—as if it were a real schoolmate. Researchers used different-sized Robofish to show that guppy schools tend to follow larger fish.

How Scientists Are Using Robotic Animals to Learn About Real Ones

Biomimetic bots can teach researchers a lot about how creatures interact in the natural world

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