Insects

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

A male (left) and female (right) Nala lividipes earwig

Half of These Earwigs Use Their Right Penis. The Other Half Use Their Left Penis. Why?

Scientists mated males with females under a microscope to try and understand why some are southpaws and others are righties

Not just food: Plant chemicals within nectar yield honey that packs a pharmaceutical punch and helps keep bees healthy.

Honey Has Numerous Health Benefits for Bees

From pesticide detox to increased longevity, the pros of the sweet stuff go well beyond simply nourishing the hardworking insects in the hive

American bumblebees are a vital pollinator for wildflowers and crops, and their decline could have severe consequences for the environment.  

The American Bumblebee Has Nearly Vanished From Eight States

In two decades, the insect's population has declined by nearly 90 percent due to a combination of threats, including habitat loss, pesticides and diseases

In one piece of fossilized amber, a female spider was astonishingly preserved, clutching an egg sac filled with spiderling embryos nearly ready to hatch.  

Female Spiders' Maternal Instincts Captured in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber

Four amber pieces are the earliest evidence of maternal care in spiders

Heavy metal-fortified mandibles help leafcutter ants save energy and muscle mass.

Heavy Metals Give Ants a Powerful Bite

A combination of metal atoms and natural proteins is the secret behind the super-strong jaws, claws and stingers of some tiny animals

Once fall armyworms attack, lawns can go from green to brown in less than 48 hours.

Fall Armyworms Are Attacking Lawns and Crops on 'Unprecedented' Scale

These bug battalions turn grass yards from green to brown in less than 48 hours

Tardigrades use their claws like grappling hooks and pull their bodies forward to move.

Scientists Discover Tiny Tardigrades Trot Around Like Insects

The microscopic organism's gait may have evolved to adapt to unpredictable terrains

If you see this bug, officials want you to kill it. The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect that can cause millions of dollars in damage to crops and forests.

See a Spotted Lanternfly? Squash It, Officials Say

The invasive insect poses a huge threat to agriculture and trees in the Northeast United States

Officials located the nest after netting and tagging three hornets between August 11- 17. One of the hornets slipped out of the tracking device, another one was never found, but the third one led entomologists to the nest.

Entomologists Eradicated the First Asian Giant 'Murder' Hornet Nest of 2021

The hive was located just two miles from where officials found another nest in 2020

Asian paper wasp nests take on a new verdant glow under ultraviolet light.

Wasp Nest Glows Green Under UV Light

Silk fibers give the nest its radiant a neon hue

Mosquitoes are more than blood-sucking menaces. They also pollinate flowers, have intricate sex lives and eat other disease-carrying mosquitoes.

The Unexpected Beauty, Benefits and Diversity of the Mosquito, the World's Most Hated Insect

While some are a nuisance, others working as nighttime pollinators may be critically important to a functioning ecosystem

Earlier this summer, to keep the invasive insect contained, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced that they would set up 1,200 giant hornet traps across the state.

The First Living Asian Giant 'Murder' Hornet of 2021 Has Been Found in Washington State

The sighting was reported two miles from where officials found a nest in October 2020

A juvenile scarlet snake stuck in the web of a brown widow spider in Georgia.

In a Spider vs. Snake Battle, These 40 Arachnids Would Defeat and Devour Their Serpentine Foes

At least 40 arachnid species kill and eat certain slithering predators, which can be up to 30 times the eight-legged critters' size

The butterflies have experienced major losses in populations on both the East and West coasts.

Climate Change Is Decimating Monarch Populations, Research Shows

Western monarchs have lost 99.9 percent of their numbers since the 1980s

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