-
+15 +4
The Michael Phelps of the ant world
The trap-jaw ant can swim 10 times as fast as Olympic champion Michael Phelps relative to its body size. Also, it can jump with its mouth.
-
+15 +3
Mosquito-borne chikungunya virus on the rise
North Carolina, Nebraska and Indiana are the latest states to report confirmed cases of the painful illness, officials said. It’s already a big problem in the Caribbean.
-
+18 +6
David and Goliath: How a tiny spider catches much larger prey
In nature, it is very rare to find a proverbial much smaller David able to overpower and kill a Goliath for supper. This is exactly the modus operandi of a solitary tiny spider from the Negev desert in Israel that routinely kills ants up to almost four times its own size.
-
+27 +4
Personality Of Female Spider Determines Her Role Within Colony
In a novel study published in PNAS, researchers describe how the personality of female social spiders is strongly linked to the tendency to perform certain tasks within colonies and also task aptitude. The findings are reminiscent of the relationship between task specialization and castes (queens, workers and soldiers) in social insects such as ants and bees where morphological differences dictate the tasks performed by members.
-
+20 +6
Spiders Can Catch and Devour Fish
Entomologists confirm fish-eating spiders are widespread and wily
-
+20 +5
US sets up honey bee task force
The White House has set up a taskforce to tackle the decline of honey bees.
-
+15 +6
Can Obama save the honey bees?
President Obama ordered US agencies to come up with a plan for protecting honey bees. Why just a plan? Why isn't the US banning neonicotinoids, a kind of pesticide that some research shows is killing off US honey bees?
-
+19 +3
How We Deliberately Used Radiation to Eradicate a Species
Fortunately, they're not a very pleasant species. Screw worms enjoy laying eggs in the mucus membranes of mammals, and telling their friends to do the same. A little applied radiation really helped. Perhaps.
-
+13 +5
Extreme adaptations for aquatic ectoparasitism in a Jurassic fly larva
The early evolution of insect ectoparasites and their associations with hosts are poorly known (Labandeira, 2002; Wappler et al., 2004; Grimaldi and Engel, 2005). Although several Mesozoic insects were regarded as putative ectoparasites, only giant fleas have been widely accepted as definite terrestrial ectoparasitic insects on dinosaurs, pterosaurs, or mammals (Gao et al., 2012, 2013b; Huang et al., 2012, 2013).
-
+6 +2
Should We All Be Eating Insects?
Could these creepy crawlers be the future of food?
-
+18 +4
How A Microbe Became A Living Supplement For A Tiny Vampire
Bedbugs have been sucking our blood for millennia and after a brief retreat following World War II, they are back and more numerous than ever. Infestations are rising, hotels are worried, and peopl...
-
+14 +5
Repelling mosquitoes: A guide to what works and what doesn't
Canadians have been known to try anything to fend off mosquitoes. The number of repellent choices has grown in recent years, with several new mosquito-fighting options entering the market. So which of these new products actually work and how do they stack up against what’s already out there?
-
+2 +1
Top 10 Bugs You Eat With Out Even Knowing
Top 10 Bugs You Eat With Out Even Knowing top 10 list of all sorts of critters making there way into your mouth and food sometimes wile you sleep.
2 comments by pnf7 -
+21 +5
A Unique Nest-Protection Strategy in a New Species of Spider Wasp
Here we describe a surprising nesting behavior that was previously unknown in the entire animal kingdom: the use of a vestibular cell filled with dead ants in a new spider wasp (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) species collected with trap nests in South-East China.
-
+1 +1
Newfound Wasp Literally Has Skeletons in Its Closet
A newly discovered species of spider-hunting wasp has been keeping a gruesome secret: It stuffs the corpses of dead ants into the walls of its home. The new creature has been named the "bone-house wasp."
-
+6 +1
A terrifying bug attacked James Rodriguez during the World Cup quarterfinal
James Rodriguez was celebrating a goal when all of a sudden an incredibly giant bug attacked him.
-
+39 +8
Why Are We Afraid Of Spiders?
I have personal interest in arachnophobia – the fear of spiders – because I am a spider expert, but also because my daughter has it. She is not alone. Do they know why they fear spiders? Can they do something to control those fears? Once bitten twice shy?
-
+22 +6
Parasitic wasp turns roaches into zombie slaves using neurotoxic cocktail | IFLScience
With two stings the cockroach is left with the ability to walk, but is entirely robbed of the power to initiate its own movement. The wasp, now tired after administering two stings, regains its energy by cutting off the ends of the cockroach’s antennae, and drinking its blood. Revitalised, it then latches on to the stung cockroach’s antennae and, much like an obedient toddler being lead to his first day of school, the submissive insect follows the wasp’s orders.
-
+9 +3
Playing With a Bug
No bug was harmed during the making of this scientific discovery :p
-
+21 +4
Small Animals Live in a Slow-Motion World
One “dog year” supposedly equals seven human years. But does one year feel like seven years to a dog? Evidence suggests that distinct species do indeed experience passing time on different scales. A recent study in Animal Behavior reveals that body mass and metabolic rate determine how animals of different species perceive time.
Submit a link
Start a discussion