Silkworm: The Underappreciated Life Science Model Organism
The silkworm (Bombyx mori) is a unique economic insect, and it also offers promise as a model organism for life-science research.
Predicting Shifts in the Range of Invasive Insect Species in the Face of Climate Change
By John P. Roche As average temperatures rise globally, the ranges of many species will be affected. Climate-induced shifts in the ranges of invasive species will be particularly important because […]
The Microscopic Spines That Many Bee Species Use to Hatch
Perhaps you’ve seen the 2015 video from photographer Anand Varma (and shared again last week via National Geographic), a time-lapse of bee larvae hatching and growing in their cells: Watch: […]
How Flashy Wings, UV Light, and Seasons All Play a Role in One Butterfly Species’ Mating Rituals
By Edward Ricciuti Males of an African butterfly, with the improbable nickname of “squinting bush brown,” are the Lepidopteran version of chick magnets—if their generation of caterpillars chills out while […]
What Puts the Blister Into Blister Beetles?
By John P. Roche Blister beetles produce cantharidin, a 10-carbon isoprenoid molecule that is highly bitter and is toxic to most animals. Because cantharidin is so bitter, it discourages predators, […]
Beauveria Endophytes Can Curb Grasshopper Pests
By Andrew Porterfield Grasshopper species, including Dichroplus maculipennis, are common insect pests. They have been known to cause widespread damage to crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat, by devouring […]
Finally! A Peek at Mysterious Bees in the Rain Forest Treetops
By Leslie Mertz Adam Smith, Ph.D., has been studying a certain group of very unusual bees in Panama for 15 years, but he had never actually been able to witness […]
Horn Fly Biocontrol: In Search of Faster Fungus
By Ed Ricciuti Soon after silkworm eggs were smuggled out of China in the 12th Century, northern Italy and France emerged as centers of silk production, an industry almost brought […]
Rearranging Nest Boxes Keeps More Blue Orchard Bees Around
Orchard growers looking for alternatives to honey bees for managed pollination services have new reason to be optimistic about the potential of one honey bee cousin, the blue orchard bee. […]
Exit Strategy: How Pupating Red Mason Bees Deal With “Misorientation” Inside Their Nests
By Kelly McKinne Most people would believe that insects rarely plan how they are going to emerge from their cocoons. From a human perspective, it seems to pale in comparison […]
Mosquito Repellents: DEET and PMD Sprays Most Effective, While Wearable Devices Disappoint, Study Finds
A search for “mosquito repellent” on Amazon.com delivers more than 28,000 product results. For a regular consumer, it can be difficult to find the ones that truly work among a […]
Teaching An Old Parasitoid Wasp New Tricks
By Josh Lancette You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but it turns out you can teach an old parasitoid wasp new tricks—and only the […]
New Research Reveals How Flesh Flies Hear
By Ed Ricciuti Scientists have clocked many hours studying how females of various parasitoid flies home in on the calls of cicadas, grasshoppers, and other insects that are their hosts. […]
Researchers Raise Maggots on Chicken Blood to Save Darwin’s Finches
By Meredith Swett Walker In 1676, the great scientist Isaac Newton (of gravity fame) wrote a letter to another scientific titan, Robert Hooke (who had coined the biological term “cell”), […]
How Do Honey Bees Curl Their Abdomens?
By Erin Weeks Watch a honey bee wiggle its abdomen on a flower or do the waggle dance in a hive, and you’ll have some idea of the variety of […]
Infrared Photography Shows Tsetse Fly Development from Pupa to Adult
By Ed Ricciuti Researchers employing near infrared still photographs and time-lapse video have peered into the pupa of the living tsetse fly and for the first time have watched its […]