Insect news, features and articles
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The insect family tree goes back more than 450 million years. In that time, bugs have evolved all kinds of awesome adaptations — from the sharpshooter insect that flings pee with a butt catapult to the Jurassic insect that wore eggs on its legs.
Our expert writers and editors bring you the most interesting insect research news, fact pages and galleries, as well as answer essential bug questions like, "are insects edible?" and "do bugs poop?", so there's always news, articles and features about insects to read.
Discover more about insects
Latest about Insects
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Moroccan fly maggot uses fake face on its butt to infiltrate termite colony
By Patrick Pester Published
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Why are flies attracted to humans?
By Margaret Osborne Published
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These insects keep evolving to look like sticks. Why?
By Patrick Pester Published
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'Murder hornets' eradicated, but officials say they'll keep 'an eye out' for more
By Patrick Pester Published
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Plastic-eating mealworms native to Africa discovered
By Jacklin Kwan Published
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Watch mesmerizing video of weird waves that 'shape life itself' inside a fly embryo
By Hannah Osborne Published
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Parasitic 'horror' wasp that bursts from a fly's abdomen like an 'Alien' xenomorph discovered in Mississippi backyard
By Patrick Pester Published
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Explore Insects
Ants
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Watch 5,000 fire ants create raft with their bodies to save colony and queen from death by swimming pool
By Elise Poore Published
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Soldier ants turned into foragers by scientists reprogramming their brains
By Sneha Khedkar Published
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World's most painful ant sting targets nerves in the same way scorpion venom does
By Sascha Pare Published
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'Supergene' mutation turned ants into parasitic wannabe queens
By Sascha Pare Published
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Horrifying close-up photo of an ant is the stuff of nightmares
By Jennifer Nalewicki Last updated
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These ant queens live 500% longer than workers. Now we know why.
By Nicoletta Lanese Published
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Trap-jaw ants' lightning-fast bite should rip their heads apart. Here's why it doesn't.
By Nicoletta Lanese Published
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Invasive crazy ants are being annihilated by murder fungus. Good.
By Mindy Weisberger Published
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Larva ant queen looks like an alien doll in trippy new microscope images
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Bees & Wasps
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'Murder hornets' eradicated, but officials say they'll keep 'an eye out' for more
By Patrick Pester Published
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Parasitic 'horror' wasp that bursts from a fly's abdomen like an 'Alien' xenomorph discovered in Mississippi backyard
By Patrick Pester Published
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3,000-year-old mummified bees are so well preserved, scientists can see the flowers the insects ate
By Ethan Freedman Published
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Invasive yellow-legged hornets spotted in US for 1st time, one nest eradicated
By Megan Shersby Last updated
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Where do honey bees come from? New study 'turns the standard picture on its head'
By Carissa Wong Published
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How do bees make honey? From the hive to the pot
By Ailsa Harvey Last updated
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Wild queen bees attempt to invade commercial hives, but get slaughtered by rival workers
By Harry Baker Published
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Do bees have knees?
By JoAnna Wendel Published
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This wasp uses its prickly penis to escape certain death
By Nicoletta Lanese Published
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Beetles
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American burying beetle: The meat-eating insect that buries bodies for its babies to feast on
By Megan Shersby Published
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Tortoise beetle larvae use their telescopic anuses to build shields from shed skin and poop
By Richard Pallardy Published
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Beetles suck water into their butts to stay hydrated, and now scientists know how
By Jennifer Nalewicki Published
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Beetles Decimate Canadian Forests
By Stéphan Reebs Last updated
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3D scans reveal that beetles have secret pockets on their backs
By JoAnna Wendel Published
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49 million-year-old beetle looks like it was squashed yesterday
By Mindy Weisberger Published
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This beetle can walk upside down on the underside of a pool of water (VIDEO)
By Ben Turner Published
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Perfectly-preserved 'bog beetles' nearly as old as Egypt's pyramids
By Laura Geggel Published
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Weirdo ancient beetle looks like a scrub brush
By Nicoletta Lanese Published
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Butterflies
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Butterflies cross Atlantic ocean on 2,600-mile non-stop flight never recorded in any insect before
By Ben Turner Published
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All butterflies evolved from ancient moths in North America 100 million years ago
By Soumya Sagar Published
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Monarch butterflies teetering ‘on the edge of collapse,’ added to endangered species list
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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What's the difference between a moth and a butterfly?
By Tia Ghose Published
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New video reveals how 'caterpillar soup' transforms into shimmering butterfly wings
By Nicoletta Lanese Published
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'Russian doll' set of stomach-bursting parasites released inside butterfly on remote Finnish island
By Ben Turner Published
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Milkweed butterflies tear open caterpillars and drink them alive
By Mindy Weisberger Published
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Monarch butterfly: Facts about the iconic migratory insects
By Erin Banks Rusby Published
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Butterflies Sip Turtle Tears in Stunning Video
By Mindy Weisberger Published
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Cockroaches
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Creepy, big-eyed cockroach discovered trapped in amber from 100 million years ago
By Cameron Duke Published
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Cockroach 'Superbugs' Becoming Near-Impossible to Kill
By Mindy Weisberger Published
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A Cockroach Crawled Inside a Woman's Ear, and It Can Happen to You
By Yasemin Saplakoglu Published
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Here's Why Cockroaches Can Survive Just About Anything
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Female Cockroaches Sync Up Their Virgin Births
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Eww! Live Cockroach Pulled from Woman's Nose in Rare Case
By Rachael Rettner Published
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'Lover' Cockroaches Grow Bigger Testicles to Woo Mates
By Kacey Deamer Published
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Flying Cockroaches! Heat Sends Your Favorite Pests Soaring
By Taylor Kubota Published
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Cockroaches Use Their Own Internal GPS to Get Around
By Kacey Deamer Published
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Cockroaches
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Creepy, big-eyed cockroach discovered trapped in amber from 100 million years ago
By Cameron Duke Published
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Cockroach 'Superbugs' Becoming Near-Impossible to Kill
By Mindy Weisberger Published
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A Cockroach Crawled Inside a Woman's Ear, and It Can Happen to You
By Yasemin Saplakoglu Published
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Here's Why Cockroaches Can Survive Just About Anything
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Female Cockroaches Sync Up Their Virgin Births
By Stephanie Pappas Published
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Eww! Live Cockroach Pulled from Woman's Nose in Rare Case
By Rachael Rettner Published
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'Lover' Cockroaches Grow Bigger Testicles to Woo Mates
By Kacey Deamer Published
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Flying Cockroaches! Heat Sends Your Favorite Pests Soaring
By Taylor Kubota Published
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Cockroaches Use Their Own Internal GPS to Get Around
By Kacey Deamer Published
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Mosquitos
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New invasive mosquitoes descend on Florida, raising concerns of disease
By Nicoletta Lanese Published
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Animal Sex: How Mosquitoes Do It
By Joseph Castro Last updated
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Mosquito larvae launch their heads like tiny harpoons to nab prey, video reveals
By Mindy Weisberger Last updated
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How do mosquitoes sniff out humans to bite?
By Nicoletta Lanese Published
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Should we kill every mosquito on Earth?
By Joe Phelan Published
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Why do mosquitoes buzz in our ears?
By Stacy Kish Published
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Mosquito 'tongue' neurons ignite like fireworks at taste of human blood
By Mindy Weisberger Published
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Why Do Some People Always Get Bitten by Mosquitoes, While Others Don't?
By Grant Currin Published
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Your Summer May Be Full of Mosquitoes
By Adam Mann Published
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Moths
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Hummingbird hawk-moth: The bird-like insect with a giant sucking mouthpart
By Rohini Subrahmanyam Published
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More than 1,000 species live in and around an ordinary suburban house, survey in Australia shows.
By Matthew H. Holden Published
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Gum leaf skeletonizer: The venomous 'Mad Hatterpillar' that wears its old heads like a crown
By Megan Shersby Published
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Caterpillars evolved their weird chubby little 'prolegs' from ancient crustaceans
By Richard Pallardy Published
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Fuzzy caterpillar has sting 'like being hit with a baseball bat," and now we know why
By Sascha Pare Published
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Ecologist Tim Blackburn: 'Moths pollinate a wider range of species than bees'
By Sascha Pare Published
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Rarely seen supersized moth with 10-inch wingspan found at Australian school
By Harry Baker Published
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Watch a 'Godzilla' wasp dominate Mothra in this eerie lab video
By Nicoletta Lanese Published
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Here's Why These Creepy Little Moths Have Noisy, Clicking Wings
By Rafi Letzter Published
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More about Insects
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Parasitic 'horror' wasp that bursts from a fly's abdomen like an 'Alien' xenomorph discovered in Mississippi backyard
By Patrick Pester Published
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Kamikaze termites blow themselves up with 'explosive' backpacks — and scientists just figured out how
By Jacklin Kwan Published
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These bacteria trigger a sex change in wasps — scientists finally know how
By Tiffany Taylor Published
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