Insect news, features and articles

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An ant bridge

What do ants smell like?

By Tyler Santora published

Different ants emit different smells. Here's why.

Insects
Huablattula hui has larger eyes (left) and fewer antennal sensilla (right, asterisks) compared to modern species of cockroaches. This indicates that they were active in bright and open environments during the daytime

Creepy, big-eyed cockroach discovered trapped in amber from 100 million years ago

By Cameron Duke published

This Cretaceous-era cockroach was active during the day and has eyes to prove it.

Cockroaches
Eumilipes persephone

Newfound millipede breaks world record for the most legs

By Cameron Duke published

The millipede has over 1,300 legs and was found deep underneath Western Australia.

Insects
Two Leafcutter ants transfer food, Guadeloupe National Park, Guadeloupe.

Ants vomit into each other's mouths to form social bonds

By Cameron Duke published

Ants are highly social animals that have social networks, and they exchange info through vomit.

Insects
A depth scan through the wing scales of a pupa that has completed 83% of its metamorphosis. The left shows the amount of light reflected by the scales, while the phase information on the right shows finer gradations of how far the light traveled to the scales.

New video reveals how 'caterpillar soup' transforms into shimmering butterfly wings

By Nicoletta Lanese published

Scientists watched butterfly wing scales form within the chrysalis.

Butterflies
Why would male flies mate with dead females? A fungus made them do it.

Mind-controlling fungus makes male flies mate with dead, infected females

By Mindy Weisberger published

The pathogenic fungus Entomophthora muscae doesn't just kill the flies it infects; it also turns males into sex-crazed necrophiliacs.

Insects
After giant hornets (Vespa soror) invade the bees' hives, they slaughter the adults and take the bees' young to feed their own larvae.

Bees 'shriek' when attacked by giant cousins of 'murder hornets'

By Mindy Weisberger published

Asian honey bees rally against giant hornet invasions with an acoustic response that resembles the alarm shrieks of birds, primates and other social mammals.

Ants
A photo of an Asian giant hornet, or murder hornet, walking on soil.

Murder hornet: Asian giant hornets invading North America

By Patrick Pester published

Murder hornets, or Asian giant hornets, are the world's largest wasps and are invading North America.

Bees & Wasps
A bumblebee searching for nectar on a daisy near Leaser Lake, Pennsylvania

American bumblebee could be officially declared endangered

By Ben Turner published

If the species is placed on the endangered species list, developers and farmers could incur legal liability for killing them.

Bees & Wasps
A periodical cicada from Brood XIII, which emerged in 2007, sits on a fence at a forest preserve in Willow Springs, Illinois.

Cicadas: Facts about the loud, seasonal insects

By Mindy Weisberger published

Cicadas are winged insects that are known for their cyclical lifespans and loud choral songs.

Insects
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