insects

A quarter of all freshwater animals, including crustaceans, fish and insects, face a high risk of extinction from threats like pollution, farming and dams, a new study has found. Rivers, lakes, wetlands and other bodies of freshwater cover a relatively small amount of Earth’s surface — less than one percent — but are home to […]

In Australia, researchers are considering how genetic engineering could allow mosquitoes to produce venom proteins, like those produced by spiders and sea anemones, in their sperm to transfer the poison to female mosquitoes when mating. In a study led by Macquarie University, researchers first used genetically modified fruit flies to test what has been dubbed […]

More than a third of animals on Earth are herbivores, but since plants don’t have a lot of calories it can be hard for grazers to eat enough to meet their energy needs. To add to the problem, climate change is lowering the nutritional value of certain foods that these plant eaters rely on. Fossil […]

Plastics, ubiquitous in modern society, have become a toxic menace all over the world, leaching PFAS “forever chemicals,” breaking down into microplastics and choking the world’s seas and landfills.  In a promising study, scientists have discovered that mealworm larvae are capable of consuming polystyrene. They are one of few insects — and the first native […]

An international research team led by Rutgers University has analyzed the crop yields of more than 1,500 agricultural lands on six continents, and found that a lack of pollinators is limiting the global production of important, nutrient-dense foods like fruits, nuts, vegetables and legumes. The researchers found that one- to two-thirds of farms in many […]

If you’ve ever wondered what healthy soil sounds like, a new study has found that it emits the clicks, crackles and pops of worms and ants moving around underground. Barely audible to humans, the cacophony of sounds is “a bit like an underground rave concert of bubbles and clicks,” a press release from Australia’s Flinders […]

If the idea of meticulously planning and caring for a garden brings you nothing but stress, this gardening trend might bring you nothing but joy.  Chaos gardening is a laid-back (and haphazard) approach to gardening, built on the notion that you can garden without expensive tools or extensive know-how, and that embracing the unexpected and […]

From their name, you might think Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) are good at building things — and they are — but they have another potentially lifesaving talent: They are experts at wound care and surgery. A common species native to the state, these amazing insects selectively treat their nestmates’ wounded limbs by cleaning or […]