By DeWayne Shoemaker It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without chocolate. Yet cacao trees, which are the source of chocolate, are vulnerable. I am a passionate chocolate lover and an entomologist who studies cacao pollination. The crop’s sustainability currently appears to depend on several species of tiny fly pollinators, who are frankly struggling to […]
By Jessica Corbett A collection of new scientific papers authored by 56 experts from around the world reiterates rising concerns about bug declines and urges people and governments to take urgent action to address a biodiversity crisis dubbed the “insect apocalypse.” “The Global Decline of Insects in the Anthropocene Special Feature,” which includes an introduction […]
The Trump administration said Tuesday that federal protection for monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act is still a few years away. The reason? The administration cited 161 vulnerable species that are already waiting in line ahead of monarchs. Monarchs will likely have to wait until 2023 to be added by the U.S. Fish and […]
Humans aren’t the only animals that get “hangry” when deprived of a meal. A new study published in iScience Thursday found that monarch butterfly caterpillars (Danaus plexippus) will aggressively push each other out of the way when food gets scarce. “The less food that is present, the higher their level of aggression,” study coauthor Elizabeth […]
Just in time for Halloween, scientists at Cornell University have published some frightening research, especially if you’re an insect! The ghoulishly named ogre-faced spider can “hear” with its legs and use that ability to catch insects flying behind it, the study published in Current Biology Thursday concluded. “Spiders are sensitive to airborne sound,” Cornell professor […]
The aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus) has an exoskeleton so strong, it can survive being pecked by birds and even run over by cars. When early entomologists tried to mount them as specimens, BBC News explained, that exoskeleton would snap or bend their pins. “This beetle is super tough,” Purdue University civil engineer […]
By D. André Green II One of nature’s epic events is underway: Monarch butterflies’ fall migration. Departing from all across the United States and Canada, the butterflies travel up to 2,500 miles to cluster at the same locations in Mexico or along the Pacific Coast where their great-grandparents spent the previous winter. Human activities have […]
By Lisa Newcomb Food safety and environmental groups Wednesday condemned a decision by officials in Florida to approve the release of 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes, a pilot project aimed at reducing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. “With all the urgent crises facing our nation and the State of Florida—the Covid-19 pandemic, racial injustice, climate […]
By Rachael Bonoan and Phil Starks As many states and cities across the U.S. struggle to control COVID-19 transmission, one challenge is curbing the spread among people living in close quarters. Social distancing can be difficult in places such as nursing homes, apartments, college dormitories and migrant worker housing. As behavioral ecologists who have studied […]
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