insects

The Flesh-Eating Beetles that Work at Natural History Museums

Scientists put these bugs to work in museums doing exactly what they do in nature.

Serotonin is Known as the 'Joy Chemical,' but It's Also Found in Animal Venom

In the stomach, serotonin regulates digestion, but injected into the skin, it can turn deadly

Alfred Kinsey's Massive Gall Wasp Collection

Before he was a sexologist, Kinsey's traveled the country on a hunt for gall wasps.

Could a Seed Bank Be Called Into Action to Save Florida’s Orange Trees?

A fast-spreading bacterial disease might someday destroy the citrus industry.

Study Shows Some Worker Ants Don’t Work At All

A research team has taken the famously industrious ant down a peg, showing that many ants don’t do their fair share of work—or any work at all.

How Do Honey Bees Survive the Winter?

As hard as bees toil during their peak seasons, you’d think the colder months would bring some kind of hibernation or rest, even if it means snowy death.

Vladimir Nabokov's Karner Blue Butterfly Makes a Comeback

It's not the resurrection of the waxwing slain by the false azure in the windowpane, but it's pretty close.

5 Itchy Facts About Fleas

There are several thousand species of fleas around the world—and 300 of these bloodsucking pests call the U.S. home.

How Do Anthills Survive the Rain?

The ant fortresses you find on your lawn have a number of defenses.

Alberto Salguero, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY SA 4.0

How a Lying Plant Steals from a Thieving Fly

The smearwort (Aristolochia rotunda) dupes fruit flies into entering its flowers and then traps them there, getting pollinated without offering any reward.

Stink Bugs Still Terrorize American Homes

Do stink bugs smell like skunks—or cilantro? How can we end the invasion? Do they taste good in a taco? Here are the answers to your most pressing stink bug questions.

7 Ways Animals Behave Badly

If you like to romanticize the natural world and its creatures, you're in for a few unpleasant surprises.

10 Intense Facts About the Giant Weta

The giant weta is one of the biggest insects on Earth, easily dwarfing most bugs and even some small rodents. Here are 10 facts you probably don't know about this New Zealand native.