Insects (including Butterflies) News

April 18, 2024

Top Headlines

Leptanilla Voldemort, a Ghostly Slender New Ant Species from the Dark Depths of the Underground

Apr. 12, 2024 — In the sun-scorched Pilbara region of north-western Australia, scientists have unearthed a mysterious creature from the shadows -- a new ant species called Leptanilla ...

Economist: Tens of Billions of Dollars in Forest Products Are Being Overlooked

Apr. 11, 2024 — Are we missing the forest for the trees? More than timber grows in forests -- including products worth many tens of billions of dollars. Because these goods go unrecorded in official trade ...

Oxidant Pollutant Ozone Removes Mating Barriers Between Fly Species

Apr. 11, 2024 — Researchers show that ozone levels, such as those found in many places on hot summer days today, destroy the sex pheromones of fruit fly species. As a result, some natural mating boundaries maintained by species-specific pheromones no longer exist. ...

Ants in Colorado Are on the Move Due to Climate Change

Apr. 10, 2024 — Ant species living in Boulder's foothills have shifted their habitat over the last six decades, potentially affecting local ecosystems, suggests a new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:21pm EDT

AI Helps to Detect Invasive Asian Hornets

Apr. 3, 2024 — Artificial Intelligence can be used to detect invasive Asian hornets and raise the alarm, new research ...

How Mosquito Larva Guts Could Help Create Highly Specific Insecticides

Apr. 8, 2024 — Did you know that the world's deadliest animal is the mosquito? And Aedes aegypti is one of the most dangerous. This bug spreads viruses that cause dengue fever, which was recently declared as an ...

Rusty-Patched Bumblebee's Struggle for Survival Found in Its Genes

Apr. 4, 2024 — The rusty-patched bumblebee, once common in the United States, has declined from about 90% of its former range. Researchers conducted the first range-wide genetic study of the endangered species to ...

The Behavior of Ant Queens Is Shaped by Their Social Environment

Mar. 26, 2024 — The queens in colonies of social insects, such as ants, bees, and wasps, are considered the veritable embodiment of specialization in the animal kingdom. The common perception is that the queen's ...

Bees Use Antennae to Decode Hive Mates' Dances in the Dark

Mar. 25, 2024 — Scientists have discovered how honeybees can decipher dances by their hive mates that relay directions to ...

Bees Need Food Up to a Month Earlier Than Provided by Recommended Pollinator Plants

Mar. 22, 2024 — Plant species which are recommended as 'pollinator friendly' in Europe begin flowering up to a month too late for bees, resulting in low colony ...

Honey Bees at Risk for Colony Collapse from Longer, Warmer Fall Seasons

Mar. 25, 2024 — The famous work ethic of honey bees might spell disaster for these busy crop pollinators as the climate warms, new research indicates. Flying shortens the lives of bees, and worker honey bees will ...

Research Uncovers a Rare Resin Fossil Find: A Spider That Aspires to Be an Ant

Mar. 22, 2024 — Spiders that disguise themselves as ants live in many locations around the globe but until now most had been able to avoid detection from fossil ...

How Butterflies Choose Mates: Gene Controls Preferences

Mar. 21, 2024 — Tropical Heliconius butterflies are well known for the bright colour patterns on their wings. These striking colour patterns not only scare off predators -- the butterflies are poisonous and are ...

Forest, Stream Habitats Keep Energy Exchanges in Balance, Global Team Finds

Mar. 21, 2024 — Forests and streams are separate but linked ecosystems, existing side by side, with energy and nutrients crossing their porous borders and flowing back and forth between them. For example, leaves ...

Biologists Uncover New Species of Tiger Beetle: Eunota Houstoniana

Mar. 27, 2024 — Evolutionary biologists have unearthed a new species of tiger beetle, deemed Eunota houstoniana, honoring the Houston region where it predominantly ...

Sap Beetles Vs Wind: What Pollinates Screw Pines?

Mar. 27, 2024 — Researchers have discovered the first species pollinated by sap beetles in the genus Pandanus, a group of palm-like plants native to the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Eurasia. The discovery ...

Evolutionary History of the Formation of Forceps and Maternal Care in Earwigs

Mar. 21, 2024 — Researchers examined the developmental processes and reproduction-related behavior of 8 of the 11 families of Dermaptera (earwigs) in detail and compared with those reported in previous studies. The ...

Rose Essential Oil: A Safe Pesticide for Organic Agriculture

Mar. 21, 2024 — Following injury, plants release terpenoids to enhance their defenses. Researchers studying terpenoid-enriched essential oils (EOs) have found that rose EO (REO) can stimulate defense genes in tomato ...

In Flies, a Single Brain Cell Can Drive Multiple Movements of the Body

Mar. 20, 2024 — Motor neurons are the cells the brain uses to command muscles to act. Scientists typically thought of them as simple connections, much like the cables that link computers with their accessories. Now, ...

Eyes Open and Toes out of Water: How a Giant Water Bug Reached the Island of Cyprus

Mar. 20, 2024 — A new visitor was reported on the coast of Cyprus, thanks to the growing power of citizen science. Researchers collected information and specimens through personal communication with amateur ...

Scientists Discover How Diadem Butterfly Mimics African Queen

Mar. 18, 2024 — Scientists have discovered how female Diadem butterflies have evolved to look like African Queen butterflies to repel ...

Tsetse Fly Fertility Damaged After Just One Heatwave, Study Finds

Mar. 12, 2024 — The fertility of both female and male tsetse flies is affected by a single burst of hot weather, researchers have ...

New Research Sets Trap for Potentially Deadly Sandfly

Mar. 11, 2024 — Scientists have discovered the specific enzyme that a species of sandfly uses to produce a pheromone attractant, which could lead to the creation of targeted traps to control them and reduce the ...

How Does a Virus Hijack Insect Sperm to Control Disease Vectors and Pests?

Mar. 7, 2024 — A widespread bacteria called Wolbachia and a virus that it carries can cause sterility in male insects by hijacking their sperm, preventing them from fertilizing eggs of females that do not have the ...

The Sweet Stuff: How Insects Tell Sugars Apart

Mar. 6, 2024 — Whereas humans have one receptor on their tongues that can detect all sorts of sweet things, from real sugar to artificial sweeteners like aspartame, insects have many receptors that each detect ...

Bee-2-Bee Influencing: Bees Master Complex Tasks Through Social Interaction

Mar. 6, 2024 — Bumblebees successfully learned a two-step puzzle box task through social observation. This task was too complex for individual bees to learn on their own. Observing trained demonstrator bees ...

Dung Beetles Show Their Love by Sharing the Load

Mar. 1, 2024 — Dung beetles share the load when it comes to showing their affection for each-other, when transporting a 'brood ...

The Veil Varies More Than the Threat: Predator Selection on Variability in Camouflage and Warning Signals

Feb. 29, 2024 — Researchers leveraged open-access digital collections to validate an age-old hypothesis in evolutionary ecology. The classic hypothesis proposes that predators select for a great variety of ...

Birds and Bee Lessons as Pacific Field Trips Also Solve 'Michener's Mystery'

Feb. 29, 2024 — Eight new Pacific bee species and new insights into Fijian bird behaviour on Viti Levu Island have been described in new scientific studies. The research highlights the potential for species ...

Creepy Crawlies Protect Apples When Flowers Are Planted on Farms

Feb. 28, 2024 — Bugs including hoverflies, lacewings and ladybirds play an important role in keeping Britain's apples healthy, a new study has ...

Butterflies Mimic Each Other's Flight Behavior to Avoid Predators

Feb. 26, 2024 — Researchers have shown that inedible species of butterfly that mimic each others' color patterns have also evolved similar flight behaviors to warn predators and avoid being ...

Butterfly and Moth Genomes Mostly Unchanged Despite 250 Million Years of Evolution

Feb. 21, 2024 — Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for ...

New Evidence Shows UK Solar Parks Can Provide for Bees and Butterflies

Feb. 21, 2024 — A new study shows that UK solar parks, if managed correctly, can provide vital resources to help stem the decline in the nation's bees and butterflies. The new research provides peer-reviewed ...

Pollinator's Death Trap Turns Into Nursery

Feb. 19, 2024 — In a group of plants that is famous for luring its pollinators into a death trap, one species offers its flowers as a nursery in exchange. The discovery blurs the line between mutualism and ...