Bugs

An image of the fossilized lacewing Oregramma illecebrosa, left, and the modern owl butterfly Calico Memnon, right.

Jurassic-Era Insect Looks Just Like a Modern Butterfly

Jurassic "butterflies" helped pollinate ancient plants millions of years before the butterfly even existed

A Victoria’s Secret Perfume Works Great as Mosquito Repellent

A scent named “Bombshell” is almost as good as DEET

Serpentine columbine may use dead bugs to lure in spiders to do its dirty work, researchers report.

This Plant Murders Bugs and Decorates Itself With Their Dead Bodies

Talk about a roundabout defense strategy

This Fungus Eats the Butts off Cicadas

It’s totally not a big deal, though

Some scientists think that humans have aided the spread of ticks that carry Lyme bacteria in a few different ways.

Lyme Disease is Spreading, and It's People's Fault

Thanks to climate change and human population growth, cases have been on the rise for decades

A small cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) hovers on a hedge mustard plant (Sisybrium officinale). While the butterfly might look harmless enough, its caterpillars engage in a chemical war with this mustard plant's cultivated relatives.

Mustard Is A Product Of Evolutionary Warfare Between Plants And Caterpillars

Plants produce mustard oils to fight off pests in a chemical conflict that’s been waged for millions of years

New research suggests hawkmoths, like the one pictured above, slow down their brain's ability to process light in order to see at night.

Hovering Hawkmoths Slow Down Their Brains to See in the Dark

The insects’ night vision appears to be finely tuned to the movement of their flower food sources

Two species of mites make their home in the hair follicles on your face.

Meet the Mites That Live on Your Face

These microscopic organisms live and die on your face

Male wolf spiders vibrate dead leaves to create purring noises and court females.

Listen to the Dulcet Purr of a Wolf Spider

Males seduce females by making leaves vibrate

The Habronattus sunglow (male pictured above) is a species of jumping spider that has trichromatic or "true" color vision.

How Jumping Spiders See in Color

The agile arachnids see in three color channels, and they can actually see more colors than humans can

A spider prepares to "balloon" by shooting a threat of silk out of its butt. By catching the wind with their silk, baby spiders can explore or colonize new habitats. When millions of spiders do this at the same time, it resembles rain or snow.

No, It's Not Really Raining Spiders in Australia

The arachnids are simply catching a ride on the wind

A blood-sucker creeping around on a potential victim's pristine white sheets.

How Our Modern Lives Became Infested With Bed Bugs

After being bitten by the tiny pests, author Brooke Borel set out to learn all she could about her blood-sucking foes

The makech, a beautiful beetle from Central and South America has been worn as a living pendant for centuries.

Meet the Makech, the Bedazzled Beetles Worn as Living Jewelry

The unusual bugs from the Yucatán have a backstory as colorful as their rhinestone-studded rumps

It's a beetle invasion! These lady beetles (also known as lady bugs) are just one of Earth's family of beetles.

Beetle Species, Weirdly, Almost Never Go Extinct

The world is disproportionately filled with beetles—now, a new study suggests that’s because few species have ever been wiped out

Why We Can Thank Bats for Bedbugs

Scientists have proven through genetics that bats were the first hosts to the pesky parasite before passing them on to ancient humans

a photocomposite of a dust mite and a fecal pellet

Travel Spreads Dust Mite Poop All Over The World

Dust mites’ ubiquity comes in part from their ability to digest dead skin cells (which is what makes us allergic to their waste)

A Bedbug Trap That Might Actually Work

Researchers are learning to use bed bugs pheromones against them

Mayflies at a gas station in the Trempealeau Mountain Staet Natural Area

This is What Millions of Mayflies Emerging All At Once Looks Like

A massive emergence of mayflies has blanketed parts of the country

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An Abandoned Mall in Bangkok Has Turned into a Gigantic Fish Habitat

Though if it weren't for the fish, the mall would be overrun with mosquitoes

Moo-ve over mosquitos, your next bug spray may be cow cologne

This Cologne Makes Cows Smell Like Humans, So Mosquitos Bite Them Instead of Us

California company receives Gates Foundation grant to explore a unique kind of pest control

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