Insects

Get a good look at Sinea incognita, a newly recognized species of assassin bug.

Meet the Stealthiest Assassin Bug in the United States

The unique and secretive species has been living among us unrecognized for a century

The Melitta haemorrhoidalis bee, collected from Wotton-under-Edge, England, requires patches of bellflowers to make its nests.

Bees and Wasps in Britain Have Been Disappearing For More Than a Century

Changes in agricultural practices since the 19th century may be a major culprit in the pollinators’ decline

A Worm’s Gut Could Help Dispose of Plastic Trash

Microbes found in the guts of waxworms like to feast on polyethylene

Manhattan Insects Eat the Equivalent of 60,000 Hot Dogs Each Year

Millions of urban insects act as efficient, largely unnoticed garbage disposals

Pacific bluefin tuna populations have declined by up to 33 percent over the last 20 years.

300+ Species Just Joined the List of Threatened Plants And Animals

Overfishing, overhunting and habitat loss drove many of the new additions

A bed bug surrounded by potentially parasite-laden feces.

Bed Bugs Can Transmit the Chagas Disease Parasite

The parasite is usually associated with Latin and South America, but was recently found throughout Louisiana, too

This twisted wing parasite is one twisted killer.

The Everyday Cannibals and Murderers of Los Angeles

Who needs film noir when you’ve got these insects in the City of Angels?

When Becoming a Man Means Sticking Your Hand Into a Glove of Ants

Young men must subject themselves to a ritual involving bullet ant-filled gloves not once but 20 times

Plants Can Sense When Insects Are Eating Them

Plants can sense munching vibrations that insects make, and respond accordingly with heightened defenses

Buck moth caterpillars are the bane of the New Orleans spring.

Caterpillars Beware: Venom Won’t Protect You From Clueless Baby Birds

Young birds will dumbly peck at anything that crawls their way—even if it winds up teaching them a painful lesson

Blood-sucking kissing bugs carry the parasite that causes Chagas disease, a malady that plagues some 9 million people in Latin America.

A Blood-Sucking Foe Lurks in Central American Caves

Kissing bugs, which can spread Chagas disease, turned up positive for human blood meals in caves in Guatemala and Belize

A carrion beetle fossil from the Cretaceous period.

Carrion Beetles Were the First Caring Parents

Flesh-eating beetles that lived 125 million years ago set the stage for modern parenting

An urban spider hangs out in downtown Los Angeles.

Friendly Neighborhood Spiders Get Bigger in Cities

A study of orb-weaving spiders in Australia shows a correlation between urbanization and fatter arachnids

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Old Time Portraits of Parasites

Photographer Marcus DeSieno uses antiquated techniques to take pictures of parasites with a mix of citizen science and monster movie panache

Adult Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with gathered insect prey. This is one of the fifteen species shown to be affected by elevated imidacloprid concentrations in surface water in the Netherlands.

Popular Pesticides Linked to Drops in Bird Populations

This is the latest in a string of studies suggesting that some pesticides impact birds as well as pollinators

Malaria Parasites Might Make Their Infected Hosts Smell Tastier for Mosquitoes

So far, the finding has only been shown in mice

Giant Moths Have Descended on Malaysia, And No One Knows Why

Giant moths are making a mass appearance in Southeast Asia

When Fire Ants Build Rafts, There Are No Free Loaders

When fire ants form floating balls, not a single leg or antennae goes to waste

Forest in British Columbia that has borne both fire and beetle infestations

Beetles Have Destroyed 38,000 Square Miles of Forest

As part of this year’s farm bill, the United States Forest Service will try to rehabilitate beetle-infested forests

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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