Alarming Link: Fungicides and Bee Declines
Common fungicides are the strongest factor linked to steep declines in bumblebees across the US, according to the first landscape-scale analysis.
Killer Wasps Wiping Out Native Bugs
Voracious killer wasps are causing some of New Zealand's native bugs to go extinct, insect experts believe.
New Invasive Insect Threatens Crops
Officials are instructing that people take all possible precautions when traveling to Pennsylvania or Delaware to check for egg masses or the insect...there have been documented yield and crop problems in the quarantined areas of Pennsylvania.
Research Shows Insect Food Choice Can Be Manipulated
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found a way to access and manipulate taste neurons in the pharynx (throat) of the common fruit fly that could help control the spread of mosquito-related illnesses...
Bumble Bees Can Solve Classic Math Problems
Scientists tried to trick the bees by offering shortcuts between individual flowers that increased the total distance they travelled. Initially, the bees fell into the trap...
Butterfly Color Patterns Reveal Clues About Genes That Build Insect Wings
A new study in Scientific Reports has identified the genetic code by which butterflies can assign color patterns to different parts of their wings during development.
Insects’ Neural Learning and Memory Center Discovered in Crustaceans
Almost immediately, however, the pair discovered something that was wholly unexpected: a mushroom body—a key neural structure most famously associated with visual and olfactory learning and memory in insects. “It was a huge surprise,” says Wolff...
A Different Dimension of Loss’: Inside the Great Insect Die-Off
Whenever I hear of these insect die-offs occurring, I think about the things brought up in this fascinating article...
Scuba Diving Fly Mystery Solved
The Alkali Fly. These flies live near very salty lakes, like Mono Lake in California. The water cannot support fish life, so the flies have no predators to worry about when diving down to feed on all the food they could ever want. But we have never known exactly how they successfully dive down into the water to eat until now.
