insects

Latest in insects

A team of researchers in Japan recently stuck a choir of cicadas full of electrodes to make them sing in a horrifying chorus.
Robots and Machines

Scientists Direct Cyborg Cicadas to Play a Horrendous Droning Rendition of “Pachelbel’s Canon”

By Joe Wilkins

A new species of caterpillar called the "bone collector" strips the body parts of its slain enemies and uses them to make a gruesome suit.
Science & Energy

Extremely Metal “Bone Collector” Caterpillar Cloaks Itself in the Shattered Exoskeletons of Its Vanquished Foes

By Frank Landymore

For the first time in centuries, two separate regional "broods" of cicadas are set to arise and invade parts of the United States.
Science & Energy

One Trillion Bugs With Bulging Eyes Set to Invade a Third of the United States, Experts Say

By Noor Al-Sibai

Researchers have found that wildflowers in a patch of farm meadow in the Paris region have turned to self-fertilization due to fewer insects.
Climate Change

Wildflowers Adapting to Insect Apocalypse by Pollinating Themselves, Scientists Say

By Sharon Adarlo

A fierce debate has erupted over whether it's time to rename A. hitleri, an unfortunate Slovenian beetle named to honor Adolf Hitler.
Science & Energy

Scientists Debate Whether to Rename Bug Named After Adolf Hitler

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

A team of German scientists has discovered a parasitic tapeworm that can allow a certain species of ants to live way longer when infected.
Parasites

Terrifying Parasite Can Actually Triple an Ant’s Lifespan

By Sharon Adarlo

Scientists have discovered a new type of tool-using insect, nicknamed the "assassin bug" for a creative — and deadly — hunting technique.
Science & Energy

Scientists Discover Bug That Uses Tool

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Like a moth to a lamp, humans have long thought we knew why bugs are so attracted to lights — but new research suggests we may have been dim.
Science & Energy

Scientists Suggest New Reason Dumb Bugs Smash Into Lights

By Noor Al-Sibai

Hawaii has a big problem with little fire ants that have begun quite literally raining down on people from above and sting them.
Sleep

Furious Fire Ants “Rain Down” on Hawaiian Residents and Bite Them in their Sleep

By Noor Al-Sibai

Your eyes do not deceive you. These dancing, fuzzy bugs are real, and, yes, they're shaking their rear ends in unison to keep you way.
Science & Energy

These Dancing Bugs Are Straight Out of a Miyazaki Film

By Frank Landymore

Worried about cyber-bugs taking over the planet? The Japanese researchers behind new cyborg cockroaches say their enhanced insects are there to do good.
Robots and Machines

Inventor of Cyborg Cockroach Says It Will Only Be Used for Good

By Noor Al-Sibai

Welcome to hell. A (checks notes) zombie fungus is infecting female flies and (checks notes) seducing male flies into mating with their undead corpses.
Science & Energy

Horrid Fungus Lures Flies Into Having Sex With Zombified Corpses

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Feline appreciation of catnip may go deeper than we thought. Scientists say that when cats "damage" catnip it releases iridoids that repel mosquitoes. 
Science & Energy

Good News! Catnip Is Good for Cats’ Health, Scientists Say

By Lonnie Lee Hood

Scientists built tiny sensors that can safely detach and fall to the ground after a moth carries it to some hard-to-reach destination.
Robots and Machines

Scientists Want to Use Moths to Blanket the Earth in Tiny Sensors

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists built a beetle-sized backpack camera that they can use to livestream the daily routine of an insect from the bug's perspective.
Robots and Machines

Scientists Build Tiny Camera For Beetles to Carry Around

By Dan Robitzski

While working from home during the ongoing global pandemic, biologists have plenty of time — and they're discovering new insect species left and right.
Biology

Biologists Are Somehow Discovering a Ton of New Species in Quarantine

By Victor Tangermann