Insects, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 11, 2023

Tortoise beetle larvae use their telescopic anuses to build shields from shed skin and poop

Like their reptile namesakes, tortoise beetle larvae lug protective coverings around with them. But rather than residing beneath domes of bone and keratin, their shields are made of humbler materials: feces and shed skin. Plenty of insects — especially in their larval forms — create shelters for themselves. Caddisfly larvae...

Jan 13, 2024

American burying beetle: The meat-eating insect that buries bodies for its babies to feast on

Name: American burying beetle or giant carrion beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) Where it lives: U.S. and Canada What it eats: Dead animals Why it's awesome: The American burying beetle exhibits a rare behavior for its kind — parental care. And to take it a step further, both the male and female...

Jun 7, 2012

Mites and Virus Team Up to Wipe Out Beehives

The spread of a parasitic mite through a honeybee colony provides a one-two punch that's taking down colonies throughout the world, now including Hawaii. A normally mild virus can be devastating to bees when the mites are present, a new study reports. The mite, called Varroa, is spreading from hive...

Jul 12, 2012

Hive in the Sky Gives Bees Urban Dwelling

Urban beekeepers often keep their operations on the downlow for fear of violating local ordinances, but a new adjustable-height hive prototype being tested in Europe could mean sweet success all-around. Meet the Sky Hive. Western Wildfires: Photos The Dutch city Maastricht, population around 120,000, is currently testing out a new...

Sep 25, 2012

'Zombie' Honeybees Spread Along West Coast

Earlier this year, researchers discovered that fly parasites were turning honeybees across the San Francisco Bay area into disoriented, zombie-like wanderers that dropped dead with maggots ready to burst out of their bodies. Other cases were reported in commercial hives in South Dakota and central California. And now the parasite...

Oct 5, 2012

Wasps That Eat Maggots from Inside Out Discovered

Little is known about tropical parasitic wasps in the subfamily Orthocentrinae besides their gruesome lifestyle. They lay their single egg in the body of a fly maggot and as the baby wasp larva grows, it eats the body of its host from the inside out. Now researchers say they've discovered...

Mar 4, 2013

Animal Sex: How Bees Do It

Birds do it. Bees do it. … Most have heard the many eloquent ways of saying it while still flitting around the word sex. But how do bees do it? Turns out, at least for honeybees, sex is an acrobatic, open-air event. A typical honeybee colony comprises a large queen,...

Mar 7, 2013

Caffeine Gives Bees a Memory Boost

Honeybees, like tired office employees, like their caffeine, suggests a new study finding that bees are more likely to remember plants containing the java ingredient. Caffeine occurs naturally in the nectar of coffee and citrus flowers. Bees that fed on caffeinated nectar were three times more likely to remember a...

Mar 19, 2013

Kiddo Wasp Named for 'Kill Bill' Assassin

A new species of parasitic wasp with a lethal lifestyle is taking its name from assassin Beatrix Kiddo, the heroine played by Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. While the winged creature isn't exactly a master of the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique — a technique that...

Apr 4, 2013

Surprisingly Simple Logic Explains Amazing Bee Abilities

Bumblebees and Pavlov's dogs have something in common: Both can learn to associate two things they've never seen together before. A new study finds that bees use simple logical steps to learn from other bees which flowers hold the sweetest nectar. It really gives us an insight into how complex...

Jun 3, 2013

Killer Bee Attack: Science Explains Man's Death

A Texas man died after being attacked by a swarm of Africanized honeybees, sometimes called killer bees. Larry Goodwin, 62, was driving a tractor near his home south of Waco when he disturbed a pile of wood that contained a hive of the notoriously aggressive bees; eight people have been...

Jun 27, 2013

Antenna Antics: Honeybees Are 'Righties'

When bees are forced to interact with only their left antennas, they have trouble bee-having: Just as humans shake with their right hands, bees also greet each other by predominantly using their right antennas. A new study found that when pairs of bees interact solely with their right antennas, they...

Jul 16, 2013

Buzz in NYC? Hobbyists Swarm to Beekeeping

Matt Howes would never have stuck his bare hand into a beehive six months ago, but since he has taken the reins of managing the four hives on the rooftop of his office, he has become more comfortable handling the honey makers. You become calmer, have steadier hand movements, Howes...

Aug 9, 2013

Honeybee Collapse May Have Complex Cause (Op-Ed)

Jeff Nesbit was the director of public affairs for two prominent federal science agencies. This article was adapted from one that first appeared in U.S. News & World Report. Nesbit contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Scientists have been trying to discover why millions of beehives...

Oct 3, 2013

Where's My Flower? Diesel Throws Honeybees Off the Trail

Diesel pollution snuffs out floral odors, interfering with honeybees' ability to find and pollinate flowers, new research suggests. Honeybees use both visual and olfactory cues to recognize flowers that produce nectar in return for insect pollination. Not all flowers produce nectar, and bees avoid those that don't by learning to...