Insects, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2024

Why are insects attracted to artificial lights?

The classic summer cookout comes with chips, drinks and then, after the sun goes down, swarms of insects flitting around porch lights. But flying around artificial lights can have deadly consequences for critters such as moths, gnats and mosquitos; they can get trapped under lampshades and exposed to predators such...

Feb 6, 2024

A trillion cicadas will descend on the US this spring in rare event that could leave unforgettable stench

More than a trillion cicadas could emerge throughout the U.S. Midwest and Southeast this spring as the schedules of two separate broods align for the first time since 1803. Brood XIII and Brood XIX represent two distinct groups of periodical cicadas (Magicicada) that emerge according to 17- and 13-year life...

Feb 12, 2024

How do insects know which flowers have pollen?

When pollinators land on a flower, they're on a mission: They're looking for sweet nectar to eat and specks of nutritious pollen to bring back to their young. But how do insects know where to find pollen? In theory, the process is easy: A flower flaunts bits of tasty, aromatic...

Mar 16, 2024

Hummingbird hawk-moth: The bird-like insect with a giant sucking mouthpart

Name: Hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) Where it lives: Europe and North Africa, migrating north in summer and south in winter What it eats: Nectar Why it's awesome: — It's a bird! No, it's a hummingbird hawk-moth! This fascinating creature looks like a hummingbird, but it's actually a moth. It even...

Feb 8, 2007

Mystery of Moth Flight Uncovered

Moths often baffle and elude us with their bouncy, seemingly erratic flight paths, especially around outdoor lights, but they have a piloting system that has allowed them to thrive on Earth for hundreds of millions of years. Now scientists have learned the details of this flight system and find that...

Apr 2, 2008

Migrating Moths Are Good Navigators

To most of us, moths are nothing more than strange homebodies that can't leave a light bulb alone. But every year, millions of moths hop aboard wind currents and flutter hundreds of miles southward to suitable mating lands. The migrating moths are not totally at the mercy of the wind...

Jun 10, 2009

Pink Moth Discovered in Arizona

A new moth that is hardly dull has been discovered in the Chiricahua Mountains, east of Tucson, Arizona. The moth has pink wings. University of Arizona biologist Bruce Walsh, who studies plant and animal breeding, was out in the mountains collecting moths, a hobby of his. Walsh captures them by...

Jul 16, 2009

Wow! Moths Jam Bat Sonar

Tiger moths can thwart attacks from bats by effectively jamming the bats' sonar, doing so by emitting sudden bursts of ultrasound, scientists now find. Past research had revealed that many night-flying moths have evolved the ability to hear bat sonar. A number were even seen responding with clicks of ultrasound....

Mar 25, 2011

Why Are Moths Drawn to Artificial Lights?

The old saying like a moth to a flame describes someone with an unswerving yet self-destructive attraction. Where people are concerned, the underlying motivation for such behavior can usually be identified, whether it's greed, lust or the thrill of the chase. Not so with moths. There are a handful of...

Mar 25, 2011

Unsolved Mystery: Why Are Moths Drawn to Artificial Lights?

The old saying like a moth to a flame describes someone with an unswerving yet self-destructive attraction. Where people are concerned, the underlying motivation for such behavior can usually be identified, whether it's greed, lust or the thrill of the chase. Not so with moths. There are a handful of...

May 6, 2011

Why Do Moths Eat Clothes?

It may be gross enough to discover that moths have eaten a hole through your favorite cashmere sweater, but get this -- it's not actually the moths that eat your clothes, but their slimy larvae. Simply put, it's impossible for adult moths to eat your threads. Moths only have mouths...

Nov 15, 2011

Intricate Wings Gallery: The Color of Ancient Moths

Fossil Moth (Image credit: Maria McNamara)A 47-million-year-old fossil moth from Messel, Germany. The moth is in glycerine, which make its structural colors appear yellow. Close-up Colors (Image credit: Maria McNamara)A 47-million-year-old fossil moth wing looks yellow in glycerine. When the moth was alive, the colors would have appeared yellow-green. Moth...

Jul 27, 2012

7 Things You Don't Know About Moths, But Should

Facts about moths Moths all over a running shoe. (Image credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)The word moth may conjure up images of drab brown insects sticking to your screen door on a summer night. But there's much more to these mostly-nocturnal fliers than meets the eye. Not only are moths extraordinarily...

Nov 12, 2012

Hooks, Graps & Spines: IDing Moth Genitalia

New moth species Three new species of moths have been discovered in South Africa's Tswaing Crater Reserve. Here, a male of the newly-discovered species Urodeta trilobata is shown. All three of the new moths, collected and described by Jurate de Prins, of Belgium's Royal Museum for Central Africa, are tiny,...

Nov 12, 2012

Weird Moth Genitals Reveal 3 New Species

Three new species of micro moths have been identified in South Africa's Tswaing Reserve through, in part, a thorough exam of the their genitalia. Insect species, and even species from other animal groups, can look remarkably similar, making it tricky to accurately identify separate species. This means that scientists have...