Vladimir Nabokov. Modern literary genius. Darling of the New York Times. And now, certified brilliant entomological theorist:
… Read the rest “Nabokov knew his butterflies.”There were several plausible hypotheses for how the butterflies
Varroa mites, the BBC reminds us, are one of the worst enemies honeybees face in these difficult days. But now, there’s a genetic front opening in the war to save the hives:
… Read the rest “Gene weapon vs. bee killers”To tackle
This is a fossilized insect, one of the Buprestidae (or Splendor Beetles or Jewel Beetles, from the collection of the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt.
Splendor… Read the rest “Science Art: Prachtkäfer aus der Grube Messel (Splendor Beetle of the Messel Pit)”
This is the aphis wolf, or aphid lion, or, in other words, either the larva of the much less-threateningly named ladybug or lacewing.
This particular one looks like it’s a lacewing,… Read the rest “Science Art: Aphis Wolf, from Webster’s New International”
Just because we’ve swapped climate change for nuclear apocalypse in our end-of-the-world imaginings, that doesn’t mean we have to give up our terror of giant spiders. At … Read the rest “THEM! (Global Warming Edition)”
The Telegraph, among other news sources, revels in my obsolescence. I am biologically and genetically surplus to needs. I am a man, and they’ve found the first species that’s… Read the rest “Men need not apply.”
Euproctis chrysorrhoea, better known as the Browntail moth.
It stings our skin and devastates our farmland, and is the subject of experiments using pheromones as a population control… Read the rest “Science Art: Euproctis chrysorrhoea ugglan, Nordisk familjebok”
SONG: “Army Ants”, originally by Tom Waits (To download: double right-click & “Save As”)
ARTIST: grant. Originally by Tom Waits.
SOURCE: This is another… Read the rest “SONG: Army Ants (penitential Tom Waits cover)”
Scientists in China and Japan have come up with a new system for getting power from the sun… by building solar panels like butterfly wings:
… Read the rest “The Power of a Butterfly’s Wing”AZoM, the A to Z of Materials:
Di Zhang and
Wired’s Danger Room blog now has me imagining what it would be like to come under attack from a buzzing swarm of remote-controlled rhinoceros beetles:
… Read the rest “Cyber-insects taking off.”Researchers hooked a series
The BBC has video up of romancing mosquitoes creating their high, keening love songs:
… Read the rest “Love is… mosquitoes buzzing in harmony.”Males and females each have their own characteristic flight tone – which they create by beating
Entolomologists working in Borneo have found what they believe to be world’s longest insect:
… Read the rest “Big Stick.”PhysOrg writes:
The specimen was found by a local villager and handed to Malaysian amateur
Science Daily was recently buzzing about the decision-making strategies of bees:
… Read the rest “A Committee of Beehive Realtors?”Scientists had known that honeybee scouts “waggle dance” to report on food. Seeley and
Scientists, as the Telegraph points out, have long been mystified by the bumblebee. It’s short and fat with stubby wings that, mathematically speaking, should never be able to generate… Read the rest “Fly like a bumblebee.”
Does anyone else remember these from Insects Do The Strangest Things? Oh, what a fine children’s book that is.
From Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English … Read the rest “Science Art: Honey Ant, Webster’s New International”
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