Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

May 19, 2022

What's the difference between a moth and a butterfly?

Say the word butterfly and a brilliant, orange-and-black-winged Monarch butterfly may fly through your mind. Say moth, meanwhile, and the brain may conjure up an image of a dull, brown-winged pest that nibbles holes through clothing. But is appearance really the main difference between these two types of winged insects?...

Jul 22, 2022

Monarch butterflies teetering ‘on the edge of collapse,’ added to endangered species list

The migratory monarch butterfly has joined the endangered species list. On Thursday (July 21), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the butterfly, a subspecies of monarch (Danaus plexippus) as endangered, indicating that the subspecies is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. The main threats...

Aug 9, 2022

Creepy deep-sea 'vanilla Vader' woodlouse is 25 times bigger than a land louse

A colossal, creamy yellow woodlouse relative that has a vague resemblance to Darth Vader has been discovered deep below the ocean surface in the Gulf of Mexico, a new study finds. At more than 10 inches (26 centimeters) long, the creature is 2,500% larger than common roly polies, or woodlice...

Sep 1, 2022

Swarms of 'mini-shark' beach bugs are on a foot-biting rampage in California

Beachgoers in Southern California are being targeted by swarms of tiny, aggressive sea bugs, previously dubbed mini-sharks, that seem to have a thing for feet. The shrimplike creatures have been snapping at the ankles of locals promenading along the shoreline, leaving people hopping around in pain, according to local news...

Oct 21, 2022

The Truth About Red Food Dye Made from Bugs

Starbucks will stop using a red food dye made from bugs, its president recently wrote in a blog post. Despite the attention Starbucks has received for using the insect-based dye in some of its products, the coffee purveyor is far from the only user of this additive. Anytime you see...

Feb 28, 2023

Insect that flings pee with a butt catapult is 1st known example of 'superpropulsion' in nature

Relatives of cicadas known as sharpshooter insects can catapult pee droplets at superfast speeds, revealing the first known example of superpropulsion in nature, a new study finds. This newly discovered effect helps the bugs save energy during peeing and may inspire better self-cleaning devices and soft robotic engines, scientists noted....

Mar 9, 2023

1st complete map of an insect's brain contains 3,016 neurons

Scientists have unveiled the first complete map of an insect's brain. The comprehensive map, called a connectome, took 12 years of meticulous work to construct, and shows the location of all 3,016 neurons in the brain of a larval fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). Between those brain cells are 548,000 points...

May 1, 2023

Which animal kills the most people every year?

The animal kingdom is full of deadly weapons. A lion's teeth can rip apart flesh with ferocious intensity, rattlesnakes can inject toxins into the bloodstream and hippos can kill you with their powerful jaws. These are just a few examples of deadly creatures. But which animal kills the most humans?...

May 22, 2023

All butterflies evolved from ancient moths in North America 100 million years ago

Scientists have painstakingly constructed the world's biggest butterfly tree of life and discovered that the first butterflies evolved 100 million years ago in what is now Central and North America, At this time, the supercontinent Pangaea was in the process of breaking apart, and North America was split in two...

Nov 25, 2023

Hercules beetle: The titan insect with giant horns for love and war

Name: Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) Where it lives: Rainforests of Central and South America, plus a few Caribbean islands What it eats: Rotting wood (as a larva), fruit and tree sap (as an adult) Why it's awesome: Hercules beetles are among the largest flying insects in the world, with males...

Dec 2, 2023

Watch ancient, giant millipede the size of a car brought back to life in remarkable reconstruction

A remarkable reconstruction shows a 300 million-year-old millipede the length of a small car crawling around a forest floor looking for love. The footage was created for Netflix's Life on Our Planet — a series that brings extinct creatures back to virtual life in video footage. The clip shows Arthropleura,...

Jan 19, 2024

A bizarre 'snake worm' has baffled scientists for over a decade, now they know what it is

Researchers have solved Alaska's snake worm mystery after discovering a new species of fungus-eating fly whose juveniles band together and slither around like a long, gray serpent. The snake worm mystery began more than 16 years ago in the summer of 2007, when Ester resident Maggie Billington spotted thousands of...

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...