Tag: insects

Honeybees in decline

Honeybees, particularly in the United States, are in decline. In 2007-2008, 36 percent of apiaries surveyed by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that some of their colonies had simply…disappeared, a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. In the most recent survey, covering September 2008 to April …

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Why flies are so hard to swat

Michael Dickinson is a genius. At least, in 2001 the University of California, Berkeley, professor received one of the $500,000 “genius” grants given annually by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to creative individuals “who provide the imagination and fresh ideas that can improve people’s lives and bring about movement on important issues.” …

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Insect art

Mike Libby takes real insect carapaces and puts tiny mechanical working in them, producing these stunning, if slightly creepy, works of art. I think they’re fabulous, but then, I’m a little weird. (Via io9.)

Biggest bug ever!

I’m a bit late with this, but just for record, “Ick!”: A giant fossilized claw discovered in Germany belonged to an ancient sea scorpion that was much bigger than the average man, an international team of geologists and archaeologists reported Tuesday.

I, for one, welcome our new robot masters…

…or apparently I would if I were a cockroach: Cockroaches will often choose shelter unwisely when under the influence of robots, a new study shows. Usually when the creepy crawlers are let loose in a brightly lit area, they gather under the darkest shade they can find. ***But when the bugs were joined by tiny …

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Photos of the Day: Fuzz, and Dragonfly

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Photo of the Day: Bug in Space

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Photo of the Day that was Actually Taken on Canada Day: Lady Bug, Lady Bug

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Photo of the Day: Colourful Caterpillar

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Photo of the Day: The Fly

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"Moths drink the tears of sleeping birds…"

…is how this story about Madagascarian insect life is headlined, but never mind the science: doesn’t “Moths drink the tears of sleeping birds…” sound like the start to a wonderfully evocative poem by some terribly sensitive poet? Something like: Moths drink the tearsOf sleeping birds;I drink up beersAnd slur my words. *Sniff.* Brings a lump …

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Cockroaches

Steven Spielberg missed a bet with his movie, Jurassic Park. He focused on the age of dinosaurs. If he really wanted to freak people out, he’d focus on a much earlier era, the Carboniferous Period: a.k.a. “The Age of Cockroaches.” Yes, cockroaches, those scuttling, light-fearing pests we’ve all encountered at one time or another, were once …

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