Topic: Insects

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10 best Avengers of all time

Many Avengers have come and gone over the years. But, in my opinion, here are the 10 best.
'Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down': 5 memories of living in Paris

Author Rosecrans Baldwin dreamed of living in the City of Light, but when he finally did, it wasn't exactly what he expected.
Five hotbeds of biodiversity

Here are five flora- and fauna-rich ecologies that Conservation International, a nonprofit organization in Arlington, Va., says are more than 70 percent intact.
10 books for a good laugh

Author Hallie Ephron recommends literature to keep you laughing.
7 of the best young adult novels of 2011

Here are seven of my favorite young adult novels of 2011.

All Content

Voracious kudzu bugs spread across South. Are they boon or bane?

The nubbin-sized Japanese invader arrived on American shores somewhere near Atlanta in 2009. Today it’s eating pesky kudzu across at least three states. Unfortunately, it’s chowing on soybean crops, too.
Diggin' It
Peony season

When peonies bloom in spring, it's time to think about adding more next season. Singles or doubles may be the question.
Zombie ant fungus, meet the anti-zombie-ant fungus

A new study has found that a zombifying ant fungus can be kept at bay by another pathogen.
10 best Avengers of all time

Many Avengers have come and gone over the years. But, in my opinion, here are the 10 best.
Humongous fleas gorged on dinosaurs, report scientists

Five to 10 times larger than today's bloodusuckers, the flea-like Mesozoic bugs whose fossils were unearthed in China are thought to have dined on feathered dinosaurs and mammals.
'Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down': 5 memories of living in Paris

Author Rosecrans Baldwin dreamed of living in the City of Light, but when he finally did, it wasn't exactly what he expected.
Diggin' It
Pollination power in the garden

Attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and mason bees to your garden because they're excellent pollinators.
Is corn syrup killing the honeybees? (+video)

A trio of recent studies faults a common family of corn pesticides for disorienting honeybees, potentially leading to colony collapse disorder. The German chemical company Bayer, which manufactures the pesticides, disagrees.
Are bees threatened by insecticide use? New studies say yes. (+video)

Scientists found that one class of insecticides may harm both bumblebees and honeybees in two recent studies. Bees' important role as pollinators may be threatened.
Are pesticides responsible for bee deaths? (+video)

Important pollinators, both bumblebees and honeybees have trouble functioning after being exposed to pesticides, two new studies say. Industry experts question several aspects of the work.
Five hotbeds of biodiversity

Here are five flora- and fauna-rich ecologies that Conservation International, a nonprofit organization in Arlington, Va., says are more than 70 percent intact.
Scientists unravel mystery of zebra stripes

Why do zebras have stripes? One study suggests that the animals' distinctive vertical black-and-white pattern may have evolved to confuse biting insects.
Zebras may have stripes because horseflies hate them

Zebras are best known for their dramatic stripes, but why they evolved remains uncertain. One popular notion is that stripes make it difficult for predators to single out an individual zebra from the herd, but experimental evidence for this or other ideas has been lacking.
Paleontologists recreate mating call of 165-million-year-old bug (+video)

By analyzing the fossilized wings of a Jurassic katydid unearthed in China, paleontologists have reconstructed its sound, which is not unlike that of today's crickets.
Newly discovered frog is smallest known vertebrate

The tropical forest of Papua New Guinea is home to the smallest animal with a backbone, a frog dubbed Paedophryne amanuensis.
Scientists create race of supersoldier ants

This discovery of oversized versions of soldier ants, whose job is to defend the nest, led researchers to create their own supersoldier ants in the lab with the help of a hormone.
10 books for a good laugh

Author Hallie Ephron recommends literature to keep you laughing.
Change Agent
In Africa, using ants and termites to increase crop yields

Researchers are confirming what African farmers already know: Termites and ants can be used to increase soil fertility and crop yields.
Zombie bees: Fly parasite causes zombie-like stupor

The researchers also discovered fly pupae near dead bees at the bottom of their laboratory hive, suggesting that A. borealis can multiply within a hive and potentially infect a pregnant queen bee.
7 of the best young adult novels of 2011

Here are seven of my favorite young adult novels of 2011.
The New Economy
New Year's resolution (and modern fable): Spend more!

In Aesop's ancient Greek fable of the ant and the grasshopper, the ant was right: Save for a rainy day. New Year's resolution for America in 2012: We need more grasshoppers. 
Readers Write: EPA may not be killing jobs, but it's letting honeybees die

Letters to the Editor for the weekly issue of December 26, 2011: One reader says that the EPA may or may not be a jobs killer, but its failure to crack down on pesticide use is killing the vital honeybee population. Another affirms the upsides to unemployment and a circuitous career path.
Cockerell's bumblebee rediscovered in New Mexico

Cockerell's bumblebee was first discovered in the region back in 1913. The most recent finding of Cockerell's bumblebee was this past August.
Change Agent
How genetically modified mosquitoes could unlock Africa's wealth

Ending malaria could lift African nations out of poverty by spurring education, market productivity, and economic growth.
6 perfect gifts for the book lover in your life

Six perfect gift choices for the bibliophile on your gift list.