Susan Milius

Susan Milius

Life Sciences Writer

Life sciences writer Susan Milius has been writing about botany, zoology and ecology for Science News since the last millennium. She worked at diverse publications before breaking into science writing and editing. After stints on the staffs of The Scientist, Science, International Wildlife and United Press International, she joined Science News. Three of Susan's articles have been selected to appear in editions of The Best American Science Writing.

All Stories by Susan Milius

  1. Animals

    Wolf vs. Raven? Thieving birds may drive canines to form big packs

    A previously underappreciated reason why wolf packs get so big could be the relentless food snitching of ravens.

  2. Plants

    Sudden oak death jumps quarantine

    The funguslike microbe that causes sudden oak death has turned up on nursery plants in southern California for the first time.

  3. Animals

    The Social Lives of Snakes

    A lot of pit vipers aren't the asocial loners that even snake fans had long assumed.

  4. Animals

    Road rage keeps ants moving smoothly

    Streams of ants manage to avoid traffic gridlock by a bit of strategic pushing and shoving.

  5. Animals

    Hornbills know which monkey calls to heed

    Hornbills can tell the difference between two kinds of alarm calls given by monkeys.

  6. Bean weevils get a kick out of mates

    Breeding in stored grain throughout the tropics, bean weevils represent an unusually clear example of the evolutionary male-female arms race.

  7. Squirrels save for the family’s future

    Some female red squirrels hoard extra food for youngsters that haven't yet been conceived.

  8. Animals

    Second bird genus shares dart-frog toxins

    Researchers have found a second bird genus, also in New Guinea, that carries the same toxins as poison-dart frogs in Central and South America.

  9. Animals

    New Green Eyes: First butterfly that’s genetically modified

    Scientists have genetically engineered a butterfly for the first time, putting a jellyfish protein into a tropical African species so that its eyes fluoresce green.

  10. Animals

    Jungle Genes: First bird genome is decoded

    Researchers have unveiled a draft of the first bird genome to be sequenced, a vintage chicken.

  11. Animals

    Fox Selection: Bottleneck survivors show surprising variety

    Foxes native to a California island—famous for the least genetic diversity ever reported in a sexually reproducing animal—have some variation after all.

  12. Ecosystems

    Bird Dilemma: More seabirds killed when boats discard fewer fish

    A long-term study of great skuas shows that when fishing fleets discard less fish, birds that scavenge for waste make up for the loss by increasing attacks on other seabirds.