All Stories by Susan Milius
- Animals
Here’s your chance to see the last passenger pigeon
On display for the 100th anniversary of her species’ extinction, the final passenger pigeon specimen looks pretty good.
-
- Animals
Parchment worms are best pinched in the dark
Meek tube-dwelling worms have strange glowing mucus and build papery tubes.
- Ecosystems
Moose drool can undermine grass defenses
Saliva from moose and reindeer sabotages plants’ chemical weaponry.
- Animals
Termite soldiers locate battles with vibrational clues
To locate invasions, termite soldiers listen for millisecond-long delays in vibrational distress signals sent out by other soldiers.
- Earth
Bird’s-eye views of the globe highlight avian trouble spots
Recent maps reveal trouble spots for the world’s imperiled birds.
- Animals
Elephant shrews are, oddly, related to actual elephants
A new species in the group is the smallest yet, with adults smaller than a newborn kitten.
- Life
One lichen is actually 126 species and counting
One supposedly well-known tropical lichen could really be several hundred kinds.
- Life
Animal sex lives exposed in ‘Nature’s Nether Regions’
What the sex lives of bugs, birds, and beasts tell us about evolution, biodiversity, and ourselves.
- Animals
Ant lions hunt despite sealed lips
Ant lions are ferocious predators, but some of them don’t have a mouth. At least not in the usual sense.
- Animals
Lionfish dance can recruit partner for hunting
Slow but superb predators recruit pals for cooperative hunting, often striking in what looks like well-mannered turn taking.
- Animals
Passenger pigeon population had booms and busts
DNA says the birds recovered from hard times — until people came along.
