All Stories by Susan Milius
- Animals
Eye-tracking cameras show peahens’ wandering gaze
Data show that female birds are not so riveted by their suitors’ magnificence
- Life
Microbes can draw the line between species
Wasps' gut inhabitants can kill or save crossbreeds.
- Animals
Fattened livers prep white sharks for extreme migrations
The organ's reserves enable a long journey from waters off California to Hawaii and back, tracking data suggest.
- Animals
Hawkmoths squeak their genitals at threatening bats
Sounds of an approaching predator inspire ultrasonic rasping in insect prey.
- Animals
Highlights from the Evolution 2013 meeting
Selections from the meeting include a natural fish experiment, terrapins' light displays and why a variety of eye colors persist in people, presented June 21-25 in Snowbird, Utah.
- Animals
Gut microbes may put barrier between species
Wiping out gut bacteria in wasps saves crossbred offspring from death, suggesting that microbes may play a role in speciation.
- Animals
Cicadas’ odd life cycle poses evolutionary conundrums
Scientists are getting an idea about the odd family tree of periodical cicadas, how the insects synchronize their life cycles and why they breed side-by-side with others unsuitable for mating.
- Animals
In dark fishing spiders, males’ postmating nap is permanent
Species prepares for two pairings but goes into a fatal coma after a single encounter.
- Animals
Butterflies’ tidy drinking tricks
The long tube of the insects' mouthparts is fluid friendly only at the tip.
- Life
In the real world, cheetahs rarely go all out
Famous for speed, the big cats actually rely on acceleration and maneuverability to capture prey.
- Life
As Brood II emerges, questions remain about cicada cycles
The how and why of years lived underground are among the unsolved mysteries about the loud, obvious insects.
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