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

    Stilts for ants make case for pedometer

    Changing the leg length of desert ants upsets their ability to judge distance, providing the first evidence in any animal of a built-in odometer based on stride.

  2. Animals

    Live Prey for Dummies: Meerkats coach pups on hunting

    Meerkats easing their pups into the job of handling live prey are among the few animal species shown so far to be natural teachers. With audio.

  3. Animals

    Dawn Sneaks: Old birds sing early, cuckold sleepyheads

    Among European birds called blue tits, older males join the springtime dawn chorus extra early—which may signal their charms to philandering females.

  4. Animals

    Fishy Reputations: Undersea watchers choose helpers that do good jobs

    Coral reef fish use smart-shopper techniques of looking for satisfied customers before choosing a small fish to provide cleaning services.

  5. Animals

    Naked and Not

    The Damaraland mole rat may be less famous than its naked cousin, but both have some of the oddest social structures found in a mammal.

  6. Animals

    Mixed Butterflies: Tropical species joins ranks of rare hybrids

    A South American butterfly is one of the few animal species that seems to have arisen via the supposedly rare path of crossing two older species.

  7. Animals

    Leggiest Animal: Champ millipede located after 79-year gap

    A millipede species that can grow up to 750 legs has turned up in California after decades with no sightings.

  8. Zits in tubeworms: Part of growing up

    Young tubeworms pick up the live-in bacteria they need for nutrition in a rite of passage that starts with a skin infection.

  9. Earth

    Pumped-up Poison Ivy: Carbon dioxide boosts plant’s size, toxicity

    Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could make poison ivy grow much faster and become more toxic.

  10. Animals

    Lobster Hygiene: Healthy animals quick to spot another’s ills

    Caribbean spiny lobsters will avoid sharing a den with another lobster that's coming down with a viral disease.

  11. Animals

    True-pal lizards may show odd gene

    Colorful lizards in California may offer an example of a long-sought evolutionary factor called greenbeard genes, a possible explanation for altruism.

  12. Animals

    Jay Watch: Birds get sneakier when spies lurk

    A scrub jay storing food takes note of any other jay that watches it and later defends the hoard accordingly.